CLASS OF 2000 GRADUATE COMMENTS
Editor's Note: BusinessWeek collected graduate comments in 2000 during its ranking of full-time MBA programs. The next ranking is scheduled for fall, 2002.
Although monetary, emotional, and family demands are high, it is a rewarding experience from which I have grown and learned a lot. I am sure it will pay back in no time. --Operations
Babson provides its students with more than just theoretical learning. The program offers many opportunities for real-life, practical experience through its mentor program and other consulting projects. Furthermore, the integrated curriculum offered in the first year prevents students from learning in functional silos. The format of the program enables students to understand how strategy relates to finance, operations, etc. --Marketing
Babson truly deserves to be No. 1 in entrepreneurship given the vast ways [that students can access lessons in entrepreneurship], for example in classes, through alumni, faculty, speakers, research, conferences, competitions, practice in internships and consulting projects, strategic alliances and the executive education program. However, I am a bit disturbed by Babson's conscious efforts to diminish its international perspective. It has a strong presence [abroad] but [seems to have] decided to concentrate more and more on technology -- the Internet, mostly -- at the expense of other strengths. This is not a drastic change but a more "creeping" trend. --Finance
I graduated from the University of Michigan Business School with a BBA in 1993. It was interesting to compare how the two schools taught business. Michigan was very much oriented toward "big business," with students preparing to work for, say, Procter & Gamble or General Motors. I don't think the words "venture capital" were uttered once in my career [at Michigan as an undergraduate]. Babson, in contrast, is focused on preparing students to work in an entrepreneurial setting. It seems that most of my class is focused on working for a small company or, in many cases, starting their own businesses. While some of the differences I have noted are a part of the macro changes that have occurred in business education in the 1990s, I believe that Babson does the best job of preparing students for jobs in startups. Michigan is a business school that teaches entrepreneurship, while Babson is an entrepreneurship school. --Marketing
Mixing evening and day students in classes can be difficult given the different priorities of the two groups, but I loved the mix of students in my classes. We had everything from actors to engineers. I learned just as much, if not more, from my classmates as from my professors. There was too much group work in the second year. It is overkill after first year. The first-year integrated curriculum is great. I learned a ton. --Nonprofit
While focused on entrepreneurship, Babson's program is phenomenal in creating a holistic view of business. Students understand how entrepreneurial thinking can enhance their chances for success in a startup environment, but also in a large corporation. Additionally, Babson has been incredible at attracting successful former executives to come back and teach elective courses. Although it is often effective learning from academics, the opportunity to learn from someone who has already lived it enhances credibility and the overall learning environment. An example of this is my most recent class in franchising, taught by the Dunkin' Donuts' CEO who grew the company from 100 to 5000. --Consulting
What I had to be most displeased about was the assigning of scholarships. If you were to look at the students who were fellows and scholarship recipients, you would find a notable trend: that students with high GMAT scores received them regardless of financial need or any other supporting credentials. Giving scholarships based on GMAT scores alone seems to emphasize it's not a scholarship but a marketing expense. Babson excels at the integrated curriculum of the first-year program. The work is intense and interesting. In my discussions with students at other schools in the Boston area, Babson has one of the best first-year programs around as a result of this. I would have wished that some of the integration style would have carried into the second year but think that would be unrealistic for any program considering the need for a large variety of classes and career paths. --Anonymous
The "break 'em down and build 'em back up" approach to MBA education doesn't work if the school forgets the second part. An MBA isn't like drinking from a fire hydrant. Its like being slammed against the back of the classroom by water cannons. When class ends, you discover you haven't drunk a drop because it just came at you too quickly. You've just spent $100 for the privilege of punishment. Even in a school that graduates nearly all of its students, failure still looms over all assignments. When the faculty says this is the time to try doing the stuff you aren't good at, they haven't got a clue. Teams work because members do what they are already good at. You don't put a team at risk trying to learn statistical analysis. Unfortunately, this environment discourages learning new subjects. --Entrepreneurship
One of the hallmarks of the Babson MBA program is its entrepreneurial spirit, by which I mean innovation, customer focus, opportunity recognition, and strategy formulation. What I find remarkable are the broad applications for this entrepreneurial spirit at companies of all sizes. --Marketing
The commitment demonstrated by the faculty far surpassed what I anticipated. I now have personal mentors on the faculty staff that provide guidance, impart wisdom, and create a powerful network. The program allowed me to tailor my interests and experiences -- beyond simply taking electives -- to obtain the most return for my MBA time. --Nonprofit
Best damn entrepreneurship program in the world! I wrote my business plan, raised money, filled three board seats, and found two cofounders in co-MBAs. Two professors are board members, one professor is an investor, I found a CTO through a professor, as well as a CMO, a Web-development team, and a strategic partner. Need I say more? I could go on and on and on! --Entrepreneurship
Babson receives most of their press from the entrepreneurship department, but I found that the best entrepreneurship classes were taught by the management-strategy faculty. Once the engineering school opens next year, we will see a lot more of the business plans that are generated actually being executed. The Babson curriculum seems to be based on a "learn by doing" theory of teaching. Consequently, the workload is much heavier than at other schools, but your ability to retain what you learn also seems to be better. --Anonymous
I would recommend the Babson two-year full-time program to anyone considering business school. I had a wonderful experience and a great education. --Finance
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