My son is trying to decide which school to attend. He got into Isenberg (in-state) for accounting and Bryant with $26k merit. He hasn’t heard back from Bentley yet. I think he will get in to Bentley but don’t think he will get too much in merit. How would you rank each?
Not sure how much $$ is a driver, but U Mass is stronger and should still be less expensive, so select U Mass>Bryant. Bentley will likely go your son’s way, too. Academically, it is somewhat similar to U Mass, so whether you choose the less expensive option or the one he prefers to attend (whichever those may be) - you can’t go wrong.
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Rather than merit, can you list
(tuition, fees, room, board) - (scholarship, grant) =
for each of them?
Did he get into Commonwealth Honors College?
How detail-oriented and strong with data and quantitative reasoning (not necessary math) is your son? Has he taken AP Econ? AP Stats? AP Calc? (A 4 or 5 on Calc AB, AP Stats, and AP Micro+Macro Econ would allow him to skip some 1st year classes. As to whether that’s a good idea, ie., skipping a potentially weedout class v. level of preparation for the next classes, is a question best asked to current Isenberg students).
Isenberg will have some weedout courses (all large, public business schools do) and Accounting is tough - if your accountant only gets 80% right, you’re in trouble 
Isenberg has a stronger reputation but Bryant is more likely to support him toward success in the accounting major. So it really depends on whether he’ll need support and whether you can afford the money out of pocket (no parental loans).
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UMass. Another advantage is that UMass easily gives credit for AP and dual registration college classes, even for CLEP I think, so he could enter with a lot of credit and get done in 7 or even 6 semesters. Plus it’s cheaper. Plus it’s a great campus. Plus the food is fantastic.
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Congrats! Accounting students from all those schools will have a chance to join the big 4 accounting firms. Two years ago, my daughter was in a similar situation and had to choose among Isenberg (in-state, no merit), WPI ($25K merit), Bentley ($20K merit), and Babson ($4K merit).
She is a finance major with IT minor at UMass, in CHC since sophomore year, accepted an internship at a major investment management firm in Boston for this summer, and started interviewing for next year’s internships.
She chose Isenberg based on two main factors:
a) the cost per year was much lower: $15K-$35K per year
b) more options for other majors and minors within Isenberg and UMass in general.
Again, all these schools offer great opportunities but no internship & full-time jobs are just given or guaranteed. Things are super competitive and they have to work hard in classes, join career-oriented clubs, and network with alums & recruiters. For example, she was accepted to a student investment fund after a long interview process and could network with former & current students who work or will work after graduation in NYC for major investment banks.
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