City College's promise of academic excellence is clearly highlighted by its dedicated professors, its alumni, and the student body. I could have never been able to achieve my professional and post-graduate accomplishments without my experience in CCNY; the school truly lives up to its history as a point of mobility for New York's working class. I graduated from the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership with a political science degree. Almost immediately after graduation I was able to work with a policy based non-profit, based from an internship I was able to connect with through the school's network. With that said, CCNY is not a school that tailors an undergraduate with hands-on professional advise. CCNY, with its limited budget, cannot afford hands-on advisors for all 16,000 students, this can be jarring for students who do not have professional experience or students who have not had the resources to learn how to network. Luckily student organizations like NYPIRG and the Zahn Center are proactive in developing the student body for the professional world. Additionally there are countless fellowship and scholarship opportunities that are available for students: Skadden Arps, Colin Powell, CCNY Fellows, etc, all provide generous stipends and financial inducements that can almost cover tuition and some living expenses. They also provide great internship opportunities in the political and legal world. Again finding and meeting application deadlines for these programs is really based on how proactive one is, especially due to the fact that the college will not aggressively advertise these opportunities. I did not live in campus, I opted to rent nearby in Hamilton Heights. Unfortunately I cannot suggest either living in-campus or nearby based on the disproportionate cost of rent. My time in CCNY prepared me for my graduate program at Georgetown University. I could not be the person I am today without the instructure of CCNY

A+