College Profiles - Babson College

Overview
Since its founding in 1919, Babson College has focused on educating business leaders capable of initiating and managing change, navigating ethical choices, and solving the problems of today and tomorrow. Students are immersed in an enriching environment that fosters leadership, teamwork, creativity, communication, and diversity. The 2006—07 undergraduate enrollment was 693 women and 1,083 men. An independent, coeducational institution, Babson is accredited by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Location and Community
Babson’s beautiful 370-acre campus is in Wellesley, Massachusetts, 14 miles west of Boston, a city renowned for its cultural and recreational opportunities. More than sixty colleges and universities bring more than 250,000 college students to the Boston area, making it one of the world’s best college towns for cultural exchange and research.

Academic Life
The undergraduate curriculum integrates core competencies, key business disciplines, and the liberal arts into foundation, intermediate, and advanced programs. Babson’s core competencies include rhetoric, quantitative analysis, entrepreneurial and creative thinking, global and multicultural perspectives, ethics and social responsibility, leadership and teamwork, and critical and integrative thinking.

Because of Babson’s close-knit community, students are able to form close relationships with the faculty. Of the 235 faculty members, 157 are full-time, and 91 percent of the full-time faculty members hold a doctoral degree or its equivalent. Faculty members are accomplished entrepreneurs, executives, scholars, authors, researchers, poets, and artists, who bring an intellectual diversity that adds depth to Babson’s educational programs and offers students a rich, challenging experience. Babson’s student-faculty ratio is 14:1, with an average class size of 29. Most importantly, faculty members teach 100 percent of the courses.

Foundation program courses may include quantitative methods with calculus, probability and statistics, financial accounting, rhetoric, arts and humanities, history and society, business law, science, and Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship (FME), a yearlong immersion into the world of start-ups, where student teams actually create their own businesses, receiving grants of up to $3000 to cover costs. Babson is the only U.S. school to teach the management core curriculum as an integrated three-semester course where all aspects of business are covered, including accounting, marketing, finance, management operations, strategy, organizational behavior, IT sales, and economics.

In the Advanced Program, students are free to expand and fine-tune core competencies as they reflect on their own career and life goals. During this time, students take courses in advanced management and liberal arts electives. Babson offers twenty-four optional concentrations in both business and liberal arts disciplines. This way, students may further plan their own course of study by focusing on certain areas of interest while still continuing to benefit from Babson’s interdisciplinary approach to learning. Students also have the opportunity to participate in field-based experiences such as an internship or consulting experience. Special programs, such as the Honors Program, the Women’s Leadership Program, the Management Consulting Field Experience, the Accelerated Curriculum for Entrepreneurship, and E-Portfolios allow students to take advantage of customized learning opportunities at Babson.

To earn the Bachelor of Science degree, students are required to complete a minimum of 128 semester hours with a C average or better, with a minimum of 63 credits in the liberal arts (including 20 credits in advanced liberal arts). Transfer students must complete a minimum of 64 semester hours at Babson. Once a student has earned 96 credits, all remaining credits must be earned at Babson, at a Babson-approved cross-registration program, or at a Babson-affiliated Study Abroad Program.

Babson students can also take a course each semester at one of the other area colleges, including Brandeis University and Wellesley College, for full academic credit. These off-campus programs offer greater access to liberal arts courses, including a wide range of foreign languages.

In addition, Babson has a partnership with the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, an independent institution that opened in 2001 and is located on a 70-acre site adjacent to Babson. Babson and Olin are collaborating academically in order to provide extraordinary opportunities in technology-based business, including joint academic and research programming, engineering, and entrepreneurial thinking.

Babson’s vibrant study-abroad program enables students to spend either a summer or one or both semesters of their junior year overseas at a college or university. Currently, thirty-seven programs are offered in twenty countries, and full academic credit is given for approved management and liberal arts courses.

Entering students may be granted credit or advanced course placement for successful scores on Advanced Placement (AP) examinations administered by the College Board as well as some courses in the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum.

The College operates on a two-semester academic calendar; semesters run from September to December and from late January through May. An optional credit-bearing three-week winter session is offered in January, and a summer session is offered from late May to mid-July.

Majors Offered:
Babson offers a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Business Administration degree, custom degree programs, and executive education programs for business professionals.

Facilities and Resources
Horn Library houses an extensive business collection of print, media, and computerized information resources. Students have campuswide access to newspapers, journals, investment analyst reports, corporate records, directories, and international information. They also benefit from numerous electronic research and news services that supplement a selection of the best business and liberal arts books, newspapers, journals, CD-ROMs, audiocassettes, videocassettes, and videodiscs.

Horn Computer Center is equipped with a lab that remains open 24 hours a day. Wireless access is available in the library and computer center, Reynolds Center, Olin Hall, and all residence halls. All systems in Horn also have active connections to the Babson network, and the entire campus has access to e-mail, the World Wide Web, and software. Every incoming Babson undergraduate student receives a leased laptop computer with integrated Wi-Fi wireless technology as part of the College’s technology initiative.

Other facilities are the Donald W. Reynolds Campus Center, the Richard W. Sorenson Family Visual Arts Center, the Richard W. Sorenson Center for the Arts, the Glavin Family Chapel, and the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship.

The Webster Center features an indoor, 200-meter, six-lane track; a field house; a gymnasium with three basketball courts; five squash and one racquetball court; a 25-yard, six-lane pool with 1- and 3-meter diving boards; a fitness center; squash courts; and a dance/aerobics studio. The Babson Skating Center features a 600-seat skating arena. Outdoor facilities include eight tennis courts, a new AstroTurf field, a game field, a renovated softball diamond, a baseball field, two sand-based varsity fields, and a club rugby field.

Campus Life
Babson is a residential college and is a 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a-week community alive with intellectual, cultural, athletic, and social activities. Approximately 83 percent of the undergraduate student body live on campus in fourteen residence halls. Housing options include coed residence halls, fraternity and sorority housing, and substance-free, multicultural, entrepreneurial, and other-themed housing.

Diversity
Campus life is enriched by the diverse contributions of our multicultural students -African-American, Latino, Asian, and Native American men and women who come to Babson from throughout the United States. These students share their experiences through multicultural programs, student organizations, and other campus events and activities such as: Black History Month, Women's History Month, Asian Heritage Month, and Multicultural Week.

Sports / Varsity Athletics
Babson College is an NCAA Division III school, and most of the College’s intercollegiate teams compete in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). There are twenty-two men’s and women’s varsity sports teams, with additional club and intramural sports available to all students.

Expenses
Tuition and fees are $34,256. The total estimated cost for a residential student was $45,478.

Financial Aid / Scholarships
Babson is committed to educating students from diverse backgrounds; applying for financial aid does not affect a student’s chances of being admitted to Babson College. Financial assistance is awarded on the basis of merit and demonstrated financial need. Assistance for students begins with consideration for student loans and work-study. Those with need beyond the loan and work-study amounts are also considered for Babson grants.

Thirty seven percent of all first-year students received need-based Babson grants. Nearly half of Babson students receive some form of financial assistance. Students should note that need-based financial assistance is available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents of the United States. Babson’s merit scholarships include Presidential Scholarships, the Women’s Leadership Awards, and the Diversity Leadership Awards. Application for aid is made by submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Financial Aid PROFILE of the College Scholarship Service. The application deadline for first-year undergraduate students is February 15; for transfer students, April 15.

Admission Requirements / Application
In selecting new students, the admission office considers each candidate’s biographical data, transcripts, test scores, personal statements, and references. Evaluation is based upon comparisons of the qualifications of those who apply. To a large extent, the degree of competition is set by the caliber of the applicants themselves. Consideration is given to the depth and rigor of each candidate’s academic program, academic motivation and achievement, and progress from one year to the next. Prospective students are strongly encouraged to have completed or be currently enrolled in a precalculus math class.

The Admission Committee carefully reviews courses taken, math aptitude, and standardized test scores. Reading and writing skills as well as verbal expression are measured using English grades, essays, and standardized test scores. Intangible personal qualities are also important—leadership, creativity, enthusiasm, and an overall good fit with Babson that includes a willingness to contribute to the community in meaningful and positive ways. There is no standard format for submitting this information, so Babson relies on letters of recommendation, references, and personal statements. In addition, the College evaluates extracurricular activities and work experience, seeking candidates who have exceptional leadership qualities and have participated in activities that have potential carryover to college. Efforts are made to enroll students with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

The College offers three application plans: regular decision, early decision, and early action. For more information about these plans and their deadlines, prospective students should visit the College’s Web site (http://www.babson.edu/ugrad). Campus visits and group information sessions with an admission counselor are strongly recommended.

Babson College
Lunder Undergraduate Admission Center
Babson Park, Massachusetts 02457-0310
781-239-5522
800-488-3696
ugradadmission@babson.edu
http://www.babson.edu/ugrad