Tuition Scholarship

Macaulay students who meet CUNY’s New York State residency requirements for in-state tuition receive the tuition scholarship, which ensures full tuition funding for eight semesters of full-time undergraduate study. The Macaulay Tuition Scholarship also covers a limited number of summer and winter classes between the start of the first year and the end of the 8th semester but does not include fees. The total of the Macaulay tuition scholarship is tuition charges remaining after financial aid and other scholarships, including federal, state, and local scholarships and grants, and those awarded by or through CUNY, its schools, and affiliated entities apply to the tuition costs. If you need more information about the treatment of a particular scholarship, please contact the Macaulay Scholarships and Grants Office at scholarships@mhc.cuny.edu.

Students are responsible for all fees associated with CUNY, their home campus, and Macaulay Honors College. These may include fees for student activity, USS, Consolidated Service, materials, technology, change-of-program, library charges, late fees, and others.

Details of CUNY fees may be found here.

Students who receive an NC grade, audit classes, or drop/withdraw (withdrawals include but are not limited to W, WN, and WU grades) from one or more courses after the tuition refund deadline will be liable for all charges, including tuition.

Financial Implications:

• If you drop/withdraw from courses after the first day of the semester (e.g., to become part-time) will be liable for the cost of the dropped/withdrawn course(s).
• If you are already part-time and wish to drop any additional course(s) after the first day of the semester, you will incur tuition liability for the dropped course(s).
• If receiving any Federal Aid, State Aid, Scholarship, or Grants, dropping part-time may impact these awards. Sometimes, the loss of some or all of these awards may occur for the current and subsequent semesters.

Tuition for Summer and Winter Sessions

Macaulay encourages students to pursue internships, research, study abroad opportunities, or academic/service program experiences during the summer and winter sessions.

Summer coursework may be appropriate:

• If you accumulate fewer than 30 credits at the end of your first year (including AP credits)
• If your major requires more than 120 credits, you may need to take summer courses to graduate within four years.
• If you want to devote more time to complex or unconventional areas of study.

Conditions for summer tuition funding:

• With approval from your Macaulay Advisor, Macaulay Honors College will fund up to 8 credits each summer, starting after the completion of the first year.
• Students will be responsible for paying the tuition for any credits they register for that exceed the 8-credit limit. (For example, a student registered for 10 summer credits would be responsible for paying for 2 credits.)
• Summer courses taken after the 8^th semester or after graduation are not eligible for coverage by the Macaulay Tuition Scholarship.
• Students receiving financial aid for the summer session will have it applied to their bill.

Conditions for winter session tuition funding:

• With approval from your Macaulay Advisor, Macaulay Honors College will fund one class for up to 4 credits.
• Students should also obtain Macaulay Advisor approval for winter study abroad plans. The tuition scholarship will cover one class of up to 4 credits for students studying abroad.
• Those taking more than one class or more than 4 credits abroad must submit the Study Abroad Tuition Policy Exception Form to obtain prior approval from the Macaulay Office of Scholarships and Grants to cover the additional tuition.
• Financial aid received for the spring semester applies to the winter tuition bill.

Students should obtain Macaulay Advisor approval for any study abroad plans. Macaulay covers study abroad coursework at the CUNY undergraduate rate of tuition as follows:

Fall/Spring Semester: Twelve+ credits

Winter: One class up to 4 credits. Those taking more than one class or more than 4 credits abroad must receive approval for coverage by submitting the Study Abroad Tuition Policy Exception Form.

Summer: Up to 8 credits

Tuition for Non-CUNY study abroad programs is provided as a reimbursement. Students must submit a  Non-CUNY Study Abroad/Study Away Tuition Reimbursement Form to be considered for funding. Before students can be reimbursed, there must be a permit at CUNY, courses taken abroad must officially transfer to CUNY, and they must appear on the CUNY transcript.

Other study abroad expenses are funded through the Macaulay Opportunities Fund and require a separate application process.

Although Macaulay is an undergraduate institution, students often take graduate-level CUNY courses. These courses are billed at a higher rate and cost more than undergraduate courses. Students are responsible for tuition charges exceeding the per credit cost for in-state undergraduate tuition. Please check your bill for tuition charges or contact your campus Bursar’s office.

Students who wish to make adjustments to their enrollment on a semester-by-semester basis can petition to Macaulay Of to request (1) Early Graduation; (2) Extended Graduation; (3) Part-time Status; (4) Leave of absence; (5) Withdrawal from Macaulay Honors College by completing the Enrollment Status Change form.

Macaulay Honors College welcomes students from New York, the US, and around the globe. Macaulay’s tuition scholarship, however, is available only to New York State residents as defined by CUNY. To be eligible, students must meet CUNY’s qualifications and submit certifying documents to the appropriate office.
Changes in residency may impact students’ eligibility for the tuition scholarship.

CUNY and New York State require every student to complete their FAFSA and TAP applications annually to maintain the Macaulay merit scholarship package, including the tuition scholarship. Please note that the Macaulay Honors College does not have a designated college code for the FAFSA and TAP application. Students submitting these financial aid applications should use the college code corresponding to the Macaulay partner CUNY College to which they have applied. Failure to enter the correct school code will make you ineligible for any Macaulay scholarship benefits.

Both applications are open as of October 1 (2024-25 FAFSA will open around Dec 2023), and it’s imperative to complete both by May 15 each year for the upcoming academic year.

Once FAFSA and TAP applications have been processed, visit CUNYfirst → Student Center → To-Do List to see if any follow-up documents are needed to finalize your FAFSA. For TAP, please refer to the HESC portal for updates. Students who fail to submit follow-up paperwork will lose their scholarships.

For TAP eligibility, students enrolled in a 4-year program must also declare a major within 30 days of the end of the drop/add period in their junior year. Students who lose TAP eligibility for failure to meet this requirement will not be eligible to receive the Macaulay Tuition Scholarship for the semester in which TAP eligibility was lost.

Students who don’t reapply by May 15 face severe financial consequences: CUNY will rescind the scholarship and charge the student retroactively for tuition for the entire year.

You are responsible for reviewing your tuition bill every semester and confirming that your scholarship is accurate. You must follow up with your campus Financial Aid Office if you see any errors.

Each academic year, the Macaulay Honors College offers an opportunity for up to 10 students to receive an additional one or two semesters of scholarship funding (for a total of nine or ten semesters of funding). The “Extended Tuition Funding” initiative considers applications from sophomores and juniors in good standing (and only seniors in exceptional cases) at the end of each fall semester. Students must be enrolled as undergraduates to receive Extended Tuition Funding and will not be eligible to access the Opportunities Fund during their prospective fifth year. Students enrolled solely in a graduate course of study are not eligible to receive Extended Tuition Funding support. The funding is also not meant to provide tuition support for students pursuing a second baccalaureate degree.

A specially convened evaluation committee will consider all applications and make final determinations according to criteria based on a strong academic rationale. The application can be found here, and the deadline is November 15 for each upcoming academic year.

Students who do not receive extended tuition funding are responsible for the tuition costs for the 5^th year and beyond.

All Macaulay students should be in close, regular contact with their advisor regarding course choices and progress toward academic goals. That includes discussing winter courses, summer courses, internships, study abroad, and research assistantships.