<p>My daughter has two loans in her package and I also have to put some money. In addition, she has work study. </p>
<p>I was wondering if everyone is happy with the financial aid package BC was giving out? </p>
<p>Also, will the work study interfere with the classes?
And how many classes is the minimum workload?</p>
<p>Any comments will be highly appreciated.</p>
<p>The typical load is 5 classes though science majors also have labs tied to some of their classes.</p>
<p>My son has worked while at BC and has done well. Work study is usually included in all financial aide packages at all the universities . . . BC is a fabulous school and well worth a bit of work study.</p>
<p>He saved up money the year before school started and did not have to get a job right away which was nice. Food service jobs seem to be readily available and are flexible so that students can sign up for shifts or not according during peak study periods.</p>
<p>To get the more interesting jobs, students need to be proactive at the beginning of the semester which my son figured out by his junior year<g>.</g></p>
<p>I have two federal loans as well as work study in my package and I am satisfied with it. The scholarship they gave me was a majority of my award.</p>
<p>Can anybody else elaborate on the average class load especially for a science major</p>
<p>All Frosh are required to take 5 classes each semester, regardless of whether you are a science major or not. Typical Frosh load for a physical science major is no different than anywhere else: Frosh Chem+Lab, English/Writing (if no AP/IB), Math (if no AP/IB), Bio (perhaps), Core (elective) requirement. It’s the lab component that adds a LOT of extra work. Note, BC has changed its graduation requirement from ‘courses’ to ‘credits’, so lab units now count for graduation credit.</p>
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<p>This really depends on where else students get in. BC’s grant package is woefully short of the well endowed Ivies, for example, but competitive with a school like Wake Forest.</p>
<p>I have always thought of BC as being very well funded and good in managing their finances so that they are able to offer great financial aide.</p>
<p>^^BC may be extremely well managed, but that does not mean it gives out a lot of grant money. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, BC refuses to publish its common data set, so I guess we’ll never really know. But the data on IPEDS is bogus on its face. It shows that 74% of BC students are receiving federal grants, i.e., Pell & Perkins, which are targeted for low-low income. But, according to BC’s factbook, 60% of students are full pay, so the IPEDS data is obviously incorrect.</p>
<p>Our family could not afford BC without the very generous BC grants my son receives so I guess my perspective and view point are a bit different. BC continues to be a fabulous experience for my son both academically and socially.</p>
<p>BC was very UNgenerous with my finaid, so it got crossed off my list =]</p>
<p>Dear teamfrangela92 : After the admissions announcements come clear, one of the largest culling factors of admitted class members is the reality of the $50,000 per year price tag. More and more of the Top 40 universities, and in particular those that are need-blind, are creating a middle class squeeze where home ownership, combined annual incomes in the $130,000 per year range and $100,000 in cash savings places the BC calculated EFC above the annual cost of the school. This is translated into being ungenerous with financial aid for many posters. Note bluebayou’s figures about 60% of the student body paying the full freight to attend Boston College.</p>
<p>Dear threetreasurs : The last time that we examined the Boston College endowment, the total stood at $1.6B (approximately) which was (at the time) the forecast cost ($1.5B) for the ten year campus improvement plan.</p>
<p>[List</a> of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_the_United_States_by_endowment]List”>List of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>The link above provides a reference to the schools across the United States with an endowment of $1B or more. (There are 55 such universities.) Note that when it comes to endowment per student, Boston College’s ranking is not as high as a school with this profile might otherwise be.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the fact that labs isn’t count for credit and now they do. Can someone please explain? Will I get credit for doing lab courses next year??</p>
<p>sorry, labs count for gpa credit, but heretofore, BC counted courses for graduation, not units. (You need 38 courses to graduate.) Labs were worth one unit, but no course credit; thus, no graduation credit. Thus, a typical Frosh would take five classes+lab. Later, a science major might take 5 courses plus TWO labs. Only the “course” counted for graduation, not the lab portion. (At other schools, which count units for graduation, a student taking two lab courses in one semester would earn two units towards graduation.)</p>
<p>For the Class of '14, BC has moved to a unit requirement.</p>
<p>According to BC’s website 70% of students receive some form of financial aid?</p>
<p>According to BC’s factbook, 40% qualify for need-based aid. Thus, 60% are full pay or recieve a merit award of some kind, including Presidential awards.</p>
<p>So an undergrad needs credits for graduation but units to meet schedule requirement? Sorry for the dumb questions but I just don’t understand how a course can count towards your gpa but not towards graduation. Seems unfair…</p>
<p>yes, it was “unfair” to science majors. Perhaps that is one reason why BC changed? The change is effective for the Class of 14.</p>