Baruch College was named after financier Bernard M. Baruch in 1953, and all these years later, it still has money on its mind: Accounting, finance and marketing are the most popular undergraduate programs today. Over half of Baruch’s 15,000-plus undergrads study in the college's well-known Zicklin School of Business, which is located just a few miles from Wall Street and the headquarters of some of the most influential companies in the world.

Baruch's New York City location also helps make it one of the most ethnically diverse campuses in the country: People at Baruch speak over 110 different languages, and minority students make up 71% of the undergraduate student body.

But Baruch is perhaps best known for the socioeconomic mobility it affords graduates. About half of its students come from low-income backgrounds; overall, Baruch students report early-career earnings of over $71,000. And while the Manhattan campus is dominated by commuters, Baruch still offers traditional student activities, like a campus newspaper called The Ticker, a literary journal, an active student government, 13 Division III sports teams and student groups that fit every interest, from board games to books.