CUNY Hunter Vs. CCNY

[sukadikho]

I need to choose between Hunter College and City College for a Masters in Childhood Education 1-6. Any thoughts/advice about these programs would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[sonofcioran]

Assuming the commute's the same and absent other factors, Hunter. They have many, many programs especially on the Special Ed side of things. No major differences in practice between the schools if you just want a garden variety elementary degree, but at Hunter you have more options and can pick up behavioral certificates, literacy, hard of hearing, etc - which I would strongly recommend doing to get a job.

I will be brutally honest with you - elementary is hugely over-enrolled (especially for females) and there is currently a DoE hiring freeze. If you don't already have a job in a school or have a family member in higher administration, consider elementary Special Ed or you will probably be unemployed a year from now. Only Special Ed, charter schools and new schools are currently hiring. That might change in a year, but I think we're looking at cuts for at least another 2.

FYI, all of CUNY has atrocious administrators, the worst I've ever encountered. Be prepared and don't get discouraged.

[sukadikho]

Thanks so much for your response to my post. I'm really struggling to make the decision between Hunter and CCNY. CCNY is definitely a much easier commute for me as I'll be coming from Yonkers. I don't know if this outweighs the benefits of Hunter. I have not visited Hunter yet. I plan on going down there next week. Can I definitely add special education "certificates" at Hunter while enrolled in their generic Childhood Education 1-6 program? Their website doesn't allude to being able to do this. Would I need a separate degree? Here's a link to Hunter. http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/school-of-ed ... s/graduate

Is CCNY a decent school? I know that Hunter has been ranked as a Tier 1 school and as a "Best Value."

Thanks again for the great info.