CCNY makes the Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges for 2026.
The Princeton Review®, known for its education services and resources for college-bound students, features The City College of New York in its online resource, The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2026 Edition (October 21, 2025).
The Guide, which is accessible for free at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide, profiles 388 colleges that foster a culture of environmental responsibility and demonstrate a commitment to sustainability,
The Princeton Review chose the colleges based on a survey the company conducted in 2024–2025 of administrators at 401 colleges about their institutions' sustainability-related policies, practices, and programs. The company also surveyed students attending the colleges about their "green" campus experiences. The school selections were based on more than 25 data points from the surveys.
“Among the hundreds of schools we surveyed for this project, The City College, which offers excellent academics, is also a stand-out for its record of environmentally-responsible practices. We are delighted to recommend it to college applicants who want their ‘best-fit’ college to also be a 'green' one," said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's Editor-in-Chief.
Franek noted that The Princeton Review is seeing strong interest among college applicants in attending green colleges. Of the more than 7,000 students the company polled for its 2025 College Hopes & Worries Survey, 59% said having information about a college's commitment to the environment would affect their decision to apply to or attend the school. A report on the survey findings is at www.princetonreview.com/college-hopes-worries.
The profiles in the Guide reveal The Princeton Review’s Green Ratings of the schools which the company tallied on a scale of 60 to 99. CCNY received a Green Rating of 81/99. The profiles provide detail on the schools’ uses of renewable energy, their recycling and conservation programs, and the availability of environmental studies in their academic offerings. The profiles also include information on the schools' admission requirements, cost, and financial aid.
The Princeton Review has published its Guide to Green Colleges annually since 2010. The education services company is also known for its other resources for college applicants including its dozens of categories of college rankings. Its annual book, The Best 391 Colleges (2026 Edition published August 2025) includes a Top 25 Colleges ranking list titled Green Matters: Everyone Cares About Conservation.
This is the second major recognition for CCNY from Princeton Review in two months. Last August, it ranked The City College one of the nation's academically best undergraduate institutions.
About The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admissions services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school–bound students as well as working professionals achieve their education and career goals through its many education services and products. These include online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors; online resources; a line of more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House; and dozens of categories of school rankings. Founded in 1981, the company is now in its 44th year. The company's Tutor.com brand, now in its 25th year, is one of the largest online tutoring services in the U.S. It comprises a community of thousands of tutors who have delivered more than 28 million tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review, headquartered in New York, NY, is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers, and society. At City College, more than 16,500 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity, and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together,” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College's mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic, and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Jay Mwamba
p: 917.892.0374
e:
jmwamba@ccny.cuny.edu