<p>Hi ! Congratulations on going to Babson ! Take a look at the Babson website. Some of the areas you might explore are the student handbook,course catalogue,mission statements. Equally important,you might look at all the assistance and resources that are available at Babson ranging from a strong career guidance group to academic assistance in writing,math etc. Take a look at all the (dozens upon dozens) clubs that are part of Babson …wide ranging from ultimate frisbee to musIc,theater and sports groups. You might even go so far as to reach out and say hello to a new Babson classmate on Facebook Babson class of 2017. There is a tremendous amount you can learn about the school on line and from what I have learned there is a great amount of resources that the school makes available to help you succeed academically and in career explorations. Lastly look at some of th Babson blogs from students who have just completed there first year…they reflect back on their experience and provide incoming students with some very wise and thoughtful comments. Lastly, you should be very proud and confident about your success in navigating the paths and processes that led to your acceptance at this school. I am sure many of the same attributes that helped you get to Babson will help get you through Babson…A reassuring results oriented stat. I recently came across; Babson ranked third amongst Massachussetts colleges and universities in its four year graduation rate…almost 90 per cent. Nationally this places Babson amongst the upper upper echelon of schools in graduation performance. I believe two of the factors that make this possible are 1) Babson picks good qualified students to begin with and 2) Babson offers great amount of support to students in all aspects of their living and learning experience during thipeir four yrs. at school.</p>
<p>Well, I’m happy for Reece. The truth of is, though, that it is much easier for someone like Reece to graduate at the top of his class at Babson than it would have been for him to graduate at the top of his class at Sanford, Dartmouth, Harvard, blah blah. There are simply too many people as smart as or smarter than Reece. But that doesn’t mean that an Ivy League education automatically gives you a better job. Truth be told, 5 years after college, that shiny Harvard degree isn’t worth as much. Your work experience is worth more at that point. Having said that, going to an Ivy-like school can help you start at a different place. I have noticed something else in my working life however, regarding some students from some ivy league schools. they are the most well rounded and knowledgeable folks I’ve met. I have not found this degree of excellence from average joe folks. I mean, when you spend 4 years surrounded by folks who graduated as valedictorians, started non profits, published stuff while in high school, we varsity champions, all the while holding down a slate of 7 AP classes in which they earned straight As and all 5s, the types of discussions you have in the dorms are very different. you discuss works of Augustine, Weber, Kant, etc etc while folks elsewhere are discussing the pop culture. I went to an an Ivy league school, and a top program for grad school that happened to be at a major public institution (still considered top 25) and the difference in the quality of undergrads was very apparent. So will you get a better, more rounded education at a Princeton or Dartmouth? Yes, I would have to say so. Will a degree from an Ivy be any kind of barometer of success? No. I don’t even look at someones college when I look at a new hire. I want to see what kind of work they’ve done and how successful they’ve been. So if your heart is set on Babson, go there. however, if you decide to dick around at Babson and graduate with mediocre grades, the opportunities you will have upon graduation will be more limited compared to if you had dicked around at Harvard and graduated with mediocre grades. It’s just the truth. Not a value judgement. The other thing to consider is that classes may actually be harder at some top schools. Dartmouth and Princeton out of the Ivy league and Stanford as well are known for rugged academic torture. So it may be misery for no reason.</p>