Are Babson or Northeastern considerably better than Umass Amherst?

I am looking to major in accounting and am wondering if either of these two schools, Babson or Northeastern would be worth going into roughly 130k of debt to attend. I would be able to go to Umass for free as my parents would pay for it and would contribute slightly more towards Babson or Northeastern, which I got no merit for. I do not know much about accounting career projections and am wondering how much the prestige of your school matters and how that can change earnings. 

9 Comments
 
chasesimonich

You would consider Babson and Northeastern bad schools? Even with the co-op at Northeastern?

I’ve heard the co-op program at Northeastern really helps to get jobs. Not sure if they are high finance jobs, but most get employment post graduation IIRC.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Funny coming from WashU #26 ranked Accounting program, University of Babson is a top 10 ranked Accounting school, though CPA track the Co-Op really helps at NE and Umass is far cheaper and still a top 50 program. So, with the lack of CPAs, if that is what you want to do after you graduate, then I'd go for the lowest cost program, as CPA cert/license are what matter, and there are no CPAs graduating right now, so CPA salaries are starting to increase again. Suntrust has their entire Actuarial US operations in Natick or Wellsley, I think, same with Liberty Mutual and hire both CPA's and Actuarial Sciences and pay better than say a CBiz for PA. 

 

Northeastern went from sending 2-5 grads to high finance in mid 2010s to 40-50+ a year the last few years

We have co-ops at all of the big 4 and many of the major banks

Complete class of its own from a job outcomes standpoint vs the other two. Question is whether the incremental price is worth it over UMass. That’s a more personal decision and also should factor in vibe, school size, location etc, since the student bodies couldn’t be more different

 
Most Helpful

Take the money and go to UMass (assuming you got into Isenberg). 

I work in IB and I personally know people who have attended all three and have worked with people who have attended two (Northeastern and UMass). TBH for B4 accounting you'd be in an amazing position with all three schools and you should ignore any incremental prestige ranking you read online.

Ignoring money, I'd say Northeastern = UMass > Babson. Isenberg (UMass) is probably the best business school of the three from a traditional POV (i.e. professors, clubs, etc.) and Northeastern's Co-Op program is amazing for providing real world experience before you graduate. However, UMass and NU could not be more different institutions. High-level you need to decide between the following:

  • Traditional college campus and experience (greek life, better sports, larger student body, etc.)
  • A-typical, urban college experience over 5-years instead of 4-years (living in Boston, having friends focusing on Co-Ops instead of the classroom, etc.)

While I went to neither school, fwiw my runner-up college decision was UMass due to 1) vibrant college/social scene and 2) excellent education for the money (I was in-state though still would've had loans). 

 

They're decidedly not good enough to justify $130k of debt. If it were Harvard/MIT then it might make sense. Just go to UMass.

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

Yeah I got into Northeastern this year too. However, I am blessed to have my parents front the cost, so take that into consideration with my response. I would say specifically for accounting it might not be worth it. Since accounting salaries are typically based on years of experience and less on performance it might be more worth it to do u mass Amherst since the northeastern accounting is probably gonna put you in the same salary area as UMass. However, just like college admissions what college you go to should be a "holistic" choice.  In my opinion from a purely career view to put yourself 130k dollars behind your peers to make the same amount of money and maybe a modest prestige boost from your undergrad seems unreasonable. I would definitely look at career reports for each school though, and I would wait for your financial aid to be released. I dunno anything about babson though.

 

Sed quam ratione dolores. Veniam esse optio nesciunt autem placeat aspernatur. Iure nostrum est quam quibusdam ea voluptatibus. Voluptas beatae quis et iure. Numquam tempora consectetur nihil et. Quia sit sunt illum at.

Repellat perferendis quos quasi maxime officia sunt iste. Libero at vitae voluptatem facere et repellendus. Molestiae repellendus laboriosam ipsa. Consequatur natus aut sunt cum omnis. Est rerum voluptas cum ut voluptate. Eos deleniti id quae perferendis aut quia.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”