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Long Island colleges are top-rated on ‘Social Mobility Index’

Adina Genn //February 14, 2020 //

Photo courtesy of Farmingdale State College

Photo courtesy of Farmingdale State College

Long Island colleges are top-rated on ‘Social Mobility Index’

Adina Genn //February 14, 2020 //

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A number of Long Island colleges ranked within the top 150 institutions in the 2019 Social Mobility Index published by CollegeNet.

The data-driven index focuses on economic mobility at nearly 1,500 four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The index offers analysis on economically disadvantaged students, and considers factors such as tuition, early salaries and student loan debt.

Farmingdale State College, SUNY Stony Brook and SUNY College at Old Westbury were all within the top 150.

“The early median career salary of our students is among the top 2 percent in the nation, at $51,700,” John Nader, president of Farmingdale State College, said in a statement about this year’s index.

And Farmingdale State, where the tuition is $8,076, students “graduated with a lower level of debt [$16,834] than any other four-year SUNY college on Long Island,” Nader said.

“Unlike other college rankings that are aimed primarily at helping students select a college, the Social Mobility Index helps families and policymakers determine which colleges are addressing the national problem of economic mobility,” CollegeNET President Jim Wolfston said in a statement about the 2019 rankings.

“Administrators have a better chance to help strengthen U.S. economic mobility and the promise of the American Dream if they can identify and learn from colleges that are skilled at doing this,” he added.

Farmingdale State College was ranked at 104 in the 2019 index.

SUNY Stony Brook came in at 33, where the tuition is $9,257, median early career salaries are $57,600, and the average debt is $33,512, according to the index.

SUNY Old Westbury was ranked 56, where the tuition is $7,883, median career salaries are $44,300, and the average debt is $18,694, according to the index.

Other Long Island colleges and universities – including Molloy College, New York Institute of Technology, Adelphi University and Hofstra University – were also featured in the index, which is available online.