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.

Queens College (CUNY)· Renewal Rules

Keeping Queens College (CUNY)’s Merit Aid for Four Years

What the financial-aid office actually requires after freshman year: minimum GPA, credit-hour pace, and the cliffs that quietly downgrade families mid-degree.

Verified Jun 20264 days ago· CC

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 5 of 5
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 5
Renewal risk profile: moderate

Renewal risk profile

Queens College (CUNY)'s renewal bar is achievable for steady students but isn't generous. Most awards require a cumulative GPA in the 3.0–3.4 band plus full-time enrollment. Audit the strictest tier on this school's list before assuming the four-year value is locked in.

Macaulay Honors College at Queens College — full-tuition scholarship: Full-time enrollment
Freshman Honors Program scholarship: See notes
Queens College Scholars award: See notes
Transfer Honors Program scholarship: See notes
Kessler Presidential Scholars Program: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

Macaulay Honors College at Queens College — full-tuition scholarship
Full in-state tuition for 8 semesters (NY residents); excludes fees
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.
Source: https://www.qc.cuny.edu/academics/ohs/honors-and-scholarships/mhc/
Freshman Honors Program scholarship
Half in-state tuition for up to 8 semesters (NY residents)
Entry requirements: Maintain 3.0+ to keep the scholarship; admission targets students 'in or near the top 10 percent of your high school class' GPA
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.'
Source: https://www.qc.cuny.edu/academics/ohs/freshman-honors-program/
Queens College Scholars award
Up to half the tuition for New York State residents
Entry requirements: Targets applicants 'in or near the top 10 percent of your high school class'; no numeric HS GPA published GPA
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.)
Source: https://www.qc.cuny.edu/admissions/queens-college-scholars-application/
Transfer Honors Program scholarship
Half tuition or full tuition (NY resident tuition rate), for four semesters
Entry requirements: 3.5 GPA or higher GPA
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.
Source: https://www.qc.cuny.edu/academics/ohs/honors-and-scholarships/transfer-honors-program/
Kessler Presidential Scholars Program
Tuition scholarship (amount not published)
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.
Source: https://www.qc.cuny.edu/academics/ohs/honors-and-scholarships/

How families lose this aid

Expecting a fixed-dollar merit grid like at a private college.
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.
Counting on the half-tuition award only mattering a little.
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.

Renewal questions families ask

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.

Rules that bite at Queens College (CUNY)

The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook, derived from Queens College (CUNY)'s own tier rules and not generic advice.

renewalMacaulay 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.

How Queens College (CUNY) compares across our verified dataset

669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Queens College (CUNY) is one of them. The cohort minority (82 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 renewal claim is checked against Queens College (CUNY)’s own published materials.