I got accepted into both Emerson and Rollins College, and I want to know your opinion to make a decision.
As for Emerson, I got into their Honors Program, so I got a $24,000 scholarship, and they also offered me an additional $6000 Spotlight scholarship, which totals to $30,000 per year (Major: Marketing Communications)
For Rollins, I was offered the Dean’s Scholarship ($30,000/year) and got accepted into their 3/2 Accelerated Management Program (AMP), which means I could get a Master’s degree in 5 years. I also got invited to their Scholar’s Weekend event, where I have to interview and could potentially get a full ride scholarship (Yes, I am planning to attend the event). (Major: Business - social entrepreneurship)
Have any of you visited any of their campuses or have any experience in any of those schools? Any additional advice would be much appreciated too! I am very attracted to both options and don’t know which one I should choose.
id say emerson is popular within the film and media industry. ive heard its kind of a name brand there. But dont let that be the sole reason for your decision.
I’m familiar with Rollins because my daughter attended. I live in New England, but do not know a lot about Emerson. What I do know is that it is smack dab in the middle of Boston, has a reputation as being artsy and from looking at the “campus” via Google Maps it does not appear to have a well-defined campus.
When you visit Rollins, you will see that it is in a suburb of Orlando, has a well defined and beautiful campus. My daughter found the academics to strong. Greek life is prevalent in terms of the social scene, but not dominant. While a generalization, she found most people to be relatively wealthy and into their appearance. Obviously, the weather is great.
I have been to both. Emerson is right in the city and really doesn’t have a campus, just buildings. Rollins is one of the most beautiful schools anywhere. Winter Park certainly isn’t Orlando, but is a nice suburb. Boston is a great city with greater access to internships and more to do. If you are interested in business and social entrepreneurship, you might be better off at Rollins, but take @nehiker post very seriously. It is not for everyone.
Congratulations! We visited Rollins (and loved the campus!) AND live outside of Boston. As others have mentioned, Emerson College does not have a unified, enclosed campus. It is located in the Back Bay neighborhood – a posh residential neighborhood with lots of brownstones and antique townhouses. Newbury Street, a walkable, boutique-line shopping/restaurant area is nearby. My son is interested in business as well. We have not started really digging in to the courses.The way I see it, Rollins has more broad business majors — Ex. social entrepreneurship etc… rather than narrowly focused/applied majors Ex. accounting, finance, marketing, etc…That said, the courses and requirements seem interesting and “global,” (more liberal artsy), if you will. I really like the Community Engagement courses too. One thing that really impresses me is the reviews about the professors — there seems to be a lot of very positive mentoring going on at Rollins — looks like they hire very engaged, kind, supportive professors. Hopefully, Rollins will be an option for my son. But then we will have to make some tough decisions about big versus small and all associated side effects.
I am a Rollins alum and highly recommend it. In addition, I had friends do the 3-2 program and they have done very well. Winter Park and Rollins are beautiful and everyone is very friendly. I wasn’t wealthy or into my appearance and most of my friends weren’t either. I went on a 50% scholarship. There were a few uber wealthy there but it was by no means everyone. Feel free to ask me any questions.
I think it is being suggested that you might be better off waiting and getting an MBA from a more elite school. I would agree if that’s the suggestion. There is no need to for an MBA right after an undergraduate business degree (unless the economy is absolutely tanking).
My daughter is a sophomore at Rollins in the 3/2 program and my youngest was also admitted like you, with a large merit scholarship – only 27k not 30k though. But, she is auditioning for a theater scholarship and applying for a Bonner Leaders scholarship. She also received a Legacy Scholarship because of her sister. Rollins is very very generous with its well endowed funds and it makes a real effort not only to admit you but to teach you and train you to be a global citizen. It is a mission driven school and if you follow one or more of its many instagram accounts you will see how well it integrates focus on the student with a larger societal mission of service, compassion, and hard work. My sophomore really likes the 3/2 program because it helps her organize and manage her priorities and choose classes etc. Its an ACCELERATED program, though, so be ready for a sprint. The 3/2 is one of the things Rollins does best and it tends to attract very focused, dedicated kids. But, its not for someone who wants to explore other disciplines or studies. You hit the ground running. That is, in my parents’ view, the only disadvantage of the program. Although I agree that my daughter doesn’t “need” an MBA coming out of her BA, its a “bargain” because it shaves off a year and, if you are like my daughter, it helps her finish “school” and be done without having to worry about stopping her career to go back to school later when its not as easy for her to focus on her studies.
I disagree that an MBA “only” has value after working. That is simply not true. I am a lawyer and, although I worked a year before I went back to law school, my law school education – which included a lot of business classes – was quite valuable without experience for context.
BTW. The 3/2 program requires many more internships to stay in it and to be admitted finally into Crummer. By the time you start your MBA, you will have some of the work experience you need for context to make your studies relevant. And, if you want to work and live in Florida, you’re set. Having Rollins College and Crummer Graduate School of Business on your resume opens up a lot of doors. Its almost like a royal title in Florida.
@newgirl17 Hi! Thank you so much for your input about the 3/2 program. Could you elaborate more on it on the program structure such as the requirements and what makes it exactly accelerated? Do you need to take specific or special classes? Is there specific mentoring?
The 3/2 is accelerated bec students finish their BA work in 3 years with 120 credit hours vs the 4 year track with 160 hours. Basically the elective hours are waived in lieu of starting the MBA a year early. The student graduates with his or her Freshman class in the 4th year but all the work for the BA is concluded by the end of the third year. The fourth year is considered the first year of graduate school and takes place within Crummer Business school. The whole thing is accelerated bec the student is done with the BA and MBA in 5 years vs the 6 years it would take normally. Rollins provides many supplemental presentations and mentoring support from resume development to helping students organize their class schedules and find internships. The 3/2 program pushes students to get ready for a career. It’s not the typical liberal arts degree path at all. It takes focus and drive bec students have to take 20 hour semesters for 3 years and use summers for internships and other service and leadership opportunities to build their resumes.
The undergraduate degree however can be in any discipline from fine art to biology. The students do not have to get the BA in business. It generally and overwhelmingly the Crummer business MBA students do major in some kind of business or at least take their minor in business.
@frozencustard I asked a friend that question (he has a Harvard MBA and so does his wife, and he is the new President of an Insurance Company that just went Public – and he said there is an educational advantage to waiting because context (job experience) helps you learn and apply what you are learning, but the MBA designation on a new graduate is impressive, because it shows “gumption” and “grit” and helps the kid “stand out” – and any resume that “stands out” usually belongs to the person who gets the interview and then the job.
@newgirl17 There are a couple of things going on here. You are talking about your first job. You would have an MBA, but are competing for an entry level position at entry level dollars. You may get the job, but you only get one bite at the MBA apple in terms of salary boost. At that point, does the Rollins MBA applicant really have anything over on a BBA, especially one from a competitive school. Rollins is a good school, but it’s MBAs, especially ones with zero to little work experience aren’t going to compete with MBAs from top programs with work experience. You only get one bite at that apple. Rollins/Crummer might carry something in central Florida, but that’s limited. If you want to compete with 4-year BBAs from University of Florida, then maybe you’re okay with the 3/2 Rollins plan. You’re just not competing in the southeast with Emory MBAs.
I suggest you look at the Niche rankings for both colleges. Rollins ranks #217 and Emerson ranks #269 out of all colleges.Their business programs (undergrad) ranks #119 Rollins and #134 Emerson. Those seem pretty similar however, I think the most telling difference in these rankings is that Rollins ranks #147 in the US for Best Professors and Emerson ranks #551. My DD and I toured Rollins on Friday and it moved to the top of her list. I saw a student sitting with her professor and they were really engaged with each other. Another professor saw us on tour and stopped to talk to us. When she found out two of the students were prospective bio majors she started joking with them about how they needed to switch to physics because she would let them set things on fire and do all sorts of fun experiments. Also, non-lab based classes are often taught in classrooms with a long round table and the professor and students sit together for discussions. If you are worried about the reputation of the MBA school - research the school’s reputation. You can always just attend for your undergrad and opt for your MBA later. However, my husband got his MBA directly after his undergrad at a state school. It has not hurt his career at all.
@VANDEMORY1342 I was thinking closer to Florida and even University of Florida for someone in central Florida, but I don’t want to knock Rollins. That program seems good. It just makes more sense to work after BBA or BA and then do MBA.
But, she is auditioning for a theater scholarship and applying for a Bonner Leaders scholarship. She also received a Legacy Scholarship because of her sister. Rollins is very very generous with its well endowed funds and it makes a real effort not only to admit you but to teach you and train you to be a global citizen. It is a mission driven school and if you follow one or more of its many instagram accounts you will see how well it integrates focus on the student with a larger societal mission of service, compassion, and hard work. My sophomore really likes the 3/2 program because it helps her organize and manage her priorities and choose classes etc. Its an ACCELERATED program, though, so be ready for a sprint. The 3/2 is one of the things Rollins does best and it tends to attract very focused, dedicated kids. But, its not for someone who wants to explore other disciplines or studies. You hit the ground running. That is, in my parents’ view, the only disadvantage of the program. Although I agree that my daughter doesn’t “need” an MBA coming out of her BA, its a “bargain” because it shaves off a year and, if you are like my daughter, it helps her finish “school” and be done without having to worry about stopping her career to go back to school later when its not as easy for her to focus on her studies.