Macaulay Honors College At Hunter College

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FAQs

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General FAQs
Incoming Freshmen FAQs

General FAQs

Please email honorscollege@hunter.cuny.edu. We look forward to having you visit!

Our online application will be available beginning in early September. The Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College does not accept early decision applications. Visit Applying to Macaulay to access the application instructions page, and key dates on when the application is due.

Hunter College is a liberal arts institution offering a wide range of majors and minors. As a Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College student, you can choose any one of these options. Visit our Majors and Degree Tracks page for a complete list.

You will discover that you have many internship opportunities through both the Macaulay Honors College and Hunter College. Use your first semester to build your résumé and your relationships, making yourself a strong candidate for spring internships. Many internships require three references or letters of recommendation, so spend time with your honors academic advisor, discussing your academics and your professional goals. This will help your advisor identify appropriate internships for you, and will make them better able to serve as one of your references.

Also, be sure to visit your professors during office hours. By the end of the fall semester, at least two of your professors should know you well enough to provide a reference. Polish up your résumé and consider earning your community service hours now so that you’ll have one more activity to list. When you're ready to begin applying, you'll find plenty of internship announcements in the Macaulay news and events page, on the Macaulay Career Development website, and through Hunter's Career Development Services office.

Macaulay students experience the four seminars in order and as a class, meaning that you must take Seminar One in your first semester, Seminar Two in your second semester, etc.

Macaulay students are encouraged to study abroad! You may apply to participate in any study abroad program offered by CUNY or SUNY. In some cases, students are approved to participate in programs offered by other institutions. There are many, many programs out there, but you can begin by:

Visiting Hunter's study abroad office in room 1421 East, or visiting the Education Abroad page.
Visiting the Honors Lounge, where we have a bulletin board devoted to study abroad opportunities, as well as a book of programs offered through the University Studies Abroad Consortium.
Reading about Macaulay Honors study abroad programs by visiting their Study Abroad page.

Be sure to consult your honors academic advisor as you plan your study abroad experience.

If you did not initially select the dorm room, you may apply for a room through the Living at Hunter website. Demand is high, so we cannot guarantee that you will be provided with a room if you did not select one at the beginning of your freshman year. Additionally, since you did not initially select the free dorm room, you will be charged for living in the dorm.

Your Cultural Passport gives you free or greatly-reduced admission to many of New York’s cultural landmarks and educational institutions. Visit the NYC Cultural Passport page on the Macaulay website for a complete list and for information on how to replace your Cultural Passport if lost.

Explore Hunter's University Student Government (USG).
Also consider running for the Macaulay Scholars Council (MSC).

First, you need to know what kind of hold you have. You can find out by logging into your CUNYfirst account and viewing the "Holds" sidebar on your Student Center page. After reviewing these details, follow up on any tasks or consult your honors academic advisor for additional support.

Visit the Hunter College Office of Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships website or CUNY's Prestigious Scholarships website to read about all the exciting options available to you. For more information and support, please contact Dr. Stephen Lassonde, Director of The Ruth & Harold Newman Office of Prestigious Scholarships & Fellowships, and your honors academic advisor.

First, make sure that someone hasn't already started the same kind of club. A complete list of chartered student clubs at Hunter can be found on the Hunter USG website, and you can find a complete list of Macaulay student clubs on Club Macaulay.

For more information on how to register a club at Hunter, visit the Starting a Club page.
For more information on how to register a club at Macaulay, visit their Club Chartering page.

Applying to graduate school is a long, complicated process, but your honors academic advisor can help. Talk with your advisor regularly and keep them informed as you make decisions about what type of degree you wish to pursue and which institutions appeal to you. Be sure to visit with your advisor at the beginning of your junior year to review the basic timeline for graduate school applications. You will need to have strong faculty recommendations, so make it a priority to build relationships with your professors.

Visit Macaulay's IT Support: Hardware Assistance page for support.

FAQs by Incoming Freshmen

There are some things about Hunter you’ll learn on your own, as part of the college experience. Other things, however, you’ll regret not knowing from the get go. To help you along the way, here are some tips to keep in mind during freshman year.

Textbooks are expensive, there’s no way around it. You can, however, save a few bucks here and there.

The most obvious choice for purchasing textbooks is the Hunter Bookstore. Here, you can buy used textbooks in decent condition if you’re extremely lucky, but more often than not, you’ll have to buy them new. As you can imagine, this will be a bit on the expensive side. Not only that, but the Hunter Bookstore does not order a textbook for every student in the class, so if you’re one of the many unlucky students who can’t get a textbook within the first week of the semester, you might be in trouble.

The good news is that websites like eBay, Amazon, and AbeBooks are here to save the day. While most students go straight to these sites, there are some things you should look out for:

Search the ISBN of the required book to ensure you get the exact edition you’ll be using in class. Old editions and wrong textbooks are avoidable hassles.
Beware of shipping details. Allow about 1-2 weeks for most packages, and if it won’t arrive in time, don’t fret. Speak with your professor, or ask a classmate to scan the assigned pages until your book arrives.
As always when buying on the internet, use caution about sites where you’re entering personal information.

Moving out, for many, also means doing laundry for the first time. Upperclassmen are a good source of help and are usually willing to lend a hand.

However, if you don’t feel comfortable taking that route, here are a few tips on how to use the machines:

Coins are not accepted. You will need to put money on your Hunter OneCard (Hunter ID) in order to use the machines. A kiosk to add money to your OneCard is conveniently located in the first floor lobby of the dorm, in front of the mail room, and it accepts both cash and credit cards.
Set a timer on your phone. With only one row of washing machines and a handful of dryers to service 600 people, laundry traffic is very common. It’s not necessary to stay in the laundry room while your stuff is getting clean/dried, but returning even half an hour after the time is up on your machine may mean coming back to find your clothes piled on a table. Avoid this and be considerate by setting a timer on your phone. Allow 40 minutes for washing and an hour for drying.

Ideally, packing a lunch from home would probably be the healthiest and most economic decision. Realistically, spending money on food will be inevitable.

The Hunter Cafeteria offers a decent variety of food, including pizza, burgers, sushi, salads, and other snacks.

Your choices are not limited to the Cafeteria, and below are links to some places in the vicinity of the 68th St. campus and the dorm at Brookdale. Don’t be limited to these places; there are dozens of fruit stands, Halal carts, and all kinds of other restaurants in the area just waiting to be discovered!

View dining options near the 68th Street Campus (Google Maps)
View dining options near the Brookdale Campus (Google Maps)

The city is your oyster (unless you’re allergic to shellfish), and the possibilities are endless.

Using your Macaulay Cultural Passport (and your MetroCard), you can hop on the train/bus and visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art a little further uptown, the Guggenheim, the Whitney, the Asia Society or the Museum of Natural History across the park, plus so many other museums, theatrical and dance performances, etc.

Central Park is always open if you want to enjoy a nice stroll or read on a shaded bench.

You can also relax in the Honors Lounge between classes; it’s not the best place to study, but ideal for taking breaks and catching up with friends.

Hunter also has exercise facilities open to all CUNY students for those who enjoy burning off the excess energy at the gym.

College is intimidating enough on its own, and worrying about making new friends doesn’t have to add to the stress. For some, Facebook is a great way to start meeting your new classmates; for others, it’s not as easy.

The Macaulay Freshman Orientation will be a great opportunity to interact with your future classmates from all seven campuses.

If you will be living in the Brookdale campus dorm, there are a few things you can do to meet your neighbors. Leaving your door open, eating in your floor lounge and hanging out in the game room are good ways to leave yourself open to new friendships.

Don’t worry; you’ll also meet plenty of people in your classes and, of course, in the Honors Lounge.

Hunter has over a hundred extracurricular activities. Once you’ve settled into classes and schoolwork, check out the activities fair held by Hunter each September.

Joining clubs is a great way to meet people who share common interests. You determine how involved you want to be, so don’t let schoolwork prevent you from joining. Hunter clubs are an awesome way to get involved in something you’re truly passionate about (even if it’s Harry Potter)!

You will no doubt have pages upon pages of notes and papers to print out during the semester. If you bought a printer for this reason, great, but you will most likely run out of ink halfway through the semester like I did.

Instead of buying $50+ worth of ink every semester, go to the Student Resource Center (SRC, room TH202).

Hunter allots every student 300 pages of free printing; all you need is your OneCard. There’s also a microwave, TV, Wii, and a couple of board games at your disposal in the SRC, so it’s definitely a place you want to keep in mind if you need a break between classes.

You can get free coffee, tea, or hot chocolate at the Undergraduate Student Government office (USG, room 121HN).

USG also hosts a free ski-trip during the fall semester and a Six-Flag trip during the spring semester so keep your ears open for any news about signing up. In addition, USG plans a free concert during the spring semester. Past performers have included Nas and N.E.R.D.