Prestige?

ds143 · 03-09-2009, 07:35 PM

Hi everyone,

I am a junior, and have fallen absolutely in love with bentley. I want to major in business, and i love the technology bentley offers. when we took a tour, i really liked it as well.

The only thing that I'm a tad worried about is the prestige of the school and how well known it is. I know, I should pick a school that I WANT and not go by rankings and what other people believe, but I am a straight-a student who--admittedly--would like the prestige, etc. I know bentley is no Harvard Business school, but what other schools does it compare to in terms of selectivity/ranking? If I want a job in Florida or California, will I be limited because it's only regionally known (or is it nationally)? I saw the BusinessWeek ranking, and believe that it is a solid school. Babson, while it may be more selective, is CERTAINLY not the school for me--from what I've read, it's cutthroat competitive and students there really don't have social lives at all.

Is it better than, say, UCONN's business school? Or BU's or NYU's? I'm sorry for all the questions, but I'm just dying to find more about a school that I love!

Thanks!

taxguy · 03-09-2009, 08:27 PM

Honestly, I don't think anyone knows for sure. It certainly is known in New England. It probably is better known overall for business than UConn and maybe on par or even better than BU but less known than NYU for sure.

monkey2109 · 03-15-2009, 12:23 AM

Harvard's undergrad business isn't all that prestigious, just to tell you
Also, Bentley is ranked well (ain't U-Penn) and has good connections

dimpleyy · 03-26-2009, 06:27 PM

(According to Businessweek) Bentley is ranked above BU and below NYU.
Bentley is ranked 23 I believe which is pretty good.

Anson225 · 03-30-2009, 08:45 AM

is bentley only well known in east coast? (or even just in new england?) or actaully it is famous in the nation?

myoneandonly · 04-05-2009, 06:53 PM

Well, I wouldn't even go so far as to say Bentley is well-known on the East Coast -- it's pretty much only well-known in New England. It is a solid undergrad business school but definitely does not carry with it the cache of a BU degree -- just doesn't. Although Bentley's business program might be ranked a tad higher than BU's Business program, BU is well-known, and well-regarded not only nationally, but internationally.

taxguy · 04-05-2009, 10:43 PM

myoneandonly states," Although Bentley's business program might be ranked a tad higher than BU's Business program, BU is well-known, and well-regarded not only nationally, but internationally. "

Response; again, well-k nown by whom? Bentley is very well-known in New England for its accounting and finance majors, and, in my opinion, way above that of BU for those majors. I can't speak for other majors at Bentley though.

BU might be overall more well known because it is much bigger and has many more majors such as medicine, law etc. However, folks "in the know" have heard of Bentley in New England. Once you get out of New England, Bentley becomes less well- known.

myoneandonly · 04-06-2009, 08:26 AM

Taxguy: Well-known around the world, is what I mean. Bentley just doesn't have the name outside of New England, and I'm sure you realize that. If you're looking for anything other than accounting, I believe it would be in a student's best interest to go to a university which offers a breadth of majors. Although Bentley is attempting a Liberal Arts department, it just isn't the place you'd go if you were looking for a liberal arts education. Even though they have the Regis-Brandeis-Bentley Exchange, wherein students can take classes at any of the three schools, it's in its embryonic stage and has yet to yield viable results.

In short, if you absolutely know (at age 17 or 18) that it is accounting you're going to specialize in, then by all means, go to Bentley -- as long as your plan is to stay in the Boston area for work because, as I said earlier, it just doesn't have a broad name recognition outside of New England.

Best of luck.

desiking75 · 04-06-2009, 05:22 PM

Okay, its not well known as far as I know. NYU has a much better business program, but I loved Bentley when I visited. I mean it has everything (including a fondue fountain which I doubt comes out often, but was there for open house). The classrooms are crazy high tech and their trading room is one of the best I've ever seen. It's ranked 33 by businessweek, and I promise it will rise. Eventually, it will be relatively well known (again, no Upenn but at least up to NYU/Berkley). Go with what you like, not what rankings say. I would suggest you go talk to some students who've been there for a bit. Good luck!

sundownk · 04-08-2009, 11:59 AM

I'm having the same concern. I'm from Colorado and I want to do grad school and live in either LA or DC. How much is having an unknown name going to hurt me, especially in these places? My alternative is Kogod at American, which is similarly ranked but doesn't have nearly the facilities or technology that Bentley does.

How do these compare? And, more importantly, how important is a name? (even if it's not a prestigious one)

muskamore · 05-09-2009, 06:08 PM

I have the same question as sundownk

Catlinjon · 05-09-2009, 06:17 PM

For sundownk, I really wouldnt worry about the prestige of your school if you are going on to graduate school. I'd like to think that the admissions office at graduate schools or an interviewer from a major corporation would be "In the know" enough to recognize the legitimacy of a program like Bentley's. I am a LAC guy and plan on going to graduate school though, so take this with a grain of salt.

desiking75 · 05-15-2009, 11:30 PM

Someone said bentley is ranked 23- its actually 33. It is a rising and relatively new school, so maybe in some time it will be better known. BU is a better school overall because of its location, but Bentley has a much better business program. Babson is about as hard to get into as bentley, but is 10 ranks higher (Im not sure why admission is so similar). its all personal pref. Visit all three and see what you like, but BU has a bigger name as does NYU (which is an amazing prog). Dont base where you go for 4 years on name, you will regret it

SRB2006 · 05-17-2009, 04:47 PM

in the business world, Bentley is way more prestigious than BU's business school. Usually a student graduate from Bentley with two or more job offers. That shows how good Bentley is. It's ranked #31 among business schools (according to business week). I thin it's really a good school. I have a lot of friends who are heading off to Bentley this year. I think you should definitely consider Bentley and Good Luck!!

TTown · 05-17-2009, 09:32 PM

lol... ranking undergrad bschool programs is silly... way too many variables.