Bentley vs Babson vs Lehigh vs Wesleyan (AP)

Good evening!

I'm currently a sophomore looking to transfer into 'better' university in terms of networking and recruiting opportunities. While I'm interested in the role of actuaries, my goal is to attend a university able to provide opportunities in banking - in case my goal in becoming an actuary doesn't work out.

I got accepted into Bentley, Babson and Lehigh and am waiting for a response for Wesleyan. In terms of reputation, academics, and recruiting opportunities, how would you rank these schools?

Much thanks in advance!

24 Comments
 

I would try to shoot for maybe Lehigh maybe. Babson has a focus on entrepreneurship, so I don't know if that's what you want. I always thought Wesleyan was a liberal arts school, but could be mistaken.

 
BernankeyNeither are targets..

However, Wellseley is a top liberal arts school, so you might have a leg up with them over other schools. Plus they have a cross program with MIT, which if you can get into it (idk you might be late in the game) will always help.

Obviously a drawback is that its extremely small and a women's college...

I don't understand why people confuse Wesleyan and Wellesley to such an extent. Their names really aren't THAT similar.

Back on topic, I went to Lehigh. Their math and finance departments are both fantastic. If you're actually interested in the subjects and want to learn, the professors will go out of their way to help you. Their recruiting leaves a bit to be desired, but there are still a handful of people who end up in great positions.

Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.

 
Lotin I think Bentley would be the better choice out of you 3 choices.

I'm curious as to what makes you think this/ your reasoning? At first glance, Bentley really doesn't appear to be anywhere near the same caliber as Lehigh or even Babson for that matter. Or are you just saying that it's better for you personally?

 

I think more so for me personally, but i have been debating between myself also, Lehigh and Bentley. I am looking to stay around the northeast region upon graduating and I feel the networking opportunities Bentley offers within the area is greater than what Lehigh can offer me. I may be wrong. And maybe because it is also close to home.

I would like to hear the pros and cons for both Lehigh and Bentley

 

THIS

Just recently took a look at the SA list for my BB. Not really a surprise, but Penn/Wharton had twice as many as the next-closest school.

Larger feeder schools Stern, Cornell, Georgetown, UVA, etc also fielded more candidates than the 'elite' ivies--Harvard Yale Princeton, although it has more to do with quantity of students and differences in career goals than anything else.

Few notables: Penn/Wharton 12 Harvard 4 NYU/Stern 5 P/Y 2-3

For the most part, it was the usual suspects but the main takeaway is that regardless of school, you can still kick ass and land a good summer gig. Penn State, ASU, and Cal Poly had one kid each. Lehigh and Notre Dame had 2-3 each. BC had 4.

and its pretty similar for S+T

don't see babson or bentley

IVY for Life
 

Never heard of anyone using banking as a backup if they can't become an actuary...would think you'd want to go whereever has insurance recruiting.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of Starwood Points
 

I am not sure what recruiting is like at these schools. I will say that no one I knew at Wesleyan who wanted a job in finance failed to get one.

 
Best Response

Babson has been #1 in Entrepreneurship forever. We're the best in the game when it comes to entrepreneurship but don't confuse that with the school lagging behind in finance and actuarial services. Over 100 companies come to campus every year to recruit and I know that the top accounting firms are always represented as well as some of the largest insurance companies in the area as well (huge recruiters for actuaries). I also have a number of friends who've taken finance and banking jobs in New York and Boston. Many of them have taken advantage of the Babson College Fund program which allows a group of about 15 Juniors and Seniors to invest 1.7 million dollars of the schools endowment. Babson cares about real world applicable training and because of this looks to provide their students with the best opportunities to practice what they've learned in the classroom. I know that this type of training has really helped me to set myself apart in a number of ways from applicants with the jobs I've applied for (I've had two internships while I've been here and received 3 job offers as well) and has allowed me to see whether or not I'm actually interested in the fields I'm studying. Babson also offers a ton of opportunities outside of the classroom as well.

Not only has Babson provided me with an opportunity to work with students from all around the world (43 states and more than 70 countries are represented by the student body) but it has also allowed me to go beyond the run of the mill study abroad experience. I really believed that I needed to take advantage of my 8 semesters here on Babson's campus and I have, but I've also been able to travel to four different countries with Babson during the summer, winter, and spring breaks. Babson also has an amazing Joint Management Consulting Field Experience which sends 6 students to Switzerland to work on a consulting project with a team of Swiss students. At the end of the project you present your findings to the Swiss firm you worked for. My team's project report was 381 pages (if that's not real world experience I don't know what is) and I can say our client was very pleased with the final presentation as well.

More than anything else, I think that Babson is a place where motivated self-starters can really take advantage of all the opportunities around them and make amazing things happen. If you don't believe me check out what these Babson students had to say about their experiences:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=y5gQbo22OBY#t=… http://vimeo.com/4196897
 

[quote=WeRunBabson2012]Babson has been #1 in Entrepreneurship forever. We're the best in the game when it comes to entrepreneurship but don't confuse that with the school lagging behind in finance and actuarial services. Over 100 companies come to campus every year to recruit and I know that the top accounting firms are always represented as well as some of the largest insurance companies in the area as well (huge recruiters for actuaries). I also have a number of friends who've taken finance and banking jobs in New York and Boston. Many of them have taken advantage of the Babson College Fund program which allows a group of about 15 Juniors and Seniors to invest 1.7 million dollars of the schools endowment. Babson cares about real world applicable training and because of this looks to provide their students with the best opportunities to practice what they've learned in the classroom. I know that this type of training has really helped me to set myself apart in a number of ways from applicants with the jobs I've applied for (I've had two internships while I've been here and received 3 job offers as well) and has allowed me to see whether or not I'm actually interested in the fields I'm studying. Babson also offers a ton of opportunities outside of the classroom as well.

Not only has Babson provided me with an opportunity to work with students from all around the world (43 states and more than 70 countries are represented by the student body) but it has also allowed me to go beyond the run of the mill study abroad experience. I really believed that I needed to take advantage of my 8 semesters here on Babson's campus and I have, but I've also been able to travel to four different countries with Babson during the summer, winter, and spring breaks. Babson also has an amazing Joint Management Consulting Field Experience which sends 6 students to Switzerland to work on a consulting project with a team of Swiss students. At the end of the project you present your findings to the Swiss firm you worked for. My team's project report was 381 pages (if that's not real world experience I don't know what is) and I can say our client was very pleased with the final presentation as well.

More than anything else, I think that Babson is a place where motivated self-starters can really take advantage of all the opportunities around them and make amazing things happen. If you don't believe me check out what these Babson students had to say about their experiences:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=y5gQbo22OBY#t=… http://vimeo.com/4196897[/quote]

This just reeks of a ridiculous services post. There is no single student that knows he went to school with kids from "43 states and more than 70 countries." so dumb

 

My vote's on Bentley or Lehigh. Not sure how their recruiting is, but everyone I've met from these schools seems to have done well for themselves. A former colleague from Wesleyan says recruiting is atrocious, and the few people who do get in, it's only because of family connections. I think it's a good school academically, though.

 

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