When one thinks of top colleges, one might think of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, or any of the other ivies. It might come as a surprise to many, then, that Forbes recently ranked The United States Military Acadamy at West Point as the number 1 school in the country.

The venerable institution has produced sine a few presidents, a ton of engineers, a number of astronauts (not too many schools produce astronauts), and very many captains of industry. While a career in the military might not be for everyone (though officers coming out of any of the service academies do have decent starting salaries at ~$62,000 that increase with every promotion), the leadership taught at the academies, as well as the great brand name, certainly make any job candidate with West Point on their resume extremely promising. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the schooling is entirely free, with the government picking up the tab. In fact, not only is it free, but each cadet at the academies are given a monthly stipend. And, of course, they have a gauranteed job lined up for them upon graduation, for five years at that.

Not everyone is fit for the rigorous discipline of the military academies. But, if you feel that you’re up to the physical, mental, and emotional stress that being in college AND the military at the same time places on you, West Point and the other military academies may be good colleges to look into.

View the Forbes article here

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Students looking to stay within their home state for college generally have a strong selection of state-sponsored schools to choose from. Residents of New York have the largest selection of state-supported system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the world, through the State University of New York (SUNY). They also have the third largest university system, behind SUNY and the California State University system, with the City University of New York (CUNY). CUNY and SUNY are totally separate and independently run systems, though both receive funding from New York with CUNY also getting funding from New York City.

So What’s The Difference?

Well, for starters, the cost. CUNY, because it is sponsored by both the State of New York and the City of New York, has a lower base tuition. CUNY tuition and fees are about ~$4,500 a year, before financial aid. SUNY tuition and fees are about $7,300 a year, before financial aid or room and board. These figures are for New York State residents.

Readers will note that room and board was not mentioned for CUNY. That’s because it is an entirely commuter school (with 2 minor exceptions). SUNY, on the other hand, is known for its campuses and all the positives and negatives associated of dorm housing that come with that.

While CUNY does not provide the traditional college experience, and indeed feels more like high school with adults at times, it does have its benefits. The cost is certainly one of them. Total tuition for a CUNY student is less than one year at most private schools, and a semester at some of the more costly schools. It also benefits from being in New York City. This is a rather important benefit. Students have access to one of the largest cities in the world and all the opportunity it holds. Students have many of the world’s financial, media, advertising, marketing, fashion, and entertainment companies all headquartered in New York City offering internships, networking, mentorship, and eventually, job offers. This is part of the trade off that comes with commuting daily from home, or renting an apartment in New York City (which can easily cost more than the tuition).

SUNY, with the exception of the Fashion Institute of Technology, does not have any campuses in New York City. Most of the SUNY campuses have a suburban environment, with some bordering on totally rural. The majority of SUNY students are New York state residents who benefit from a relatively low tuition and still get a “real” college experience.

Though most of the colleges in the SUNY or CUNY system do not have nationwide name recognition (though SUNY does financially support four of the colleges at Cornell University), many of the schools are widely known and respected within the state and city, respectively. This might matter to an out of state student competing for jobs outside of New York.

With the economy the way it is today, students should pay more attention than ever to the state-sponsored schools available to them. New York students should especially look into SUNY and CUNY as viable college paths that can offer a great education that won’t break the bank.

By Awad Sayeed

According to Bloomberg, Harvard’s acceptance rate has dropped to a record-low 7% on a record-setting 29,112 applicants.

This is part of a trend in recent years where admissions rates at top universities are dropping to record lows as more and more students are applying to college than ever before. So, while you’re lucky to have grown up with iPods and Facebook, you also get the benefit of having to compete with more and more students for admissions seats every year.

It’s a cut throat environment, we’re here to shine some light on an incredibly opaque process.

I attend Baruch College of the City University of New York. Most outside of New York City have never heard of it, though both Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Lauren attended and subsequently dropped out. That’s OK, I suppose. After all, we’re pretty well known within the city and respected for our business programs. Of particular pride for the school is that its [Graduate] Entrepreneurship program ranked 25th in the nation this year.

Hooray.

Let me clear one thing up. I believe strongly in entrepreneurship. I believe it’s part of what makes this country so great and I believe it’s all part of that great American Dream. And, I also happen to believe that the college environment lends itself to fostering entrepreneurship. We go to college for many reasons. Principally I’m told we go to learn how to learn, if that makes any sense to you. What better way to learn, than by actually going out and trying to do something. When you’re in college you don’t have the same liabilities as you do in ‘the real world’. You have loads of free time (even after studying and assignments). You have no house, no spouse, no kids, not much of anything really. You have nothing to lose. And you have everything to gain. That’s some pretty sweet upside.

One would think, then, that a school with a top ranked entrepreneurship program AND an entrepreneurship competition would encourage its students, regardless of age (or class), to take a stab at this creating businesses thing.

In our case, one would be wrong.

You see, I found out about the Baruch-Merrill Lynch Entrepreneurship Competition over the summer while I was interning at Merrill Lynch (great place to work despite all the headlines lately, btw). I thought, hey, this could be fun. So one of the first things I did when the school year started was to find out how I could join the competition. And then it went sour. I quickly found the rules page and saw that only juniors and up were eligible to apply. Thinking this was a bit strange, I contacted one Barry Dumas, who heads the program to see what was up.

What I got back was disheartening, to say the least.

You can be in the competition as a member of a qualifying team but you would not be a qualifying member.

Strange…I can be a part of another endeavor but I can’t have my own. I asked him why. The response back was chilling.

Freshman should concentrate on their education, not launching businesses

Yes, he spelled freshmen wrong. But besides that, his basic premise is simply outrageous. I was basically told that I could work my butt off for another person but I can’t do it for myself. I suppose it’s par for the course for a school that pumps out more middle management than any other school in the country, but that does not make it right. Should freshmen (look I can spell!) be worried about their grades? Sure. Should upperclassmen worry any less about their grades? I certainly hope not.

So why then should we exclude a certain group from an otherwise university-wide competition? There is no rational justification. After all, Baruch being a commuter school with NO student housing (implying most of the student population does not have to adjust to some new dorm life far away from home) does not exactly have the same college-y atmosphere as many other schools do. In fact, it’s only 2 more stops on the subway than my old high school commute.

This sends a horrible message. It says that, while the school may give lip service to a variety of student activities it offers its commuter students, it’s all a load of crap. It says the school does not really encourage entrepreneurship or other creative pursuits. And, worst of all, it says the school just does not get how it has students who are willing to spend time and effort outside of the classroom to learn and are being turned down.

That’s a freaking shame.

-Awad