The City University of New York Queens College

Date: May 23 2007
Major: Chemistry (This Major's Salary over time)
How you perceive Queens College has alot to do with what your expectations were coming into it. I will try to be as honest and as neutral as possible. Being part of CUNY, the public university of New York City, Queens college along with the other senior colleges(City, Baruch, Brooklyn) are often give a bad reputation but what people dont know is that CUNY was once very reputable up until 1970. This was when the city council decided to implement a policy of open admissions and ever since it has been a free fall downward. Many of the middle class who sent their children because it was incredibly cheap(a few dollars for application fees) yet highly regarded no longer had any reason to.

The standards have recently been raised in the late 90s and early 2000s with the end of open admissions and the creation of the CUNY honors program. This has attracted many more of the upper echelon students coming out of college. People in the honors program have first choice in registration, their tuition is all paid, a free Mac laptop, $3600 a semester for expenses (giving to you via a check), and free tickets to random CUNY events. (Great deal but they will give you hell if you intend to transfer, actually requiring an interview and essay.)

As stated before your views on Queens college depend largely on your expectations. Graduating from Stuyvesant HS I decided to attend Queens College because I did not want to take out the 100 thousand for 4 years to attend the UPenn or the University of Miami and I have regretted it ever since. I will be transferring in the fall to complete my pharmacy prerequisites. Here are the negative things that I saw:

being a large commuter school there is a lack of community and sense of school pride

a small endowment(500 thousand reported in US News Weekly) leads to lack of school funding for clubs and teams

outdated facilities in the Natural sciences (due to the weak nature and number of people majoring in them)

lack of resources lead to classes being offered ever other semester

cliques do form due to the large population of Russians and Jews

lack of a variety internships and job opportunities

That being said there are many benefits like,

very diverse, if at times cliquish nature, population

cheap and affordable education for a decent education

strong sociology, education, and political science department

Its on the upswing with a recent 10 million donation to refurbish Colwin Hall and Colden Center, added to the list of already rebuilt Powdermaker Hall, refurbished Fitzgerald gym and Libary. There has also been a 30 million grant by the city and state government to extend Remsen Hall(the chemistry department) to add a new wing with over 20 new state of the art laboratories for research.

Very connective with good computer availability

strong electronic database

nice art gallery

strong relations with city, with over half of Queens college graduates working for the city or state government

If you are expecting an Ivy League caliber education than you will be sadly disappointed, but if you are working full time and unable to pay tuition at a more reputable university than it will be a better fit. All and all Queens college is basically a DECENT COMMUTER school at an affordable price. Dont expect much and you wont be disappointed but if you are having a hard time choosing between the school of your choice or one that fits your financial obligations always go with the school that you think is better because college is an investment.