CUNY as backup

Am I the only person that thinks CUNYs are good schools? It seems to me that every Baruch student I encounter say that the CUNY they currently go to was a backup plan. I am one of the few students that didn't bother applying to other schools, partly because I was lazy during senior year of high school and because I love being in the city. I'd also have so much extra work without my parents around! I do not regret it partly because I get spending money and the school I currently attend can hook me up with more jobs than state universities because there's more recruiters. Students from CUNYs get the same jobs as the students from SUNYs, except recruiters would much rather travel to the city colleges rather than miles away to state colleges.

Going to school in the city is great because the tuition is cheap. Tuition is about $4,600 a year and eligible students get $11,000 in financial aid a year. You can use that money on your expenses, which is even better than a job. Your parents will always be there to help you out with some chores when you run short of time to meet your deadlines. There are more recruiters in city schools because most companies would rather not travel so far into the state universities to recruit. There are more job opportunities and more clubs/fairs than most people think. Although Baruch is a commuter school, you can get involved with a lot of clubs if you're willing to devote your time for it. When you join the clubs, they hook you up with jobs, create more networking opportunities, and even invite you to parties (hosted every week). It depends on what you want to get out of college.

If at any point you feel like going away to study, the school offers study abroad programs that allow students to go to school in another country. This way, you can travel, learn their culture, their language, and network with new friends in a totally different place.

I know that going to state universities give you the whole college experience and all, but I always get mixed opinions about living in dorm. Some say dorms are mad fun and some say that dorms are overrated. Some say they go just because the college is more prestigious than CUNYs. But learning-wise, I think CUNY students are taught the same material as the teachings in private colleges. Grades solely depend on how you compare to the people around you. Since CUNYs tend have lower standards of acceptance, there are other people that deserve (and will get) lower grades than you. That doesn't mean you're smarter than the student population; it just means you're smarter than the dumber part of the student population.

Some say going to out-of-state universities are good because it helps a person develop skills on how to be independent. Living in dorms will probably make me more independent, but why can't I learn how to be independent when it's necessary to be independent? So are you saying that I would be fucked when my parents aren't there for me because I never had the experience of being independent? I think that people are capable of taking care of themselves when they have to. If I was forced to move away to live, I think I'd manage just fine. Does my independency learning curve have to be gradual? I think not.

I understand that you don't have your parents to bother you all the time when you go away, but they save me a lot of time from work that they can help me out with. They peel the fruits, buy the groceries, cook the food, clean the place, and do the laundry. In return, they don't have to pay for my college tuition because the city got me covered =). I never even have to ask them for expense money.

Of course scholarships and tuition costs play a big role in decision making. What is your view of CUNYs before and after this post? Did I change your views in any way?

Honor system

Business students are generally ambitious and willing to do anything to get what they want. The question is their likelihood of suffering the consequences. Coming from a Baruch College student's point of view, I see students getting away with cheating everyday.

Just to name a few acts of cheating I have seen students commit during exams:

• Having a whole textbook on the floor in front of them
  
• Sitting on their textbooks and/or notes
• Asking for help when the instructor steps out of the room
• Asking for help from students in the previous classes that just took the exam
  
• Having notes written on the labels of their water bottles
• Sticking notes inside pens with the clear tubes
• Storing information in their graphing calculators
• Whispering between test-takers
  

Baruch requires students pursuing a B.B.A. degree to take a lot of humanity courses as part of the core curriculum. A lot of these introductory courses have at least a chapter on ethics. Attempting to get students involved, Baruch also hosts a lot of ethics discussions. The original purpose of Baruch mandating students to take these humanity classes is so that students do not enter the society as heartless and money-hungry cheaters. Not very effective.

Most instructors that believe in the honor system are just too lazy to take action. The most they do is say "keep your eyes on your own paper" when they catch someone taking a peek. As business students in the 21st century and possessing the luxuries of electronic devices, ethics is out of the question when the low-risk opportunities arise. If they're not going to take measures in preventing cheaters, I don't see how anyone could possibly fail their class.

I'm not saying I'm not guilty of these acts. As are most other students, I'm careful about it. What still baffles me is the amount of trust instructors put on their students by implementing the "honor system".