GMAT Club Legend
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Posts: 4307
Given Kudos: 5
Location: Back in Chicago, IL
Concentration: General/Operations Management
Schools:Kellogg Alum: Class of 2010
Q49 V42
Re: Babson - Opinion Please
[#permalink]
01 Feb 2008, 10:30
No clue about their Entrepreneurship thing they talk about so much. It does have a rep of being strong in that though so if thats what you are interested in then it may be a great school for you.
Location actually is outside boston...its in Wellesley, like Kellogg is in Evanston not chicago. Wellesley is a very nice town but its not in boston. Taking a commuter train its at least 30 minutes, and taking the T its going to take closer to an hour. BU is in downtown, BC is outside the city but still less than half the distance that Babson is.
Cost of living in boston overall is high, wellesley is an affluent town so rent may be higher if you want to live right near the school. If you live in the city you wont want a car, outside it you may want it but still might be more hassle than its worth.
Its overall rep is strong in business. However name recognition of BC and BU is greater in general. BC probably has the highest opinion but is has small fulltime MBA program (it was going to be my safety if I needed it). The carroll school of management has a very good undergrad rep, one of my co-workers sons went there and got hired by a bulge bracket bank, so the name does carry weight. BU has a rep of buying high GMATs though with scholarships. Babson is very international student friendly, its close to 50/50 from what I remember. If you arent applying this year but want to visit them, it would be easy to do all three in one trip. I think that all three of bostons second tier of schools are pretty much on par with each other, and it might come down more to fit in the end.
Location goes to BU since its on the charles basically in beacon hill/back bay.
Name goes to BC
Rep for MBA's is a wash...
Best bet fly stateside and visit them or bug students at them. Unless you have a 750 then BU might give you a fullride just for that.