Babson College 14 or Northeastern 14

College Search & Selection
21

<p>We visited Babson last fall. Wow what a change from the down town environment of Boston with all the blatant crime and grime. It’s in this quaint little town, with whole foods about a mile or two away, and just a perfect college environment if you are going to spend most of your time on campus. It is very close to Wellesly college - all girls- and Olin engineering shares facilities, both of which schools you can take classes at. </p>

<p>Babson is the #1 ranked entrepreneurship school, and has the nice Blank Center, funded by Arthur Blank, CEO of Home Depot. Yes, there are tons of very successful alumni, and they help the students get started. We were extraordinarily impressed!</p>

22

<p>I know little about Babson, though I know it has a great business reputation. </p>

<p>Northeastern is an excellent school with a heavy emphasis on gaining practical experience - by the time someone doing the normal, five-year program has graduated, they will have done three semester-long co-ops, and many graduates get offers from one of their co-op companies. The students are fiercely proud of the co-op program and the mindset of practicality and future employability that it reflects. It is in the middle of Boston, within walking distance of the symphony, the Museum of Fine Arts, and Fenway Park (where the Red Sox play), and a longer walk or short subway ride to the theater district, Chinatown, and the North End (the traditionally Italian area loaded with great restaurants and pastry shops). There are some good neighborhoods nearby, and some sketchy ones.</p>

23

<p>thanksssssssssssss upppppppppp</p>

24

<p>Babson actually is flexible just based on their curriculum. They have it set up so you finish up your business requirements normally by your sophomore year and then you can spend the remaining two years taking Liberal Arts Classes if you want to. Babson doesn’t just lock you into a career in business, there are many graduates that have gone into several career types. I have a film that is currently going to Graduate School to become a screenwriter. He just wanted to get an understanding of how a business like a production company is run. </p>

<p>As far as the hands on experience goes, Babson’s class style is much more for the hands on experience. As a freshman, you and 29 other students will start up and run your own business. It doesn’t get much more hands on than that. After that, classes focus a lot more on the actual application of what you are learning than the theory. Also almost all of last years graduating class had had at least one internship, most had many more than that. </p>

<p>Socially Babson always has something going on. Yes it is a smaller school, but that also means it’s much easier to find out everything that is happening on campus. Almost every night of the week there is something to do. After you are finished with classes for the day there are always people hanging out and having fun.</p>

<p>I don’t know much about Northeastern so I can’t really say much about it, but felt more needed to be said about Babson. Really the best advice is to visit both schools and see how you feel about them.</p>

25

<p>This is going to be long and I apologize. I can not speak on northeastern behalf but I can share my experience at Babson with you.</p>

<p>As a current senior at Babson College I must say that I truly enjoyed my time here. Firstly, the classroom experience is like no other and I say this because of the flexibility we do have here at the school. Firstly, in your first two years at Babson you learn everything you need to know about how to run a business and what it takes to operate a business. Imagine being a freshman and being the CEO of your own company with 30 classmates. We offer a course here at Babson for freshmen called FME (Foundation of Management and Entrepreneurship). The class is truly unique because in the fall semester you learn all the techniques (IT, request for funding presentations and Management skills) in order to run the business in the spring semester.
Secondly, while taking your business classes you are also taking liberal arts class such as rhetoric, Calculus or Stats, and/or a history course. So in essence the first two years at Babson helps you to harness which area of business you truly enjoy may it be marketing, information technology, human resource or CEO (the entrepreneurial mindset). You can also think of it as getting your business degree done in the first two years as well because in the last two years at school there is tremendous flexibility in the curriculum. So let’s say you didn’t find an area of business that you were interested in but you took a liberal course with a professor that you truly enjoyed and the topic was interesting to you… we have concentration at Babson that will allow to focus the last two year in that area so not only have you earned a business degree but you also focused on a liberal arts area. The school also offers opportunities to take classes at Wellesley College (one of the top liberal arts college) and Olin College (the best engineering college). So although the school prides itself on being a small business school, there is opportunity for you to explore in other area that you may be interested in.
As far as the social life is concern, I don’t think you have anything to worry about because there is always something going on. For example, there was a play this weekend at school and next weekend is the president gala. Not to mention we have over 80 clubs and organizations located on campus in which you can get involved in and if there isn’t a club of your particular interest you can create with club in the matter of minutes. All you need is to find 2 other people interested in your idea! Also most students that attend Babson live on campus so you can always find someone to do something with you. Finally which I think is the best part is we offer shuttle service to Boston. A few of my friends took the shuttle into Boston to see an improve show for $5 at the Hard Rock Café . So as you can see you will be having fun while working hard!</p>

26

<p>I suggest the same as everyone else and believe you should most definitely visit both campuses and see for yourself. </p>

<p>However, I currently attend Babson and absolutely love it! To address some of the concerns brought up in other posts, yes Babson is smaller but I have so many more friends at Babson then my friends who go to larger universities. I can go to the dinning hall alone and be conmpletely confident I’ll see at least 2-3 groups of friends that I can sit with. At the same time, becuase we are smaller we are very much a close community who looks out for each other. At Babson, whether you are a first year or a senior you are welcome at every party and gathering. And not to mention at that party you will not have to introduce yourself to a bunch of new people but instead be surrounded by friends.</p>

<p>Also, there is a bus that will shuttle you to and from the city so if you decide you like going to city and the scene there it is easily accessible. But you still the best of both worlds because you live in the safe, beautiful suburb of Wellesley.</p>

<p>I could go on forever. But my last point is going to be about the classes. The largest class at babson is 60 students and is co-taught by two professors. Every professor knows every students name and will go out of their way for their students. I have professors who have never missed a home volleyball game of mine and I have other professors who have set me up with jobs and interviews just because they thought of me when they heard about the opportunity. </p>

<p>Babson is the answer if you are looking for the best college experience. The social life is great and has something for everyone and it prepares its students for the real world like no college or university I have ever heard of.</p>

27

<p>There are certainly pros and cons at each school. As a current Babson student, at times I feel there are some misconceptions about what Babson is and the education it provides. Our courses are 1/2 business and 1/2 liberal arts. While the business classes are great, so the liberal arts! These are no joke - they are comparable to those at other schools and some of my liberal arts courses have been my favorite. While we don’t have majors at Babson, we do have concentrations and there are a variety of concentrations that aren’t business-focused that many choose to pursue.</p>

<p>On the same front, in terms of not being able to do anything other than business, since coming to Babson I’ve realized that it’s not so black and white. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that you can translate the business skills you receive here to anything. Just about everything is a business - you want to go into fashion design? To be most successful, you need to know how to manage your brand, promote yourself, and how to organize. Interested in non-profit work or social work? Business skills can help you be the best at this too.</p>

<p>Ultimately, Babson has so many more opportunities on campus and after graduation that most don’t even realize. This is not a standard business education, speaking from first-hand knowledge, it’s definitely a unique and amazing experience.</p>

28

<p>I’m currently an undergraduate student at Babson and need to say that I don’t think I could have made a better decision for me! One of the most important things you should consider is what you are looking for most in a school (which qualities would your dream school have?). For me, it was a great mix of business and liberal arts curriculum, a sense of community and accessibility between students and faculty/staff, and the feeling that I could make a difference at the college. So, for me, Babson wound up being a fantastic option!</p>

<p>I agree with the above posters too - there’s a great mix between business and liberal arts. In fact, some of my favorite classes have been liberal arts ones! While everyone has the option to declare a concentration (sort of like a major), Babson even offers some in liberal arts like legal studies, gender studies, and visual arts.</p>

<p>In terms of social life, Babson’s anything but boring - in fact, I think the trick is definitely having to prioritize - and there’s so much to do! There’s a Knight Party once a month (a huge dance party for the whole campus), weekly events thrown by TONS of organizations, etc. If you want to go out, there will be something to do.</p>

<p>I’d definitely say that campus tours are a great way to get a feel for different schools as you are making your decision. Think about what you want in a college and totally don’t be afraid to ask questions on tours. At the end of the day, I hope you are able to find a school that fits you as well as I fit Babson!</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

29

<p>Wow! Four first time posters within two hours of each other all saying virtually the same thing and all sounding like they’re quoting from the website; what are the odds? Things must be slow in the admissions office.</p>

30

<p>what bout the internship opportunties, i know northeastern far exceeds an college in the east coast with CO OP but are internships easily accesible at Babson like fpr first year students</p>

31

<p>bumpppppppppp</p>

32

<p>i find Babson’s tactics of posting back to back to back threads from one post users hysterical. I think Northeastern is the better choice and if you didn’t notice i’m really biased.</p>

33

<p>To answer your questions about internships there are internship opportunities available to all students of each year. What is great about Babson is the constant support that you recieve from the Center of Career Development. As a freshman you can walk into the office and have your resume critique as well as practice some mock interviews. The office really prepares and challenges you to push your boundaries of apply to internship outside of your comfort zone.
If you are truly concern about chosing Babson I would suggest you come to Babson and sit in the student campus center and observe the culture for yourself/ ask student here about their experience. Quiet frankly we have a culture here which is too hard for words to describe. I think you seeing for yourself would help you to understand wht truly makes Babson unique. Good luck on your decision though.</p>

34

<p>i think one of babson’s strong points is networking and making connections with business people… they have insane amounts of conferences, speakers, workshops, etc… and they do a ton of “internship fairs” where big time (and start up) companies come recruit students. plus the faculty are all business people, so your professors could probably hook you up too. in this economic time its all about who you know!</p>

35

<p>I’ve found that internships are very easy to get. I had an awesome experience working for a consulting firm in the UK the summer after my sophomore year, and the Center for Career Development does a really good job of making the job application process easy to get involved with (basically a web page where all of the listings are posted).</p>

36

<p>Babson is 50% liberal art courses and 50% business courses. My friends have concentrated in studies ranging from the traditional finance, entrepreneurship, and accounting to other areas such as leadership, sciences, and law. The nice way to look at going to Babson is that while it is a well known business school, you gain a mindset of how to approach life after school. There are many different courses you can take while at any particular school, but it is the way in which you want to approach the next step that is most important. Having many friends going to both schools, I see a tenacious attitude from those at Babson for going out and being successful. They are competitive, bright, and overall great people that are a part of a community that is very well known for the success their students have before and after graduation.</p>

<p>In terms of finding internships/jobs - We have the Career Connections Department that always send out emails for upcoming deadlines for applications and interview processes. They are with you for all four years and help with everything you can imagine, including resume editing, interview practice, they have company recruiters in that are searching specifically for Babson students, and even stay with you after graduation if you are having trouble finding a job, to ensure that you meet up with the right people and land something. </p>

<p>Not to mention the networking that is available at Babson. Countless professors are also highly successful in their respective fields. Many have their own companies that they run, and with the close relationship they form with students, it is quite easy to land an internship, or be passed on to other internship opportunities by a professor that knows many people out there.</p>

<p>I could not be more pleased with my decision to be at Babson… I was in the exact same boat you are in, and its a tough decision. I know that I have been able to be quite successful here because of the people I am around, because of the students, teachers, staff and networks that Babson creates. </p>

<p>To close, having lived in the city for a summer, you really gain an appreciation for being able to get out of it every once in awhile. Plus with the availability for everyone on campus to have cars, the local shuttle, the train station close, you are able to get into Boston easily, and its cheap. Babson’s campus is beautiful, and its nice to have something like that where everybody in the school is in one place. </p>

<p>Message me if you have any questions, or want any more information!</p>