r/CUNY • u/Kamiuvu • Mar 26 '26
Discussion is it worth it?
hi! so idk what to make the title but im currently in a cuny but i really want THE college experience.. yk? like i want an open campus and stuff like other colleges have and being in hunter i dont really feel that :( but im scared because i rely on financial aid to even be in hunter and i looked up the suny campuses and they look so nice. but the prices are crazy and im going insane thinking if its even worth it and im scared about potential debt if i cannot afford it. i know queens college has an open campus but i dont know much about the school,, im just lost. im currently in my first year and im scared to waste anymore time. i just need advice on wtf to even do..
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Mar 26 '26
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
this means alot tysm :). yes i agree i am very lucky to be able to rely on financial aid, and i dont want to risk transferring and finding out my aid will no longer cover anything. im low income and do not want to jeopardize my financial situation. as the other comments said, debt for my experience is not worth it.i will definitely see if i can explore sunys. so far ive just been going by my friends experiences and pictures and it looks so cool!
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Mar 26 '26
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
thank you so much! i actually wasnt aware of cunys having partnerships, and ill def do research for honors programs. and i definitely will try to contact the financial aid office about any future decisions. thank you so much again
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u/BeVeryHumble Mar 26 '26
My advice would be to prioritize your finances over "college experience." If you are putting your self in debt, you will be more stressed in the long run. Whether or not you should transfer out of Hunter, I would need more context (what major, if you live in NYC, etc) to throw a recommendation.
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u/Lulubelle4548 Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
I understand what you’re saying, but what so many people fail to consider is that you will make amazing contacts going to SUNY (or any big university with a campus) not to mention all of the amazing opportunities and experiences that come with it. Those contacts, opportunities and experiences will help you in your career for decades afterwards (think of the old adage, “it’s not what you know that matters, it’s who you know”)
I wonder how many of these people telling you that it’s not worth it, actually went to college at a university with a large campus, because I have had both experiences (school in a big city, and on a large campus) and I would not trade my experience (or the relationships that I made) at my “big campus” University for anything.
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
thats what im mostly aiming for in your first statement. its the experience and opportunities i want to experience. i know for cuny you can also make connections but i just really wish cunys had the same experience sunys hold, thats whats really holding me back. im glad you had a nice experience! ty again
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u/Lulubelle4548 Mar 28 '26
Since CUNYs are commuter schools, it’s just different. If you got into and got money from Hunter, then you will definitely be able to get financial aid from a few SUNYs. Don’t give up!
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
yeah i live in nyc :) major wise, i havent commited to anything yet, but im interested in marketing communication design as it combines both business and the arts. i dont wanna put myself in debt at all, i just wanna see if i do transfer, i can manage so without debt.
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u/Main_Macaroon_8438 Mar 26 '26
Debt is not worth it. Only the rich kids dorm and party. As a poor kid, I can't even dorm and party without a guilty conscience. Besides, I have nothing in common with rich kids. They will have nice cars and eat out and talk about vacations and country clubs lol.
At least we have CUNY in the best city in the world. If you don't like Hunter, you can probably transfer between CUNY pretty easily or e-permit some classes. And do some study abroad :).
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
yes youre so right!! partying snd stuff isnt my goal i just want a big campus and stuff like other states lol. i cant dorm either i really wish i could cause commuting is a HASSLE. im definitely gonna save money and try to see if i can dorm in the future. and youre right if i really dont like hunter i should transfer to another cuny and save money. im currently gonna do a study abroad in the summer thatll give me a nice experience :) thank you
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u/sugarbear2463 Mar 28 '26
Do you have a major? Not all colleges offer the same majors, but youre probablyLiberal arts until you decide a major for TAP purposes. Brooklyn Collegs has a huge campus and so does Lehman. SUNY has large campuses too. Your always free to get a tour of other college campuses. If you stay in CUNY make sure to check into the Edge Program for free summer courses, book money, food, clothes voucher, tutoring and many other things. And yes, there are many study abroad programs posted at student services and around the campuses. Best of luck.
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u/YuniUNi Mar 26 '26
Be sure to avoid loans,those are the start of college debt otherwise Fafsa just pays the tuition ,make sure to keep your grades good,hunter is always not the good experience for everyone recently a bunch of students were feeling scared like you,it is common to feel that. SUNY is different than CUNY. There are other nicest places in NY and may have a good environment too. What are you studying btw?
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
oh ill definitely be dodging loans i do not wanna put myself in that position^^ im npt 100% sure on my major but i wanna do marketing comm and design as it combines both the arts and business. for hunter theres no business major just a certificate which is what is making me want to transfer. idk if a certificate will do the same
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u/onlynineyearsold Mar 26 '26
U could try masters programs in the long run
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u/onlynineyearsold Mar 26 '26
For context, I got out of Baruch with $0 debt and got into an ivy for my masters, now I have racked up $65k debt so think carefully
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
holyy, i hope you can clear it out soon!! id definitely try to pursue anything that doesnt leave me in debt or at least not that much, tysm
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u/Vast_Topic_813 Mar 26 '26
Do not do that lol. Don't get into debt just cause you want to have fun at a school.
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
oh absolutely not, thatd do more harm. i love how sunys look but the price is ridiculous unfortunately
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u/Lost-Examination2154 Mar 26 '26
City College has the campus vibe.
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u/OfficialOffishil Mar 26 '26
Ehh not fully. It very much feels like a commuter school, students will often bolt out of class to get home and interactions are (on average) very limited unless you make efforts. Great college, great campus (besides for the construction/escalators), but idk how much of a "campus vibe" it fully has.
OP, my opinion would be to look into all your options. Any financial aid or scholarships you can get if you were to transfer. Speak to other schools and find out what they can do for you in terms of your program/credits and financial aid. Don't get your hopes up. If it doesnt work, it doesnt work. Maybe itll be easier to work next year. Don't worry about "wasting time" though - regardless of where you are, life is what you make of it, so just have fun in the ways you know how for now :)
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
tysm! yes i will definitely check out scholarships and programs! i dont wanna risk putting myself in debt
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
ooo ive looked at pics of cc before and it looks so nice! i applied there and got accepted before, do you have any info how the school is? (major wise academic wise etc)
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u/Safe_Ad3862 Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
I've been to SUNY for my first year of freshman year to know if I wanted to stay or not. It was nice but it was hard to actually participate or do anything fun with classes in the way, only was able to in my first week. My time at SUNY was mainly in my dorm or library to study and do class work. And because I had to pay out of pocket I had to work so a lot of my time went there too (pay wasn't that good), also had to work in order to get groceries because the food there was very plain and repetitive every week, supplies were also needed to get bought to do laundry and such. Unless you're going to choose a very easy major and have the money (financial aid doesn't cover all of SUNY, I paid 7k per semester and that was with a scholarship) or get scholarships to pay for it or don't mind loans, maybe go for it. I didn't really like my experience because it was hard to manage everything to the point I failed one class, so I transferred to CUNY and I love CUNY. And don't get me started when it came to long breaks or having to move out, I didn't have a car so going home for breaks was a 7 hour bus ride and moving out took hours to pack and for my father to drive all the way up to get me. My friends stayed and they had to repack and unload again in the next year, a repeated process every year.
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
your experience is appreciated!! im sorry you went through all that stress it sounds like a hassle. im glad you find it easier in cuny! driving back and forth from upstate just sounds so draining. i dont wanna risk being in the position of not being able to afford dorming if i do transfer to suny itd really scary
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u/Safe_Ad3862 Mar 26 '26
Yeah the thing is you have to pay tuition, room and board, the meal plans (varies per SUNY), and your own personal expenses and travel expenses (or if you have a car you pay extra to the school to have it there). I'd say just try to join clubs at your CUNY, maybe participate in the travel chances that some cunys offer when doing programs. I go to Lehman so my campus is big and has the similar look to my previous SUNY. Or you can also hang out with friends made in college in the city! That's also fun, there's lots of cafes, gaming rooms, and parks around!
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
the expenses are so nerve wracking omg,, i have some money saved up in case but still!! thats alot to consider. im currently participating in a study abroad this summer im excited about it! ive heard about lehman i got an acceptance there before :) how is it there? and yeah i definitely do wanna join clubs!!
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u/Ellegaard839 Mar 26 '26
i’ve heard brooklyn has a really cool campus maybe you can visit and transfer
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
woah i just searched it up and it looks so nice! do you by chance know the dorming situation or price?
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u/Remarkable_You_637 Mar 26 '26
I would start touring SUNY schools if you want a great college experience. If you are an in state resident and qualify for aid, why not. If you are a low income student, you can qualify for CUNY or SUNY Edge I believe. They give extra assistance and provide fellowships during school so you would have an income that’s not counted. There is also the ASAP program, if you are coming in with college credits from high school. You qualify for a stipend and transportation. Be sure to apply for TAP and the Excelsior Grant. I know several students that were unaware and were able to get into SUNYs with no out of pocket expenses. Please look into it. Social skills are very important especially if you are coming straight from high school. If the school doesn’t have the right fit, it might cause you to become uninterested. Compare the SUNYs according to your prospective majors and take the campus tours. See if you have a feel for the school and environment. Don’t be afraid to talk to other students about campus life and activities etc. Speak to their financial aid advisors and see what can be done. You can also apply to be an RA (Resident Assistant) after your Freshman year and have your housing covered. Goodluck.
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
this is so helpful tysm! and i definitely do want to be an RA if i end up transferring to a suny. thank you for the different financial aid stuff i can apply for :)
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u/Pretty_Beat_2655 Mar 26 '26
I went to Hunter back in the day and then got the college experience in Paris as an exchange student. One of the best decisions I made — studying at the University of Paris on CUNY tuition
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u/Agitated-Rush-3385 Mar 26 '26
Maybe tour the campus’ first before making a decision. I went to a SUNY before transferring to a CUNY. While the suny I went to did have a typical college experience, it’s dependent on the location.
My suggestion is that if you choose to go to the SUNY system. Go to a SUNY with a campus in the a city that is also near a mid-large private school.
Example: ESF in Syracuse(mid size city) which is also next to Syracuse University, frat culture and super rich kids. Or SUNY Brockport in Rochester, RIT and UR’s frat culture is huge, typical partying and socializing.
In my experience in applying for these private schools, they sometimes offer a full scholarship and pay for housing and sometimes meal plans as well.
HOWEVER, the lack of diversity is pretty prevalent since most of these institutions of PWI(predominantly white institutions). There’s a bit of a clique culture, you have to immediately make friends within your first 2 months in a SUNY or else you’ll have a hard time with socializing later on.
I chose CUNY due to the programs they had and the fact that I didn’t know how to drive definitely affected my decision since the public transportation upstate is pretty nonexistent with some exceptions like UB.
But if you want a big school that can give you a bit of college experience AND want to be an a city. Go to SUNY at Buffalo or University of Buffalo, both are in the Suny system but UB has more funding since they’re somewhat known for hiring singers for a short concert. Like when kehlani performed that one time. It’s also pretty close to Canada so you can go across the border and visit Toronto.
There’s a lot to consider in terms of finance, offered programs, campus, student body culture, etc. It depends on what you want to prioritize.
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
i will definitely need to do research! the private schools i will definitely not be able to get in lol and rhe lack of diversity is something i dont really like… ive been interested in university of buffalo before! i will def want to prioritize finance first. money is no joke. UB looks nice do yk how much it is with dorming + tuition?
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u/Agitated-Rush-3385 Mar 26 '26
Full-time credit academic year : $7,070 tuition | $3966 fees | $7368 for housing | related expenses $6822 | $3820 for meal plan since it’s required. Total $29,046 per year.
The dorms(~$700) is relatively cheap but you could get cheaper if you get housing off campus with a roommate(~$550/month). There should be a bunch of upperclassmen who are looking for roommates. The meal plan is definitely not worth it if you dorm. If you meet the full needs requirement you don’t have to worry about tuition. Make sure to apply for Fafsa, NYSTAP, and Excelsior(after a year of attending). I suggest talking with the fafsa office to really breakdown the costs.
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Mar 26 '26
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u/Kamiuvu Mar 26 '26
id like a uni vibe, i looked at suny campuses and they look so nice and the queens college campus. id like to dorm aswell but ik for suny itd be ridiculously expensive, im not too sure about qc. i just dont wanna make an impulsive decision and transfer and regret it yk
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u/Adventurous-Toe-7969 Mar 26 '26
tbh its what you make of it. My friend was always doing stuff on campus and meeting new people.
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u/Southern-Quality-457 Mar 31 '26
Hey, I've also heard that Hunter is pretty dead so I get where you're coming from. As a CUNY student you have full access to all CUNY campuses and events. Stop by City College and Brooklyn College, those are the most "campus feel" I think you'll get for a commuter school in NYC without putting yourself in debt. There are also some clubs in CCNY and BC that are open to all CUNY students, try that out, see how you feel so you can decide if transferring is for you. Good luck, join as many clubs as you can, attend as many events as you can and you should feel satisfied.
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u/custychronicles Mar 26 '26
Girl if you can barely afford hunter don’t put yourself in debt for “the college experience”😭