My son was recently accepted to both business schools and although he has yet to make a decision, he is leaning towards Northeastern. I have read that BC has a strong presence on Wall Street, due to alumni connections, but what about NU? I would think co-op is a big contributor to finding a post-graduate position, but is it more who you know? How much of a difference is there, really, if you are networking as a student? We are paying full freight, although NU gave him some merit that softens the blow.
Coop is one way to get to know people. Think of a coop assignment as a 6 month extended interview. They get to know you. you get to know the company. Northeastern has coop jobs at Goldman Sachs in New York and London and with other Wall Street firms. Not everyone who applies for these will be hired. of course.
I think that it matters who the student will make connections with while in school rather than what the school will do for him. if he is self-motivated and will advocate for himself he will be successful no matter where he goes, and all that matters is if he is enjoying his experience. Good luck!
You may want to check with @privatebanker on this. He is quite knowledgeable on these schools, job placement, etc.
B-school is one discipline where prestige matters, but not sure the difference in rankings (#43 for BC and #58 for NEU) is that much of a differentiator. Top firms recruit at both places. I realize that NEU’s coop program appears attractive, but CSOM undergrads do fine finding summer placements. The coop to me, as a parent, is a nice-to-have feature, not must have.
That being said, which campus does he like better? NEU is more urban and BC is more of a suburban experience (even though ~40% of the main campus is inside the Boston City limits). BC has D1 sports, other than Hockey.
Is the merit from NEU meaningful to your family? $25k/yr is a whole lot more material than $5k!
@MsGamora, CSOM hands down. I have friends @ NU, and its a fine school but the business schools are not comparable. CSOM has a more active and loyal Financial community alum network, is ranked higher, has higher brand recognition and CSOM students have a certain intangible X factor that makes them sought after by Wall St and Hedge funds. Perhaps this is largely attributed to the pedigree of the Jesuit education and religious influence…maybe Wall st thinks we are less easily corruptible? I say that tongue and cheek but there might be something to it… 
@bluebayou where did u get those rankings for the business schools. My daughter currently on wait list at BC not very optimistic would like to compare rankings of other business schools she has been accepted to
I prefer USNews rankings of MBA schools (as opposed to undergrad b-schools), as ‘prestige’, such that it is, primarily is derived from grad programs (IMO).
bbfan makes a good point: a Jesuit education is a wonderful thing (regardless of major) – no one gets away without learning excellent critical thinking skills.
I need to be honest here - the grade deflation I’ve read about at BC (in a most recent thread and from my own research) bugs me. As a parochial/Jesuit educated individual all the way through college, I understand the thinking behind it, but don’t necessarily agree with grade deflation or inflation for that matter. Not saying NU doesn’t have some of the same practices when it comes to grading (haven’t been able to find anything on it), but don’t grades weigh strongly for internships and placement? In that case, better for son to be the big fish in the smaller pond than vice versa since kids with the better GPA will fare better with internships etc. Also, I’m skeptical about prestige. Got two nephews that went to B school at Georgetown, and they had a hell of a time finding internships and jobs, and they were strong students. It’s a tough decision, since I know BC is a great school. Going up this weekend to look at both again!
yes grades are important MsGamora, but you need to compare apples to apples. And as you note, its difficult to find info on the grade distribution of NEU, as opposed to BC some of which is available. Ask a lot of questions as you visit.
But, wrt size, NEU’s biz program is nearly 2x the size of CSOM.
Yup, highly ranked schools are not a guarantee to a job. But, in reality, outside of the top national (say, Wharton, MIT, Stern, Ross, Haas…), most b-schools are local. For example, BC and NEU will place well into the NE, but not so much into the mid-Atlantic, or west coast. Similarly, McDonough will place well into the mid-Atlantic. One downside with Georgetown, however, is competition for local policy jobs – many attend Georgetown for that very reason - but have to compete with GW and UVa grads for limited entry level jobs in DC.
To me, the discussion about CSOM’s grading policy is more student whining about fears than statistical reality. What the BC research found is that some profs are easy A’s and some follow the department grading goal for the same large course, (Accounting 1, Finance 1, etc.). Thus, your grade may be the luck of the draw on which Prof you get that term. So CSOM is focused is reducing the grade outliers for fairness: if the department goal is a B+ mean, a prof needs to structure his/her grading with that in mind or have to go essplain the generous grades to the Dept Chair. In other words CSOM is implementing a policy which is similar to CAS for large courses with multiple sections taught over different terms.
Note, BC is not changing Dept guidance for grade means.
Enjoy your trip to BeanTown.
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To me, the discussion about CSOM's grading policy is more student whining about fears than statistical reality<<
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Yikes!
Poets & Quants for Undergrads ranks CSOM #9 nationally
"The Carroll School of Management at Boston College focuses on providing a business education with a liberal arts approach. And at number nine, the school is the only one to debut in the top ten in this year’s rankings. The school’s impressive entry to the rankings was anchored by a strong alumni survey. The school placed fourth in the alumni experience category of the rankings.
This past fall, Carroll introduced four new minors to non-management students in hopes of building bridges between management and liberal arts.
“We want to broaden rather than narrow the way management students think, and that’s why we favor a liberal arts approach that draws on ideas and insights from multiple disciplines,” Ethan Sullivan, Senior Associate Dean in the undergraduate program of the Carroll School of Management, says."
Have you gone to the Accepted Student Days? I can only speak for Boston College last year and as a parent, high marks!
Not sure where the info on Carroll is coming from but it’s a little out of date from a real world perspective. BC Carroll is a really a hot school. It seems Bc has dedicated its resources at the ug levels. They are top 15 level to me overall and top 10 finance. But that’s where I spend my days so maybe that is coloring my view.
It used to be mba or bust. Now it’s much more common to focus on ug b schools for the career head start. MBAs after a few years of experience and executive programs are like finishing schools.
Carroll is more connected to IB and Private Equity. Especially in New England for PE. Which is a booming PE space. Anything Finance related it’s much more connected. And the professional behind the scenes alumni network, is just a what I would call “a bit more enthusiastic”.
For marketing and other b school paths the co ops are actually a really good head start and super helpful. Accounting, I would also suggest a co op program. Want law following b school - BC has a killer network there as well.
The rankings of the MBA programs are not really indicative of the undergraduate programs since many of the top MBA programs do not have undergraduate programs. NU coop program is probably great for accounting majors. BC is probably better connected to banking and financial services in Boston. I wouldn’t agree that BC has a “strong” presence on Wall Street.
They have a really good bank days, internships and in campus visits
and placement. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So many great choices.
This was released today. FWIW
April 8, 2019
Boston College among nation’s top 10 undergraduate business programs
Carroll School of Management ranked 9th in Poets & Quants national survey
Nation, World & Society / Business & Management - Published on January 14, 2019
glad to see my alma mater remains #1
@W84Quaker Me too!
It’s all relative. Ignore those MBA schools that do not offer undergrad biz, and one obtains a fairly good representation of USNews’ rankings of undergrad programs. (In my opinion is one of the better rankings. Of course, there are plenty more ranking sources, and all colleges will post the ones that show them in the best light.)
fwiw: USNews does rank 13 undergrad programs, but BC is not one of them. Perhaps they would be ~15…
Perhaps true, but also unnecessary since the Big 4 hire plenty of undergrads for internships.
Something to consider for accounting: most Northeastern co-op’s work in spring so they get to work during tax season, a big difference from a summer internship.
While it’s fair to say BC ranks slighty higher, Northeastern undergrad business ranks in the top 25 on Poets and Quants, and higher than BC in the employment category (#9).
Plenty of co-op’s at big names (PwC, Deloitte, State Street, Goldman, etc): https://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/school-profile/northeastern-university-damore-mckim-school-business/
The point is these are both strong business programs - I would focus on fit and cost here. Does your son have a preference here in terms of the environment of each campus? Is BC worth the XK extra after Northeastern’s merit award?