<p>Hi all
Obviously Admission Decisions will be sent out fairly soon, and I just have a few questions as I am getting very nervous regarding admission. BC has been my top choice for a VERY long time (although I’m sure I am not alone in this sentiment!)
How does applying into a separate “school” help? I applied to Lynch. Teaching is a passion of mine. Interestingly enough, I received a few emails from BC over the past few months regarding my interest in education and info about Lynch and coming up to visit- I thought maybe they neeeded more interest for the school of education? I know all apps go through the Admissions Office but if someone could give me any additional insight on this I’d appreciate it!
How much does BC care about serious interest? I know some schools, such as Holy Cross, really stress a students interest and passion for their school? I tried to make it clear that BC was my absolute top choice and how passionate I was about it…many of my teachers wrote special recs that specified this! Im just wondering if that stuff really matters to BC?</p>
<p>you’ll find out your answer soon enough, but wrt #1: in general, it helps to demonstrate appropriate interest and ECs when applying to specialized schools within a University. Applying to the Connell Nursing school, for example, with zero exposure to health care is probably not a good choice. Similarly, applying to a College of Engineering with low math scores and published poetry is probably not a good fit. (Yes, BC does not have engineering.)</p>
<p>2) The smaller the school (and to a certain extent, lower ranked), the more important is “fit”, and thus interest. In contrast, a large (top) school like Harvard doesn’t care about interest – with a near 80% yield, they don’t have to be concerned about losing prospies.</p>
<p>I have heard on several different occasions that BC does not take demonstrated interest into account in the admissions process. However, if this is not true, feel free to correct me.</p>
<p>While BC may not care about demonstrated interest per se, BC does care about fit with the Jesuit ethos, and that is clear by its new essay questions. </p>
<p>But to the point of specialized colleges — one needs to demonstrate interest in a school of nursing or to a school of education, but that does not have to be BC-specific. That just means an interest (and hopefully ECs) in that field/profession to show that you understand what it means. It does little good to admit someone to a nursing program who faints at the first hint of blood. And someone who has volunteered in the health field would have the ECs to demonstrate that s/he could handle that aspect of health care.</p>
<p>Thus, such professional interest is different than just wanting to attend college in Boston, for example.</p>
<p>Bluebayou is right. Demonstrated interest in Boston College by attending tours and information sessions is not used in the admissions process at all. However, showing you fit within the BC community is definitely used in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Two examples:</p>
<p>Student A visits the Boston College campus 2 times before applying to the Carroll School of Management, but in his application shows no interest in being a well rounded person within a community and shows absolutely no interest in business by having business related high school classes/extracurriculars.</p>
<p>Student B never visits the Boston College campus before applying to the Carroll School of Management, but her application is filled with leadership roles, business extracurriculars such as FBLA, and generally seems like she would fit well within the BC community.</p>
<p>Obviously Student B would gain admission over Student A.</p>
<p>By special interest I did not mean simply visiting, but rather indicating that it is my first choice and that I am highly passionate about the school.
I have a great deal of ECs and volunteer work tutoring kids/volunteering as a teacher, so yes, I have as much educational background as a high school senior can have.</p>