MBA - Admissions/ Scholarships

Colleges and Universities A-Z Babson College
1

<p>I’ve read some of the threads posted here, including those comparing and contrasting Babson to long established top schools such as Harvard, Wharton, Kellog and so on. I’m not really looking at feedback in terms of which schools are 'better," as that is a highly subjective measure based on a myriad of factors - especially if you have done the research… To make a long story short, Babson is my first choice but I am not opposed to considering alternatives. So, I was wondering if anyone has had real experience or feedback in terms of acceptance likelihood and the granting of scholarships. And I’d be open to suggestions on what other top schools all you experts :slight_smile: think I may have a shot at. I’ve done thorough research and have a pretty good idea, but am looking for other opinions… My application statistics are as follows:</p>

<p>GMAT: 670 (took it this morning. I’m pleased given that I had only about a week to prepare).</p>

<p>Experience: about 6 years full time, including 3 years post graduate. This includes retail managment, finacial service sales and marketing, and now as a Marketing Consultant leading project teams and working with c-level executives in small to mid size companies (and some large ones). </p>

<p>Interview: Was excellent and is a strength.</p>

<p>Ugrad: Bentley College - 2.5 gpa - but I worked full time through most of it while attending a full time course load at night. </p>

<p>And a final caviat: I am applying to the 1 year MBA, for which the final deadline is Jan 31st. I just don’t have a feel for what the likelihood for some scholarship $$ might be at this point in the game. </p>

<p>I appreciate any and all feedback.</p>

2

<p>Well your undergrad gpa wasn't stellar, but you have a clearly valid reason for your undergrad record. You have a very solid GMAT score and a substantial amount of work experience. </p>

<p>I believe you should look elsewhere besides Babson for your MBA. Although I don't think you'll make it into the likes of Wharton, Kellogg and other very top MBA programs I think you can go for schools that are better than Babson.</p>

<p>Northwestern
2 Chicago
3 Pennsylvania
4 Stanford
5 Harvard
6 Michigan
7 Cornell
8 Columbia
9 MIT
10 Dartmouth
11 Duke<br>
12 Virginia
13 NYU
14 UCLA
15 Carnegie Mellon
16 UNC Chapel-Hill
17 UC Berkeley<br>
18 Indiana
19 Texas - Austin
20 Emory
21 Purdue
22 Yale
23 Washington U.
24 Notre Dame
25 Georgetown
26 Babson<br>
27 Southern California<br>
28 Maryland
29 Rochester
30 Vanderbilt </p>

<p>Those are the top 30 programs according to Businessweek. For you I think the top 10 are out but take a look at some programs in the top 15-20 such as UT Austin, Emory, Berkley, UNC, Notre Dame.</p>

3

<p>Dunkaroo, you make some interesting points. I'm not sure I'd agree that these schools are necessarily "better" than Babson. In the consulting world, I have the opportunity to work with people from the top business schools. And I can tell you that while Babson wasn't at the top of my list before I began researching, it quickly moved to the top. And having sat in on the classes, I believe that the content of the education is on a par with any of these places. And from there, it's a matter fit with your area of interest. </p>

<p>On the other hand, these schools have the reputation of being better. And it's true in both life and marketing, that perception can often be more important than reality. Hence, there is the ultimate benefit of broader resinence in the post-MBA environment - recruiters, venture capitalist, potential business partners, and even women:). </p>

<p>I think what I'll do is wait and see what type of financial package they can offer. If I can get a scholarship and finish in 1 year, I might just go for it. But if I get in with no scholarship, I can always defer or re-apply along with all the other top schools. At the end of the day though, what you get out of a school is up to you. I've noticed that many of the graduates of schools such as Sloan/Harvard(of which we see a lot) find it difficult to hit the ground running, whereas Babson grads seem to be pretty good at it. But that may have more to do with the types of people who matriculate to these programs rather than the programs themselves. </p>

<p>By the way, where are you looking to attend. Or have you attended?</p>

4

<p>Yes BentleyGrad, you do make a valid statement in that although Babson maybe just as good as these other higher ranked schools academically, that fact is not known by the masses. Even within the business world their is some bias towards the more "prestigious" school. </p>

<p>I strongly believe that if you can do well at a school that is known by the masses and is also good academically, you will be at a distinct advantage when compared to doing well at a school that while still good academically is not widely recognized for its academic excellence.</p>

<p>I think you can get into more widely known schools. Yes, it maybe tougher to do well at these more "reputed" schools, but if you can manage to do well I think you will reap even better rewards for your accomplishments.</p>

5

<p>On the other hand, If I can get a scholarship and do the Babson 1 year program, I'll be done in '07. However, to go to these other schools, I'm looking at entering in '07 and finishing in '09. So, the choice could be between, say, Carnegie-Mellon MBA with no post-MBA experience verses a Babson MBA and 2 years post-MBA experience by the time I'd be done with the other programs... In that case, it's a no brainer. </p>

<p>In terms of the programs themselves, I believe Babson is reputed for force curving grades. I'm not sure that it would be any easier... But in a more global sense, I think the teaching methods at different schools would benefit different people in unique ways. </p>

<p>Let say that we're looking at just the academics. A school like HBS is strictly case based, which is an excellent method for developing strategic and analytic skills when dealing with ambiguous business problems. Babson employs the case method pretty significantly. However, they get students out into the field as much, if not moreso than any of these other schools. For someone like me, with high level consulting experience, the strict case method probably wouldn't be so beficial as I'd probably hit diminishing returns pretty quickly. But hands on experience is a way to fine tune the methedologies that I'm developing... However, someone who is used to working in a single function and not having access to "big picture" problem would benefit more from the traditional type of MBA teaching. </p>

<p>There are plenty of considerations either way. One thing about MBA programs is that they havent been around long, compared to Med and Law Schools. Therefore, the landscape of rankings is still fluid. While the big names automatically start at the top, Curriculum innovators - like Babson and Purdue - are sky-rocketing. I think you'll actually see Babson in the top 15 relatively soon. </p>

<p>I look at it this way. For a school that small to even be in the top 30, it's academic program has to almost be better than the other schools. Remember, the big schools gain points from endowments, the aggregation of facilities and so forth. In other words, stuff that really has nothing to do with the academics as far as I'm concerned. </p>

<p>But at the end of the day, money talks. If Babson doesn't pony up, then I think I'll step back and apply to a bunch of schools. And if I have maybe a month to prepare, I can probably get the GMAT to 700+</p>

6

<p>Have you actually sat in on any HBS or Wharton classes to qualify your comments about Babson being on par with most top programs? The bottom line (whether you believe it or not) is that certain schools will open doors to companies that other schools will not. Just compare the recruiting lists between schools. The "top" schools are extremely selective for a reason. When you compare the faculty, student community, network, and resources between Stanford GSB and say, McCombs at Texas, there is a clear delineation of quality even though both are absolutely great institutions.<br>
With that being said, I'm positive that you can and will receive a great education at Babson. Good luck.</p>

<p>Disclaimer: Kellogg MBA</p>

7

<p>Well, it's inherent that we all have biases in our perception. I have not sat in on a Kellogg class, like you probably have not sat in on a Babson class. That being said, I agree with your assessment that certain schools open up more doors due to brand recognition and resinence. If my goal were to work for Soloman Smith Barney or Price Waterhouse Coopers, Babson would not be my first choice. However, I plan to get into a Consulting firm like Booze Allen or McKinsey (both of which recruit Babson MBAs) to gain international exposure before getting into entrepreneurial ventures in terms of helping to scale companies (domestically and globally) before likely launching a specialty consulting firm of my own. I have no interest in the white collar sweat shop that is investment banking... and I say that jokingly :). To that end, the top rated entrepreneurship program in the US and in the world(as rated by the financial times) certainly needs to be considered... by the way, Stanford and Harvard are on the list as well, just below Babson... And as far as top schools being selective, it's simple supply demand. Due to the brand recognition and the inherent advantages that go with it, way more people apply, so a smaller percentage will be accepted. I work closely with a Babson MBA and a Kellogg MBA (who launched one of our vendor companies). I can tell you that I'd put the Babson guy first in terms of the ability to tacke, and find solutions to ambiguous business problems. Obviously, that is anecdotal, and I'm not in any way taking away from Kellogg, which I believe deserves its reputation. But the point is that when you analyze a business school, the criteria should be the education, the network, and the job placement or opening of doors... To that end, the bigger name schools would certainly do a better job of opening more doors - no question. But, Babson can just as easily open the specific doors that I'm looking to open... And once you get into the business world, it's about out thinking your opponent - which I can do all day long. Babson forces you to attain practical skills. But at the end of the day, it's all about fit. These are all excellent schools.</p>