Babson Survival Guide Part 2: Your Classes
Once you have been properly oriented, it will almost be time to start your classes. Babson was nice enough to plan them out for you for your first semester, so you probably got those 8 AM classes just like you hoped for. The required "Foundation" classes probably change every single year, but in general, you're going to have a lot of classes, a lot of work, and not much sleep.
The good news is, most people will tell you it gets easier after freshman year. The bad news... is that that is a lie. You want to believe it, and I certainly did, but then I went through another three years and found out the truth. During freshman year, you are just getting warmed up. It's more of a pessimistic view, but c'mon, let's be realistic here. Once you finish your foundation courses, you move on to intermediate and advanced level courses. Does that sound easier to you?
OK, for the rest of this section, we'll look at the actual classes you might be taking freshman year. (Detailed information about future classes will be provided in the articles and advice section.)
FME
I see no better way to start than with FME, short for Foundation Management Experience. This is the quintessential Babson class that draws everyone here. You learn all about business and even get $3000 from the school to start your own. It is way overhyped, but that is what Babson has to do to make news headlines. (Let that be a lesson: Babson's marketing department does a great job selling the school. You'll learn more from analyzing the school's marketing than you will in your marketing classes.)
So how does FME shape up in real life?
You start out in a class of 60, and after a few classes where you learn business basics (and by basic I mean stuff any entrepreneur would know when they're 10 years old,) you get broken down into 10 groups of 6. The groups are solely based on alphabetical order, so just pray that you get put into a group with smart kids who speak English (or whatever language you prefer.) Once you're grouped up, you brainstorm for business ideas. Each group comes up with an idea, develops it, and presents it to the class. After each round of presentations, some groups are eliminated, and those members join the remaining groups. Towards the end of the first semester, it comes down to just two groups with 30 students each, and those are the resulting businesses.
As groups of 30 students, you form a corporate structure with a CEO, VPs, and basic employees. To be blunt, being the CEO or even a VP is a bitch. It's a ton of work and a ton of pressure. In actuality though, FME isn't a big deal, but all the freshmen think it's the biggest deal in the world and get super-stressed. Hell, even the low-level employees get a ton of work because they have to walk around and try to sell funny t-shirts and Babson mugs to the jaded upperclassmen.
Here's a tip: We've seen it all before. Your t-shirts, advertising booklets, and Babson waterbottles are nothing new.
But enough about how to run a business - let's get back to class. While the groupwork is hard and turns many friends into enemies, the classwork is hard and boring. You'll learn some basic accounting and IT stuff like "data warehousing" and "data mining." Be prepared to work with Microsoft Access for this.
I don't want to give away all the secrets, but don't be surprised when everyone is fighting and bickering at 3 AM the night before a presentation because the Powerpoint isn't fancy enough.
Rhetoric A and B
These classes are pretty basic, but vital to your success at Babson. Rhetoric involves a lot of writing and public speaking, arguably the most frequently used skills in the business world. If you're not writing, you're probably reading. You have to write and speak about something, so it might as well be about literature.
Be prepared to read multiple novels and do a few papers and presentations each semester. Rhetoric A is multiple, shorter assignments, while Rhetoric B has longer papers and speeches.
History and Society Foundation (HSF)
Much like Rhetoric, this is all about reading, writing, and speaking. And group work - you can expect to do group work in every single class at Babson, so get used to it.
The difference here is that you'll read a lot of novels about opressed peoples emigrating to other countries. Other novels will be more about current society, and if you're lucky, you'll read Paul Beatty's White Boy Shuffle. The classes will then involve a tiny bit of lecture and a ton of discussion.
If you haven't heard yet, most of Babson's classes are based on discussion. The key to getting a good participation grade (possibly worth 25-35% of your final class grade) is just to talk a lot. It does not matter if you always have the right answer or an answer at all. Maybe you just ask a lot of questions. Either way, you need to talk a lot so the professor remembers your name. That's the simple, unfortunate truth. Don't be surprised when people make random comments. They like to hear their own voice, and they like to kiss ass to get a good grade.
Arts and Humanities Foundation (AHF)
This is quite a bit like HSF, but it involves some more "artsy" readings. To be honest, I don't even remeber what we read. Expect some poetry and short stories though. And plenty of papers to write.
Quantitative Methods (QTM)
This is Babson's version of a math class. You start out with QTM 1300, then QTM 1301, then 1310 or 1320. In general these classes can be described as a mix of Calculus and Statistics. If you take the AP calc test you can probably get out of 1300 and go straight to the more statistics-heavy courses.
Expect to do lots of regressions and statistical analysis, using such programs as Minitab.
If you're not a math whiz, these classes will be tough. The good news is that some of the stuff you learn is very useful for a business (especially finance or statistics) career.
Science A and B
Science. Home to some good, and a lot of bad, classes. You'll take a Science A and a Science B, and you have a few choices for each. (Except that Science A will already be scheduled for you.) I had the pleasure of taking Science of Life, which was a mix of biology and chemistry I had already learned in high school. (Waste of $4000 anyone?)
If you thought you were done with science labs, think again. Babson still has plenty of lackluster liberal arts.
The key for your science classes is to get something with Professor Winrich.
Business Law
This will depend on your professor, but this class will probably be one of the hardest and most useful classes you take at Babson. It is exactly what it says - business law. You'll learn about all the laws you have to abide by in the business world. It's actually one of those "gems" that makes it worth sitting through your crappy classes. As hard as it is, you should look forward to it.
First Year Seminar (FYS)
This class is also what it says - a sort of "seminar" for first year students. A lot of people skipped it when I was a freshman, but now the class is required and counts for one credit, so you have to show up now. It's not a hard class, though. All you do is show up and talk about issues you're facing. There is usually a faculty or staff member there along with a Babson senior to guide you.
I think this only meets once a week for a semester, but these days it might last the full year.
Foundation Computer Lab (FCL)
Remember that computer competency test you took over the internet? That was to determine what level of computer lab you need. (If you know computers, you'll get to take Advanced FCL.)
This class is once a week and is taught by a Babson junior or senior. It's useful because you need to know how to use programs like Excel and Access, and it's helpful that an older student is teaching you. (They'll let you in on some stuff that faculty won't tell you, like how to keep some privacy when your computer is plugged into the Babson network.)
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The Complete Course Guide for Babson Students (Coming Soon)
