Calling All Babson Fall 2011 Applicants....

Hi, rockyb, I just submitted before Xmas.
Do you know how soon Babson will give interview invitation? I am currently in Boston, so it'll be very nice if I could have a face to face interview(if I am qualified for interview of course).
Btw, your GMAT is quite good. Did you get any scholarship from Babson? If so, do you mind telling us how much?
thank you very much!

Does anyone know the word limit for the essays?

BTW, essay questions:

Babson Essay 1. Please describe in detail your short-term (immediately after graduation from Babson) and long-term career plans, detailing in which industry you would like to work, which function or role would you ideally hold, and how do you intend to secure that position? If your plans entail a career transition, what challenges do you anticipate facing in securing your ideal position, and how will you address those challenges? Your answer should show how your past professional experiences, background, and interests combined with a Babson graduate degree will position you for success in attaining these goals.
Babson Essay 2. Babson defines entrepreneurship as “thinking or acting in a manner that is opportunity obsessed, holistic in approach, and leadership balanced.” Please describe how, in your own experiences, you have met some or all of that definition.
Babson Essay 3. What unique contributions will you bring to the Babson community that will enhance the value of the classroom experience for your classmates?

@ yyee11: I know that people are being interviewed and offered admits. The school just reopened on Jan 3rd after the winter break, so you might expect to hear back in some time since you have just submitted your app.

I received a fellowship at Babson. You can find more information here: https://www3.babson.edu/offices/sfs/grad ... al_aid.cfm

@efet: When I applied, the application portal clearly mentioned "2 pages double spaced". Can you confirm by checking again?

@rockyb
You are right. I just saw the note. I will take that as 750 words is the limit.

Is it possible to major in two concentrations in the second year?

Does Babson offer any practical experience opportunities?

The actual word limit will vary based on the length of your sentences and your word choice. 650-800 words is a useful thumb rule.

We do have practical experience opportunities including BCAP, MCFE, J-MCFE. You need to visit the Babson website and my blog. You will get the information you are looking for.

Thanks a lot.

Thank u rockyb!

Babson doesn't follow the traditional concentration model. Instead, there are intensity tracks for Entrepreneurship, Technology management, Finance and Investment management. Link: https://mba.babson.edu/programs/intensitytracks.aspx

A track is a group of electives that you will have to mandatorily cover as part of your elective selection.

If you do not participate in an intensity track, you will still be able to take all available electives that cover finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, technology management etc. in a distributed manner.

For all students, the diploma conferred will mention Global Management.



First Year:

Babson Consulting Alliance Project (spread over 3 quarters)
---
BCAP is a industry sponsored consulting engagement. Babson students are divided into BCAP teams consisting of 5-7 members in each team. My team comprises an entrepreneur running a business in Malawi (Africa), a technology operations and sales person with banking experience in Japan and UAE and startup experience in India, an entrepreneur running an advertising business in Chile, a technology professional from the energy industry, an advertising sales professional formerly from CNN, CBS and FOX, and a technology professional from the non-profit sector.

Sponsor companies cover the following sectors: real estate, finance, technology, marketing, professional services and health care.

One quarter (Mod 2: Oct-Dec) is devoted to an academic project (with an internal deliverable) covering industry and company analysis using frameworks in strategy, marketing, finance, economics. This will include analysis of the sponsor company and up to two benchmark companies.

Two quarters (Mods 3 and 4: Jan - May) are devoted to a consulting engagement for a specific business area identified by the sponsor company. My team has been tasked with raising advertising revenue for a subsidiary of our sponsor company. Audience for the final deliverable will include CXOs and senior executives of the sponsor companies.

Second Year

Management Consulting Field Experience (MCFE) and Joint-Management Consulting Field Experience (J-MCFE)

MCFE and J-MCFE are again team-based consulting projects that address a specific project from a sponsor client. MCFE is a US based project, whereas J-MCFE is an international project where a Babson team consults for a foreign client usually looking to enter the US market. Previous J-MCFE's have included stints in Switzerland, Sweden etc. You can do more than 1 MCFE during the second year.

In addition, the following options also exist:

a. Summer internship
b. Winter internship
c. Continued study / work project during academic year: You can continue an engagement with a client throughout the academic year. You are expected to network and create your own project with the client.

In addition, there are 2 experiential learning opportunities

1. Offshore electives: These are 3 credit elective courses that can be used to take a trip to countries including China, Japan, South Africa, Italy, Tanzania, Russia, Ghana and Norway. More details here: https://bit.ly/fGRzcH

2. Semester Abroad: You can spend a semester studying abroad at partner institutions (SDA Bocconi, ESADE, IE, St. Gallen, ESCP-EAP, Tsinghua, Louvain). Details: https://bit.ly/eKWjNN

Hope this answers your question. I'll be happy to connect interested applicants with students who have covered these projects. If you are interested, DM me with your email address.

For folks who wonder why Babson is #1 in entrepreneurship, but ranks on the lower side, here's a report I put up a few days back: babson-college-14366.html#p844833

Good to see a discussion going on. Just to give R2 applicants an idea of time line, the imp dates in my application cycle were:
22th Oct - App Submitted
29th Oct - App Completed and sent for review
18th Nov - Interview Invite
2nd Dec - Off Campus interview
17th Dec - Admit

@Rocky B - Thanks for taking time out to answering queries.
Could you tell me about the Career Development Center at Babson and how active/ effective they are? I come from an entrepreneurial background and my career path has not seen the natural progression or defined roles/responsibilities as, say the guy who has worked in a multinational company for some years.

What I want to know is how they make an entrepreneurial candidate, whose resume is going to be quite different, attractive to prospective companies.

There are two parts to your question:

1. How effective is the career center?

The Career Center (called the CCD) is a bit of a mixed bag depending on what you are looking for and what skills you bring to the table. There is the single-jump (change of function OR industry), double-jump (change of function AND industry) and triple-jump (change of function, industry AND location). We have four senior CCD members handling different functions and industry mixes (Marketing, Consulting, Finance, Technology with corresponding industry mixes).

We traditionally place most students in marketing with finance and consulting coming next. It helps to have a clear goal of what you want coming into school so that the CCD can help you focus with your internship/job search by connecting you with relevant alums.

I have personally benefitted from soft skills assessments conducted by the CCD (Myers Briggs Test, Career skills tests) which help you coordinate when working in teams through Babson (a major part of life at Babson as documented here: https://babsonmba2012.com/2010/12/29/team-work-babson/). Every time I have gone in with a connection request, I have been connected with alumni in the industry who I have then spoken to and followed up with.

You have access to a portal where internships, jobs and networking events are posted. The CCD makes sure that you are informed when a particular event or position is not open to international students so that you don't waste your time.

The CCD also helps with resume and cover letter reviews (There is a separate resume and cover letter editing service). They bring companies into the school and there are some partner companies (Hasbro, Oceanspray, Fidelity etc.) that take in Babson students every year for internships/jobs. They conduct case interviews and mock telephone interviews to prepare you and sessions on informational interviewing. I have benefitted immensely from this last part because this is a new concept to me coming in to the US as an international student.

Babson, however, is a very small school (150 - 165 MBA students each year) and we struggle with big companies coming in to take in boatloads of students. That doesn't happen here. Like any other school, networking plays a key role in finding yourself a good internship/job. Many students also find internships and jobs abroad. This handbook should give you a decent idea of the careers and moves past students have made: https://mba.babson.edu/pdf/ccd-student-success.pdf

2. How will they take you, an entrepreneur, and package you?

Your skills are ultimately definable, irrespective of your work or industry (though that will help channelize your message and demonstrate credibility). You would have worked on projects, performed functional roles and developed key skills. The CCD will help you craft a message including your key strengths and the skills you bring to the table for a particular industry or position.

Hope this helps.

I had a question regarding the Online form...
I have even mailed the Ad comm.. Trying my luck, if someone here knows...
I finished my Online app, I realised, there was no place to upload the College Transcripts..
Should I be sending them by post or I need to produce them only on Admission?

I had mailed the transcripts in by post, but most schools allow you to scan and email the documents to a contact as well. I would call the admissions office and ask them.

You will definitely need to show your grades to qualify for an interview.

Thanks a lot for the reply.
I will send the scanned copy anyway.
All my other schools had option to upload on the Online form itself.

I emailed the Adcomm on 16th Jan itself asking 2 questions.
They answered one and left the transcript que open to interpretations

Fair enough. I've told the Adcoms to update the site coz the non-availability of the upload option comes as something of a shock if you tend to leave data sheets till the last minute. Having said that, it is always the candidate's responsibility to ensure that all materials get in before the deadline dates.

I always recommend getting on the phone to close any queries asap, and then following up the discussion with an email for the record.