The school initially set the founding date at 1633, but later changed it to 1638,[9] as archival research suggested that Roelantsen visited Manhattan in 1633 but was not teaching at that time.

Under English and later British rule, in the years before free, universal public education, the various religious denominations sponsored schools for their own communities.

[7]: 7  (The term "collegiate" refers to a network of churches that "shared ministers and kept a single set of registers.

[20]) The school's original building at the West End location was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[16] The move took place at the behest of the West End Collegiate Church, the school's historic landlord,[16] which wished to raise money by selling the land to property developers for residential condominiums.

[8][32] Headmaster David Lourie stepped down in 2024 after four years, following internal disputes about the approach the school should take towards the Israel–Hamas war.

The administration's official policy is that "the School should not take positions on matters that by their nature include a range of opinions" and should ordinarily refrain from "issuin[g] statements in response to each" act of prejudice in the news.

[34] A report noted that "many Jewish parents" believed that the school ought to have issued a statement condemning the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

[36]) In the 2021–22 school year, Collegiate reported that of its 662 students, 326 (49.2%) were white, 119 (18.0%) were Asian, 22 (3.3%) were Hispanic, 47 (7.1%) were Black, and 148 (22.4%) were multiracial.

[32] According to The New York Times, Collegiate is "small yet fiercely competitive," and "is renowned in private school circles for its academic rigor – its college placement list is the envy of many.

"[41] Collegiate's iconography has traditionally reflected the school’s status as one of the remaining symbols of the Dutch legacy in New York City.

[14]: 12  In June 2020, a History and Symbols Task Force issued a lengthy report recommending certain revisions to the school's iconography.

[14][42] Collegiate's seal is an adaptation of the coat of arms of William the Silent (better known in the Netherlands, but not the Anglosphere, as William of Orange), who founded the Dutch Republic and the Reformed Church in that country and led the cause of independence and of freedom for the Reformed Church against Philip II of Spain.

According to one scholar, the two mottos "served as rallying cries in the long-continued struggle for civil and religious liberty waged by the Netherlands against the power of Spain.

"[14]: 89 In 2022, following the Task Force's recommendation,[14]: 62–63  the school changed its seal and Latin motto to remove religious references.

[43] The new Latin motto is Communitas, Sapientia, Humanitas (translated by the school as "Community, Wisdom, Humaneness").

[14]: 40  Pogo cartoonist Walt Kelly, a Collegiate parent, drew the generally-used version of the mascot in the 1960s.

[14]: 38  Kelly's version was generally interpreted as a caricature of Peter Stuyvesant, and often called "Peg Leg Pete" by students.

[32] Based on the school's $5.6 million financial aid budget in 2024, the average scholarship award is approximately $49,000.

It consists of an 11-story building (nine stories above ground and two below), with 180,000 square feet (17,000 m2) of classroom, athletics, theater, music, art, library, dining, and administrative space.

The school has common areas dedicated to each division that provide space for independent study, social interactions, and divisional activities.

Collegiate's athletics are in the Lower Level and include a high school regulation-size gym for the basketball teams.

[50] The school's athletic success has mainly been with the varsity basketball, baseball, track and field, soccer, and cross country teams.