College is the backbone of my future career. So many colleges to choose from, so many majors, and so many requirements. As a future herpetologist, my college needs to have some form of zoology or animal biology. That brings 5,300 down to around 54 colleges as options in the US alone. After countless hours of searching, there are two colleges that can lead to my dream career in herpetology.
Cornell is one of the few that offers zoology. Cornell is an Ivy League university that ranks number nine in the United States rankings and nineteen in the World University rankings. This is very impressive considering the thousands of colleges throughout the world in existence. Cornell is not very popular in terms of zoology. however, in terms of finances, Cornell has the highest paid graduates out of every other school for zoology, but more about that later.
As far as classes go, Cornell has a student-faculty ratio that is considerably low compared to multiple other colleges. Cornell is a top-tier school and has a ratio of nine to one. That’s nine students per teacher. This is a very prime quality to have for a school seeing as most public universities have an average of eighteen to one student-teacher ratio. Now that’s double what Cornell has made it an exemplary option for me as I prefer smaller classrooms and fewer students. It makes me feel as if I have a personal connection with the students versus me being in a room of 100 students listening to a professor talk and talk with other random students I have no connection with.
Graduation is the one part of the year everyone enjoys. Cornell has a 94 percent graduation rate for those in agriculture and life sciences which closely relates to zoology. With the six-year graduation average worldwide only being sixty percent for public universities and only twenty-one percent at for-profit private colleges, Cornell will definitely have me an advantage for on-time graduation. However, graduating isn’t the only concern to get me on my way through life. A job after college is essential, and according to Cornell, fifty-four percent of those in biology and society entered the workforce following graduation. This may sound pretty atrocious, contrarily, thirty-four percent attended a graduate school which makes the total of people seeking employment eight percent.
Expenses are every non-rich person’s most hated word; college expenses come in many forms such as tuition, dorms, and so forth. Overall Cornell costs about seventy-two thousand, four-hundred, and thirty-four dollars. Tuition on its own is fifty-four thousand, eight hundred, and eighteen dollars. This is in fact, a high amount of money compared to the average of colleges throughout which is only thirty-four thousand, seven hundred, and forty dollars at private colleges and only a minor amount of nine thousand, nine hundred, and seventy dollars for an in-state public college. Even a family who makes a really commendable amount of money would struggle to pay this off. Luckily, there is financial aid and scholarships to help pay this college debt off. This is very scary due to the fact that I don’t want to be worried about paying for college after I graduate.
Campus life, first things first, where would I live? Cornell offers three types of housing. First up, they offer living quarters to freshmen on the north campus. In this spot, you may live with your classmates and do school at the same time. Secondly, they offer a place for upper-level students. An upper-level student may move into the west campus, a fraternity or sorority, or a co-op. With multiple options, it’s a great way for each student to decide what they want based on their preferences. Another thing that comes to students’ minds when living somewhere is food. Now the food at Cornell is among the most varied on any campus. They don’t just throw food on the table, they offer flexibility in food options. Veggie, vegan, Locavore, farm-to-table, kosher, halal, and gluten-free are just some of the options. This is excellent because I am very bipolar when it comes to food. One day I’m vegetarian, and one day I’m a carnivore from prehistoric times. Campus life at Cornell is definitely up to standards in day-to-day life.
Suny Oswego is another school that offers zoology and is well known for it too. Suny Oswego’s ranking in 2020 is number fifty-two in Regional Universities North. This is not superior to most schools worldwide, however, for zoology, Suny Oswego ranks number two in New York. It actually tops Cornell in this aspect of education. Now, this is superb considering Cornell is superior to plenty of colleges throughout the world. Student to teacher ratio in Oswego is seventeen to one. This is exceptional seeing as it isn’t too high nor over the average worldwide at eighteen to one. The less the student to ratio factors in quite a lot and seventeen is just on the surviving point for me.
Graduation at Oswego is acceptable, the rate is sixty-three point three percent. This does surpass the global average of sixty percent by a total of three percentiles. It’s not near the best but it can get me graduation, as long as I am at the top of my game full time. Obtaining a job after graduation is a piece of cake it seems, as Suny Oswego has ninety-four percent employed after just two years of graduation. This basically almost guarantees a job for a grad, making it worth the whole process. Even though landing a job may be simple, twenty-five percent of students make less than twenty-two thousand, and one hundred dollars for the first year. That’s not too much money to be making after spending years in class.
Cost, the cost to attend school at Suny Oswego is twenty-three thousand, three hundred, and twenty dollars per year. This is cheaper than Cornell by an enormous load but still a lot of money. However, with student loans, and scholarships, it shouldn’t be too hard for the average Joe to pay off.
Campus life at Suny Oswego, let’s start with the food. Suny Oswego has five very own unique dining halls for each meal a hungry student can crave. From pizza to ice cream, it’s all the food essential for students. The five dining locations are the Cooper, Lakeside, Littlepage, Mackin, and the pathfinder, each equipped with staff and food. They promise a relaxed atmosphere and vegetarian selections perfect for the growing vegetarian community. As far as residence goes, Suny Oswego offers thirteen residential buildings with unique communities to focus on and develop friends. Each and every building has its own design to display the uniqueness of each individual. They also have their own little village perfect for those seeking something outside the big apple atmosphere.
Cornel and Oswego are two beautiful schools with zoology majors, with multiple advantages each has set in place. Based on academics solely, I would swing towards Suny Oswego seeing as it has a 1260 required SAT score, which fits my score compared to Cornell with 1390 SAT required score. Based on financials independently, my family makes average money compared to the US standards, or lower than average compared to Donald Trump’s average for the middle class. I would swerve towards Suny Oswego again due to the fact that Suny Oswego is relatively cheap compared to Cornell. If we’re talking about campus life, I’m more towards Cornell because they have the expenses to make the college campus way better, with multiple food options and a prestigious campus. Based on simple mathematics, two outways so I would be choosing Suny Oswego. I may lose out on the good food and beautiful campus, as well as a higher graduation salary but it would be cheaper and be just as fulfilling educationally. It appears Suny Oswego is the way to go based solely on factual evidence.