Educational Opportunities of the 11 CUNY Colleges

CUNY, the City University of New York, enrolls over a quarter of a million students in its six community colleges, eleven senior colleges, and seven graduate schools. CUNY has a remarkably diverse student body in terms of both age and ethnicity. All are public universities with relatively low tuition for both in-state and out-of-state students. The CUNY system, in fact, was founded on the principle of making higher education accessible to students of all economic means.

The eleven senior CUNY colleges are located across New York City's five boroughs. The academic focus and personality of each campus vary widely from school to school, and the admissions standards are also quite different for the various campuses. If you or someone you know is college bound, read on to see which CUNY might be the right one for you.

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Baruch College

With an acceptance rate of just 43 percent, Baruch is one of the more selective of the CUNY schools. Located near Wall Street in Midtown, Manhattan, Baruch College has a winning location for its well-regarded Zicklin School of Business. Eighty percent of Baruch undergraduate students are enrolled in the Zicklin School, making it the largest college business school in the country.

Location: Midtown Manhattan
Enrollment: 18,679 (15,482 undergraduates)
For admissions data including SAT scores and the acceptance rate, read the Baruch College admissions profile.

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Brooklyn College

Located on a 26-acre tree-lined campus, Brooklyn College frequently ranks among the best educational values in the country. The college has strong programs in the liberal arts and sciences that have earned it a chapter of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.

Location: Brooklyn
Enrollment: 17,811 (14,970 undergraduates)
For admissions data including SAT scores and the acceptance rate, read the Brooklyn College admissions profile.

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CCNY (City College of New York)

An example of the attractive Gothic architecture on the CCNY campus. Dan Lurie / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

The CCNY campus features some stunning examples of neo-Gothic architecture. CCNY's Grove School of Engineering was the first public institution of its kind, and the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture is the only public school of architecture in New York City. For its strong liberal arts and sciences, CCNY was awarded a chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.

Location: Manhattan (Harlem's Hamilton Heights)
Enrollment: 15,816 (13,030 undergraduates)
For admissions data including SAT scores and the acceptance rate, read the CCNY admissions profile.

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City Tech (New York City College of Technology)

The New York City College of Technology (City Tech) focuses entirely on undergraduate education and offers 29 associate and 17 bachelor degree programs, as well as certificate programs and continuing education courses. The college has been expanding its four-year degree offerings in recent years. Areas of study are mostly pre-professional in nature such as business, computer systems, engineering, health, hospitality, education, and many other fields.

Location: Brooklyn
Enrollment: 17,036 (all undergraduate)
For admissions data including SAT scores and the acceptance rate, read the City Tech admissions profile.

The Best Colleges in New York City

By Allen Grove

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College of Staten Island

The College of Staten Island was founded in 1976 when Staten Island Community College merged with Richmond College. The current 204-acre campus was completed in 1996. The campus is located in the center of the island and features neo-Georgian buildings, woodlands, and open lawns. It is the only public university on Staten Island.

Location: Central Staten Island
Enrollment: 12,782 (11,700 undergraduates)
For admissions data including SAT scores and the acceptance rate, read the College of Staten Island admissions profile.

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Hunter College

The strength of Hunter's academic programs and the relatively low cost of attendance has earned the school a place on national rankings of best value colleges. High achieving students should check out the Honors College which offers tuition waivers, special classes, and many other perks. Hunter College has a healthy 11/1 student to faculty ratio and, like many of the CUNY schools, an impressively diverse study body. Admissions are selective, and most applicants have above-average grades and standardized test scores.

Location: Manhattan's Upper East Side
Enrollment: 23,193 (17,121 undergraduates)
For admissions data including SAT scores and the acceptance rate, read the Hunter College admissions profile.

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John Jay College of Criminal Justice

The specialized public service mission of John Jay College has made it a leader in preparing students for careers in criminal justice and law enforcement. John Jay is one of the few schools in the country to offer an undergraduate program in forensics. The curriculum takes advantage of the school's mid-Manhattan location to provide students with many community service opportunities.

Location: Midtown Manhattan
Enrollment: 15,880 (13,746 undergraduates)
For admissions data including SAT scores and the acceptance rate, read the John Jay College admissions profile.

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Lehman College

Originally founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, Lehman is now one of the 11 senior colleges of CUNY. The college is located along the Jerome Park Reservoir in the Kingsbridge Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. The college has a student-centered curriculum and can boast of a 15/1 student to faculty ratio and an average class size of 18. Students at Lehman come from over 90 countries.

Location: The Bronx
Enrollment: 15,143 (13,002 undergraduates)
For admissions data including SAT scores and the acceptance rate, read the Lehman College admissions profile.

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Medgar Evers College

Medgar Evers College, named after Medgar Wiley Evers, a Black civil rights activist assassinated in 1963, offers 29 associate and baccalaureate degree programs through its four schools. The spirit of Evers' work is kept alive at Medgar Evers through the college's curriculum and academic centers such as the Center for Black Literature and the Center for Law & Social Justice.

Location: Central Brooklyn
Enrollment: 5,798 (all undergraduate)
For admissions data including SAT scores and the acceptance rate, read the Medgar Evers College admissions profile.

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Queens College

Queens College's 77-acre campus is open and grassy with beautiful views of the Manhattan skyline. The college offers bachelor's and master's degrees in more than 100 areas with psychology, sociology and business being most popular among undergraduates. The college's strengths in the liberal arts and sciences earned it a chapter of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.

Location: Flushing, Queens
Enrollment: 19,923 (16,866 undergraduates)
For admissions data including SAT scores and the acceptance rate, read the Queens College admissions profile.

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York College

York College's student population mirrors the rich ethnic diversity of the surrounding community. Students come from over 50 countries and speak over 37 languages. York College offers over 40 majors with programs in health, business and psychology being the most popular. In 2003, the CUNY Aviation Institute was established on the York College campus.

Location: Queens
Enrollment: 8,337 (8,116 undergraduates)
For admissions data including SAT scores and the acceptance rate, read the York College admissions profile.

Affordable, accessible, and diverse, CUNY's 11 campuses are strong choices for students from diverse backgrounds, but some are more difficult to gain admission to than others. If you're thinking of enrolling at a CUNY school, this CUNY SAT score chart will let you see where you stand in comparison to other candidates.