CUNY Hunter College is a public institution offering graduate degrees based in New York, New York. It enrolls 16,289 students (a very large student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.
AccreditorMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
Academic CalendarSemester
How It Measures Up
These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (4-Year Selective), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.
Excellent
86/100
UCD Score · 4-Year Selective
Outcomes54
Value100
Affordability95
Selectivity79
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
CUNY Hunter College admits 53.8% of applicants, which makes it moderately selective, and realistic if you meet the academic profile.
Acceptance Rate
53.8%
Moderate
SAT Range (25th–75th)
1100 – 1420
Reading + Math combined
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Test PolicyNot ConsideredStandardized test scores are not used in admissions decisions.
5-Year Admission Trend
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether CUNY Hunter College is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Becoming less selective ↑
18.9 pts
since 2019
Cost & Financial Aid
Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. At $2,984 a year on average, it sits well below what public colleges charge nationally. At that level cost is rarely the reason to rule a college out. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Tuition & Fees (in-state)
$7,382
Tuition & Fees (out-of-state)
$15,332
Room & Board (on-campus)
$11,832
Room & Board (off-campus)
$22,260
Books & Supplies
$1,500
Other Expenses (on-campus)
$6,216
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$6,216
Total Cost of Attendance
$13,905
Application fee: $65 (one-time, due at submission)
Net Price by Family Income
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Under $30,000
$1,029
$30,001 – $48,000
$1,935
$48,001 – $75,000
$6,003
$75,001 – $110,000
$8,810
Over $110,000
$12,259
Debt at Graduation
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
$2,19110%percentile
$4,50025%percentile
$11,000Medianpercentile
$18,02575%percentile
$27,25590%percentile
Median Debt by Student Type
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
GroupDebtvs Median
Pell recipients $8,250
↓ $2,750
No Pell $10,000
↓ $1,000
Dependent students $7,500
↓ $3,500
Independent students $12,000
↑ $1,000
Female students $8,812
↓ $2,188
Male students $8,869
↓ $2,131
Worth knowing:
Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $6,883, less than completers ($11,000), but still a meaningful obligation without a degree in hand.
Graduation Rate & Retention
46% of students who start here finish within six years, and 79% come back after first year. Fewer than half finish in six years. Ask what support exists for students who fall behind. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.
6-Year Graduation Rate
46%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
79%
Returning for their second year
After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes
Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $63,163 a year, above the national median. That is a healthy return for most cost levels. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$63,163
Earning > $25K
78%
10 yrs after entry
Earnings Growth After Graduation
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Earnings by Demographic
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
By Gender
Female graduates
$49,900
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Male graduates
$55,900
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
By Family Income at Entry
Family income (lowest third)
$51,600
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (middle third)
$52,700
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (highest third)
$50,400
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
The gender gap:
Male graduates earn $6,000, about 11% more than female graduates ten years out. The gap reflects industry mix, role choice, and structural pay differences that exist across most US colleges.
Loan Repayment Progression
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Climbing: graduates increasingly paying down debt ↑
13.4 pts
across 6 years
What this signals:
Strong. 74% of graduates are actively reducing their debt seven years out.
Who Studies Here
Who you would actually be sitting next to: 16,289 students, a sprawling student community. Worth knowing: 47% are the first in their family to go to college.
Total Enrolled
16,289
Part-Time
18%
First-Generation
47%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
Hispanic 31.3%5,095
Asian 31.0%5,054
White 18.4%3,004
Black 11.1%1,815
International 4.6%743
Other 3.5%577
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at CUNY Hunter College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
CUNY Hunter College offers
an extensive catalog of programs:
105 distinct programs across
21 majors.
Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings.
Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
There are 14 students for every instructor here: about average, so expect a mix of small seminars and big lectures.
Student : Faculty
14:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Instruction / Student
$13,115
Annual instructional spending per enrolled student
Endowment
$181M
Solid financial position
Avg Faculty Salary
$114,890
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
628 instructional faculty across 5 ranks.
The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
Rank
Faculty Count
Share
Avg Salary
Full Professors
266
42%
$132,681
Associate Professors
173
28%
$113,109
Assistant Professors
83
13%
$95,142
Instructors
1
0%
$74,417
Lecturers
105
17%
$88,751
Pros & Cons of CUNY Hunter College
No college is right for everyone. Here is where CUNY Hunter College is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.
Best for:
Based on the data, CUNY Hunter College is a fit for
families focused on keeping net cost low.
Frequently Asked Questions about CUNY Hunter College
The questions families ask most about CUNY Hunter College, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.
Is CUNY Hunter College hard to get into?
Admissions at CUNY Hunter College are moderately competitive. The acceptance rate is 53.8%, so most applicants who meet the academic minimums are admitted.
What is the acceptance rate at CUNY Hunter College?
53.8% of applicants are admitted. Around half get in, so a solid application has a real chance. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What SAT score do you need for CUNY Hunter College?
Aim for 1420 or better. Half of admitted students scored between 1100 and 1420 (Reading plus Math), so anything above the top of that range makes you competitive and anything below the bottom means the rest of your application has to carry more weight. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
How much does CUNY Hunter College cost?
Budget around $2,984 a year. That is the net price, what families typically pay once grants and scholarships come off, not the sticker price. Your own figure depends on household income, so treat this as a midpoint rather than a quote. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is CUNY Hunter College worth it?
On the numbers, yes: strong return on investment. Ten years in, the median graduate earns $63,163 a year against a net price of $2,984, about 21.2 dollars of earnings for every dollar of annual cost. That ratio ignores whether you finish and what you study, which matter just as much. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is CUNY Hunter College known for?
Mostly Psychology, Social Work, Human Biology. Those are the fields where it awards the most degrees, which is a better guide to where the teaching strength sits than any reputation ranking. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What do CUNY Hunter College graduates earn?
About $63,163 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled. Half earn more and half earn less, and what you study moves that figure far more than where you study. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is CUNY Hunter College accredited?
Yes. CUNY Hunter College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
How many students attend CUNY Hunter College?
16,289 students. Large, so expect big lectures and more independence in finding your own footing. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What is the graduation rate at CUNY Hunter College?
46% finish within six years. That means most students do not finish in six years. Ask the school directly what support exists for students who fall behind. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is CUNY Hunter College a public or private college?
It is Public. Public, so in-state students usually pay materially less than everyone else.
Where is CUNY Hunter College located?
CUNY Hunter College is located in New York, New York.
What programs does CUNY Hunter College offer?
105 different programs, most commonly Psychology, Social Work, Human Biology. If the subject you want is not among them, check the full list before applying rather than assuming it is offered.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at CUNY Hunter College?
14 students per instructor. About average, so a mix of seminars and larger lectures. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
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