Choice to make for Undergraduation at Babson College & Kelley School of Business

College Search & Selection
1

Hello I have short listed these two college for Undergraduate Babson College & Kelley School of Business

Please guide :

  1. Which College would be best rated for Undergraduate Business Program.
  2. Since Fees Structure is almost Double is it worth moving ahead with Babson.
  3. Do I require to do Masters after graduating out of Babson as I have heard normally students passing out of Babson dont pursue Masters as they have their own start up. How true is it.
  4. What is the ROI after Graduating from either of the two.
  5. We were a bit skeptical and would like to know that some counselors mentioned to us that Babson is college for students from Elite business families and there is lot of partying. I was concerned that my son gets lost. Can you share your experience. Also at the same time we personally feel that this will help in better networks and connection.
2

Are you looking for a job after college or are you sure you will start a business of your own?

3

Has your son been accepted to both? The best thing to do right now is to apply to both and get admitted to both comparing packages.
Kelley is huge and I’d be more concerned about getting lost there than at Babson. Overall, Babson is stronger academically and is rated higher in most specialties. Kelley does have the IB workshop but getting in is competitive.
There’s a lot of partying at both universities.

4

There are a few components to this…

–First, the price - if your family cannot comfortably afford the cost of Babson which you said would be twice the cost of Kelley then Kelley seems to be the prudent option.

–Second the schools-- Other than both being fine business schools, these two choices have little in common. You are talking about one huge state school in the Midwest versus one very small all-business college on the east coast. Consider things like:
Which atmosphere do you think is preferable?

Which location do you think is preferable?

What types of activities do want and where can you find them? Do you like big time sports? city-based activities? etc.
Is there a preference for small classes or will you be fine in large lectures?
Do you like the idea of an primarily business college or do you prefer a school with students in a wide range of disciplines?

5

Y ou MUST run the Npc - net price calculator - for each. Babson meets need, Kelley doesn’t. So Hanson could be cheaper depending on your parents income and assets. However if you don’t qualify for need- based aid Kelley is cheaper. Also, there are lots of other good business schools out there.
What’s your Efc? Parent’s budget? Stats?

6

“1. Which College would be best rated for Undergraduate Business Program.”
In Entrepreneurship, Babson is #1. Kelley is still good, but not as good. But as far as overall strength of the business school goes, Kelley is among the top 10 undergraduate programs, while Babson is not usually rated among the top 20. So, Babson for Entrepreneurship, Kelley for all other Business programs.

“2. Since Fees Structure is almost Double is it worth moving ahead with Babson.”

No, Babson is not worth twice the price of Kelley, unless you are wealthy, in which case, assuming good business sense is thrown out of the window, then yes. But even wealthy families appreciate the notion of “good value”, in which case, Babson still doesn’t make sense if Kelley is an option and costs much less to attend.

“3. Do I require to do Masters after graduating out of Babson as I have heard normally students passing out of Babson dont pursue Masters as they have their own start up. How true is it.”

I am not sure how true it is, but I assume like most BBA programs, a large percentage of graduates will not pursue graduate school since their career will often not require it.

“4. What is the ROI after Graduating from either of the two.”

If you are saving $130,000 by attending Kelley, that money alone, if properly invested, will skew ROI squarely in IU’s favor.

“5. We were a bit skeptical and would like to know that some counselors mentioned to us that Babson is college for students from Elite business families and there is lot of partying. I was concerned that my son gets lost. Can you share your experience. Also at the same time we personally feel that this will help in better networks and connection.”

From my personal observation, most Babson students indeed come from wealthy families. In a way, I am not surprised that Babson alums are successful at startups. It is hard to fail when your family is funding your business ventures! But I don’t see how Babson is a bigger party school than IU. As for networking, clearly Babson will offer excellent opportunities, but Kelley won’t exactly be chopped liver in this department.

Bottom line, if money is a concern, I would recommend Kelley. Otherwise, I would go for fit.