Photo: DanTD · CC BY-SA 4.0Five Towns College is 7.8 miles from Brightwaters
No college sits inside Brightwaters’ boundary, but Five Towns College’s campus in Dix Hills, with 717 students on campus, is 7.8 miles from the center of town, and Suffolk County Community College is 14.1 miles away in Selden. About 5% of Brightwaters’ residents are enrolled in college, below New York (7%).
From the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard, June 2026; IPEDS fall 2023 enrollment) and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020–24. Straight-line distances from the center of Brightwaters. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Brightwaters
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Brightwaters
One private college within 7.8 miles, one public college within 9.1 miles, and Suffolk County Community College 14.1 miles away.
Degree-granting colleges with 100 or more students on campus (fall 2023 enrollment, minus students who study only online). Admitted: share of applicants offered a place. Net price: the average a year after grants, for students on federal aid. Graduate: within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting.
What would your family pay?
The average a year after grants, for families on federal aid, at the colleges within 15 miles. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at Over $110k, where Brightwaters’ median household income ($218,000) falls.
The average a year after grants and scholarships, for first-time, full-time students on federal aid, from the College Scorecard. Your own price depends on your aid package; every college has a net price calculator. For community colleges the net price counts housing and food at full cost, so tuition is shown beside it. “—”: not reported for that income.
Do students finish, and does it pay?
Each dot is a college within 15 miles of Brightwaters: across is the share who graduate, up is what they earn ten years after starting.
Graduation: first-time, full-time students within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 years (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting, for students who got federal aid.
Questions about college near Brightwaters
Is Brightwaters a college town?
No. About 5 of every 100 Brightwaters residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below New York (7). The nearest campus, Five Towns College, is 7.8 miles away in Dix Hills.
What colleges are near Brightwaters?
Within 15 miles: Five Towns College (7.8 miles, 717 students on campus), Farmingdale State College (9.1 miles, 9,077) and Suffolk County Community College (14.1 miles, 17,584).
What is the closest community college to Brightwaters, and what does it cost?
Suffolk County Community College in Selden, 14.1 miles away. Tuition and fees are $6,630 a year for New York residents; the federal net price, $5,258, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Farmingdale State College cost if we live in New York?
Tuition and fees are $8,626 a year in-state and $18,536 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $4,933 (under $30,000 income) to $17,919 (over $110,000), housing and food included.
Neighbors talk college
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Colleges: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023 enrollment). “On campus” is fall enrollment minus students who study only online. Distances are straight-line from the center of Brightwaters. Residents in college, age, rent and poverty (including poverty without college students, table B14006): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–24. Colleges are described, not graded; the College town label marks towns where 15% or more of residents are enrolled. How TownRatings describes colleges →