Also is a computer science or business degree recommended?
Computer science. Hands down.
am wondering which college would be the best for an aspiring start up entrepreneur.
I think that Stanford is obviously the best choice, they push entrepreneurship pretty hard. But at the same time, I don't really think that it's the school, it's the student. And, Stanford is really expensive. If you get in to Stanford and can get funded, great. If you can't get funded, I'd really try and balance the really high costs, how much work it's going to require to get in to Stanford and how much competition you'll have while you're there, with the benefits that Stanford will give you.
You might be better off going to your local University of Foo state school, and working hard on your own to learn the types of technologies that you're going to use in your startup. Nothing can stop you from learning what you need to learn to start a business. The school I'm finishing up at-- University of Maryland--isn't a tech powerhouse. And, most of the CS education tends to have a slant towards Defense contracting, which means Java and Oracle (Ada for the advanced stuff. :) ). But, I've managed to squeeze out a decent education in web development since I've been there, I think.
Another key factor in school selection is to keep expenses low. You're going to have a hard time starting a business after college if you're $125k in debt to school, and $25k in debt to credit cards because you went to a school that you couldn't afford.
Your risk of failure is a lot lower if you have minimal expenses when you're done with college. If you can finish college with zero debt, your can take all the time you want to start a business as long as you have money for rent, ramen and bandwidth. I really think that people underestimate this aspect of being an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, it's in your best interest to run financially lean and mean: low cost, low debt.
Pay as little as possible. State universities, full-tuition scholarships, whatever. The debt is what will imprison you, and colleges aren't worth anything near what they cost.
If you focus on doing well in school, and you later find that you need better credentials than the U of X can provide, there's always the master's degree... the thrifty person's path to Ultimate Credential Power. The top engineering schools are easier to get into (because it's easier to distinguish yourself in college than in high school, where grades and SATs are all hyperinflated and everyone's admissions essays are ghostwritten) and much more affordable (sometimes even marginally profitable!) at the graduate level.
"Pay as little as possible. State universities, full-tuition scholarships, whatever. The debt is what will imprison you, and colleges aren't worth anything near what they cost."
Remember that many private colleges give really generous financial aid if your parents are not wealthy. Stanford is free if you make under $100K; Amherst has abolished all loans in financial aid, so it's free for those making under about $40-50K and quite reasonably priced (often less than a state uni) for those making under $100K.
My actual tuition at Amherst was only slightly more than the sticker price at UMass; my sister's at Rice was less. Now, granted it's not really a fair comparison, since I would've gotten a full-ride at UMass Amherst (and UMass Lowell offered to pay me to attend). But I'd look long and hard at the scholarship options available before discounting a top college based on price.
Aside from the great CS education and networking, the location is really key. How many places in the world can a student attend entrepreneurial and hacking-type events every week (for free)? The local events may be too distracting (need to work!), but if I were a student again, I'd rather have the opportunities to pick & choose. Example: YC Startup School.
I fully realize that other schools can be great and also have students just as good or better than Stanford. [I loved my time at Univ of Virginia.] But if the question is "best" environment for an aspiring tech entrepreneur, I think it's got to be here.
Computer science. Hands down.
am wondering which college would be the best for an aspiring start up entrepreneur.
I think that Stanford is obviously the best choice, they push entrepreneurship pretty hard. But at the same time, I don't really think that it's the school, it's the student. And, Stanford is really expensive. If you get in to Stanford and can get funded, great. If you can't get funded, I'd really try and balance the really high costs, how much work it's going to require to get in to Stanford and how much competition you'll have while you're there, with the benefits that Stanford will give you.
You might be better off going to your local University of Foo state school, and working hard on your own to learn the types of technologies that you're going to use in your startup. Nothing can stop you from learning what you need to learn to start a business. The school I'm finishing up at-- University of Maryland--isn't a tech powerhouse. And, most of the CS education tends to have a slant towards Defense contracting, which means Java and Oracle (Ada for the advanced stuff. :) ). But, I've managed to squeeze out a decent education in web development since I've been there, I think.
Another key factor in school selection is to keep expenses low. You're going to have a hard time starting a business after college if you're $125k in debt to school, and $25k in debt to credit cards because you went to a school that you couldn't afford.
Your risk of failure is a lot lower if you have minimal expenses when you're done with college. If you can finish college with zero debt, your can take all the time you want to start a business as long as you have money for rent, ramen and bandwidth. I really think that people underestimate this aspect of being an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, it's in your best interest to run financially lean and mean: low cost, low debt.