This article does not decide for you. It gives you one clear piece of the map: who CUNY City College is according to official federal government data, how it admits students, how much it costs, how well those who enroll fare, and what questions you need to ask before signing anything. In the end, that piece comes together with what your child wants and what your family can afford. That is not found in any report: it is something you build together.
Who This School Is
CUNY City College is in New York City, within New York County, in an area classified as a large city, with 250,000 residents or more. It is part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area, although that does not mean the campus is right downtown. If your child plans to live at home and commute, the advice is simple and practical: travel the route together on a weekday, at the exact time of your child’s classes. The time the map promises is almost never the actual time.
It is a public institution offering programs of four years or more, and the federal system records the doctorate as the highest level it offers. That does not mean every major goes that far, or that your child’s program connects undergraduate and graduate study. It is an institutional fact, not a map of your child’s specific academic path. If you know what your child wants to study, ask directly what that path looks like at this school.
The Carnegie classification, which organizes colleges across the country according to what they do, places City College among doctoral institutions with a high level of research and, based on its size and operating model, describes it as primarily nonresidential. The latter has a precise technical definition: it means that fewer than one in four undergraduate students lived in institution-provided housing, or that fewer than half studied full time—the data do not clarify which of the two conditions applied. It does not mean there are no residence halls; in fact, there are, as you will see later.
Carnegie also places it among schools that enroll many transfer students. If your child plans to come here after studying somewhere else, this is useful information, but it is not enough: before enrolling, ask in writing which courses will count and which will not.
One more brief but important point: City College is not recorded as a historically Black college or university (HBCU), a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. These are three distinct designations with different histories, and only 138 of the 3,012 colleges in this national directory have any of them. Its absence from that list says nothing about which communities it serves or how your child will feel there. Ask directly which cultural centers and student organizations exist today.
A Large and Largely Latino Community
City College has 15,012 students enrolled in total: 12,356 undergraduates and 2,656 graduate students. It is primarily an undergraduate school, and its size places it right in the middle among similar schools: neither one of the largest nor one of the smallest.
Here is one of the numbers I most want you to consider carefully. Of every 100 undergraduate students, 41 identified as Hispanic or Latino in the fall of 2023. That is close to half. And compared with 519 selective public four-year schools in this same national census, it is among the highest proportions reported: nine out of ten of those schools report an equal or lower figure. Being Latino on this campus would not be the exception.
But I want to tell you this directly, without embellishment: a high percentage of Latino students is not the same as support for Latino students. The data count how many there are. They do not say whether there is a Spanish-speaking counselor, whether tutoring is designed for those students, or whether those young people complete their degrees at the same rate as everyone else. And this is the percentage for the entire school, not for the specific program that interests your child. The figure opens the door to a real question; it does not answer it.
The rest of the picture: the campus is almost evenly split between men and women (51 out of every 100 are women). Adults from ages 25 to 64 are a minority, at 13 out of every 100. And 87 out of every 100 new students had a permanent address within New York State—the majority of those arriving here already lived nearby.
How Academics Work
The year at City College is organized into semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. That means fixed dates and consistent schedules for everyone, which helps families plan their calendars in advance.
The school reported that it accepts credit for AP exams and also what IPEDS calls “credit for life experiences”—learning acquired through independent study, adult courses, work, portfolios, previous licenses, or military or professional opportunities—as well as credit for military training. It also enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is a truth worth stating plainly: reporting that it accepts AP does not mean it awards credit for every exam at every score. We do not know what scores are required or whether those credits will count toward your child’s specific program. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not calculate potential savings until you have that document in hand.
As for its degree offerings: between July 2022 and June 2023, City College awarded 2,165 bachelor’s degrees across 23 different academic fields. None accounted for a large share: psychology, the largest, represented only 19 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year. It is a broad offering without a single dominant major—but 23 fields with rows in the report are not 23 exact majors in the current catalog. Verify the precise program that interests your child.
Regarding the relationship between students and instructional staff: the official ratio is 14 full-time-equivalent students for every full-time-equivalent staff member, a figure that falls below the midpoint among similar schools. It is an aggregate ratio, not the actual size of a classroom. Ask how many students are in first-year classes and classes in your child’s major—that tells you more than any institutional average.
The institution also reports structured academic opportunities such as study abroad and several pathways to teacher certification, including state approval for initial teacher certification.
How Admission Works and How Competitive It Is
City College does not have open admission. It reviews specific components before saying yes, and of the nine possible considerations measured by the federal report, it marked four as required: the high school record, high school GPA, completion of the college-preparatory course requirements, and an English proficiency exam for applicants to whom it applies.
The list of what it does not consider is longer: class rank, the personal essay, letters of recommendation, a portfolio or competency exam, work experience, and whether a family member attended the school. The report does not state the exact weight of each component marked as required, so we cannot claim that any single one determines everything. But if your child studied outside the United States or attended high school in Spanish, ask now whether the English exam applies and what provides an exemption—it is one of those things families discover late, when there is no longer time to address it calmly. The published application fee is $65.
Now for the hard numbers on the competition for admission. In the 2023 cycle, City College received 31,988 first-time applications and offered admission to 18,576. That is 58 out of every 100—almost an even split. Admission is not guaranteed, but it is not a lottery either: the application is reviewed. Compared with similar selective public schools, it falls on the more demanding side: seven out of ten of those schools accept a higher percentage of their applicants.
But here is a twist that surprises many families: being admitted is not the same as enrolling. Of every 100 students who received a yes from City College in 2023, only 14 ultimately enrolled. Put another way: out of every 7 young people admitted, approximately one decided to attend. The other six already had a place here and chose something else. And do not read that as a mark against the school—the record does not say why each person made that decision. What I can tell you clearly is this: what others chose does not predict what you will be offered. Wait for your letter with the actual net price before deciding whether this school stays on the list.
Regarding standardized tests: the SAT and ACT are not required. Among the students who did enroll, only 8 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores, and among them the middle half scored between 610 and 710 in reading and writing, and between 610 and 750 in math. Those numbers describe students who were admitted, enrolled, and submitted their scores—they are neither a minimum for admission nor a guarantee of anything.
And one more piece about transfers: when tracking the bachelor’s-degree-seeking cohort that entered in 2017, 28 out of every 100 transferred to another school without completing here—a proportion on the high side compared with similar schools. At the same time, 842 students came to City College in 2023 after previously studying at another institution: it is a school that also receives transfer students. It is worth remembering something almost no one keeps in mind: a student who transfers is not counted as a graduate of this school, even if the student completes a degree elsewhere. That matters when comparing graduation rates among colleges.
The Published Cost and What Families Actually Pay
At CUNY City College, among 910 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid, paid the in-state or in-district rate, and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $1,579. Among 340 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $7,188; among 39 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $11,887. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (910 students) and the highest-income band (39 students) is $10,308. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $4,599.
Among the 519 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this measure with the same time coverage, this school falls in the least expensive quarter for the lowest-income families after grants and scholarships are subtracted. That does not mean it will be inexpensive for your family. It is a fact that matters when deciding which schools to apply to.
The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at this public institution, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grants and scholarships, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships; it also uses that rate. If your family lives outside the state or district, the calculation is different. Ask about it before applying.
The Aid Students Receive, and the Loans Almost No One Uses
Of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students at City College, 83 received a grant or scholarship that does not have to be repaid—one of the highest proportions among similar schools. Among those who received it, the annual average was $8,077.
The Pell Grant, intended for low-income families, reached 62 out of every 100 students. Applying for that aid here is neither unusual nor limited to a few students: more than half of the student body received it. It is worth asking without embarrassment which documents are required and when they are due.
And here is a fact that runs counter to the anxiety many families carry about debt: only 7 out of every 100 undergraduate students had a federal student loan in the 2022-23 academic year—one of the lowest percentages among comparable schools. Among those who did borrow, the average amount was $5,849 that year. That does not mean this was enough for everyone: the report does not say how they covered the remaining amount, whether through additional grants or scholarships, work, family savings, or another type of debt not captured by this measure. And that amount is for a single year, not the accumulated debt with which someone graduates.
When the admission letter arrives with its aid package, separate it by hand into three piles: what does not have to be repaid, what must be repaid with interest, and what must be earned through work. Many letters mix them together in a single column, and that confusion is exactly where families get into trouble without realizing it.
City College also reports a prepaid tuition plan, an installment payment plan, and participation in a Promise program—it is worth asking the financial aid office directly about those options.
Campus Life, Support, and What to Verify Directly
City College does have institution-controlled housing, with capacity for 589 students on or off campus, and it is not mandatory for all first-time students. But it reports that it does not offer institutional meal plans—that does not say whether there is a cafeteria or other pay-as-you-go options; confirm this with the school, because eating out every day is expensive.
Regarding ROTC: the institution did not mark any ROTC opportunity in its most recent report. That does not prove that no nearby pathway exists—it means only that none was reported in that specific field. If that scholarship or career path matters to your child, ask admissions directly before ruling out the school entirely.
It does compete in intercollegiate sports and is affiliated with the NCAA, with reported membership in basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. The membership belongs to the school, not to your child: if your child is interested in a team, contact the coach directly and ask whether there is a place available, which division the team competes in, and whether that sport offers scholarships.
It offers distance education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, although only 5 out of every 100 undergraduate students take all their classes online—the great majority combine formats. The library operates with paid staff, has physical and digital materials, and participates in interlibrary lending. And among the services and support it reports are academic and career counseling, employment services, on-campus child care, a point of contact for veterans and military service members, and a webpage dedicated to services for people with disabilities. The fact that they are reported does not say how accessible or effective they are for your child in particular—that must be asked and verified in person.
How Likely Your Child Is to Stay and Graduate
For many families, this is the question that truly matters. Let us look at the numbers carefully.
Of the full-time cohort that entered in the fall of 2022, 79 out of every 100 were still enrolled here or had already earned a credential one year later—the official retention measure. This figure falls slightly above the midpoint among comparable schools: neither among the best nor among the worst. Part-time students from that same cohort had a different outcome, 50 out of every 100—these are different groups with different circumstances and should not be compared with each other as though they were the same story.
| Time frame | Proportion earning a credential |
|---|---|
| 4 years | 28 out of every 100 |
| 6 years | 55 out of every 100 |
This table says something important: between the four-year time frame, which is the one almost every family budgets for, and the six-year time frame, there is a difference of 27 points. Many students who do not finish in four years do finish in five or six. The data do not say how many semesters each person attended and do not report tuition, rent, or wages.
Within that same cohort of 1,683 students who entered in 2017: 920 earned a credential here, 464 transferred without completing at City College, 78 remained enrolled without finishing, and 221 no longer appeared enrolled anywhere within the measured period. This last category does not explain why—it may include people who took longer than the report’s measurement period allows.
Looking at eight years, using a different and broader cohort that entered between 2015 and 2016: 58 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from City College by August 2023. Among those who received a Pell Grant, the figure rises to 61 out of every 100—eight points above those who did not receive one. It is a comparison worth keeping in mind: receiving Pell does not appear to be an obstacle to completing a credential here.
The figure remains fixed. The data do not say how many semesters each person attended and do not report tuition, rent, or wages.
What Comes Next
You now know, in as much depth as the official data allow, one real piece of the map: whom City College admits, how much it actually costs after aid, how likely students are to stay and finish, and which questions you need to ask before your child signs anything.
This piece does not replace the other two you need. What your child wants to study and what your child has already built to get here are still missing. A real plan emerges from those three pieces together—not before.
If you live nearby and your child can commute from home, the conversation is different from what it would be if your child had to move. If your family income falls within the low-income band in this report, the net price you saw here will probably be closer to your reality than the published total cost. And if you still do not know what to ask the financial aid office, you now have a specific list: the applicable residency rate, the written evaluation of AP credits, the program’s actual length, and the exact breakdown of what is a grant or scholarship, a loan, and work.
You are not alone in this, and you do not have to decide today. But every question you ask now is one your child will not have to resolve alone midway through college, when correcting course will already be more expensive.
The information in this article comes from data reported by CUNY City College to the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), primarily from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles. Best College Aid does not represent CUNY City College or any government agency; this article is independent informational material.