I’m looking to transfer into a CUNY school as a writing or communication/media studies major. I know that there are different campuses, but I’m wondering - what are the differences between them? Which one should I apply to for my major?
Why not apply to more than one?
The four-year CUNY campuses differ in some of the programs they offer as well as their locations, but also in perceived reputation. I think around here and elsewhere, Hunter and City have gotten reputations as the best campuses in the system. City is known especially for their STEM and health sciences programs. Baruch College is another excellent choice; it’s known best as the business-oriented CUNY college, but they also have other programs there. Brooklyn, Queens, and Lehman Colleges are also great campuses in the system; York College is also pretty good. The College of Staten Island (CSI) and City Tech are both open admission, meaning anyone who applies and has the criteria (a high school diploma or GED) is admitted.
Media studies is offered at Brooklyn, City, Hunter, Queens, and Lehman Colleges and at City Tech. Communications is offered at Baruch, Brooklyn, City, Lehman, Queens, and York Colleges, CSI, and City Tech. And journalism (in case that interests you, as it’s related) is offered at Baruch, Brooklyn, Lehman, and York Colleges, CSI, and City Tech. You can also minor in creative writing through the English department at Hunter. Baruch’s communications major allows you to concentrate in rhetoric and public policy, which is a writing-intensive concentration it appears.
Were I you, I would definitely apply to City and Baruch, and also at Hunter and Brooklyn. Lehman and Queens are also great choices for what you want.
Brooklyn College received recognition in an online article related to writing, “The 25 Most Literary Colleges in America” (Flavowrire). Reading the description there may give you some additional insight.
With CUNY it seems like everyone has a slightly different idea of which two or three have the best reputation. However, I think that it’s generally agreed upon that Baruch, Hunter, Queens, Brooklyn, and City are all solid. Baruch gets mentioned a lot for business and City gets mentioned for STEM a lot, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t have strong humanities and communications programs as well.
Another thing you could think about is what type of setting you’d prefer. Hunter and Baruch are in very Manhattan-y parts of Manhattan, but as a result they don’t have campuses. Queens and Brooklyn are fairly far away in the outer boroughs, but have nice campuses. City is probably somewhere in between, being in upper Manhattan and having a way more of a campus feel than Hunter or Baruch (not sure how it compares to Brooklyn and Queens).
Why only one?
Hunter & City are the most well-known.
CUNY Brooklyn has a reputation for writing. It has a beautiful campus, but isn’t in the best area. My boyfriend used to live in Flatbush, he’s told me the stores close early for safety reasons…
CUNY City is in Manhattan, but it’s not in Midtown. The campus is amazing. In my opinion, if you’re street smart, you’ll probably be okay in Manhattan.
CUNY Hunter was my favorite, because I’m interested in social work. I decided not to apply, because it seems difficult to get housing.
CUNY Queens has a nice campus, with amazing views. Queens is basically the suburbs of NYC, so I’m not sure if you’d want that.