If you or your child had a choice between Fairfield Univ, Loyola Univ Maryland and Bentley University which would you chose? He is a business major (Econ/Finance). Financials are very similar so that is not a factor and he really likes all three.
We looked at Fairfield and Bentley with my S (although for full disclosure he went to another Jesuit school) and liked them. All the schools on your list are very nice mid-sized universities. I don’t think there is any one right or wrong answer. I’ll give you a bit of my S’s thinking.
Location – Where does your S want to work after graduation? Each school may have a stronger local employment/alumni base so that may be worth asking about.
Jesuit v Business -
- Bentley is really a business oriented school. Is your S 100% sure he wants to study business? In the end my S decided he wanted a more diverse student group and wanted the ability to transfer out of the b-school if he didn’t like it and stay a the same university. I happened to like Bentley a lot and felt it provided an excellent business education but that was his feeling. Certainly two reasonable people could have different feelings on this.
- Jesuit school/core – Your other two choices are Jesuit schools which have a large and probably not terribly flexible core curriculum in the liberal arts. My S went to another Jesuit school and overall thought the core was OK (although I think he wished is was a few courses fewer than it was) and I will say that he did get a very good and well rounded education – but the downside is that I think he only had one free elective in four years.
- Also I imagined you considered this but be sure your S comfortable seeing religious symbols etc. on campus at the Jesuit schools.
Your S may want to re-visit the schools during accepted students days. Congrats on the really nice choices he has.
Thank you so much for your feedback. All excellent things he should consider. We are going back to all three the end March beginning of April.
Forgot forgot to ask if he stayed with a business major or did he switch?
He did stay in the b-school and is a CPA now. He ultimately just felt he wanted to be with classmates who had a diverse group of interests and that he wanted an “out” in case he decided on a different path. There is no right or wrong answer…it is really a matter of personal preference. As I mentioned I liked Bentley a lot but it just wasn’t the right fit for my S.
Hands down, I think, of those three Bentley is the best for Business. The facilities, internships and connections to careers after graduation are hands down the best. They also have a push to get students to go into the non profit world. One of their alums at 27 became President of the Boston Food Bank. Non profits are looking for people who have a passion to help people but the background in accounting, finance, marketing and HR courses. An alum gave a lot of $$ to help students augment their salary at a non profit rather than having to take a higher paid internship with a company to help pay for books, etc expenses at college. They want students to explore this option.
I really appreciate your input. It is a very good point because my son just decided on a business major (was thinking engineering before) so I am a bit cautious about him not having the option to switch to something else. That being said I don’t see him switching to another major outside of business so it could work out. Its just another point he has to weigh in his decision which we hope is very soon.
All of these are regional universities with similar reputations. I would pick based on fit, cost, and where you want to end up location-wise at the start of your career.
Fairfield’s business school is highly regarded and its alumni do very well. What distinguishes it from a Bentley is the fact that at Fairfield the business students will take an arts and sciences core curriculum in addition to the business curriculum, with the Jesuit reputation for excellence. They have a very strong alumni network on Wall Street and beyond. Alumni include the past president of the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, the CEO of LL Bean and the current CEO of GE. A Fairfield education develops the whole person while I think a business only approach such as Bentley’s is one dimensional. I have a son who is interested in undergraduate business programs and we are steering him away from Bentley, Bryant and Babson and toward schools like Fairfield, Loyola and Providence,
Thank you for your feedback! Good points to consider.
@CTDadof2 have you visited Bentley? They actually have a strong non business liberal arts curriculum in addition to the business curriculum. Take a look at their site, there is more info there.
SuzyQ7. You certainly may be right. My thinking is Since my son wants an undergraduate business program I Want him to go to a school with a strong one in a university with a strong college of arts and sciences as well, in case his interests evolve. If he ended up at a business centric school like Bentley and ultimately opted not to pursue a business degree, and got say a BA in English instead, I feel people would always question his choices, sort of like someone going to MIT and graduating with a fine arts degree.
@suzyQ7 I visited Bentley and liked the school a lot (although my S ended up elsewhere). It really is a business school first and foremost and that was made clear on our visit. These are the first two sentences from its website “Bentley University is one of the nation’s leading business schools, dedicated to preparing a new kind of business leader and one with the deep technical skills, the broad global perspective and the high ethical standards required to make a difference in an ever-changing world. To achieve our goal, we infuse our advanced business curriculum with the richness of a liberal arts education.”
They do have good liberal arts offerings, but not all all to the extent of the other colleges on the OP’s list. Liberal arts courses are an excellent supplement to the business curriculum but not the stated primary focus of the college. For example Bentley offers 12 majors for a BS (having a business focus) and 12 majors with a liberal arts focus along with a group of liberal arts concentrations and minors. On the other hand, Fairfield (another school on the OP’s list) offers over 60 choices of major with only 7 majors in the business school. The emphasis of Bentley is clearly to provide a business education (which of course includes liberal arts offerings).
I also agree with @CTDadof2 in that the Jesuit colleges on the OPs list (my S went to one) have particularly rigorous, varied, and extensive liberal arts core curriculums.
As I said, I like Bentley a great deal but I do think that a student attending that college should be fairly confident that he/she wants to study business as an undergrad in order to take advantage of the strength of the college.
@jcd716 Has your S made a decision? Good luck!
@happy1 Almost. We are going to accepted students day at Bentley & Fairfield then hopefully he can make his decision. We also are asking Bentley to increase the scholarship he was awarded and that may factor into his decision. I’ll keep you posted.
@jcd716 Sounds great! Two fine schools! Hopefully the finances will work out at both and hopefully your S will have a preference after the visits and hopefully the finances will work out. He can’t make a bad choice.
@happy1 How did you go about asking Bentley for more scholarship money? Who did you contact etc?
@clgagekids my son sent an email to his admissions counselor asking for an appeal of his scholarship amount. He was then asked to call them and he spoke with the director of admissions and made a formal appeal. It is currently being reviewed.
Thank you for your reply. I appreciate the information @jcd716
This might be a bit too late with May 1 right around the corner but my D is a raising senior at Bentley and adores it. She got an amazing merit scholarship and is in the honors program. The campus is lovely, her classes have been small, her largest one 28 and the smallest 6. She has great relationships with her professors and has had fantastic internships. You do need to know you want business. If he is at all thinking business might not be his area then one of the other schools might be a better option for him.
Thank you @buffalomomof4. He really loved Bentley but in the end he wanted to be closer to home and chose Fairfield Univ.