I’m having a tough time deciding between Denison University and Bentley University. At Denison I would study Economics while at Bentley I would do some sort of Business major combination. I would play lacrosse at both, but my question is which is more “prestigious” in terms of the professional world. I don’t get any financial breaks or aid at any school and would be paying full price for either.
My real question is what is the benefit of the liberal arts degree vs the Bentley business degree?
And my admissions stats are 30 ACT composite with 29 English, 32 Math, 31 Reading, 30 Science; as well as a 3.4 gpa with one ap class and 5 honors classes.
Both are well recognized schools. If you intend to go into business then Bentley probably has an edge. The benefits of a liberal arts degree are that you can think critically. I work with a Denison grad who ended up in IT. She doesn’t have a CS or technical degree but she has done quite well (is high up in the company).
A few thoughts (for full disclosure I visited Bentley with my S and we all liked it although he ended up elsewhere and I never saw Denison)
You hit the nail on the head when you said that economics is a liberal arts course of study while Bentley is a business school. The curriculum you would take as a liberal arts major will be different from the one you will take in a b-school. In particular Bentley would have a core that includes intro classes in a number of disciplines such as economics, finance, accounting, management, IT etc. while those course would not be available at Denison. I think it is important for you to take some time and look through the core curriculum and other classes you would take at both schools (I’d guess this is available online) and see which is more appealing.
If you want business, I’d give Bentley the edge. I would think that Bentley would also have an edge if you want a job out of college, (particularly in the Boston area), as many of that school’s graduates seem to be career focused and look to go on and work. The school seems to have good relations with a number of companies. If you like the east coast I’d also go with Bentley as it has a nice location outside of Boston.
If you seek a well rounded liberal arts education and prefer to be more in the Midwest, I would give the edge to Denison.
Even with sort of an average GPA but a solid ACT, you might want to move up the scale a bit and apply to the business schools at Lehigh, Bucknell or Villanova. This will reduce the stigma of a narrow education at Bentley. You could get in one of those.
I take it you are looking to play lacrosse in college and that the coaches at these 2 schools have recruited you/ made you an offer. Is this process done? Are you also considering other schools where you would not play collegiate lacrosse? (Then schools like those BatesParents2019 suggested might make sense. Maybe also Pitt, Miami OH, Maryland, Tulane.)
Neither of these 2 choices gives athletic scholarships to my knowledge (Denison is D3 and Bentley is D2). However, Denison is very generous with merit scholarships (and leadership factors in so your sports background/ ECs might help). http://denison.edu/campus/admissions/financial-aid/types-of-aid
You probably know from visiting but Denison works hard to get internships and jobs for students and has a very loyal alumni base. They have had an “in” with ESPN and Disney. (Denison alumni - http://denison.edu/campus/about/notable-alumni)
Denison is known to be generous with aid. (It has a large endowment.)
Its “Fast Facts” state:
FULLY 97%
of Denison’s students receive need-based financial aid or merit-based academic scholarships funded by Denison, and many students receive both forms of support. In Kiplinger’s “100 Best Values in Private Colleges,” Denison is eighth, and is the only Ohio college among the top 30 liberal arts institutions nationally with the lowest average debt following graduation. On average, Denison invests more than $31,000 per student per year. Based on their combination of circumstances, some students receive more or less, but this year alone, Denison is providing from its own resources more than $52 million in grants and scholarships.