Top Entrepreneurial Undergraduate Universities

While many students do not have a clear idea of what they would like to study in college or what they want to do with their future careers, there are a select few students who clearly know they want to go into business.

Taiwan has a rich history of entrepreneurship and family business, and for students who have entrepreneurial blood running through their veins, it may be a good idea to consider attending an ‘entrepreneurial college’ to give yourself further insight into the skills and knowledge required to help catapult your family business or personal venture to the next level.

Listed below is a list of the top twenty most entrepreneurial colleges in the United States along with notes on some of their most distinguished entrepreneurial alumni. Keep your future network in mind when considering which colleges you will apply to!

1. Stanford University

Richard Fairbank (B.A. ’72, M.B.A. ’81) is the founder and CEO of Capital One Financial. (2011 revenue: $18.5 billion).

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

According to a 2011 report from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, as of 2006 there were 25,600 active companies founded by MIT alumni, employing approximately 3.3 million people.

3. Harvard University

Harvard has produced 10 self-made billionaires, more than any other school on this list. Billionaire grads include Steve Ballmer (’77), Phil Falcone (’84) and Sumner Redstone (’44).

4. California Institute of Technology

Charles Trimble (B.S. ’63, M.B.A. ’64) cofounded Trimble Navigation (2011 revenue: $1.6 billion), which makes GPS products, including devices for delivery trucks and military jets.

5. University of California, Berkeley

This past spring Weili Dai (’84), cofounder of the Marvell Technology Group (2011 net revenue: $3.4 billion), was the first woman to give the commencement speech at the college of engineering.

6. University of Pennsylvania

Elon Musk (’97) founded SpaceX in 2002, which has approximately $4 billion in contracts, including a large one with NASA. Musk also cofounded Tesla Motors and PayPal.

7. Dartmouth College

In 2004 Steve Hafner (’91) cofounded Kayak, a travel site (2011 revenues: $225 million).

8. University of California, Los Angeles

Allen Adham and his 1990 classmates Michael Morhaime and Frank Pearce cofounded Blizzard Entertainment in 1991, makers of the online videogame World of Warcraft, which in 2010 had over 12 million players worldwide.

9. Princeton University

Jeff Bezos, who launched Amazon.com when he was 31, was a member of the class of 1986.

10. Haverford College

Despite its tiny size (the average class has 294 students), nearly 300 alumni describe ­themselves as entrepreneurs.

11. Yale University

The Yale Entrepreneurial Institute has nurtured 52 companies that have raised a total of  OK a total of $45 million in funding since 2007.

12. Babson College

13. Brown University

Steven Rattner, cofounder of the Quadrangle Group, graduated from Brown in 1974.

14. Northwestern University

Sixty-three percent of Northwestern students claim they want to start their own businesses.

15. Harvey Mudd College

The school is named for Harvey Seeley Mudd, who cofounded Cyprus Mines, a copper mining concern, in the early 1900s with his father.

16. Swarthmore College

John Montgomery (’77), founder and partner of Bridgeway Capital Management, manages over $2 billion in assets.

17. Claremont McKenna College

LBO king Henry Kravis (net worth: $4 billion) was a 1967 graduate of the college.

18. Amherst College

John Abele (’59) cofounded medical device giant Boston Scientific in 1979 (2011 sales: $7.6 billion).

19. Williams College

AOL cofounder Steve Case (net worth: $1.5 billion) graduated from Williams in 1980.

20. Hampshire College

Yogurtmaker Stonyfield Farm (2011 sales: $360 million) was founded by Gary Hirshberg (’72).

- Source: Forbes

Many students in Taiwan have aspirations of studying abroad, gaining insight and experience in western culture, and using what they have learned to help their business and country grow to the next level. If you are considering entrepreneurship in the future, or think you would like to go into business or continue your family’s business at some point in your career – these colleges may each be well suited to your needs.

If you would like any help talking through the pros and cons of the entrepreneurial undergraduate schools in the US, or making the decision about which schools are right to apply to, feel free to reach me at david@transcendadmissions.com.

The Most International US Universities

American undergraduate schools pride themselves on creating a diverse student body. This means they are seeking to admit more qualified international students, feeling that their international backgrounds lend unique perspectives and insights into the world which their native student body would otherwise miss out on.

If the percentage of international students in US schools is a concern for you (whether you want to go to school with more, or fewer international students yourself) you should be aware of what the most “international” schools in the United States are.

We’ve sourced the list below to help you with your research for the upcoming school application season.

US Schools with the Most International Students

School	International
New School  New York, NY	27%
Florida Institute of Technology  Melbourne, FL	26%
Illinois Institute of Technology  Chicago, IL	21%
Lynn University  Boca Raton, FL	18%
University of Tulsa  Tulsa, OK	18%
Carnegie Mellon University  Pittsburgh, PA	17%
University at Buffalo–​SUNY  Buffalo, NY	16%
Purdue University–​West Lafayette  West Lafayette, IN	15%
Northeastern University  Boston, MA	14%
University of San Francisco  San Francisco, CA	13%
Andrews University  Berrien Springs, MI	13%
University of Illinois–​Urbana-​Champaign  Champaign, IL	13%
California Institute of Technology  Pasadena, CA	12%
Brandeis University  Waltham, MA	12%
University of Southern California  Los Angeles, CA	12%
Boston University  Boston, MA	12%
Worcester Polytechnic Institute  Worcester, MA	11%
University of Rochester  Rochester, NY	11%
Columbia University  New York, NY	11%
University of Pennsylvania  Philadelphia, PA	11%
University of Miami  Coral Gables, FL	11%
Emory University  Atlanta, GA	11%
Harvard University  Cambridge, MA	11%
Polytechnic Institute of New York University  Brooklyn, NY	11%
Brown University  Providence, RI	11%

 - Source: Forbes

Notice that there is a broad mix of public and private schools, east and west coast, small and large, technical and liberal arts schools contained in this mix. Keep in mind to that as a Taiwan student applying for undergraduate programs in the US, you bring the distinct advantage of diversity to the table. You should definitely highlight your international background and insight into Taiwan & East Asian cultures – American admissions officials will view it as a decided advantage in your favor.

If you’d like some help thinking about how to draw out your story in the most compelling way for your application to colleges abroad (whether in the US, Europe, or anywhere else) – I am always happy to discuss tactics and strategy with potential applicants. Feel free to reach me anytime at david@transcendadmissions.com.

Focus on What is Important When Researching Your Target Schools

One of the biggest challenges for students applying to undergraduate and graduate schools these days is the overwhelming amount of information available about their target schools. The modern marvel of the Internet has made it easy for applicants to learn everything from student faculty ratios to a professor’s office hours and research, but sometimes it’s easy to get sidetracked with all of that information and lose sight of what is truly important.

Once one’s parents get caught up in the application process, things can become even more complicated.

“School X doesn’t give any financial aid – we shouldn’t bother applying there.”

“School Y doesn’t have an active enough Model UN club – you should only apply to schools that are really active in the Model UN scene since you want to get into international relations in the future…”

If possible, try to focus on what matters to you. According to Compass College Advisory Center, it takes 300-plus hours for parents to help their child through the admissions process. A large part of that time is likely wasted on worrying about details which are not critical.

If you’re just starting the college selection process and are feeling overwhelmed, here are a few tips:

• Set up a weekly meeting with your parents to discuss college, or graduate school research. Don’t allow every dinner discussion to focus on grades, test scores and recent rumors you’ve heard about specific colleges.

• Visit a few schools in person to get the feel for which schools suit your personality and interests. When you and your family visit a school you’ll get a better sense about the environment, the student body, the balance between work and play, and even how the professors treat their students. These are all important factors, but can’t truly be experienced unless you take a visit to your target school.

• Keep a running list of notes on your favorite colleges – the pros and cons – in a shared folder in Dropbox. This will let your parents see which schools you are researching and what you like about them from wherever they are.

• Do your best to determine which colleges are reach, target and safety schools and focus your visits on the reach and target schools first. Prioritize everything accordingly.

• Take a deep breath. You will survive. Your parents will survive. You will get into a school that suits you, make it through the entire application process without killing each other, and be able to look back on the entire application process and laugh in just a few short months.

Keep your personal limitations in mind when you are applying for schools. Especially if you are still taking classes, are working full or part-time – sometimes it can be very easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work you have to do to make your application as perfect as possible.

And of course, if you’d like help thinking through your application strategy and talking through your priorities – you can always reach me at david@transcendadmissions.com.

A+ Universities for B Students

What do you do if you want to go to college in the United States, but your grades and test scores aren’t 100% perfect? What happens if you aren’t the best standardized test taker in the world, or you were feeling sick the day you had to take your SAT & TOEFL tests and your scores suffered as a result?

We’ve sourced a list of 25 A+ Schools for B Students here from Forbes for your reference. These schools all provide outstanding value for their price, are all highly reputable and prestigious US schools, and require their applicants to be well rounded.

Each of the names of these schools is linked to a profile on the school itself, and the list includes acceptance rates and the range of SAT / ACT scores the schools typically admit.

U.S. News rank	School	Selectivity	Fall 2011 acceptance rate	SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile
#54	Pepperdine University  Malibu, CA	more selective	31.6%	1100-1330
#58	Fordham University  New York, NY	more selective	42.4%	1150-1340
#58	Syracuse University  Syracuse, NY	more selective	49.4%	1050-1270
#65	Purdue University–​West Lafayette  West Lafayette, IN	more selective	68.3%	1040-1300
#68	Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–​New Brunswick  Piscataway, NJ	more selective	61.1%	1080-1310
#72	Michigan State University  East Lansing, MI	more selective	72.9%	23-28
#72	University of Iowa  Iowa City, IA	more selective	79.8%	23-28
#75	University of Delaware  Newark, DE	more selective	58.2%	1100-1300
#77	Baylor University  Waco, TX	more selective	39.7%	24-29
#77	SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry  Syracuse, NY	more selective	46.8%	1100-1270
#77	University of Alabama  Tuscaloosa, AL	more selective	43.5%	22-29
#83	Clark University  Worcester, MA	more selective	67.9%	1080-1310 2
#83	Drexel University  Philadelphia, PA	more selective	57.5%	1100-1310
#83	Indiana University–​Bloomington  Bloomington, IN	more selective	72.3%	1050-1280
#83	Marquette University  Milwaukee, WI	more selective	56.8%	24-29
#89	Auburn University  Auburn University, AL	more selective	70.0%	24-30
#89	Miami University–​Oxford  Oxford, OH	more selective	74.1%	24-29
#92	St. Louis University  St. Louis, MO	more selective	61.3%	25-30
#92	Stony Brook University–​SUNY Stony Brook, NY	more selective	39.2%	1130-1330
#92	Texas Christian University  Fort Worth, TX	more selective	37.7%	24-29
#92	University of Vermont  Burlington, VT	more selective	75.4%	1090-1280
#97	Florida State University  Tallahassee, FL	more selective	58.5%	25-28
#97	University of Colorado–​Boulder  Boulder, CO	more selective	86.9%	24-28
#97	University of Massachusetts–​Amherst  Amherst, MA	more selective	65.6%	1090-1280
#97	University of Missouri  Columbia, MO	more selective	82.3%	23-28

- Source: Forbes

If you have struggled in the past with standardized tests and are looking for some “match schools” to which you can apply, you should take a closer look into some of these universities -- especially if you haven’t heard of them before.

Although many of the most famous private schools in the United States have a longstanding reputation for excellence, the price tag of higher education has risen so much that many schools traditionally considered second or third tier are now being viewed as equal to the historically most prestigious universities in America. When selecting which schools to apply to, it is important to strike a balance between cost, quality, future prospects for employment, and other intangible factors.

If you would like any help talking through the pros and cons of the undergraduate schools listed here, or making the decision about which schools are right to apply to, feel free to reach me at david@transcendadmissions.com.