I received a PM regarding CGS, as my D1 attended BU and CGS. Rather then responding to her, I thought that I would summarize some questions that arise this time of year every year. She graduated with high honors in 2015, so newbies please chip in information!
1 - Yes, an admission to CGS sometimes is a “second choice”. Yes, you may wish that you had been accepted to your program directly. That said, it is an awesome experience for the vast majority of students. Our daughter would tell you retrospectively that she was very glad she did CGS to COM. She was full pay at BU, and chose BU over several schools where she got substantial merit. She would tell you it was an excellent decision. She has been working in her field since before graduation.
2. Yes, you can typically graduate on time in your major. The exception is Sargent - there are some course sequences that are a little tougher to complete on time if you are in CGS. The staff in the CGS department has a huge collection of sample “tracks” for majors and schools. If they aren’t online, email them. Science majors may also not be the best fit - evaluate carefully.
3. Only the most uninformed make fun of CGS. Yes, some people call it “Crayon Glue and Scissors” just as they call COM “College of Optional Math” and SMG (recently renamed Questrom School of Business) as “School of Malice and Greed”. Truth: noone really cares.
4 - It is easy to transfer to your new school in BU at the end of your sophomore year. D1 couldn’t think of anyone who didn’t easily slide in. Your degree is from the school in which you complete your degree, although some prefer to also list CGS.
5 - The CGS program is rigorous in reading, writing, and analysis. D1 is an excellent writer, and found the writing program very practical as well as rigorous. The program in general is very cohesive, and excellent preparation for the majors ahead. The students in the program are just as high quality as the other schools. There are a portion of students who have atypical transcripts. For example, at orientation, there was a student who had been schooled in Africa, where the coursework was structured very differently. There was another who had gone through chemotherapy, so his grades were a little uneven.
6 - One really great feature of BU is that you are allowed to overload if you have a good GPA. DD elected to overload by one class every semester, and do one summer at the CGS London program. This meant that she could take two classes outside of CGS for Spring freshman year and both of her sophomore semesters. She continued this pattern in Junior and Senior year, and ended up saving a full semester of tuition. She also traveled abroad twice (London/London) through BU, and with the money saved on the final semester convinced us to subsidize a third language immersion program for two weeks in France. The extra class enabled her to determine that her original idea of a major was less preferred, and she settled on COM second semester freshman year.
7 - It was her observation, as well as the observation of one of her professors, that the CGS students are BETTER at analyzing and writing than those who had started in COM or CAS. D1’s high school English classes were superior, but the CGS program focuses on analyzing and presenting information in a “directional” way that focuses on the goal of the writing and the listener. The Capstone project is an excellent way to further hone these skills.
8. If you go into CGS with the idea that it will be easier, you are incorrect. If you go into it with the idea that you will find much smaller classes, a more cohesive community within the community, and the opportunity to travel overseas before your junior year you are correct.
I am really hopeful that newer grads or current students contribute to this thread. I will say that D1 attended under the prior Dean, who was an absolute powerhouse and extremely highly regarded. She was instrumental in beginning the CGS London start program, although the summer London program was in place.
If I can answer any other questions, I am happy to! Feeling very relaxed, as D2 is now officially enrolled in her college choice so College Confidential is merely entertainment and support!
Thanks for posting this! S4 accepted to the Spring CGS/London program, so nice to hear good things about it! My son is one of the “unbalanced” students - high SAT, lower gpa. We are headed to the open house in April to see how things feel but hoping this may be a good fit for him. We are in CA but most of DH family and our D3 are in Boston (she is at BC).
@shoot4moon - thank you very much. He has several options in CA and we are still not sure. How easy was it to dorm coming in spring? One would think there would be very few spots opening up in Spring - does the school guarantee space? Still not comfortable, direct to Questrom would have tilted us, but CGS seems too much of an unknown. Overloading doesn’t help as kids should enjoy college holistically and engage in other things at college as well.
@shoot4moon - thank you very much. He has several options in CA and we are still not sure. How easy was it to dorm coming in spring? One would think there would be very few spots opening up in Spring - does the school guarantee space? Still not comfortable, direct to Questrom would have tilted us, but CGS seems too much of an unknown. Overloading doesn’t help as kids should enjoy college holistically and engage in other things at college as well.
D1 was admitted before the Spring admit program. What schools is he considering in CA? That’s my turf, although neither child chose a CA school. Both are adventurers! Overloading was not that tough for D1…she scheduled her classes carefully, and still had plenty of time for fun and lots of travel.
Funny… D2 was accepted to LMU and SCU for art and biology! SCU was a strong second choice for her, but she got into her ED school. We never got a merit offer from LMU, but I was told they were typically higher than SCU. Was that your experience? Has he visited both schools? LMU is in a lovely area and is close to LA for internships. I don’t know anything about their business program, but I know that students I know have been very happy there. SCU is in San Jose, which is not a pretty city but is safe. SCU is extremely well regarded. The joke if you haven’t heard it is that Stanford students invent things, and SCU students build the businesses behind them. As I recall, the entrepreneur program is especially strong. Again, I don’t have direct experience with the business program, but students who attend are very happy and rarely transfer.
If you are not from CA, you might not know that USC is surrounded by a very dicey area in the heart of LA. Their alumni network is the strongest of your three CA contenders, but non-alums have varying opinions on their students. If he plans to stay in CA, he should know that a significant portion of people respond to USC with an eye roll. There is a perception that I have heard repeatedly as a local resident that they have a far higher opinion of themselves and their school than is deserved. I have never heard this about SCU or LMU. I’m not saying everyone believes this, but I am saying there is a fair amount.
@shoot4moon thanks for the input. We live in the bay area (SFO). SCU he says is too close to home :-(. So USC, LMU and Chapman is what he is considering. We are planning to go to the open house in Boston U on April 7th. This is crazy stressful
@shoot4moon Thanks for all the helpful info. It sounds like your daughter started in September instead of January which might affect the overall experience but agree the CGS program has many upsides. On another note - I’m assuming this doesn’t happen often and maybe you’re not privy to this information, but what are the primary reasons CGS students have transferred out of BU? Thank you.
My child was accepted but received zero in merit and we do not qualify for aid, though can’t afford the price of BU. If admitted into CGS is merit ever offered? All the other schools offered generous merit, one almost a full ride, but zip from BU, which of course is the first choice!
Sorry - haven’t been on CC lately! I am not sure if merit aid is ever offered - I only know that we didn’t get any. DD did get a small merit scholarship her sophomore year from the professors in CGS. It was a complete surprise. I guess that they choose a student (students?) who are outstanding in their freshman year. @a121134, I am guessing that you read this on other threads from long ago, likely from PaloVerde. As far as I know, all of the students who DD worked with in CGS were admitted to their major as juniors. I don’t think the curve is a huge issue.
Sorry - haven’t been on CC lately! @momhasquestions I am not sure if merit aid is ever offered - I only know that we didn’t get any. DD did get a small merit scholarship her sophomore year from the professors in CGS. It was a complete surprise. I guess that they choose a student (students?) who are outstanding in their freshman year. @
No idea what happened to the rest of my post - if it posts later I apologize. @momhasquestions, we did not receive any merit aid. I’m not sure if other students did. She did get a small CGS scholarship in her sophomore year: the professors voted and it was a complete surprise to her. I don’t know if other students were given the award as well, but the $2K helped! In regard to the curve question, I am guessing that you read this on earlier threads - specifically by PaloVerde. He attended more than 25 years ago. I don’t think my daughter knew anyone who was not admitted to their major on completion of the CGS program. I think this is no longer a major concern.