Something to also consider in the numbers is student athletes. As someone mentioned, WF has a UG enrollment of 5100 vs BC’s 9000. However, they both compete in the ACC and field many teams. So, a larger % od students at WF are student athletes. Not taking anything away from them, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they contributed to the lower test scores and HS grades. They account for roughly 10% of the student body. That’s a big deal.
What’s actually quite cool about the student athletes at Wake (I hope it’s the same way at BC. It definitely isn’t at large state schools) is they take the same classes with everyone else. S frequently tells me that football player or basketball player is in his X or Y class. And most of these classes require a lot of prep as there is tons of class participation. Very high student athlete graduation rate, among the highest in D1, Power 5 conferences (I guess that means fewer leave early to turn pro).
^^umm, BC fields 29 varsity teams while Wake fields 16 (per wiki). (Of course, that doens’t necessarily mean its an even scale on a % basis, since football has 95 scholarships…)
Actually, at the large state schools, the athletes have few athlete-only classes. They take classes like everyone else.
Have known many D1 athletes at large schools. They travel ALOT and have tutors assigned, sometimes even on the road. They, at least these kids, did not attend the regular schedule of classes. Maybe they were enrolled but it wasn’t practical for them to be there on a consistent basis in season. They get the help they need, but kind of live an alternative college life. Their own dining halls, weight rooms, set of tutors, etc. Good Friend’s D just finished her freshman yr playing soccer up north (large state flagship). Room with other soccer players, predetermined by coach. Athlete only training facility which included their own dining hall, fitness, academic advisors ,etc. Happened to be my alma mater so I asked if she ever went to X gym or Y dining common. Her exact words were, “Why would I, our place is way nicer and new!”.
sure, nickle, d1 travel is constant. But that does not mean that the athletes are not taking regular classes. They may not attend a class when they are traveling to an away game, but they are still enrolled in a regular class; they just may require a proctor to take a final since they are at a Bowl game or off at March Madness.
Yes, d1 athletes get special tutors, but that is true everywhere as is it NCAA approved, and probably a good thing to help keep them ‘on track’.
And yes, some colleges – both public and private – offer athlete-only dorms and training tables. BC has neither, btw. My D used to share a ‘lunch’ table with Luke Kuechle.
They are all good. Geesh. And that’s not the right perspective.
I would say that if BC and Emory would be a better comparison if BC had a second remote campus to have another set of students attend and separate the stats, it would be a good comparison with Emory.
And if BC were in a city with no other elite academic competitors it would be a better comparison.
Quite frankly Emory is great but it has grown in an environment that can’t compare to Boston. But If it were magically moved here it would be definately be in the top 7 schools.
And I am not sure if Emory has competitive sports. If they were in Boston They may have to start giving out some athletic scholorships to compete in this market. And that does impact the stats a bit.
The only reason kids from NE go to Atlanta is to watch Super Bowls for the home town team.
@privatebanker
Nice try but Oxford’s enrolled stats are higher than BC’s as well
1350-1520 for Emory
1330-1520 for Oxford@Emory
1320-1490 for BC
Don’t pretend BC could ever compete with Harvard and MIT so those two don’t matter. So really the only competition is Tufts, BU, and NEU. Emory has to compete with Gatech and UGA which the latter could be argued as being the same level as BC.
How about act scores. And gpa. And leadership. SAT scores you presented are nearly statistically identical. And are meaningless at that level of difference. Ask any admissions expert.
But back to stats. Mean for 2018 at BC was 33 this year ea was 34. Also Emory oxford had 4100 acceptances and only 500 said yes. That’s not great. Main campus is just a bit better.
Harvard MIT Tufts BU Northeastern Wellesley Boston College Berkelee College of Music for elite musicians. Just to name a few competing for the talent. Like I said Emory is great but would be middle of the pack - clearly an elite pack - in Boston.
And add in a few athletes and let’s compare notes.
But other than this thread and in CC , Emory isn’t even in the dialogue around here. We hear more about UVA Duke UNC and Ga Tech.
And of course we have all the many local, Uber elite LACs and other New England ivies to consider locally.
But it’s odd to have to come on BC forum to debate the strength of another school. Isnt there an Emory thread to help students considering that school?
@privatebanker
BC will not enroll that high which we all know that is what matters most. Emory would be tied with Wellesley or between Wellesley and MIT. If Emory isn’t in the convo ( which is odd considering how many long island students are here) then that says more about how overrated you guys opinion of the world is. Emory is trying to improve yield, which says a lot considering both colleges at EmoryU are able to enroll stronger students than BC despite the lower than avg yield. 68% of students submitted the SAT at Oxford so that is most relevant, and I don’t have ACT numbers but they wouldn’t be far off from BC’s or Emory’s.
My point was that you attempt to discredit Emory through Oxford@EMory does not work, A majority of students at BC couldn’t get into Oxford@Emory let alone the Main campus.
@emorynavy@privatebanker OK…as the poster who unwittingly brought out the ire of emorynavy in my casual reference to Emory’s Forbe’s ranking in my comments about Boston College’s place among national universities, let me attempt to draw this discussion to a close. First, and perhaps most importantly, whatever the relative rankings of BC and Emory, I have to believe that the respective applicant pools are completely different from a whole variety of perspectives - geographical, religious, orientation toward sports, orientation toward intellectualism, leadership, etc. Which means that preferences for one school over the other are based so much more on the perspective of the applicant than on any published rankings. The only cross applicant I personally know of got admitted to both…and chose BC. But I recognize that many students might choose differently - and with complete merit. Most students who I know who have gone to Emory are pre-med or English majors.
My only issue here is with Emory’s ranking of #21 in USNWR vs. BC at #38, despite what are arguably very similar student statistics.I would put them both in the #25 - #30 range, irrespective of which school you might rank ahead of the other (which as I noted above, is very subjective) - but who cares what I think. At the same time, as I referenced it, I think that Wake Forest at #27 is a much bigger head scratcher vs. BC or Emory. Furthermore, I think that Tulane at #44 seems low, which I might argue is at least a regional comp to Emory - with broadly similar student stats. And would definitely rank ahead of Wake Forest.
BTW…many of those “Long Island students” that you reference don’t typically apply to BC, but interestingly do to Tulane in abundance. Speaks to the difference in applicant pools that these universities deal with. Emory also has a huge amount of international students vs. either of these schools. So different schools, different students but all very highly respected and excellent universities. So go Eagles! And, by the way, I really like that Emory is part of the University Athletic Association - sort of a NESCAC for like universities.
@CCSavant
Good for you, and your varied opinions. Emory has never been ranked outside the top 25 thus far on US news, in fact, was ranked as high as 9 at one point in time. Emory is a staple among elite company. Can’t say the same about the other schools.
And that’s all that matters.
@CCSavant your post was interesting to me because my son considered Emory when compiling his college list last year. And that is as far as we got…it was on a list. We tried to get him to visit…he would not even visit. On the other hand, he loved BC, UVA, ND, and others…just did not see himself at Emory. He stated it was a bit to “sterile” and didn’t seem to be enough “soul.” Those were his words. Anyway, in my one person sample size, I can agree with your statement about applicant pools being very different. And FWIW, my son had very high stats – well above the mean of both of all these schools. @emorynavy it is understandable that you want to boost your school, but not sure why you are on the BC forum to do that.
How I came to be interested in BC? My bucket list was, Solid academic reputation, beautiful and vibrant campus, strong athletic program, access to a culturally relevant city and high school spirit. Added together, these factors would provide and shape an overall collective experience. When it comes to school spirit and pride, enthusiasm for BC by Alum and families is very high. VERY HIGH and very visible. How did I came by this? As a native New Yorker, I spent many summer days @ the Jersey Shore- and to be clear, I am referring to Spring Lake, Manatokan, Sea Girt, Bay Head (not the other Jersey Shore ). Anyone familiar with this area will know that these are waterfront bedroom communities- used predominantly but not exclusively as 2nd homes owned disproportional by people who identify themselves as Irish. It is often referred to as the Irish Rivera. To access the beach area, you would have to park along a residential street and walk to a beach access point. Yes, the homes are large, meticulously well maintained and very very expensive. May of the homes have flag poles. But its not just the Stars and stripes that are flying, many home owners also display college flags. College flags on display are ND, GT, Nova, Princeton, Yale ect, but the one flag that outnumbers all the rest by far- is Boston College Not even close. Also, stroll along the beaches, BC memorabilia is on display everywhere- beach chairs, hats, coolers (of course)…So for me, this experience shaped my view and heightened my interest in BC; it created a sense of community and belonging. Now, its not to say that had I been accepted to Notre Dame, I would have refused- probably not. But given my bucket list, I can only name a handful of schools (maybe 5-7) that nails all factors I was willing to consider when choosing a college to attend. When I graduate, I do know that there will be a large and prideful alumni network, that i can tap into…and one last thing…I don’t ever recall seeing an Emory flag…Perhaps I didn’t look hard enough? I’ll be sure to keep any eye out this summer. (the 2 weeks that I am not interning)
Most students with top grades and ACT/SAT scores are great candidates for all top 50 schools including the IVIES.
They have the grades,etc.
However unless you have a hook it doesn’t matter if acceptance rate is 5 percent or 35 percent.Its hard to get in with just great grades and no hook. Its a very unpredictable process.
Emory is a fantastic school but for someone not from the South or looking to go there its not a target of a Northeast student often.
BC fans do feel because of a lack of ED at the school it often does not command the respect it deserves from the rankings. Alumni, parents and current students anecdotally seem to rave about it more than many other elite schools.
Back when I was more OCD, and subscribed to USNews, I used to kill time by making comparisons. Why does Emory score 79 and BC only 68. I have no doubt that Peer Assessment score for Emory is much higher than BC. Also, Emory scores high for small classes, even Frosh classes which tend to be larger everywhere else. For example, when I looked at Emory a few years back, Calc , had classes of ~30 students, all taught by a Prof. Calc 1 started at 9 am and run all day. Most other Unis, like BC, have a large lecture by the Prof, and then smaller sections taught by TA’s.
And my recollection is correct. Per USNews, Emory has 61% of classes with <20 students, in comparison to BC which is 48.5%. As a result, student-faculty ratio is 9:1 vs. 12:1.
If anyone subscribes to USNews, the key to look at is Peer Assessment score, IMO. (Religious schools tend to score lower in that number: 1) part of that is due to fewer doctoral programs and thus, lower “prestige”; and 2) there is a bias towards secular schools, IMO )
). Anyone familiar with this area will know that these are waterfront bedroom communities- used predominantly but not exclusively as 2nd homes owned disproportional by people who identify themselves as Irish. It is often referred to as the Irish Rivera. To access the beach area, you would have to park along a residential street and walk to a beach access point. Yes, the homes are large, meticulously well maintained and very very expensive. May of the homes have flag poles. But its not just the Stars and stripes that are flying, many home owners also display college flags. College flags on display are ND, GT, Nova, Princeton, Yale ect, but the one flag that outnumbers all the rest by far- is Boston College Not even close. Also, stroll along the beaches, BC memorabilia is on display everywhere- beach chairs, hats, coolers (of course)…So for me, this experience shaped my view and heightened my interest in BC; it created a sense of community and belonging. Now, its not to say that had I been accepted to Notre Dame, I would have refused- probably not. But given my bucket list, I can only name a handful of schools (maybe 5-7) that nails all factors I was willing to consider when choosing a college to attend. When I graduate, I do know that there will be a large and prideful alumni network, that i can tap into…and one last thing…I don’t ever recall seeing an Emory flag…Perhaps I didn’t look hard enough? I’ll be sure to keep any eye out this summer. (the 2 weeks that I am not interning) 