Hello everyone, I am a student in the Babson MBA Class of 2012 (F.W Olin Graduate School of Business). If any of you are interested in evaluating the Babson MBA, I will be very happy to take your questions. A few quick points about the s…
Hello everyone,
I am a student in the Babson MBA Class of 2012 (F.W Olin Graduate School of Business). If any of you are interested in evaluating the Babson MBA, I will be very happy to take your questions.
A few quick points about the school:
1. The Babson MBA is the #1 entrepreneurship program in the US (as ranked by major publications including Bloomberg Business Week, US News and The Princeton Review). It is considered one of the premier entrepreneurship programs in the US having been ranked #1 seventeen years in a row by US News.
2. Babson has a significant international student presence. Around 35-40% of the full-time MBA class (on average) is comprised of international candidates (numbers fluctuate depending on year).
3. Babson has a small class size (around 150-160 students in the full-time program) which means better access to professors and a more personal experience during the two years in school.
4. A major portion of the Babson faculty are practicing entrepreneurs who run independent businesses of their own. Their real-life entrepreneurial experience adds tremendous value to the class, especially when teaching entrepreneurship. Many professors (not all) have an MBA from Harvard Business School.
5. The teaching methods include a healthy mix of case studies, lectures and practical assignments. Case studies comprise the major portion of the pedagogy. There are two consulting assignments that students participate in: Babson Consulting Alliance Program (BCAP) during first year and Management Consulting Field Experience (MCFE) during the second year.
6. Babson is situated in Babson Park in Wellesley, Massachusetts. It is a short commute into Boston and you have the opportunity to network extensively and participate in events at Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Boston College and other Boston-based schools.
Please feel free to use this thread to ask any questions about the school and the program. I will try my best to reply to your queries with all the available information at my disposal. Please note that I am doing this on my personal initiative and not as a representative of the school.
A short note about myself
-------------------------
Career experience: 4.9 years in IT Operations (startups and mid-size firms) in India, Japan and the Middle East. Started as a trainee and last held position was as Project Manager managing a team of seven people on projects worth $1MM. Experienced in working with major banks, publishing houses, other startups and PSUs. Responsibilities included presales, contract bids, negotiations, hiring, starting training programs and a new division.
Babson-related info: Awarded the Babson Fellowship. Will be working as a research assistant in the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship on projects including studying clean tech firms backed by venture capital and studying the characteristics of serial entrepreneurs.
GMAT: 740
TOEFL: 118/120
I look forward to hearing from you.
Note: Please post your queries on this thread so that everyone can benefit. PMs will be censored for any personal info and reposted back on this thread with relevant replies.
Hello everyone,
I am a student in the Babson MBA Class of 2012 (F.W Olin Graduate School of Business). If any of you are interested in evaluating the Babson MBA, I will be very happy to take your questions.
A few quick points about the school:
1. The Babson MBA is the #1 entrepreneurship program in the US (as ranked by major publications including Bloomberg Business Week, US News and The Princeton Review). It is considered one of the premier entrepreneurship programs in the US having been ranked #1 seventeen years in a row by US News.
2. Babson has a significant international student presence. Around 35-40% of the full-time MBA class (on average) is comprised of international candidates (numbers fluctuate depending on year).
3. Babson has a small class size (around 150-160 students in the full-time program) which means better access to professors and a more personal experience during the two years in school.
4. A major portion of the Babson faculty are practicing entrepreneurs who run independent businesses of their own. Their real-life entrepreneurial experience adds tremendous value to the class, especially when teaching entrepreneurship. Many professors (not all) have an MBA from Harvard Business School.
5. The teaching methods include a healthy mix of case studies, lectures and practical assignments. Case studies comprise the major portion of the pedagogy. There are two consulting assignments that students participate in: Babson Consulting Alliance Program (BCAP) during first year and Management Consulting Field Experience (MCFE) during the second year.
6. Babson is situated in Babson Park in Wellesley, Massachusetts. It is a short commute into Boston and you have the opportunity to network extensively and participate in events at Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Boston College and other Boston-based schools.
Please feel free to use this thread to ask any questions about the school and the program. I will try my best to reply to your queries with all the available information at my disposal. Please note that I am doing this on my personal initiative and not as a representative of the school.
A short note about myself
-------------------------
Career experience: 4.9 years in IT Operations (startups and mid-size firms) in India, Japan and the Middle East. Started as a trainee and last held position was as Project Manager managing a team of seven people on projects worth $1MM. Experienced in working with major banks, publishing houses, other startups and PSUs. Responsibilities included presales, contract bids, negotiations, hiring, starting training programs and a new division.
Babson-related info: Awarded the Babson Fellowship. Will be working as a research assistant in the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship on projects including studying clean tech firms backed by venture capital and studying the characteristics of serial entrepreneurs.
GMAT: 740
TOEFL: 118/120
I look forward to hearing from you.
HI Rocky,
Congrats..
I Have emailed you on your blog email id.
I have recently been admitted to the Babson program.
Pls reply to that if u find time..
Thanks..
Hey,
With my entrepreneurship background, I will be applying to Babson this year for sure. Some questions-
1.Could you tell us about the student atmosphere and the academic rigor? Academic rigor will be there but ideally would want to be a part of a collaborative environment. :)
2. How are students graded? As in is CGPA etc very important?
3. What does Babson look for in their candidates?
Thanks for this thread!
Hi Altair,
Student atmosphere: I haven't participated yet in a classroom environment, but we have a facebook group with nearly 200 members. There has been a strong sense of collaboration and some really interesting discussions that have come up. The diverse mix of people throws up some pretty good perspectives. Theres a wide mix of people from corporate attorneys to a race car driver to tech guys. There are former iBankers-turned-entrepreneurs, marketing professionals, health care delivery professionals. Some have prior business backgrounds, whilst others are making their first foray into the world of business.
Heres where it gets interesting. Some of the incoming students are already from business families whilst some others are first time entrepreneurs looking to scale businesses or looking to start their first company. People are working at or looking to implement ideas in diverse fields such as education, renewable energy, social services, starting a seed fund, starting tech companies, scaling an electronics family business in China, a gift wrapping company in the Middle East. The student body comprises multiple countries from Asia, Europe, Latam, Middle East, Africa, Oz/NZ, USA and Canada. Amongst locals (US citizens), the population is primarily people who live in MA, though a decent number are making the cross-country trip to attend Babson from the west Coast and mid-West. Some "star" students include a Palestinian girl who has established a business in Gaza, a serial entrepreneur from NZ and a tech entrepreneur from Ireland.
In terms of what kind of students Babson attracts, I guess I see a pattern that there is a business angle or startup somewhere there in their experience or future goals, though this isn't an explicitly stated requirement. Infact, there is a school teacher who is part of this years class along with a sound engineer from BOSE amongst who have no prior startup and/or business experience.
My seniors tell me that there is a good dose of politics involved during school, but they still speak of Babson and their classmates very fondly. They emphasize that the Babson classroom is by and large collaborative, but I sense an unspoken emphasis on being street smart during your time in school and making the best of your experience. I guess this is similar to any other school.
Personally, I have received a lot of support from my seniors and classmates who have gone out of their way to share tips on what professors I should network with, introduced me to key industry sources and also helped with understanding the key businesses in Boston and elsewhere that I should study and associate with. My industry research and networking has been helped greatly.
Academic rigor: Babson is reputed to have a difficult first year. The year is divided into 4 modules and the feedback is that Mods 1 and 2 are easier than 3 and 4. Overall, first year is reputed to be grueling (moreso than most programs), though it eases up in 2Y.
Grades: Everyone I spoke to said grades don't matter and that its hard to fail a course. They emphasized actually doing something with your time (preparing and refining an idea, networking hard, visiting events, presenting, trying to win funding) than studies. Having said that, I need to maintain 3.0 to renew my fellowship, so thats my target.
One important feedback I received was to do my best to network heavily at Harvard, MIT, BU and other schools in the area. I have been told (and also can see in my industry research) the value of being in close proximity to such outstanding schools. Babson is a powerful enabler to get access to cutting edge research in the Boston area and also to work with some really smart people.
One can obviously choose to go for a 4.0 or any other grade and that will involve recalibrating one's Babson experience to suit one's goals.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other queries!
Happy apping to Babo!
RB
Does Babson have any Open Day(s)?? I'm in Worcester,MA and can easily pop-down to Wellesley 😃
They do have open events (admissions and non-admissions) where participants are invited to join.
There is a visitor event scheduled for Aug 4th. Check out this link (you will need to register for the Visitor Program) - Babson :: Graduate :: MBA :: Admissions :: Upcoming Events. Would this interest you?
Neo,
Did you get the opportunity to visit Babson?
Hi friends,
this is Niranjan. I joined the Babson Two Year MBA Program, this year and I am having a real good time here. I am loving it so far and I did go through all process of preparation, planning, application for B Schools abroad.
I will be more than happy to help you with your MBA application, feel free to post any questions.
I will try my best to answer as many as I can.
I wish you all the very best in the process and keep the spirits high.
Dream for the best and give your best..!!
I look forward to hear from you.
Regards,
Niranjan.
Babson MBA Student.
Class of 2012.
HI Niranjan,
Can you please let us know your profile?
I am also planning to apply for Babson fall'11 intake.
I will have 3 yrs of workexp by the time i join. i have a GMAT score of 660/5.
I have good extracurriculars.Can you please let me know if my credentials are enough to make it to Babson.
I would also like to know about the scholarship scenario at Babson.
It would be quite helpful for aspirants if you could throw some light on the above.
Thanks and Regards,
-Ritish.
Hi Ritish,
thanks, I forgot to put up my profile..you can always check it on linkedin..
Here you go...
Undergrad: Engineering(Electronics-2006 Passout)
After Undergrad
a) Offbeat Brahma(Self Start-Up): Started an ad agency with my friends, which dint work.
b) Deloitte Consulting: I was into technical consulting at Deloitte
c) Steel Company: Joined my family business, small scale steel industry to get real time business experience
Total Work Experience: 4 years.
Extra-Curricular and Co-Curricular:
I have loads of them, I also worked as a part-time Math GMAT trainer. I was awarded and recognized for my community initiatives. I have loads to talk about...
GMAT Score-620
Let me know if you need any other info.
About your credentials:
Cannot comment on credentials but your profile looks decent, since the average GMAT Score at Babson this year is 625 and avg work experience is around 5 years...
Scholarship at Babson:
There are a number of Merit_bases Scholarship at Babson, please refer to the school website for details.
Let me know if you have any specific questions pertaining to scholarship.
Good luck with your application. Hope this helps.
Let me know if you need any other info.
Regards,
Niranjan.
Babson MBA Student.
Class of 2012.
Hello,
I am Manish passed out from BITS PILANI in 2007. I have taken GMAT three times with scores 540,4.0/ 640,5.5/ 570,5.5. When I last took GMAT I could not cancel it as i was on ship and I thought i could make it to 650+. But i could not. Anyhow I am interested in the MBA programme could you please let me know if I can make it.I have an experience of 3+ years and have good acads and exta cirriculars.
PM from a_shah (as stated earlier, I will put up all PMs on this board so that everyone can benefit):
---
Hi,
I am planning to apply to Babson full time MBA for fall '11. My GMAT is 660/4.5 and TOEFL is 110. I am working with Reliance Industries Ltd. and my work ex would be 3 yrs by fall '11. Do i stand a chance of getting an admit from babson? What is avg GMAT score of Indians in your class?
Looking forward to getting your reply.
Thank you,
Ashay
---
1. I cannot comment on your "chances". Come up with a better question.
2. I don't ask individual people their GMAT scores. TOEFL doesn't even matter. The average GMAT score for the Babson Class of 2012 is around 625. If you want to use my time by asking questions, use it in a better fashion.
Hi Manish,
Thanks for your post and I apologize for the hugely delayed response..!!
Your acceptance to Babson depends on many factors, which include GMAT Score, Work Experience, Essays, CV and other Achievements.
What I could do is connect with the right person in Babson MBA Admission team, who can guide you with further specific questions and take it forward.
Kindly leave a message with your mail id, if that works.
Hope this was helpful.
Let me know if you need any other information.
I promise to reply early next time.
Regards,
Niranjan.
Hi Rocky,
I have 4+ yrs wrk ex in real estate/pursuing Project Managament course/active in NGO/...am eager to apply to Babson. have also done some research about the full time 1 yr & 2 yr courses....although the placement statistics have not been mentioned; in your opinion, should I apply to any one of these courses or to any specific one?
Regards,
Varun
Varun,
The 1 year program comprises of an intense 3 month course over summer where you cover all the material that 2 year program ppl cover in 9 months. When the fall semester starts, 1 year program ppl join the 2nd years to choose electives. The 1 year program is recommended for people who have prior business degrees or accounting/finance backgrounds.
The two year program comprises of a core 1st year (divided into 4 modules) where you study the basics of various business areas along with creativity and design thinking. You have 3 months to intern before starting second year.
Looking at your experience (4 years) and nothing else, I'd recommend you go for a two year program. It will give you ample opportunities to experience the program, take your time to build relationships and a network and also help you develop leadership skills by participating in various clubs. But my advice is only based on your experience. Take it as one data point.
If you wish, I can put you in touch with some one year people to speak with directly so that you get a better feel for the program. PM me your email address and I will connect you.
Have a good weekend.
RB
@rockyb--my mail id - [email protected]. Waiting for your revert.
Thanks a lot for the info & for helping me out bro!!
Regards,
Varun
Varun,
You want to delete your post (with email address) and send me a private message. PG doesn't look upon very favorably on sharing private email/phone details on forums.
RB
Hey RockyB just wanted to tell that I have submitted my app in R1. Fingers crossed. I believe the interview calls will start in Dec. I had a query about Babson Venture accelerator program. How does it work?
As in I have a new start up with 4 employees and it is doing well. I basically take care of marketing / sourcing projects etc. Can i work on the start up through the venture accelerator program? provided i get an admit ofcourse...
Altair,
All the best!
Yup. The Venture Accelerator has multiple levels (Explore, Pursuit and Launch) and depending on how far you are in the business process, you will get access to different resources. I spoke with a friend who is at the Launch stage and who has received office space to work from (Babson Hatchery). He is willing to speak with you if you are interested. If so, PM me your email address and I will connect you.
Hope this helps.
RB