News & Announcements Blog / News

Babson College F.W.Olin Graduate School of Business Named One of the ‘Best Business Schools’ by The Princeton Review

The F.W. Olin Graduate School at Babson College is an outstanding business school, according to The Princeton Review’s new 2017 edition of its annual book, The Best 294 Business Schools.

Babson has also earned the No. 8 spot for a graduate program providing the Greatest Opportunity For Women.  Among the other top 10 colleges and universities are Harvard University, Stanford University, the University of Virginia (Darden), and Columbia University.

“We recommend Babson as one of the best to earn an MBA. We chose the 294 schools in this book based on our high regard for their academics and our assessment of institutional data we collect from the schools. We also solicited and greatly respect the opinions of 25,000 students attending these schools who reported on their experiences at their schools on our 80-question student survey for the book,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review Senior VP-Publisher.

“We are pleased to receive this recognition from The Princeton Review,” said Babson Graduate School Dean William Lamb. “Babson offers a variety of graduate degree and certificate programs benefitting the in-class and online student equally. Our offerings have long been recognized by The Princeton Review as supporting our women students, who comprise 34 percent of our student population across all of our graduate programs. We continue our commitment to educating students through Entrepreneurial Thought and Action® as they pursue opportunities that make a difference in business and society.”

The recognition comes at an exciting time for the graduate school, as Babson College expands its footprint in downtown Boston with the opening of its new 100 High Street campus. This additional space in the heart of the Financial District complements Babson’s campuses in Wellesley and San Francisco. Part-time MBA students will now be able to complete their entire degree in downtown Boston if they choose.

Babson’s commitment to women students has never been stronger. Led by its Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL), the college seeks to create a gender-enlightened business ecosystem where a diverse range of entrepreneurial leaders is encouraged to create economic and social value for themselves, their organizations, and society. The center does this by empowering women leaders through educational programs, events, and research while also promoting gender equity as a growth strategy that allows all individuals and organizations around the world to embrace their strengths and reach their full potential.

Programming, research, and related initiatives, include:

The recent Babson Breakaway Challenge, which offered the largest funding amount ever awarded in a women-specific business competition in order to promote high-potential women-led businesses and raise awareness of gender parity in the venture capital industry.

The Diana Project™, which engages in research activities, forums and scholarship focusing on women entrepreneurs and their growth. Given the vital importance of women entrepreneurs for wealth creation, innovation, and economic advancement throughout the world, Diana International provides a platform for researchers to develop, conduct, and share a global research agenda.

Babson College’s Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab, a unique, year-long program, located on the Wellesley and Boston campuses, and through our new Miami offering, designed to empower women to build their entrepreneurial ventures.

Babson’s annual Women’s Preview Day, happening this year on October 14 on the Wellesley campus, which provides prospective students an opportunity to meet dynamic Babson College women and discover how they can gain the skills, entrepreneurial mindset, and confidence to take control of their career and future. Participants can look forward to hearing from Susan Duffy, Executive Director of Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership, interacting with current students and alumni, networking with members of the Babson Association of Women MBAs (BAWMBA), and learning more about Babson’s WIN Lab, Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership, MBA, MS, and Certificate Programs.

Methodology and Survey Results

The Princeton Review’s survey asked students at the 294 business schools about academics, student body, and campus life as well as about themselves and their career plans. The student surveys that were used for this edition were completed online at http://survey.review.com and conducted in the 2015-16, 2014-15, and 2013-14 academic years.

The book’s two-page school profiles have sections on academics, student life, admissions information, and graduates’ employment data.

In the profile on Babson College, The Princeton Review editors describe the school as “consistently known as one of the most entrepreneurially-focused business programs in the country.”

Among the comments from Babson students are: “Everyone associated with Babson that I talked to prior to enrolling (alumni, faculty, current students) seemed very, very happy and satisfied in life.”

The profiles also have five categories of ratings that The Princeton Review tallies based on institutional data it collected during the 2015-16 academic year and/or its student survey for the book. The ratings are scores on a scale of 60 to 99.

Babson rating categories are:

  • Professors Accessible: 96
  • Professors Interesting: 93
  • Career: 92
  • Academic Experience: 90
  • Admissions Selectivity: 87

Learn more about the basis for each rating >>

The Princeton Review does not rank the schools in the book from one to 294, or name one business school best overall. Instead, the book has 11 ranking lists of the top 10 business schools in various categories. Ten of the lists are based entirely or partly on The Princeton Review’s surveys of students attending the schools. A few lists, such as “Best Career Prospects,” use both student survey and institutional data. The list, “Toughest to Get Into,” is based solely on institutional data.

Learn more about the ranking methodology >>

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is a leading test preparation, tutoring, and college admission services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school-bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors and its more than150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House. The Princeton Review is headquartered in Natick, MA, and is an operating business of Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH). For more information, visit www.princetonreview.com and www.facebook.com/ThePrincetonReview, and follow The Princeton Review on Twitter.

The Best 294 Business Schools is one of more than 150 Princeton Review books published by Penguin Random House.