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School data & stats
Outcomes
Cost
Community
Overview
Queens College is a CUNY senior college in Flushing, Queens, serving one of the most ethnically diverse boroughs in the country, with dozens of languages spoken on campus day to day. It offers strong, affordable programs largely for a commuting student population drawn from across New York City, and it has quietly produced an outsized share of well-known entertainers and comedians relative to its size.
Academics
Education is a particular strength — Queens College is a major producer of New York City public school teachers — and the Aaron Copland School of Music offers a well-regarded, conservatory-style music program, complete with performance ensembles and recital opportunities, inside a public college setting. The liberal arts more broadly are solid and taught at accessible scale, with faculty generally reachable outside class despite the commuter culture.
Campus & student life
Most students commute, so campus social life is less dorm-centered than at a residential college, with clubs, cultural and language-based organizations, and the surrounding diverse Flushing community shaping day-to-day student experience more than dorm-hall culture would. The Kupferberg Center for the Arts and the Copland School's own recital and concert halls bring professional and student performances to campus, adding a cultural layer beyond the classroom.
Getting in
As part of CUNY, admission emphasizes academic record over holistic personal narrative, and the Aaron Copland School of Music runs its own audition-based admission process separate from general college admission for music applicants. Education and other pre-professional tracks sometimes carry additional program-specific requirements layered on top of general CUNY admission.
After graduation
Education graduates move directly into New York City public school teaching in large numbers, one of the clearest and most direct outcome pipelines among CUNY schools. Music graduates from the Copland School pursue performance, teaching, and related musical careers, drawing on the program's genuine conservatory-style training.
Worth knowing
The Aaron Copland School of Music is a genuinely notable program for a public commuter college and worth flagging for music-focused applicants, and Queens College's track record of producing successful comedians and entertainers is a real, if less obvious, point of alumni pride. Its affordability combined with genuine program depth in education and music makes it a strong option for a commuter-minded student who already knows roughly what they want to study.
Admissions
Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)
Applying
qc.cuny.edu ↗High school coursework
Recommended4 years of English (composition and literature) · 3 years of math (algebra, geometry, trigonometry; 4th year preferred) · 3 years of social studies (4th year preferred) · 2 years of a laboratory science (3rd year preferred) · 2 years of a single foreign language · 1 year of visual or performing arts
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