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Queens College (CUNY) scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$7,538per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Queens College (CUNY) may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
8 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

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The award collection

Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Where does your student land?

  1. Macaulay Honors College at Queens College — full-tuition scholarshipFull in-state tuition for 8 semesters (NY residents); excludes feesNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Macaulay Honors College at Queens College — full-tuition scholarship

    Full in-state tuition for 8 semesters (NY residents); excludes fees

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Macaulay Honors College at Queens College — full-tuition scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Admitted to Macaulay Honors College (a separate, competitive honors admission); must meet CUNY NY State residency requirements for in-state tuition; FAFSA + NYS TAP required annually. The pages do not publish a GPA or test cutoff.

    How to keep it

    Funds 8 semesters of full-time undergraduate study within four years; students must meet CUNY's NY State residency requirements for in-state tuition and complete the FAFSA and a NYS TAP application every year of enrollment. Scholarship covers tuition charges remaining after TAP, NYS HESC Scholarship, CUSTA, PELL, NYC Council Merit Scholarship, and other tuition-only scholarships apply.

    Worth knowing

    Macaulay admission is a two-step process: notification of admission as a General Freshman in mid-February, then a Macaulay Honors College admission decision around March 17. Scholarship covers tuition only — university/campus fees are the student's responsibility. The page does not state a dollar figure for the award; it is the full NY-resident tuition rate. Students also receive a grant to pursue global study and other experiential learning (no dollar amount published on the QC page).

  2. Freshman Honors Program scholarshipHalf in-state tuition for up to 8 semesters (NY residents)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Freshman Honors Program scholarship

    Half in-state tuition for up to 8 semesters (NY residents)

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Maintain 3.0+ to keep the scholarship; admission targets students 'in or near the top 10 percent of your high school class'
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Freshman Honors Program scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Full-time entering freshmen who took 'a demanding program including English, math, a foreign language, and lab sciences'; competitive, by application (not automatic). Recipients are enrolled in the Freshman Honors Program, a two-semester sequence in English, history, and philosophy.

    How to keep it

    Continued eligibility requires staying in good academic standing in the program: 'Maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA' and 'Achieve a B or higher in required Freshman Honors courses.' The Queens College Scholars page also states 'With continued high academic achievement, most scholarships are renewable.'

    Worth knowing

    Awarded through the Queens College Scholars application — not automatic on stats. The scholarship is described as 'A scholarship equaling half in-state tuition for up to 8 semesters.' No fixed dollar amount is published; the value is half the flat NY-resident tuition rate (see tuitionCoa). Apply by the Queens College Scholars deadline (Feb 1, 2026).

  3. Queens College Scholars awardUp to half the tuition for New York State residentsNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Queens College Scholars award

    Up to half the tuition for New York State residents

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Targets applicants 'in or near the top 10 percent of your high school class'; no numeric HS GPA published
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Queens College Scholars award

    Who qualifies

    Full-time freshmen only; demanding HS program (English, math, a foreign language, lab sciences); by application (online form), not automatic. Recipients are enrolled in the Queens College Freshman Honors Program.

    How to keep it

    'With continued high academic achievement, most scholarships are renewable.' (No fixed renewal GPA is stated on the Queens College Scholars page; recipients enter the Freshman Honors Program, whose standing rule is a 3.0+ GPA.)

    Worth knowing

    This is the application route into Freshman Honors merit aid. The page states the awards 'cover up to half the tuition for New York State residents' and are 'highly competitive ... available only to full-time freshmen.' No dollar amount is published; value = up to half the flat NY-resident tuition rate. Deadline: February 1, 2026.

  4. Transfer Honors Program scholarshipHalf tuition or full tuition (NY resident tuition rate), for four semestersNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Transfer Honors Program scholarship

    Half tuition or full tuition (NY resident tuition rate), for four semesters

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.5 GPA or higher
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Transfer Honors Program scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Transfer students who have completed at least 60 credits toward an associate's or bachelor's degree at another accredited college/university but have not obtained a bachelor's degree. By application; priority deadline for Fall 2026 is February 1 (rolling thereafter until the cohort is full).

    How to keep it

    Awarded 'for the four-semester duration of their studies at Queens College.' No separate per-year renewal GPA is published beyond the entry requirement.

    Worth knowing

    Two award levels (half or full NY-resident tuition); the page does not state which transfer profile maps to which level. No dollar figure is published; value tracks the flat NY-resident tuition rate (see tuitionCoa). Priority deadline Feb 1, 2026; rolling after.

  5. Kessler Presidential Scholars ProgramTuition scholarship (amount not published)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Kessler Presidential Scholars Program

    Tuition scholarship (amount not published)

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Kessler Presidential Scholars Program

    Who qualifies

    Exceptional students who are among the first in their families to attend college (first-generation). Program currently has 64 active scholars. Includes a 4-day summer transition program, block first-year courses, and peer-to-peer mentoring.

    How to keep it

    'A tuition scholarship for all active participants' — the page describes ongoing academic, financial, and social support but does not publish a dollar amount or renewal GPA.

    Worth knowing

    First-generation cohort program with a tuition scholarship plus wraparound support; QC does not publish the per-student dollar value. Confirm the exact award amount and any need component with the Office of Honors and Scholarships.

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  • “it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa

The fine print

Renewal ruleMacaulay Honors College at Queens College — full-tuition scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

Funds 8 semesters of full-time undergraduate study within four years; students must meet CUNY's NY State residency requirements for in-state tuition and complete the FAFSA and a NYS TAP application every year of enrollment. Scholarship covers tuition charges remaining after TAP, NYS HESC Scholarship, CUSTA, PELL, NYC Council Merit Scholarship, and other tuition-only scholarships apply. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

Outside awardsNo published displacement order

Queens College (CUNY)'s policy doesn't specify whether outside scholarships hit loans, grants, or only the COA ceiling. Get a written aid-office answer before chasing private awards.

What makes Queens College (CUNY) different

Queens College is a low-cost CUNY campus where merit aid is delivered as honors-program tuition scholarships pegged to the flat NY-resident tuition rate — half in-state tuition (Freshman/Transfer Honors, Queens College Scholars) up to full tuition (Macaulay Honors College, top Transfer Honors tier) — rather than published fixed-dollar named awards.

Merit tiers5See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Queens College (CUNY)'s decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  1. Queens College does not publish a GPA/test-score dollar table. Merit aid is delivered as a fraction of the flat NY-resident tuition rate through honors programs (half tuition for Freshman/Transfer Honors and Queens College Scholars; full tuition for Macaulay and the top Transfer Honors level). The dollar value follows whatever the current CUNY in-state tuition rate is.

  2. Freshman Honors / Queens College Scholars, Transfer Honors, and Macaulay are all competitive and require an application or separate honors admission. There is no 'admit and you automatically get X' merit award published; the Queens College Scholars deadline is February 1, 2026.

  3. Macaulay and the full-tuition Transfer Honors level cover tuition only — mandatory university/campus fees (e.g., student activity, technology, consolidated service) are still the student's responsibility. QC's estimated yearly in-state tuition AND mandatory fees figure is about $7,537.70.

  4. Because CUNY in-state tuition is low (about $3,465/semester for 12+ credits, effective Fall 2023), a 'half in-state tuition' scholarship is a modest dollar figure relative to private-college merit — but at QC it can cover a large share of the total bill since the sticker price is already low.

  5. The honors tuition scholarships are explicitly pegged to the New York State resident tuition rate and (for Macaulay) require meeting CUNY NY-residency rules. Out-of-state/international students do not get the same tuition-scholarship value and pay a much higher tuition rate.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

New York State residents who want a near-free public degree: strong applicants near the top 10% of their high-school class (Freshman Honors / Queens College Scholars = half in-state tuition), the most competitive admits (Macaulay Honors College = full in-state tuition for 8 semesters plus a study-abroad grant), first-gen students (Kessler Presidential Scholars), and transfers with 3.5+ GPA and 60+ credits (Transfer Honors = half or full in-state tuition).

Published yearly cost: Approximately $7,538 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Queens College (CUNY), what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Queens College (CUNY), academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$1,541
$30,001–$48,000$3,133
$48,001–$75,000$6,785
$75,001–$110,000$9,110
$110,001+$12,700
All income levels (average)$4,195

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$7,538
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$15,488
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$4,195

That works out to roughly a 71% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $14,367 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Queens College (CUNY) is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
53%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
79%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$10,298 (~$109/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$62,763
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
60%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
5%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

No outside-scholarship displacement or stacking policy is published on Queens College's financial-aid, honors, or external-scholarships pages. The one explicit coordination rule found is that the Macaulay full-tuition scholarship is calculated as tuition minus TAP, NYS HESC Scholarship, CUSTA, PELL, NYC Council Merit Scholarship, and other tuition-only scholarships — i.e., the Macaulay award fills the remaining tuition gap after those tuition-specific awards apply (a coordination/last-dollar mechanic for tuition awards, not a general outside-scholarship displacement statement).

The QC External Scholarships page lists outside awards but states no policy on how they interact with institutional aid. The only sourced coordination text is the Macaulay tuition-scholarship formula (last-dollar-to-tuition after listed tuition-only aid). How a private outside scholarship affects need-based aid or honors tuition awards is not published. Treat as unclear and confirm with the aid office.

Source

Other Queens College (CUNY) scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountVaries; amounts not published publiclyEligibilityMatriculated QC students with a Queens College email; awarded based on academic merit, financial need, program of study, and/or student year. Applications open via the Academic Works portal each term (Spring cycle mid-to-late January through mid-March; Fall cycle mid-to-late August through mid-October).

Awards are applied toward tuition/outstanding balances. Individual named-award amounts are behind the Academic Works login, so no verbatim dollar figures could be sourced.

Source

AmountAmount not published on the QC pageEligibilityStudents from under-represented populations who have demonstrated a commitment to eradicating racial disparities; oriented toward students considering a PhD.

Research/PhD-pipeline fellowship rather than an admissions merit scholarship; QC page lists no dollar amount.

Source

Queens College (CUNY) merit aid FAQ

  • What is the merit scholarship deadline at Queens College?

    The Queens College Scholars application (the route into Freshman Honors merit aid) deadline is February 1, 2026. The Transfer Honors Program priority deadline for Fall 2026 is also February 1, with rolling review afterward until the cohort is full. Macaulay Honors decisions are released around March 17 after a mid-February General Freshman notification.

  • Is Queens College merit aid automatic if I'm admitted?

    No. Freshman Honors / Queens College Scholars, Transfer Honors, and Macaulay Honors College are all competitive and require an application or separate honors admission. QC does not publish an automatic, stats-based merit award.

  • How much is the scholarship in dollars?

    QC does not publish a fixed dollar amount. Awards are stated as fractions of NY-resident tuition: half in-state tuition (Freshman Honors, Queens College Scholars, lower Transfer Honors level) or full in-state tuition (Macaulay, upper Transfer Honors level). With the flat CUNY in-state rate around $3,465/semester (Fall 2023), 'full tuition' is roughly the full in-state tuition charge; fees are separate.

  • Can I keep the scholarship all four years?

    The honors tuition scholarships are renewable while you stay in good standing. The Freshman Honors Program requires maintaining a 3.0+ GPA and earning a B or higher in required Freshman Honors courses; Macaulay funds up to 8 semesters; Transfer Honors funds four semesters. The Queens College Scholars page says 'most scholarships are renewable' with continued high academic achievement.

See sources and other schools

How Queens College (CUNY) compares

  • 133 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use unclear or unpublished displacement.

    Queens College (CUNY) is in a recognizable cluster (133 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 133 of 749 verified schools publish no clear displacement order.

    Queens College (CUNY) is one of them. The right move is the aid-office email script below, not a guess.

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Queens College (CUNY) is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Queens College (CUNY)’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Queens College (CUNY) merit aid

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