Baruch College is a small Manhattan college specializing in business. Its Zicklin School of Business houses the majority of its over 16,000 undergraduates who major in accountancy, finance and investments or marketing. The Zicklin School offers a range of undergraduate majors and MBA programs, all of which are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
Admissions decisions are made on a holistic basis taking into consideration the overall strength of each applicant. Letters of recommendations from teachers help the admissions committee evaluate the students fit with Baruch College. Once admitted, students must maintain a minimum Baruch GPA to receive any financial aid or to graduate with distinction.
Tip
Admission to Baruch College is selective. The typical incoming freshman has a GPA of 3.3. Students admitted to the MacCaulay Honors College have a GPA just under 3.9.
Undergraduate Honors and Deans List
Baruch College undergraduates can join the Honors Program (HP) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3 through the completion of their first 59 credit hours. With the 60th credit hour, they must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 until graduation. HP membership also requires that students maintain a full course load of 12 credits per semester, declare their major by the 60th credit, engage in community service while taking classes at Baruch and write a thesis. Baruch’s HP separates its members into the following three groups: Baruch Scholars, Provost Scholars and Macaulay Scholars. Each distinction has its own course requirements on top of the minimum GPA requirements.
After undergraduates have completed 56 credit hours, they can apply to graduate with Latin Honors. Latin Honors offers the following three distinctions: summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude. To earn these distinctions, all students must meet the following GPA minimum requirements: Summa cum laude requires a cumulative GPA of 3.85. Magna cum laude requires 3.75. Cum laude requires 3.5.
To qualify for the Baruch College Dean’s List, students must maintain a GPA of 3.5 for at least two semesters with a full course load of 12 credits or more for full-time students. Part-time students can qualify for the Dean’s List by maintaining a GPA of 3.5 in at least 24 credits taken in no more than four consecutive semesters.
Grants, Scholarships and Financial Aid
The Office of Financial Aid offers two academic grants. Full-time students receiving a Federal Pell Grant who are in the first or second year of their program can apply for the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG). To receive the ACG both years, they must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0. Full-time third- and fourth-year students who receive a Federal Pell Grant can apply for the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant if they major in one of the following subjects: computer science; engineering; mathematics; any physical or life science; or one of Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew or Russian.
Graduate School
The three graduate schools each have separate Baruch College requirements for GPA. The Zicklin School of Business has no set minimum undergraduate GPA requirements, but few students with less than 2.9 are admitted into the Honors MBA program and few students with less than a 2.7 are admitted into its other programs. The Weissman School of Arts and Sciences offers three master's programs. Only the Master's Program in Financial Engineering has a specific qualification. Applicants do not need to have a certain cumulative undergraduate GPA but they must have passed the following courses with a grade of B or better: two semesters of calculus, linear algebra, probability, C++ programming and some kind of finance course or finance-related work experience. The School of Public Affairs has no minimum GPA requirements.