Queens College was named one of the nation’s “hottest” and most interesting colleges by the 2008 Kaplan/Newsweek How to Get into College guide. The guide especially praised the college for doing what it has done since it first opened its doors in 1937: providing an exceptional education to talented people of all backgrounds and financial means, many of who are the first in their families to attend college.

With over 14,000 undergraduates, Queens College is one of the largest four-year colleges in the City University of New York (CUNY) system. The college enjoys a national reputation for its liberal arts and sciences and pre-professional programs. Students come from 140 different nations to attend the college; the result is an unusually rich education that gives graduates a competitive edge in today’s global society.

Located off Exit 24 of the Long Island Expressway, Queens College is in a residential area of Flushing that is easily accessible by public transportation. It is only 20 minutes from Manhattan, whose magnificent skyline overlooks the campus quad. The 77-acre campus is lined with trees surrounding grassy open spaces. Some of the original Spanish-style stucco-and-tile buildings from the early 1900s still stand, including Jefferson Hall, which houses the beautiful Welcome Center. Powdermaker Hall, the major classroom building, was recently renovated and now has state-of-the-art technology throughout.

The college offers 63 undergraduate majors, having recently added a bachelor of business administration degree and programs in neuroscience and graphic design. Interdisciplinary programs include Africana studies, American studies, business and liberal arts, Honors in Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Honors in the Humanities, Honors in the Social Sciences, Latin American and Latino studies, journalism, religious studies, and women’s studies. Special programs and advisement are also available in accounting, pre-engineering, pre-law, and the pre-health professions. In addition, Queens College participates in the Macaulay Honors College, a challenging program offering full tuition and other special benefits to the most academically gifted students.

Queens College is dedicated to making students feel that the college is their home away from home. There are more than 100 clubs and teams on campus, from the Science Organization of Minority Students to clubs for theatre, fencing, environmental science, and martial arts. The only CUNY college that participates in Division II sports, Queens sponsors 20 men’s and women’s teams and has some of the finest athletics facilities in the metropolitan area. A Child Development Center, staffed by professionals, offers inexpensive child-care services to students with children.

Ongoing cultural events include readings by renowned authors such as Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing, Derek Walcott, Frank McCourt, and Orhan Pamuk; concerts by world famous artists, including Andre Watts, Nancy Wilson, and Dionne Warwick; and theatre and dance performances.

Queens College has many special centers and institutes that serve the diverse communities in the borough of Queens. These units address pressing social issues, including cancer, AIDS, pollution, and racism; study the changing workplace and workforce; and celebrate the borough's many ethnic communities, including Asians, Greeks, Italians, and Jews. The centers include the Asian/American Center, the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, the Center for Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies, the Center for the Improvement of Education, the Center for Jewish Studies, the Equity Studies Research Center, the Michael Harrington Center for Democratic Values and Social Change, the Neuroscience Research Center, the Schutzman Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Taft Institute for Government.