Research Opportunities
Ralph Becker
The Importance of High School Research

Many applicants to the most selective university programs share high grades, high test scores, solid recommendations and generous doses of community service and volunteer activities. Yet, if they want to set themselves apart from the pool of exceptional students, a significant research experience in STEM or the social sciences helps.

The Importance of High School Research

Babson

Profile of Frank Olin School of Engineering (Massachusetts)

Profile of Frank Olin School of Engineering (Massachusetts)

There are outposts in higher education that defy classification and take unique approaches to education. Deep Springs in eastern California comes to mind with its select handful of students who attend for two years and combine deep analysis of such texts as Plato’s Republic with a daily dose of ranching and farming. Another one is Cooper Union in New York. Now, among this select group, with its first graduating class in 2006, is the Franklin Olin School of Engineering located in Needham, Massachusetts, next door to Babson College, the leader in undergraduate business entrepreneurship. All three schools were endowed by entrepreneurial men who intently made them tuition free.

Olin, however, does far more than give free tuition to attract the brightest students.

Undergraduate Business Programs

Undergraduate Business Programs

Economic realities, particularly high unemployment rates and skyrocketing college costs, are encouraging many students to consider studying business administration as undergraduates. Back in 1968, about 13% of Bachelor degrees awarded were in business. This made business the third most popular major at the time. By 2008, more than one out of every five Bachelor degrees awarded were in business, making it, by far, the most popular undergraduate major.