BC vs BU vs Brandeis vs Bentley for Econ/Math

College Search & Selection
1

I’m a parent considering the costs/is it worth it for each of the choices (meaning AP scores accepted, possibility to graduate in three years, requirement to live on campus and such). We are not qualified for need based aid, but really cannot afford paying $320K for a college.

BU and BC would be full price. BU requires 1 or 2 years on campus (not sure which), but accepts AP scores so graduating earlier might be an option.
BC is across the street from us, so not living on campus could save some. But graduating earlier is a lot less likely even with all the AP scores accepted.
Brandeis gave $20K/year merit. Definitely would have to study for all 4 years. Could commute if allowed.
Bentley is the least expensive, and gave $30K merit and honors program. It would be the cheapest by far, in 4 years he would be able to get a masters there for about $100K total. Also commuting.

Both I and my husband, and the older son are engineers, our friends in Boston area are mostly biology researchers or in IT, so we know nothing about economics as a profession, or the programs’ strength. So below is what I think but asking for corrections or confirmation:

Bentley seems to be more skill oriented, if the goal were to become an accountant, that would be the choice. Maybe getting a CPA while at the university. But changing to another area seems practically impossible. Also seems that Mathematics offerings are not that great.

BU. A while ago I saw a link on this forum about publications in Economics, and BU was #9 in that ranking. It also has a lot more mathematics courses offered.

BC. I thought it was better regarded than the other three, but I’m not sure. I doubt it would be better for Math and Economics than BU, but please correct me if that’s not the case. I know they have a great Finance program.

Brandeis. My friends in biology research love it. I have no one to comment on their Economics or Mathematics programs.

The future student wanted BC most (I think because of its location and campus). Bentley was a safety school but he was very excited about the scholarship. He is OK with both BU and Brandeis-he’d go there as the main goal is study. He worked during high school and will continue this summer and beyond, so that will help with tuition a little.

There is a strong possibility of a grad school in the future.

Our older son did get his engineering degree from UIUC in three years so I know that’s possible. But I would plan on it only if it would be the only way to afford a better college.

If none of these is a certain leader, maybe there is no point trying to get the cost down for them. On the other hand, when I saw how a school he didn’t rush to login to to check the acceptance suddenly becomes exciting… maybe there had been too much talk about money.

All of this has been discussed with him.
Appreciate any comments!

2

Bentley is like a small business school, with a few other majors (some of which are business-adjacent):

The “quantitative” economics major is a moderate math (single variable calculus) economics major:
https://catalog.bentley.edu/undergraduate/programs/business-programs/quantitative-economics/
Since that major is contained in the business division, substantial business courses are also required.

If the student wants to go on to PhD study in economics and chooses Bentley, it may be better to study one of the math/statistics-based majors (mathematical sciences, actuarial science, or data analytics) and add the intermediate economics and econometrics courses as electives. Bentley does not offer real analysis (sometimes preferred by PhD economics programs), so that course may have to be taken through cross registration at Brandeis.

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Thank you, that is so helpful! Apparently, we did not do enough research. I did not know about cross registration. If that’s really possible (I mean available spaces in a Brandeis class), that would be perfect.

this looks like a study plan, thank you again!

4

What type of grad school? If he is thinking possible MBA or JD, that is much different than a PhD in Econ.

5

Looks like the prices and choices are:

  • Bentley: $78k - $30k = $48k (maybe $33k as commuter)
  • Brandeis: $79k - $20k = $59k (maybe $45k as commuter)
  • Boston College: $81k (maybe $66k as commuter)
  • Boston University: $83k ($70k as commuter)

Which would be affordable? (Presumably not residential at Boston College or Boston University.)

Are there any other lower cost options? (e.g. UMass schools)

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State school would be UMass Amherst, in state minus 6K over the 4 years from a State fund. Not much difference with Bentley commute.
BC would be either 81 + 3* 66 – I don’t think we would do that, or 4* 66 with all 4 years not paying for room and board-- worth it or not, I don’t know. We could but that would mean no retirement savings during these years.
BU definitely wants everyone to pay for a year on their campus, but could be 3 years total. Could be 83 + 2* 70. That’s an option. But there is no guarantee that he’d be able to graduate in 3 years.
Brandeis 4* 45 is affordable.
Bentley 4* 33 is great. Also, Bentley would accept his AP classes so it’s either 3* 33 or even better double major/more relevant classes in 4 years.
UMass would be 4* 31, or could also be 3* 31. For whatever reason, he does not want to go there.
The lowest BC/BU could be is still twice more than Bentley. We could do that but is there a valid reason? Would Bentley for undergrad close some doors compared to BU? To Brandeis? Would Brandeis be not as good (academically and in terms of recognition) in Econ/Math as BU?

Grad school–most likely in data/economics. Not JD.

7

I’d rate the schools as:
BU, BC
Brandeis
Bentley

With BU & BC being too expensive, Brandeis is a good choice.

8

That was my understanding, too, but how big is the gap?

9

Brandeis or UMass would probably be better than Bentley for a pre-PhD economics / math major.

Bentley has a strong preprofessional business emphasis, so it would be better for a student who wants to go to work in such a field immediately after graduation.

2 Likes
10

Would suggest a re-look at UMass. Consider the upper level course offerings in economics:

https://www.umass.edu/economics/undergraduate/courses/offerings

and math and statistics:

https://www.math.umass.edu/course-descriptions

11

BC is known to place respectably into Wall Street. It is Catholic.
We have wondered at home, while thinking about BC, whether the networking benefits extend to non Catholics.

12

We are also non Catholic.

Does UMass look better than Brandeis, or same but less expensive?

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Perhaps the student can compare the economics and math offerings at Brandeis (see below) to those at UMass (linked in previous post). Remember that college is first and foremost about academic study; the academic offerings that most closely match the student’s interests should weight the preference toward that college, within other must-have parameters like affordability.

https://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/bulletin/provisional/courses/subjects/1600.html

https://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/bulletin/provisional/courses/subjects/4700.html

14

That’s fair, can’t do all the work for him. I volunteered to free up his time for his AP self-study, but he’s going to have to read the descriptions himself.

15

I would definitely appeal for more merit at BU and Brandeis – just to get those numbers down. They all want yield and 10-30k off the top isn’t asking for that much but makes or breaks your decision. I’m not sure if BC gives out merit.

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At Brandies, 40% of the students with no need get merit awards. The average award is 15k.

The OP didn’t receive any merit aid at BU. BU gives out merit aid to <10% of students with no financial need. The average award is 30k.

17

Bentley is a fine place but the vibe is very pre-professional. Nobody is going to Bentley for the “life of the mind”.

Don’t know if the OP cares about that, but BC (Jesuit tradition, kids majoring in philosophy, history, etc.), BU (huge university with many majors, programs, interdisciplinary exploration) and Brandeis (small U which feels like an LAC) are going to have deeper resources for the “non-functional” part of an education- i.e. thinking, writing, researching, contemplating.

Bentley is a good place for a kid with hustle who wants a job coming out of undergrad…

18

Things have changed at BC. Today the 10 most popular majors are:

Economics
Finance
Biology
Political Science
Communications
Psychology
Computer Science
Nursing
Applied Psychology & Human Development
Neuroscience

19

This mostly confirms what I thought.

I could probably try to call BU but I don’t really count on anything. Statistically he must be in the top < 10 percent BU applicants but didn’t have a chance to save the world yet :frowning:

We all do care about the thinking part of education. Maybe not Bentley then. Need to find out more about the cross registration. On the other hand, some of Brandeis required classes would be of no benefit to him. He read Spengler’s Decline of the West in 9th grade out of curiosity.

20

I suggest you re open and here’s why. There are schools you can go dirt cheap if you got into those - i’ll throw them out - Arizona, UAH, Alabama, etc.

My reason is simply - you are looking for your son to commute to save money yet you are paying top $$. Part of going to college is - going to college. Living at home - is not going to college. It’s not the full experience, bonding with others, study groups, learning to do laundry, getting your own apartment, etc.

You are paying tuition for more than classes - and you are basically robbing him from that aspect of college.

You can go for way cheaper and have it all!!!

And that’s what I would do.

If you want to be close, i’m sure there are school s in the NE - won’t be near as cheap (under $100K all in most likely) - but will be similar money and give your child the deserved college experience.