Bentley University | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

The Man

Class: Junior
Major: Business
Gender: M

High School: Boston College High School
Transfer Student: Y

Big Picture

The best thing about Bentley is its size. A lot of people (including myself) were afraid to attend a school that was too small. If it was too small, you would get bored too quickly, you'd meet just about everyone in the first year, it would feel like high school, etc. Bentley is roughly 4,000-5,000 undergrad. I don't feel like I have even come close to meeting half of the students in my class after 3 years. It is big enough to have a lot of fun at, yet small enough to get VERY individual attention, have small classes, and can provide resources for all of its students. We also have a "trading room" that is unmatched by ANY school in the WORLD. Better than what can be seen at Harvard Business School, Wharton (at UPenn), MIT, Columbia Business School, or any "top-notch" business school in the country. We have all of the financial software and tools used at top financial institutions across the globe. When I showed up for my first day of work at Morgan Stanley I knew how to use their software better than 25-year industry veterans. Following the theme of business technology, we also have the Center for Marketing Technology and the "ACELAB" (Accounting Center for Electronic Learning and Business, basically an accounting software room). There is no software you will be unfamiliar with after leaving Bentley. I can't truly comment on either of these as I am a finance major, and the experience I've had with both is limited at best.

Academic Life

Favorite class ever in my academic history: FI392: International Project Finance. This class is taught by former investment bankers and is essentially centered around investment banking-style projects. It is a class based entirely upon case studies of enormous investments. You analyze these multi-billion dollar investments from every aspect; it goes far beyond what you learn in a textbook and is as close as you can get to real-world experience inside a classroom. I have learned topics and techniques in this class that I'm not sure I ever would have ever learned in my academic career. I feel comfortable modeling large projects, analyzing risk, and building a proper valuation. Absolutely incredible class; a must-take for any finance major at this school.

Student Body

By its nature as a top business school, there is a wealthier, more politically conservative, maybe even a little bit stuffy of a population. I come from a pretty middle-class family, and I have had zero trouble making friends here who are down-to-earth. However, there are a pretty decent amount of kids here who think they are God's gift to the planet. Bentley has begun to offer a few liberal arts majors. I don't know why those students would ever choose to come here. It isn't because Bentley's LA program isn't good (because it is) but those students tend to be VERY liberal, anti-corporate America (you know, the type of people who think that all "wall street-type" people are all about screwing over the "little guy" and that there is some giant conspiracy for corporations to rape the world for money), and all the other stereotypes that come with extreme liberals. For a liberal arts major to attend this school is much like a member of the Ku Klux Klan deciding to attend an HBCU school (HBCU= Historically Black Colleges and Universities). Students here also tend to be very motivated, career-oriented, and driven. You would be surprised how many students arrive here freshman year with a very good direction of where they want to head in life. Internships are highly sought-after. This leads to high job placement. Right now, April 2008, in the middle of a recession (yes, it is a recession), with a crummy job market, I'd say 95% of seniors I know already have a job. The ones that don't are the students who didn't start thinking about employment until around February of their senior year.