SUNY Old Westbury

Public · Moderately Selective · NY

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationNY · Northeast

SettingSuburban

Undergrads4,162

Student:faculty17:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate26.6%

6-yr grad rate44.6%

Drop-out rate28.2%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$8k

Out-of-state tuition$19k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity76.8%

Gender diversity57.5%

International3.3%

Identity—

Overview

SUNY Old Westbury sits on a wooded former estate on Long Island's North Shore, founded in the 1960s with an explicit social-justice mission that still shapes campus identity and student activism. It is among the more ethnically diverse campuses in the SUNY system and serves many first-generation students from the New York metro area.

Academics

Business, education, and the liberal arts form the academic core, with a teaching orientation suited to students who want direct faculty access rather than a research-university scale. Programs are practical and career-connected rather than built around a signature honors or research identity.

Campus & student life

The wooded, low-density estate setting is unusual for a SUNY campus this close to New York City, giving it a quieter, more residential feel than its Long Island neighbors despite drawing many commuters from Queens, Brooklyn, and Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Getting in

Admission is accessible relative to SUNY's more selective campuses, and the school is known for meeting students where they are academically, with support structures built around first-generation and historically underserved students.

After graduation

Graduates tend to stay in the New York metro area, moving into local school districts, financial and business-services firms, and nonprofit and public-service roles connected to the school's founding mission.

oldwestbury.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate83.6%

Enrolled mid-50%—

Test policynot used

Rec letters1

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying