<p>This looks like a good place to get an answer to my dilemma. Everyone has been telling me I should be applying to the Ivy League colleges, having exactly what they are looking for. I want to be an entrepreneur and after visiting Babson, Harvard, and Dartmouth and planning my next visits to the little Ivy’s, I find Babson continues to enter into the decision process as the odd man out. Comparing the Ivy’s is fairly straightforward for me, apples to apples, all good schools, but Babson is the orange off to the side. It appears to be exactly what I want, but I wonder if my giving up the Ivy experience and more traditional path of four year liberal education followed by a few years work experience and on to B School, may be a mistake. I have hardly no interest in joining the typical corporate ladder world but realize I may need to initially to earn money to start a business of my own, which is what I really want. Several people have told me that after four years at Babson, some recruiters consider this on par with MBA’s from many of the top B schools. Is that true? I also do not like the idea of leaving academics for 2-4 years work experience to be able to get into a good B school. What am I really giving up if I go to Babson for four years and get on with my career? Opinions and advice greatly appreciated. Reece</p>
<p>Well Reece there are a few things you should think about. If you can get into Darmouth, Harvard or the other Ivies chances are you can get in to many schools in the country.</p>
<p>I would say that if you are that bright to get into the Ivy's you should not pass up the opportunity. Sure your dreams are to become an entrepreneur and make your own business into the next Fortune 500 giant. As smart as you are chances are not in your favor of succeeding but if you have what it takes who knows and maybe the Fortune will be in your future.</p>
<p>I would not say that 4 years at Babson are considered on par with MBA's from top MBA programs. Think about it at Babson after 4 year you would have your undergraduate degree. Meanwhile an MBA not only has their MBA degree but if their MBA is from a top school chances are they have quality work experience and don't forget they have their undergraduate degree also. There is an even greater likelihood that their undergraduate degree comes from a top or well respected school where they performed well. So those don't add up and most certainly not from Babson perhaps Upenn's Wharton Undergraduate Program would be the best school for that comparison.</p>
<p>I would say not going to an Ivy or a school of that caliber such as Duke, etc... would be a great mistake for you. Although you plan on creating your own business how do you plan to start it? You need money chances are you will make some of that when you start out working in corporate America. </p>
<p>If it is after that point when you decide to start your own thing the Ivy diploma will not only look better to your future employees and give you respect but it will help you out immensely more then a degree from Babson would if you are planning on making some money before in the corporate world.</p>
<p>In your situation the Ivy degree will help for you future plans and give you a MUCH better base to get your plans rolling.</p>
<p>Babson maybe ranked #1 for entrepreneurship but you must look at actual results. I don't know of a single entrepreneur from Babson except for that guy who started Home Depot. For a school that is supposed to be the best at entrepreneurship they have successful alumni but I only know of one who created that Fortune 500 company.</p>
<p>If you look at the Ivy graduates who created Fortune 500 companies or are the current or former CEO's and Chairmen of the Board at top companies you would realize that the number would be too large to count. I don't think any Ivy league school even offers entrepreneurship for undergradutes except for Upenn's Wharton. </p>
<p>Let alone I don't think any Ivy except Upenn offers business for undergraduates. </p>
<p>That might seem strange that almost every Ivy doesn't offer business for their undergraduates yet the Ivy's produce an uncountable amount of CEO's and founders of some of America's largest and most successful companies.</p>
<p>That proves that the Ivy's are so great that they make even business specialty schools such as Babson look like a spec of dust...and they just about everyone of them doesn't offer business at the undergraduate level.</p>
<p>Perhaps an idea on the flip side:</p>
<p>I applied to Babson and was accepted this year and I will be visiting it on Monday. What I am realizing more and more that there are many more important variables than just prestige. Your education is what you make it, not what it says on your diploma. Twenty years down the line you'll think back and realize that even an "ivy" diploma doesn't matter very much. With that said, you will be spending four years of your life preparing for your future. Break each school down individually, and you will find that Babson is very unique. Part of what makes education fun, is seeing the fruits of your labor. Babson immediately couples your education with hands-on experience where your knowledge is applied. </p>
<p>I am a firm believer that there are opportunities to do well at every university. The most successful businessmen are those who search for, and make their own opportunities. Your chances of starting a successful small business are no better with a graduation certificate from Wharton than they are from Babson. If you ever want to become a corporate executive than realize that its not a college diploma that is going to get you up the ladder, its a set of personal skill coupled with a combination of practical business skills.</p>
<p>Furthermore, it is totally unrational to compare how many Fortune 500 CEO went to Babson compared to how many went to Ivy Schools. Please realize that Babson graduates about 400 each year, while the Ivy's combined graduate tens of thousands.</p>
<p>Best of luck in this college admission maze!</p>
<p>Babson is a good school, I mean i was strongly considering it. To tell you the truth, if you know you want to start your own business and have the financial backing go here, if you want to work a year or two and then start your own business go here, but if you plan on just going to wall street, then look elsewhere. I mean Babson is a good school, but it not going to land you the Investment Banking Job that you'll get come from Wharton, Harvard, Chicago, Gtown, etc. I'm going to NYU next year as a Econ Major, and minor in pre-business with stern, I kind of regret not applying to Babson Early because I really like the school academics, but I didn't like the fact that if you don't have a car on campus there is no social life. But honestly it is a great school. The campus is beautiful, close to boston, and FME looks awsome. Good Luck.</p>
<p>Babson won't help you in starting your own business. Sure they can try and teach you but if you want to become a great entrepreneur it has to come from within. The desire, the long days, the commitment has to be there otherwise you can be taught every single trick in the book and you will fail. </p>
<p>Hollaratme you made a sound decision in choosing NYU. Although you aren't going to be in Stern which would help the career prospects a great deal the contacts you will have made and experience you will have gained will be far greater then what Babson would have provided.</p>
<p>The FME you are referring to is that the business start-up they have? On studentsreview and the princeton review they claim that the FME businesses are just small peddle shop. Nothing like what you would experience in the real world. So their skills benefit might help but the practicality is yet to be seen.</p>
<p>Don't bash the FME please. The FME is the first entrepreneurship venture, and a very important one. Although they may be just "peddle shops," they do start building many of the skills/abilities one needs when starting a business. Plus, having that experience is very helpful for a rising entrepreneur. From the FME one learns from failures and learn to build on successes. Furthermore, what would you expect from college freshman? Do you expect them to start up Home Depot's their first year in college?</p>
<p>I thank you all for the thoughtful post, they have been very helpful and I appreciate hearing both sides of the thinking. For years I have been imagining going to an Ivy college, thinking about the prestige and working very hard to be sure I would be a solid candidate. I almost hate admitting it and that thought of the prestige is awful hard to let go of, but I am beginning to realize that the whole point of going to college for me is to acquire the knowledge I believe I need the fastest and best way possible. Nothing wrong with either choice, but I know I do not want to be the typical corporate ladder guy, and will never be content until I am running my own business and controlling my own fate. I know it comes from within, thanks, but I feel that already, my life dream.</p>
<p>One part of this that is starting to stand out is the difference in the time it will take to acquire that knowledge. Going the Ivy liberal arts direction, even if I get the most business related courses I can for three years, I would then have to do two years work experience minimum to get into a top B school in order to get the rest of the courses I want. If I get the most I can out of Babson in four years, it appears from their course choices and concetration that I can save at least four years. I really hate the thought of leaving academia for a few years, work at a job I know I will leave, along with the paycheck and possibly distraction, in order to get the rest of what I want. Net difference is four years minimum. Am I thinking about this wrong? What am I missing?</p>
<p>Go to babson. you will get half tuition, you will beast it, and you will have fun. Pluss you save time.</p>
<p>I wouldn't go to Babson because a) you risk hurting your grad school chances and b) the way you think about becoming an entrepreneur Reece is not the way the real world approaches it.</p>
<p>Understand that you will not start your own business successfully most likely until you have had some kind of work experience after college. By going to an Ivy you first of all guarantee yourself more opportunities than Babson. Second with those opportunities if you do strike a nice job after college then it will be better. Chances are although you will leave to get your MBA you will probably end up going to an even better MBA program so that way when you come back into the work field you will be making double or even several times what you were making before.</p>
<p>Also if you do well enough at the job your empliyer might turn around and even chip in to help pay for grad school. </p>
<p>It is understood that you don't want to be the corporate ladder guy. That is fine. What you are not seeing is that even if you want to start your own company you will HAVE to work somewhere before in order to get the ideas, MONEY and CONCEPTS. If you plan on starting it fresh out of college good luck cause neither I nor anyone else I know would join you.</p>
<p>The Ivy's give you better job prospects, better marketability, you don't loose time because if you do well at the Ivy your odds of going to a good grad school and getting a good job after college are even higher. I wouldn't call leaving a job to get an MBA from a top notch school a waste of a few years by any means.</p>
<p>Maybe look at your approach in this way.</p>
<p>I know it is near May 1st and hopefully you haven't decided yet (or decided on Babson). I just made the decision last night and it is real important / exciting. Reece, you will not be the only one with Ivy League grades and scores at Babson. You will have friends that are intellectuals with important international backgrounds too. I got into many schools that owned babson by atleast 100 points on average SAT and I am still coming. If you understand that we have studied Math Science English and History for 12 years and you also understand that you can learn the most about something you know very little about then babson kreeps onto the radar screen. For me aspects besides prestige all fell in Babson's favor. Even schools like the Ivys that do business (besides Penn) don't start you on business courses until Junior / Senior year, why wittle away two years when you are enthusiastic now? Oh yeah, I forgot, if for example you are actually Ivy league material and you come to Babson and you have some pretty good ideas and you gain people's respect, you will find Babson students and Aluminae who are willing to join you gaureented regardless of work experience. I would be a fool not to. We are living the dream why not? Babson is rising in the world of top business schools espeacially that of undergrad business because it takes time for Aluminae to be famous and make a lot of money. Babson only started trying to be really good recently give the classes of the past ten years another ten years and their will be many more notables than just Home Depot. If you value a small school with small class sizes in ALL classes then Babson again trumps the Ivys.
Really though if you are enthusiastic now then Babson is right for you, that was really the deciding factor. Nobody looks down on a Babson degree too. Sure if you are in a job market with Harvard kids then you are on the outside looking in. Even in this scenerio there are compensating factors that may help your application. Once you get a job the employer will like Babson kids more then Harvard kids if iyou are Ivy league material that doesn't change because you go to Babson. You may even consider applying to the ivys to help your future resume, get in, and say employer, I got in but babson was going to prepare me better for your job. Then again you don't want to enter the corporate world so why the heck does prestige matter? All right I willl continue this another time I have to go prepare for AP Exams.</p>
<p>orangelights your like a little kid. Falling for all the publsihed material. School's aren't just what brochures say and waht is written. They are much more I think you missed that part about Babson and wherever else.</p>
<p>I love when you call me a little kid in the same sentence that you use your instead of the proper you're. I am no expert on grammar, far from it, just that was a bit ironic.
I think very important point many many of you are missing (though there have been great points brought up) is the enjoyment (understood to be the complete package of utility) you will get while you are on campus. College is four years long for the stage we are considering. The next four years of your life must be enjoyable else it was not worth it. Simply stated I am enthusiastic about going to Babson (for some obvious reasons and some I'm not sharing). If you are more enthusiastic about Babson than other colleges, if you feel you will enjoy it more learning about the things that really matter to you ect, please do yourself a favor and come. Otherwise fine, go with the prestige, but only on the condition that it will be more enjoyable to you while you are there, that you believe it will help you accomplish your specific dreams better than any other school. Shoot for your dreams you're not going to be in bad shape even if your dream about starting a company doesn't come through if you come out of Babson with good marks. Babson in your specific case does provide your dreams the largest probability of coming to fruition.
Enjoyment is a personal assestion. None of us can measure the amount of enterpenureal spirit anyone else has. Though we know you will find people with a lot of it at Babson.
Dunkaroo while not being inside my head for the past two months it must be very difficult for you to understand exactly why I made my decision. As is such please do not jump to conclusions about my shallowness. I do not want to continue a personal argument with you. This thread is about the merits of Babson as opposed to ivy league schools. In your old posts you generally folloowed that. In your most previous you didn't. PLease debate my points about Babson and not me personally. You spend a lot of time on here and are a valued member. One of your posts ranked Babson 29th in the country for general business programs. Its a given fact that it is first for enterpeneurs. AS this is the case why is it such a devious option. In other posts you have stuck by the numbers as a be all end all off the decision proccess.</p>
<p>This is ridiculous. You seem to be nothing more than a prestige whore. Most Ivys dont even have undergraduate business programs. Realize that a large number of those who say they will go to graduate school dont because of unplanned circumstances (family, job responsibilities, or a change of heart). With that said, why go to an ivy school? Besides Wharton, why should an entrepreneur spend four years of their life studying something they dont have a passion for? Furthermore, most other top business schools start their business education junior year. For an entrepreneur, four years of practical business education combined with hands-on experience beats is far more beneficial than a couple of years of business education at another school. The work load is hard, but this is probably one of the most beneficial aspects of the education for an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs eat, sleep, and breathe the business they start. Long hours are to be expected, so Babson helps students adjust to that. Furthermore, the large work load ensures that students learn time management as well as get their money out of their education. 42K is a lot of money, but I cant think of a school where students get their moneys worth more than at Babson.</p>
<p>I just visited Babson earlier this week and I loved it! I made the decision to attend Babson as well, I cant wait to see all you Babsonites out there in the fall!</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Babson is starting to loose its grip on the #1 ranking for entrepreneurship. Other schools like Wharton, etc... will take it over within the next few years.</p>
<p>That is a rash generalization. If it is true, support that statement with some facts/expert opinions.</p>
<p>Dunkaroo, did you apply to Babson? If you did apply, were you admitted?</p>
<p>no I didn't apply but if I were to apply I would have been admitted.</p>
<p>Dunkaroo don't even start this, we all know you are Enarang and that you were rejected by babson and that is why your are going to bentley. You used to be a babson troll and all of a sudden when decision came out your against Babson, that is BS. Honeslty just be mature about it and say you were rejected, and now you second guessing if you even liked the school. That is extremely immature to go around talking trash about the school just because you were rejected.</p>
<p>hollar please. I did not even apply to Babson in the first place. Had I applied I would have gotten in no problem. Our school has a weird gpa scale its out of 5.0 Mine was a 4.8. My SAT scores were very high as well.</p>