New York's Best Colleges: 65 Make Forbes List

Forbes Magazine released its list of the top colleges in the country on Wednesday — with a total of 65 New York colleges making the cut.

Six Long Island schools made the list: the United States Merchant Marine Academy (#51 nationally), Stony Brook University (#187 nationally), Hofstra University in Hempstead (#323 nationally), Adelphi University in Garden City (#332 nationally), St. Joseph's College in Patchogue (#385 nationally) and Farmingdale State College (#446 nationally).

Columbia University in Manhattan was the highest-ranked New York college nationally at No. 14. Cornell University was right behind at No. 15.

See the full list of New York schools that made the list here.

Harvard University in Massachusetts received the top spot in the list for best school in the country this year. Last year, Harvard came in at No. 4.

The magazine ranked the schools based on what institutions give back to students on the money they spend on a college education.

The colleges that crack the top 10 on Forbes' list of top 50 colleges are:

1. Harvard University
2. Stanford University
3. Yale University
4. Princeton University
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6. California Institute of Technology
7. University of Pennsylvania
8. Duke University
9. Brown University
10. Pomona College

This year's rankings, as Forbes explains, were created to better align with what the magazine values most: "superior return on investment; high impact, leadership and success; and a first-rate student-consumer experience."

The methodology did not take into account things like campus atmosphere, Greek life, sports etc. but rather criteria such as alumni salary, graduation rate and student satisfaction.

Post-graduate success accounted for 35 percent of the ranking; how effectively students at each school avoid or pay back student loan debt accounts for 20 percent of the rankings, as does the student experience. Graduation rate and academic success both account for 12.5 percent.

See the full methodology here.