Hello! I am a high school senior and i’m currently in the process of deciding which college I want to spend my next four years at. On my list (of accepted schools) is Middlebury college, UMass Amherst, Bentley University, UVM, UConn, and Bentley University.
I was wondering if anyone had any insights as to which school would be the best option and lead to the most opportunity for success in economics or business. If I go to Midd, I’ll most likely go for a major in Econ or possible a double major (which major would best complement econ?), as well as a minor in Portuguese. I also have the opportunity to look at other majors and fields.
Bentley and UMass Amherst are both also good options, as I’m in state (Mass) for business, since both have highly regarded business programs for Management Information Systems. I don’t know much about UConn in relations to business.
I don’t really mind the seclusion of Middlebury and UMass Amherst, and like the proximity of Bentley to Boston. Cost is also not too much of a hindrance, I’m a low income student and have money saved up for college. Middlebury estimates that I’ll pay 14k a year to attend there, which I believe could be a great price. Haven’t heard from the other schools because FAFSA takes forever this year.
With that said, going back to the original question, which of these schools do you think I’ll find the most success/ fit /opportunity in? Thanks for taking the time to read.
So first off - you have an LAC vs. a specialized pre professional school with a great outcome vs. three flagships.
I love that at Midd people get the language in - but if you want to study MIS, why would you go to Midd?
UConn is a fine school - but like Umass it’s a bit isolated. But it’s substitutional to UMASS in many ways. UVM is too but will be more geographically diverse and is in the city - which you seem to like.
That said - your decision might come down to Midd and Umass - because if you’re only paying $14K at Midd - Bentley is highly unlikely to come close to that and perhaps UMASS will as a resident. You say money isn’t an issue but what if Bentley is $40K or full price $85K? If you’re $14K at Midd, you likely have significant financial need…and many would say for that name, at that price, grab it no matter the major.
Do you want to study econ and portuguese or Operations/Info Management at UMASS? Not sure they have a formal MIS concentration there.
It has more resources than your other choices, which is particularly relevant to low income students (there may be travel grants, internship stipends, etc)
Strength in languages. I cannot believe all your other choices have Portuguese (though, to be fair, I have not looked).
Reputation as a feeder school to business/Wall Street
Reputation generally.
Now, you may find fewer low income students as a percentage there than at the state schools, which may be a thing, or not, for you.
Middlebury offers a world-level economics department. If you decide you would like to major in economics, then I suggest you strongly consider this opportunity.
Midd at $14k COA per year is a steal. It would be difficult for even in-state UMass to match that… right?
The only reason I might not choose Midd in this case would be if you are firmly into MIS, or if at some point you decide that you just can’t stand a small school with small classes (relatively speaking).
But for Econ/Wall Street and foreign languages, Middlebury is top-shelf among LACs.
I’d pick Midd. It’s so well resourced that you will get all kinds of other supports/programs as part of the deal.
Schools near cities can be tough when you’re on FA and your classmates aren’t. They’ll want to go to dinner or a concert, and it’ll require money you don’t have. At Midd, entertainment will primarily be on campus and free.
If you’re reading this and resisting this, you may have your answer…
On the surface Middlebury looks like the best choice - it is an outstanding school, academically, and they are making it very low cost to attend. An economics degree from there will not hold you back in any way compared to “business” at one of the other schools. My only caveat is that compared to the others, Middlebury is very much a “fit” school. It is remote, small, white and wealthy - just something to keep in mind as you make your choice.
I want to reiterate this point. The financial support systems at a school like Middlebury are going to be fantastic. You are unlikely to have to worry about getting into classes as much, either, as you might at a big state school.
And I don’t think reputation is everything by any means, but Middlebury’s reputation is really far above others as a general institution as others mentioned.
While I agree and noted MIdd is the top school reputationally, and for affordability, will beat the others, if the student wants to study MIS (as they note above), I’m not sure it’s superior - to say Bentley - which will on average have better career outcomes. I don’t imagine Bentley will come in affordability wise.
They are vastly different schools and MIdd is one of the top schools in the country - but given the student’s interests and Bentley’s stellar career outcomes, I’m not so sure it’s a slam dunk for this student. They should really visit both and decide IMHO.
In the end, if the student has an end goal, they should see the paths to getting to it- and the top school isn’t always the best to lead to that path, especially when the other is a career outcome superstar.
Congratulations on your acceptances OP. The biggest potential issue is what if OP doesn’t like econ…they will need to find a different major. Which can be ok of course. But I know many students who wanted a business career who went to various LACs (which didn’t offer business majors) and well, econ didn’t work out for them. I’m not saying only econ can lead to a business career coming out of Midd, because any major can…but students should study what they are interested in, what they are good at, etc.
I also agree with thorsmom about Midd being a fit school.
If OP really wants to study business/MIS, then another one of the schools might be a better fit.
My questions for OP: Do you have any sense if you like Econ (maybe took AP Econ in HS?)
Are the college savings enough to pay full annual COA at UMass ($35Kish), UVM ($60Kish) or Bentley ($82Kish)? Maybe some FA will still be coming from these schools…did you run their net price calculators? OP might also qualify for a Pell grant (max $7,495), and of course they would have the $5.5K fed student loan to take if they want.
Since there is still some time before the commitment date, if you are uncertain about which school is your best choice, or it is contingent on the net prices, why not wait for the financial details from the schools where it is still pending?
In the meantime, you can still consider and evaluate the other aspects of the schools (academic, social, etc.) so that you will be ready to decide when the financial details come.
^ with the major caveat that they shouldn’t go into debt for it.
But with the FAFSA fiasco there’s no telling what’s affordable yet, so @MattSF6 sit tight and be patient, then return with your FA package so we can help you better.
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov has some pay information for recent graduates of colleges and majors for those who received federal financial aid as students.
School
Major
# graduates
Recent graduate pay
Middlebury
Economics
129
$125,751
Bentley
Business, management and operations
144
$86,432
Massachusetts
Business, management and operations
266
$75,408
Vermont
Business, management and operations
202
$72,315
Connecticut
Business, management and operations
80
$71,443
Note that none of the business schools have data for management information systems and services specifically at the bachelor’s degree level. However, some have data for other business subareas, with different pay outcomes that you can look up. When offered at these schools, finance and management sciences and quantitative methods appear to have higher recent graduate pay levels than other business subareas.
Do you think the Mid grads might be more likely to be including Wall Street salaries in econ where the others are more likely to have those in finance?
It would not be surprising if a highly selective private LAC were preferentially recruited by “elite” Wall Street employers over large state universities or a moderately selective business-focused school, and that economics was a common major for Wall Street aspirants at schools without business majors.
yes. are the comparable finance majors in the catagory listed, or did you mean they would be in another. just trying to determine apples-to-apples or not?
If you want, you can look up the recent graduate pay levels for finance and other business subareas for each school at https://collegescorecard.ed.gov . I listed business management and operations because it was the closest thing to the OP’s preferred management information systems that had data.
