Parents often ask me a version of the same question every fall: when is the CUNY application due?
The short answer is that there is more than one date, and the one many families miss comes first.
CUNY lists February 1 for fall freshman applicants who were educated in the United States. Macaulay Honors College closes on November 16 at 6:00 PM, about two and a half months earlier.
If your senior is thinking about Macaulay at all, November is the month that matters. February is not.
Here is the rest of the winter, in order. It applies to seniors in New York City public and private schools and to families nearby who are looking at CUNY.
Table of Contents
- How Does the CUNY Application Work?
- What Are the CUNY and Macaulay Deadlines?
- What Is Macaulay Honors College?
- Does CUNY Have Other Honors Programs?
- What Does Your Senior Have to Submit?
- Does CUNY Require an SAT Score?
- How Is SUNY Different?
- Your Winter Checklist, in Order
- Four Things Families Get Wrong
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Does the CUNY Application Work?
CUNY uses one application for the whole system. Your student does not fill out a separate form for each campus.
CUNY’s admissions site says it plainly: “One application allows you to apply to 6 CUNY colleges.” That is for freshman applicants. Transfer applicants may list four.
One detail surprises a lot of families. Your student is not picking a single winner. CUNY says, “You’ll receive an admission decision from each of the colleges you selected on your application.”
There is an application fee. CUNY is waiving it for all NYC public high school seniors from September 15, 2026 through November 16, 2026, and for other New York State high school seniors from October 15 through November 16, 2026.
A fee waiver simply means the college does not charge you to apply.
If your senior applies outside those windows, CUNY says to select “Request a Fee Waiver” on the application. The high school counselor then submits the required documentation through CUNY’s Counselor Portal.
That free window closes on the same day the Macaulay application does.
What Are the CUNY and Macaulay Deadlines?
| What is due | When |
|---|---|
| Macaulay Honors — Early Decision application, transcripts, supporting material, and recommendation letters (binding) | October 26, 2026, 6:00 PM |
| Macaulay Honors — regular application, essays, transcript | November 16, 2026, 6:00 PM |
| CUNY fee waiver window closes for NY State seniors | November 16, 2026 |
| Macaulay Honors — letters of recommendation, regular application | November 30, 2026, 11:59 PM |
| Macaulay Honors — Early Decision results released | December 18, 2026, 5:00 PM |
| CUNY general freshman application, fall term | February 1 |
| Macaulay Honors — regular decisions released | March 11, 2027, 5:00 PM |
| Macaulay Honors — commitment day | May 3, 2027, 6:00 PM |
Watch the recommendation letters. That November 30 date is for the regular application only. Macaulay’s “Applying to Macaulay” page says, “Early decision deadline for letters of recommendation is October 26, 2026 at 6 PM.” An Early Decision applicant needs the letters in with everything else.
Two notes on that February 1 date. CUNY lists it in a column headed “Priority Deadline,” and it covers the application and supporting documents. CUNY also says fall admissions run on a rolling basis from January through July.
CUNY’s table prints February 1 with no year on it. For a senior applying this winter, that means February 1, 2027.
I still tell families to treat February 1 as the date rather than as a suggestion.
Every date above comes from CUNY’s or Macaulay’s own site. These move from year to year, so check both pages before you build a plan around them.
What Is Macaulay Honors College?
Macaulay is not a separate college that your student attends instead of a CUNY campus. It is an honors college that sits across eight CUNY campuses.
Honors program is worth a definition here. CUNY says its colleges “offer honors programs that provide a challenging and intellectually stimulating academic environment for high-achieving students.”
Macaulay says its students “enroll as undergraduates in one of eight CUNY colleges”: Baruch, Brooklyn, City, Hunter, John Jay, Lehman, Queens, and the College of Staten Island.
Applying works a little differently. Macaulay applicants use the CUNY application. CUNY’s apply page puts it this way: “Macaulay: if you are a freshman applicant for the fall semester, you can choose the Macaulay application to be considered for our university honors program.”
Macaulay adds that when you apply, “you will select up to six of eight campus choices for general admission and ONE campus choice for Macaulay.” Those general-admission choices sit inside the same submission.
There is one instruction Macaulay prints in capital letters: “When applying to Macaulay, DO NOT USE CUNY FAST APP.” The Fast App is the shortcut CUNY offers NYC public school seniors, and CUNY’s own page confirms it “is not for Macaulay Honors College applicants.”
Macaulay also runs an Early Decision program. Macaulay describes it as a binding agreement — a student who is admitted commits to attending Macaulay and withdraws other college applications. That deadline is October 26, 2026 at 6:00 PM, and those results come out December 18, 2026 at 5:00 PM.
Early Decision carries conditions. Macaulay says admitted Early Decision students are not permitted to defer their admission, and that Early Decision applicants are not eligible for the Gray STEM Scholars program. Read Macaulay’s Early Decision page in full before your senior commits to that route.
Does CUNY Have Other Honors Programs?
Yes, and many families never look at them because Macaulay takes up all the oxygen.
CUNY says that “all CUNY four-year and community colleges offer honors programs.” Its list of four-year programs includes Baruch, Brooklyn, City College, the College of Staten Island, Hunter, John Jay, Lehman, Medgar Evers, New York City College of Technology, Queens College, York College, and Macaulay itself. Several carry their own names, such as the Lehman Scholars Program and the Queens College Scholars Program.
If Macaulay does not work out, these do not disappear. I encourage parents to read about two or three of them now rather than in April.
What Does Your Senior Have to Submit?
Requirements are not the same for the general CUNY application and for Macaulay.
| Item | General CUNY application | Macaulay Honors |
|---|---|---|
| Transcript | Official high school transcript. Students at NYC Public Schools who enter an OSIS number on the application have their record retrieved electronically by CUNY. NYC charter school students ask their guidance counselor to send an official transcript to [email protected]. All other students request that their high school send one to the same address. | Official high school transcript(s), due with the application |
| Essays | Hunter College and Queens College require an essay. Baruch College recommends one for all freshman applicants. | Two essays, each around 500 words |
| Recommendations | CUNY encourages supporting documents such as letters of recommendation, and says to check the requirements of the intended program | Two letters of academic recommendation |
| Test scores | Not required. CUNY says it is test optional for undergraduate admission | Not required for the 2026 application cycle |
| Fee | A fee applies, with waivers available | A nonrefundable application processing fee applies |
Macaulay also says it reviews the high school transcript, extracurricular activities, community service, personal initiative and leadership, recommendations, essays, and interviews for some students.
Does CUNY Require an SAT Score?
Not for this application cycle. Macaulay’s admissions page says, “For the 2026 application cycle, CUNY is fully test-optional. This means you get to decide whether or not to include SAT or ACT scores with your application.” CUNY’s apply page says CUNY is test optional for undergraduate admission.
Test-optional means the college will read the application whether or not a score is attached.
One caveat is worth your attention. CUNY’s undergraduate admissions page states the policy with an end point: “CUNY has extended its testing policy to test optional through spring 2027.” This winter’s seniors are applying for fall 2027. Confirm the policy on CUNY’s own page before your student decides.
Whether a student who already has a score should send it is a different question, and I wrote about it separately in What SAT Score Do You Need for CUNY Macaulay Honors vs. SUNY Binghamton?
How Is SUNY Different?
SUNY does not take the CUNY application. SUNY Geneseo tells applicants to complete the Common Application or the SUNY Application. Stony Brook University accepts the Common App, the SUNY App, or the Coalition application. The CUNY application is on neither list.
They also publish their own dates. Stony Brook lists November 1 for Early Action and January 15 for Regular Decision for fall 2027. SUNY Geneseo lists November 15 for Early Action and a preferred date of March 1 for first-year applicants, for fall admission.
Two SUNY campuses, two different sets of dates, neither of them February 1. Look up every SUNY campus on your student’s list on that campus’s own admissions page.
Your Winter Checklist, in Order
This month
- Decide whether Macaulay is on the list. Every other date follows from that one choice.
- Handle the transcript. Students at NYC Public Schools enter their OSIS number on the application. Charter school students ask their guidance counselor to send an official transcript to [email protected], and everyone else asks their high school to send one to the same address. School offices get slow in November.
- If Macaulay is in play, line up two academic recommenders now — usually teachers. They are writing a lot of these at the same time.
By October 26, 6:00 PM — Macaulay Early Decision, if your senior is applying that way. The application, the transcripts, the supporting material, and the recommendation letters are all due that day, and the commitment is binding.
By November 16, 6:00 PM — The regular Macaulay application, both essays, and the transcript. This is also the last day of the fee waiver window for New York State high school seniors.
By November 30, 11:59 PM — Letters of recommendation for the regular Macaulay application. Macaulay gives these a later date than the application itself. I would not plan around the extra two weeks.
December 18, 5:00 PM — Macaulay Early Decision results.
December and January — A Macaulay applicant has already made their general-admission campus choices inside that application. Everyone else finishes the general CUNY application now. Add the essay if Hunter, Queens, or Baruch is on the list, and look up each SUNY campus’s deadline separately.
By February 1, 2027 — CUNY’s fall deadline for the application and supporting documents.
March 11 and May 3, 2027 — Macaulay regular decisions, then commitment day.
Four Things Families Get Wrong
- Treating February 1 as the only date. Macaulay closes November 16 at 6:00 PM. February is far too late for Macaulay.
- Using the Fast App for a Macaulay application. Both CUNY and Macaulay say the Fast App is not for Macaulay applicants.
- Assuming only one CUNY college will answer. CUNY says a decision comes from each college the student selected.
- Assuming SUNY runs on CUNY’s calendar. It does not. The two SUNY campuses above do not even match each other.
Conclusion
Two dates carry most of the weight this winter. Macaulay Honors College closes November 16, 2026 at 6:00 PM, with a binding Early Decision deadline of October 26, 2026 at 6:00 PM. CUNY’s general fall deadline is February 1.
Hitting those dates does not guarantee an admission offer. Macaulay says it weighs the transcript, activities, service, leadership, recommendations, essays, and sometimes an interview. A deadline only keeps the door open.
Work backward from November 16, and the rest of the winter gets a lot calmer.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the CUNY application due?
CUNY lists February 1 for the fall term for freshman and transfer applicants educated in the United States, covering both the application and supporting documents. Macaulay Honors College has its own, earlier deadline of November 16 at 6:00 PM.
Do I apply to each CUNY school separately?
No. One CUNY application lets a freshman apply to six CUNY colleges, and CUNY says a decision comes back from each college selected.
Is there a separate Macaulay application?
Not a separate form. A fall freshman applicant chooses the Macaulay application inside CUNY’s application, then selects one campus choice for Macaulay plus up to six campus choices for general admission in that same submission. They should not use the CUNY Fast App.
Does Macaulay require letters of recommendation?
Yes. Macaulay asks for two letters of academic recommendation. For the regular application they are due no later than November 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM. Macaulay gives Early Decision applicants an earlier date: October 26, 2026 at 6:00 PM.
Is the CUNY application free?
There is an application fee, but CUNY is waiving it for NYC public high school seniors from September 15 to November 16, 2026, and for other New York State high school seniors from October 15 to November 16, 2026. Outside those windows, a student selects “Request a Fee Waiver” on the application and the high school counselor submits the documentation through CUNY’s Counselor Portal.
When is the SUNY application due?
It depends on the campus. Stony Brook lists November 1 for Early Action and January 15 for Regular Decision. Geneseo lists November 15 for Early Action. Look up each campus on your student’s list on that campus’s own admissions page.
If keeping this calendar straight is the part you would rather not do alone, Khan’s Tutorial’s college admissions program works with NYC seniors through exactly this stretch of the year.