<p>I have been accepted to Macaulay Honors College at Queens College (CUNY)
I know that as a Macaulay Honors Student, I will receive full-tuition scholarship, macbook, and cultural passport. Also, I will get to attend special seminars. However, I would like to know more in details about how Macaulay Honors students are taught. I heard that Macaulay honors students at Queens get to attend same classes as Queens college students so what is the difference between Macaulay honors students and Queens students in terms of academics?
I am planning to major in psychology. All replies will be greatly appreciated.
I would like to know everything about Macaulay Honors program at Queens including campus life, academics, social scenes, and opportunities (but I would like to know more about academics). Thank you!</p>
<p>You will take the same classes as the others students who aren’t in the honors college except that you have to maintain a minimum GPA. You will also have an advisor who is more or less like a guidance counselor. There are some honors courses available and you have to take classes about the history/culture of NY. </p>
<p>I have also been accepted to UC Berkeley and Northwestern U, but what I am worried about is that as Macaulay Honors students attend same classes as other students, what is the difference then in terms of academics? What do you think about Macaulay Honors compared to UC Berkeley and Northwestern?</p>
<p>Since you are an international student there are other factors to consider:</p>
<p>Does your family have the resources to pay for Berkeley or Northwestern? If the numbers don’t add up, you won’t get a student visa.</p>
<p>Do potential employers in your home country care where you study? If attending one or the other wil make it hard to find work, then don’t study there.</p>
<p>What are the travel expenses for you to get to each of these places? Macaulay is cheaper. Does that mean you can afford to go home every year, or more than once a year?</p>
<p>Is the climate in your home country more like Berkeley, Evanston, or the NYC area? Will any of these places mean a whole new winter wardrobe?</p>
<p>What about grad school? Here? Another country? Does your family need to have cash left over to pay for that?</p>
<p>Thank you happymomof1 for your response : )</p>
<p>First, my family does have resources to pay for UC Berkeley and Northwestern, but it is going to be a lot of work for my parents. If I attend Macaulay Honors, my parents will be able to visit me often.</p>
<p>I am planning to go to a graduate school as well. </p>
<p>As for the climate, I guess I will have to adjust myself to all these places anyway. </p>
<p>I really like the deal Macaulay Honors offers, but with these great options, I am not sure if Macaulay honors will be the best choice for me. I do not really know much about Macaulay Honors so I cannot really compare it with these other places I got accepted to. I want to know what is the difference between Macaulay Honors students and Queens students academic wise?</p>
<p>Is Macaulay Honors program comparable to Northwestern or UC Berkeley in terms of academic? What do you think? Also, how is the campus life? I have heard that there is no campus life here… is it true ??</p>
<p>In my opinion (as a parent of a son at an Honors College and as a graduate of Northwestern back in the day) if the majority of your courses at Queens will be “regular” courses with “regular” Queens students, then no, the academics will not be the same as at Northwestern or Berkeley. </p>
<p>When my son what looking at colleges and was considering Honors programs/colleges, one important factor was whether the “regular” student body of the school was close to the Honors student body in terms of entrance credentials. The problem we were trying to avoid (and had been experienced by the children of friends) was if there is a substantial difference in the 2 groups AND if the major of classes are the same for the 2 groups, then the Honors students are not sufficiently challenged. It really wasn’t an issue of prestige for us but, rather, what kind of experience our son would have.</p>
<p>He ended up at an Honors College at a public university where the entire student body has very good credentials. The Honors students are, of course, higher but not THAT MUCH higher. Even there, my son says there IS a difference between what happens in/the caliber of students in his Honors classes vs. his “regular” classes. </p>
<p>There are many factors to consider here, including cost of attendance which for many people would be a huge factor and would win the day, but your question was about academics. If you were my son, and academics was THE factor we were considering to make our decision, I would send my son to Northwestern or Berkeley.</p>
<p>I have just talked to a Macaulay honors alumni and it seems like she really did enjoy her time there. She said that CUNY does offer quality education. Many graduates have been accepted to Ivy League schools afterwards. She emphasized the fact that there are honors classes and the fact that there is Macaulay Central, in which Macaulay students will be able to take special classes. It sounds good to me so far, but it is still not clear to me whether or not Macaulay honors students will be sufficiently challenged.</p>
<p>Within NYC it’s considered a good program. Outside of that people don’t really know the name. Do you plan on working in the US or in a different country? Your other options have the “brand name” factor. There are honors classes just not many. You’re mostly with the non honors students. See if your major will allow undergrads to do research since you plan on going to grad school.</p>
<p>I am not sure where I will end up working in, but I think I would prefer to come back to my home country. However, if it is possible for me to work in US, I am fine with that, too. Oh, one more thing, I think I would love to continue studying in a graduate school so I guess my graduate school plays a bigger role than my undergrad school.</p>
<p>While Queens College now has a dorm…it is still mostly a commuter school for local NYC/nearby Long Island students. If you’re looking for a traditional college experience…you won’t be getting much of it beyond a nice looking campus. Also…more likely or not…you’re going to have to rent an apartment if you don’t have relatives/friends to stay at. </p>
<p>I’ve heard good things about the Macaulay Honors program…but if it is as you described…I will have similar concerns about whether the classes with non-honors students would be challenging based on the stats/non-honors students I knew who went there…especially if you were able to get into Northwestern or Berkeley. </p>
<p>Many HS classmates who went to CUNY colleges…including Queens found it to be underwhelming academically and opted to transfer up after a year or two to colleges/universities like Reed, CMU, Columbia, etc. </p>
<p>Of course…that was back when Macaulay Honors didn’t exist and the CUNY system was at its nadir in the late '80s/early-mid '90s. CUNY has improved greatly since then…but I don’t think it is at the level of schools like Northwestern or Berkeley. </p>
<p>Also…what type of grad schools/career paths are you looking to go into? That may help you decide one way or another.</p>
<p>I think attending a CUNY would be a big adjustment for any non-New York City resident, and a huge one for an international. This is one of those cases where money shouldn’t be the deciding factor. My kids grew up in a neighboring state, and wouldn’t have dreamed of attending an big urban college where the vast majority of the students are locals who live off-site.</p>
<p>Macaulay, especially in the last couple of years with the terrible economy has attracted a totally different calibre of students than are generally found in a CUNY. It could be a fantastic opportunity for a student who is mature enough to embrace all that NYC has tto offer.</p>
<p>The issue is not the caliber of the Macaulay Honors student…but the non-honors students at Queens College with whom he’ll be taking many of his undergrad courses. </p>
<p>The non-honors students I knew who attended Queens College are barely average students at best in comparison to those who ended up at schools like Northwestern or Berkeley. </p>
<p>If even some of his classes are going to be with the non-honors students…he may find himself in the same situation as my HS classmate friends where he/she’s pulling A+s without learning much/anything new while the rest of the class is struggling to make Cs.</p>
<p>You absolutely could make Macaulay work, do well, and place into top grad programs.</p>
<p>But…</p>
<p>As has already been pointed out, Queens College is a commuter school. The vast majority of students come from Queens or LI and live at home, a small number live in off campus apartments, an even smaller number live in the one dorm on campus. </p>
<p>The atmosphere is nothing like Northwestern which is a true residential campus or Berkeley where a somewhat greater preponderance of off campus vs on campus housing exists. Northwestern and Berkeley will offer a typical 24/7 college experience, no shutting down on weekends and evenings. Both offer D1 sports and clubs/activities that Queens College simply doesn’t as a local college. The area around Queens College is not exactly happening, mostly middle class residential, but Manhattan is not too far away by public transportation. Quality of courses, professors and fellow students will be at a higher academic level at both Northwestern and Berkeley, though still solid at Queens.</p>
<p>NYC is a very expensive place to live by US standards. But I’d still estimate 4 years at Macauley will save you around $160,000.</p>
<p>Finally, remember you’ll need to maintain a 3.5 GPA to stay eligible at Macauley. The CUNY schools probably have less grade inflation than most privates. Something to think about.</p>
<p>So, you can certainly achieve your long term goals coming out of Macauley and save significant money in the process, but there is little question that this would come with some sacrifice.</p>
<p>I’ve been accepted to Macaulay at Queens as well and I had the same exact concerns and questions! If you’re planning on attending graduate school though I would recommend doing Macaulay. Even though some classes are with the regular student body, you have to stay top of your class and there are required Macaulay Honors classes for just students in the program to add to what they describe as “rigorous coursework.” Someone else responded about honors programs in regular schools, but Macaulay is not the same as the honors program at Queens College. There are higher expectations and like I mentioned before, you have to take more classes. It’s also expected that you are extremely involved. </p>
<p>Anyway, my main point was that alumni have proven that Macaulay students get into Ivies and some of the most prestigious schools in the country. I know you’ve already stated money isn’t an issue, and maybe this only seems like a valid and important reason to me because I have the grades and extracurriculars for big name schools but not the money, but why pay so much money for four years of undergrad when you’ll get into the same graduate school for free? You can use the money saved from four years of free school to pay to dorm at Queens’s Residence Hall or combine it with the $7500 Macaulay gives you so you can get the most out of study abroad and internship opportunities while in undergrad (because not many other colleges are going to just hand you money to do that), which will make your graduate school application that much better.</p>
<p>Sorry I’m so long-winded but hopefully I made sense, haha.</p>
<p>Also! Congratulations! Macaulay’s only accepted 19% of the applicants this year so it really is a big deal to be accepted! Not only that but this was the most competitive year for Macaulay (36% increase in applicants). Don’t think it’s just regular NYC kids who apply to Macaulay- it’s students from Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and the top high schools in the country. I already know of plenty from Stuy who have been rejected; it really is selective. Also for graduate school, Macaulay’s student body is very small and the adviser you get will work to get you the best internships etc personally. The other schools you mentioned also have advisers but they also are bigger schools and less personalized. With Macaulay you get to attend a medium/big school in a diverse city (and Queens is the most diverse borough in NYC!) but you still get super small school attention. A person commented saying Queens classes are easy but I read on another thread someone who attends Cornell after a taking classes at Queens saying that the classes aren’t much different academically. But that’s Cornell soooooo I don’t know about Northwestern and Berkeley. Don’t be quick to dismiss Macaulay on that fact; the valedictorian of my school is currently trying to decide between Harvard, a free ride at Cornell, and Macaulay. It really is a serious competitor with those schools. I’m sure though, based on your acceptances, you’ll be fine in whichever school you choose to go to. Good luck!
You’d think with all this talk I’ve confirmed Macaulay, but I myself am still hesitant to hand in the form checked “Yes”; I guess I already know my decision at this point but it’s just such a big, stressful decision! I don’t want any regrets.</p>
