Brooklyn College is a four-year public college in the City University of New York (CUNY) system. It is located in the Flatbush/South Midwood section of Brooklyn, steps from the Flatbush/Brooklyn College stop of the 2 and 5 trains. The 26-acre campus boasts green lawns, a lily pond, mature elm trees, and Georgian-style buildings, all in the heart of Brooklyn.
Brooklyn College was founded in 1930 as an independent public college with the same status as City College of New York and Hunter College, both of which had offered extension courses in the borough that proved extremely popular, highlighting the need for a financially accessible institution of higher education. Like City College and Hunter, Brooklyn College was founded to serve the educational needs and professional aspirations of the "sons and daughters of immigrants and the working class." It was the city's first public, coeducational college (though men and women initially studied together only in their junior and senior years).
Brooklyn College opened in the fall of 1930 in buildings scattered across downtown Brooklyn; that year, it served 2,800 day students and 5,000 evening students. It offered only freshman and sophomore year courses that year and added more advanced studies each subsequent year. The first diplomas were awarded in 1933. (The class of 1933 can be seen in the yearbook of future lyricist, composer, and producer Sylvia Fine, now held by the Library of Congress.) The city purchased the campus site in 1934, despite the Great Depression. The federal Public Works Administration supplied the funding and labor for constructing the college's buildings. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia symbolically broke ground in October 1935. The majority of the campus was completed just two years later.
Brooklyn College struggled during New York's financially difficult 1970s. An open enrollment policy stretched the college's capacity and wreaked havoc on the budget. Since 1979, however, the college has been on a steady upward trajectory. Today, Brooklyn College is made up of the School of Education, the School of Business, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of Natural and Behavioral Sciences, and the School of Visual, Media and Performing Arts. The school offers 111 different majors or certificate programs, including a B.A. in Puerto Rican Studies and another in teaching Italian at the secondary level. Student athletes compete in NCAA Division III sports.
Brooklyn College currently enrolls 14,969 undergraduate students and 2,766 graduate students. Admission is competitive, with 45% of applicants accepted. Undergraduate tuition is $3,465 per semester; graduate tuition is $5,545. Like its namesake borough, Brooklyn College is diverse: 29% of students are white, 23.2% Hispanic or Latino, 22.5% Black, 19.6 Asian, 2.24% two or more races, 0.225% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.152% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
Many famous faces have passed through the halls of Brooklyn College. Shirley Chisolm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, graduated in 1946. Actor Dominic Chianese, best known for his role as Junior Soprano, was a member of the class of 1961. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker received her M.F.A. in 2009. The list of alumni also includes luminaries in every scientific, mathematical, philosophical, and artistic discipline.
Located at 2900 Bedford Avenue, the Brooklyn College comprises 16 buildings. The campus spans over seven blocks from Kenilworth Place to Ocean Avenue.
Brooklyn College doesn't provide any on-campus housing at this moment, as many of its students are local New Yorkers.
Since Brooklyn College doesn't have any dormitory facilities, students have to find housing on their own. Being in the heart of Brooklyn, Brooklyn College is close to many dining, entertainment, and public transit options. Students looking for housing can consider neighborhoods like Flatbush, Midwood, and Crown Heights. If being close to the subway is one of your top priorities, take a look at RentHop's subway rent map and find out which subway stops close to your campus are the cheapest to rent.
Brooklyn College has over 160,000 alumni around the world, many of whom continue to call New York City home after graduating. For alumni who stay in the city, most are spread throughout all five boroughs.
For people first moving into New York City, check out the RentHop Renters Guide. The guide explains everything you need to know about renting in the Big Apple, from finding your ideal apartment to signing the lease and completing the rental process.
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