Is CUNY Stella and Charles Guttman Community College Worth It?

The financial picture at CUNY Stella and Charles Guttman is defined by low cost and low completion. You pay about $5,643 a year, and if you borrow, the median debt of $6,500 is small enough that you could clear it fast. But only about a quarter of students finish in the tracked window, and that graduation rate is the biggest risk to any return you might get here.

The two programs with reported earnings both pay poorly. Human Services associate graduates land near $27,669, and Liberal Arts and General Studies graduates come in under $17,000. Neither is a wage you can build a stable New York City life on by itself. Guttman is a two-year school, so the real payoff comes from what you do next: these associate degrees work as a cheap, low-debt step toward a bachelor's, not as a final stop.

The Human Services track makes financial sense if you plan to transfer or use it as an entry into a field where a four-year degree lifts your pay. The Liberal Arts path only pays off if you keep going. Stopping at the associate level here, especially in General Studies, leaves you with earnings that barely clear part-time wages.

On price, families earning under $48,000 pay roughly $4,700 to $5,500 a year, which keeps borrowing minimal. If your household earns over $75,000, your net price jumps to around $9,000, and above $110,000 it climbs past $12,000, so the cost advantage shrinks as income rises.

This school fits you if you want a low-cost, low-debt launch and you intend to transfer to a four-year program. If you need a credential that pays a living wage on its own in two years, look elsewhere.