A college is only as good as its professors, and by that measure, Westchester Community College excels. Its faculty and professional staff have received more SUNY Chancellors Awards for Excellence than any other community college in the system, and the school boasts seven SUNY distinguished professors. More than 98 percent of faculty hold a master’s or doctoral degree in their field. And students have plenty of access to those professors, too, since the student/faculty ratio is 16‑to‑1.
Westchester Community College offers more than 50 programs leading to Associate or Certificate degrees, and its continuing education unit is the largest in the SUNY system. Finding the right course, registering and even applying for a scholarship is as close as your keyboard or phone, thanks to MyWCC, the college’s self‑service, web‑accessible portal.
Students can also use MyWCC to check financial aid status, get transcripts and track their degree progress. Of course, students can take courses online as well, or find evening and weekend classes that fit with their work schedule. Among 13,997 students enrolled in fall 2012, 45.6 percent were part‑time students.
For those students pursuing a four‑year degree, SUNY Purchase is listed among “America’s Best 100 College Buys.” In addition, Westchester is home to several notable private colleges and universities, ranging from Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers to Pace University in Pleasantville. The New York Medical College in Valhalla is the leading academic biomedical research institution between New York City and Albany. The Basic Sciences Building has approximately 122,000 square feet of laboratory and office space dedicated to research.
Divided into 48 school districts, Westchester County also has highly regarded primary, secondary and post‑secondary schools serving close to 150,000 students. Students are involved in their schools: Of 44 high schools in the county, 19 enjoy student participation in extracurricular activities at a rate of 70 percent or more. The dropout rate is low, and in 2013, five high schools (Blind Brook, Bronxville, Byram Hills in Armonk, Tuckahoe and Valhalla) enjoyed a 100 percent graduation rate. Thirty‑one high schools boasted SAT scores above the national average of 1,498.
U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of high schools recognized Yonkers Middle High School, where 67 percent of the students are classified as economically disadvantaged, as the 27th best magnet school in the country.
Institutes of Higher Education
Berkeley College
White Plains, www.berkeleycollege.edu
Cochran School of Nursing
Yonkers, www.cochranschoolofnursing.us
College of New Rochelle
New Rochelle, www.cnr.edu
College of Westchester
White Plains, www.cw.edu
Concordia College
Bronxville, www.concordia‑ny.edu
Empire State College (SUNY)
Hartsdale, www.esc.edu/hudsonvalley
Fordham University
West Harrison, www.fordham.edu
Iona College
New Rochelle, www.iona.edu
Long Island University Hudson at Westchester
Purchase, www.liu.edu/Hudson
Manhattanville College
Purchase, www.mville.edu
Mercy College
Dobbs Ferry, www.mercy.edu
Monroe College
New Rochelle, www.monroecollege.edu
New York Medical College
Valhalla, www.nymc.edu
Pace Lubin Graduate Center
White Plains, www.pace.edu/lubin
Pace University
Pleasantville/Briarcliff, www.pace.edu
Pace University Law School
White Plains, www.law.pace.edu
Polytechnic University
Westchester Graduate Center–Hawthorne, www.poly.edu
Purchase College (SUNY)
Purchase, www.purchase.edu
Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, www.sarahlawrence.edu
St. Joseph’s Seminary and College
Yonkers, www.dunwoodie.edu
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
Yonkers, www.svots.edu
Westchester Community College
Valhalla, www.sunywcc.edu
