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(3.9) |
Honestly, the school is super collaborative. However, it is ranked accordingly for a reason. IF and only IF you are looking to get into the entrepreneurship track, take the offer. The whole "you can still make it into finance" advice doesn't really work unless you're an outlier. Babson College Fund is one of the most sort after programs that mostly accepts undergrads and MiF candidates. For a finance career, BCF an avenue to gain exposure, but not too many (almost none) MBA students are accepted unless they've worked for a core finance company (but with such rich finance experience, would they even come to Babson?).
I cannot stress this enough: if you want to get into finance/consulting but you have limited options, take another year and work on your application/GMAT score/work experience. An MBA needs to give you some sort of ROI. And the whole DIY idea can only get us so far as graduates (especially internationals).
The reputation precedes the university. Also, please remember that you are in Boston- the same place that Harvard and MIT students are at. It is impractical to try to compete, brand wise. It is true that not all HBS/MIT students are successful (or whatever story you tell yourself to take up the path of least resistance) but they have an edge that you simply cannot easily compete with. Is it impossible? No! Is it almost impossible? I will let you do your research and decide.
The candidates at Goldman/J.P/Morgan Stanley, etc that you see are the undergrad profiles on LinkedIn. It is NOT the same for graduate school. The undergrads on Wall Street will tell you the value of the brand.
Finally, think about what you want from the MBA. Why are you coughing up $150,000? What is your end goal? Not the goal that you write for your essays but what is your intrinsic goal of sacrificing so much and moving to another country? Make sure you get what you want.
The curriculum is super basic. I don't think I learned anything new. Accounting and Finance core classes are slightly better than the rest. The Finance professors are really nice and helpful.
Well, you're pretty much on your own with regard to the job search, Do not let some fancy article make you believe otherwise.
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If you choose entrepreneurship as your area of concentration, you will get a lot of support from the Blank Center of Entrepreneurship. Blank Center provides you mentoring from founders of major companies with whom you will be interacting on a daily basis to fine tune your idea and make it market ready.
If you don't choose to concentrate on Entrepreneurship, you can always major in Finance, Analytics, Consulting, Global Strategy and Management, Family Business, etc.
The school provides best facilities and professors for you to excel. If you want a 9-5 job, please don't apply to this school. You would be spoiling the experience of entrepreneurial guys by demotivating them with your fancy pay packages :) Entrepreneurship needs a lot of motivation and struggle.
Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
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This school really caters to a niche segment of students. You really learn to live and breathe entrepreneurial principles at Babson. Whether it is a finance subject or a strategy one, every class finds a way to incorporate an entrepreneur's perspective into it. The student population that it attracts is largely international (majorly Indian and Latin). Most students tend to come from Family business backgrounds and either want to go back and help scale their businesses or start something of their own. In fact, a lot of my classmates are starting things of their own.
The atmosphere in the school is extremely collaborative and supportive. I remember people helping each other write cover letters for the same positions! You won't find too many Type A candidates here.
In terms of resources to help you launch businesses, there are plenty. You just have to know what and where to tap into.
What I was most impressed with ( this is something you don't find in most other B-schools) is how personally invested Professors are in their student's lives. I could literally walk up to any of my Professors (and these are people who consult for Fortune 100s) for advice about my business etc. and they always made time for me.
I will say I was not too happy about Career opportunities. That may also be because Boston has SO MANY good schools, its difficult to find opportunities fast. Also, I come from a country where campus placements are just handed to you on a silver plate, so the "American way" of networking and finding an opportunity for yourself was very alien to me! The Career Center will absolutely go out of their way to help you, I had a lot of help with practicing case studies, reviewing cover letters and all of that to assist me in my search but ultimately you still have to search for opportunities yourself!
Overall, I'm pretty happy with my experience so far and have learned a lot. Look forward to the second year!
Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
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Overall I was very satisfied with the program, but that was because I went there fully expecting to come back to my home country and become an entrepreneur. I did work for a year (while my opt visa allowed) to gain some experience but securing a job interview was not easy (I was looking for opportunities outside of Boston).
I must say though, even most of my international friends that looked for job opportunities in the Boston area struggled. As an international student unless you've got a really strong curriculum it is going to be tough if your objective is to get a job (Babson is not the strongest name in the Boston area as there is a lot of competition and convincing companies to invest in you is hard because of visa issues).
Even though it's not their "specialty", I also saw the finance track to be quite strong in Babson.
Look for Babson alumnis to help you out, it's tour strongest bet.
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Babson is a niche boutique business school for entrepreneurship. The two year MBA program is a great course which focuses on Entrepreneural thought and action, social economic responsibilities etc. It's a great school for students with partners. There are lot of activities for students and partners. A very close knit community where everyone helps out each other and professors are easily accessible. The student clubs are very active and useful for everyone. The babson alumni are extremely renowned and very helpful in job search and even funding Entrepreneural ventures. I've really enjoyed the learning and overall experience at Babson so far. Babson is a great school for people from family business backgrounds and those who are inclined to entrepreneurship or start a new venture.
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Thanks for sharing your review!
Hie Sivan,
I am Ruhi Chopra, age 22, I am working as a Fashion Stylist since 3 years. I am planning to apply to Babson for MBA and select entrepreneurship as my elective.
Actually my GMAT is quite low 510 (Q-42, V-19), do you think I stand a chance to get an admit in Babson?
Doing a full-time MBA was always a personal aspiration of mine, and Babson really delivered on that experience. I had also been accepted to Boston University and Boston College and ultimately decided on Babson because of the class size, financial aid and reputation (all three are ranked fairly similarly by most publications).
The academic rigor at Babson is there, at least for the core courses (finance, accounting, operations). I didn't take many entrepreneurship classes so I can't comment on those, but I heard many good things.
Babson prides itself on diversity, and the % of international students in the full-time program, at least for my class, was extraordinary. You will no doubt meet students and friends from every corner of the world bringing their unique experiences and personalities to share.
From a networking perspective, I found this to be the most lacking. It seems that the alumni network is mostly concentrated in the New England area within the US, and then in various pockets internationally (see above paragraph re: international students - many go home!). I had no trouble landing the job I wanted without much help from the alumni network but this could use some work.
If Michael May is still teaching the management consulting class, take it.
Also, no question that Babson's bread and butter is entrepreneurship. If if you're not on the e-ship track, I would highly encourage students to be involved as much as possible, attending events and workshops, participating in competitions, etc. just to get that world-class exposure.
Many Boston-area companies recruit here: EMC, Liberty Mutual, Reebok/Adidas, CVS, Fidelity, etc.
Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
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Doing an MBA would be one of the most important investments of your life. You may want to give equal importance while choosing a B-School.
The criteria you should be looking at -
1. Location
2. Alumni + Faculty Network
2. Resources (CCD, Library, Access to Databases, Access to information,....)
3. Classmates
4. Ranking should be the last thing you should be looking at
Talking about how Babson fairs on these things -
1. Though not inside the Boston City itself Babson is located in the one of the most reputed neighborhood (Wellesley) in the USA. The Campus is 30 mins always from the city and Babson students make use of the collaboration opportunities with MIT and Harvard and you get access (after paying some fees of course) to most of the important networking events in Boston area.
2. Though Babson is known for the Entrepreneurship, you can find its alumni, in almost all the reputed companies, in prominent roles. Babson has one of the best alumni network and the faculty's network out there. As in many B-schools now, Babson students have free access to several prominent databases. The best part is all the resources are well cataloged and students are prompted through various channels to use them. CCD is not one of best but it is a good resource if used strategically. At Grad School, you shouldn't expect to be spoon fed.
3. This is one of the biggest factors that determines your overall MBA experience. Hence, it is important to find out whether you fit in the MBA crowd of the school you want to go. As Babson is known for Entrepreneurship, it attracts many individuals with family business background who are well funded and they MAY have lesser experience working in the corporate world. So if you are funding your MBA by savings and bank loan, you may have to put in extra efforts to find a diverse set of individuals to hang out and enjoy your learning experience.
4. There are several online resources for this
Overall BSchool experience (3.0)
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REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by post count [?]
Every class in the program is centered around Entrepreneurship. All the professors have entrepreneurial backgrounds. After your core curriculum is complete, you will be dealing with professors who are CEOs and ex-CEO's of major firms.
If you choose entrepreneurship as your area of concentration, you will get a lot of support from the Blank Center of Entrepreneurship. Blank Center provides you mentoring from founders of major companies with whom you will be interacting on a daily basis to fine tune your idea and make it market ready.
If you don't choose to concentrate on Entrepreneurship, you can always major in Finance, Analytics, Consulting, Global Strategy and Management, Family Business, etc.
The school provides best facilities and professors for you to excel. If you want a 9-5 job, please don't apply to this school. You would be spoiling the experience of entrepreneurial guys by demotivating them with your fancy pay packages :) Entrepreneurship needs a lot of motivation and struggle.
Professors are the best. They come with a lot of real world experience. They themselves are/were the CEOs of major companies. They are friendly and available.
Classes are structured pretty well.
You can have a tailored curriculum based on what you want to concentrate.
If you want a 9-5 job, please don't apply to this school. You would be spoiling the experience of entrepreneurial guys by demotivating them with your fancy pay packages :) Entrepreneurship needs a lot of motivation and struggle.
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)
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Admissions Team
Anish - Thanks for sharing your experience. I completely agree with your assessment of Babson. In USA, you do look for a job yourself, though I am sure other schools have a much better Center for Career development. As a Babson alumnus, I would say that if you do lots of internships, and network with the start ups in the Boston area, there is a good chance that you will have multiple job offers by the time your graduate. On the other hand, you will be in for a shock of you expect the job to be handed to you on a platter. Overall, the school imparts an amazing education!!
Thank you Anish for your review. I'm eager to apply to Babson but I'm so concerned that I might not find a good job in product management or marketing field with its MBA. A lot of people told me the school brand is not popular in the startup cities so investors won't be eager to invest with you. What do you think?
Hie Anisha!!
Thanks for sharing your review!
I am Ruhi Chopra, age 22, I am working as a Fashion Stylist since 3 years. I am planning to apply to Babson for MBA and select entrepreneurship as my elective.
Actually my GMAT is quite low 510 (Q-42, V-19), do you think I stand a chance to get an admit in Babson?