Hi everyone!! Happy BU decision day! I do this thread pretty much every year. I am currently a junior at Boston University and when I got my acceptance 3 years ago it was to the CGS January-London Program, which I had never heard of. After going through this program myself 2 years ago, I definitely have plenty of knowledge to answer most questions about the program so let me know if you have any!
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Anyone is free to ask or answer questions in this thread.
Hi! I just got accepted into this program for the January 2019 term. What did you do for the first semester? How was your experience in London? Do you feel like you blended in well with all of the other BU students your sophomore year? Thanks!!
Hi! I just got accepted too! I was wondering how different it is from the rest of the school? How does the whole London thing work? Are you glad you did the program? How was it to enter school in January when the rest of the school was there ?
@gabcollege Hi! Congrats! For the first semester I spent my time working to earn money for BU and London and then took a class at a community college near me to get one of my requirements done. London was seriously the best experience of my life. It was an incredible experience that I will never forget, the program was very well-run and it was an amazing time. I think being on CGS actually guarantees you to make better friends than you would if you were a regular admission student. It is a large group of students who come in January and everyone in your classes first semester will be other students who you will be going to London with. This makes it wicked easy to make friends and then when you go to London it is like you are going with all of your best friends. When you come back to school in September a lot of us say its like you’re in an exclusive club where you’ve had this experience that the rest of the school hasn’t had yet which is a cool feeling. You blend in with other BU students immediately and it’s an easy transition!
@Ashleymontiel Hi! Congrats on getting accepted! It is only different in that you take classes only with other January freshman during your freshman year at BU (which I actually think is beneficial because you get to meet other people going to London with you). London will all be explained but basically they put you in a huge dorm in south kensington, assign you classes, and you just take classes and there are some school field trips but it is a really great experience! It is only 6 weeks long so it isn’t too much in my opinion. I am really glad I did the program, it was an amazing experience that I will never forget that gave me the ability to study abroad freshman year with a bunch of my best friends and made unique memories with those friends I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Because a ton of other students enter in January as well, it isn’t a weird transition!
Hi, just found out I got accepted through CGS January Boston-London, but I applied for CAS. It feels like this is a kind of half-rejection because I wouldn’t be attending BU to graduate with the major I thought I would be. Am I wrong about that, and is this a total honor because it’s only about 300 students? I think I’m just really confused because (like you) I’d never heard of this until now. Also, is London included in normal tuition you pay for attending BU, or is it like a separate trip you have to pay for in addition to BU?
@obliviouspig Hi! I definitely think there is a misconception there! CGS only lasts 2 years (freshman and sophomore) and after your sophomore year you will be transitioned into CAS as a completely normal CAS student. During your time in CGS you will also take some CAS classes to be sure you’re staying on track. After you leave CGS in your sophomore year you will never have to hear the word “CGS” again if you don’t want to and it will not be anywhere on your diploma. You will graduate with a CAS degree. London is included in normal tuition as are flights, it is not separate! I think it is kind of an honor to get accepted. Although you were not accepted into regular CAS, BU admissions obviously saw something in you that they thought would be great for this experience that they did not see in others. You were accepted to a top 50 school in the country which is a huge accomplishment no matter how it happened so congratulations!
Just got accepted to CGS January Boston-London, I’m not really sure what to think about it as I wouldn’t be able to start school until January instead and I’m a little lost on if its even worth it to go instead of starting at another university in the fall. What do most of the students at CGS do during their gap semester, work? travel? intern? just not sure if it would be worth it or not. I love BU and i really want to go but not sure if this would be the right fit.
@viclaveder Hi! For me, it was absolutely worth it. It was 3 and a half months out of my entire life. And I think London more than made up for the missed semester. I spent my gap semester working at a local pizza shop and taking classes to save up money but a lot of people interned and traveled. I really loved BU and knew after going to accepted students day, I knew it was the place for me so those 3 and a half months have been nothing compared to the incredible 3 years I have had thus far.
Thank you for replying and clarifying! I really appreciate it.
Hi! I have another question. I am more a math, science person and I am not very interested in history and the social studies area. I was looking at the course work for this program and the courses that I have to take are all history related. Do you think I am going to hate my first two years bc of the classes I have to take? How are they laid out?
@gabcollege CGS classes are classes you would have to take in any major except they just pick them for you. No matter what at BU you would have to fulfill general education requirements with social science, writing, and humanities. CGS just ensures that you get these courses done in your first 2 years so you can focus solely on your major for the last 2!
It sounds like you take classes in January with only the January/London group so in that sense you can meet others like you and presumably make friends easier? But do CGS students live together or near each other in a certain dorm or are they spread out throughout the college?
It sounds like you take classes in January with only the January/London group so in that sense you can meet others like you and presumably make friends easier? But do CGS students live together or near each other in a certain dorm or are they spread out throughout the college?
Hi Laur - I am happy you are in this program and you have this thread. My son applied for Questorm but got into this program and it’s a bit confusing. Hope you can help clarify since you are there. Q0 - Is there a direct admission to Questorm or do everyone go through CGS (i.e. regular fall applicants)? Q1 - when you come back from the summer program, for sophomore year, are you with the rest of regular kids who start in fall? Q2 - is there a summer program in sophomore year as well? Q4 - if he cannot get into Questrom after two years (he really wants to do the business degree) the whole thing will be a waste (when he has other options to study business in California). Hope you can respond. Would be nice if you can talk about one or two down sides to this program. Thanks in advance
-concerned dad
I also applied for CAS and got into this program. I want to do pre-dental, but it seems as though it won’t be possible to graduate in 4 years if I am in CGS for two years. Additionally, this program seems to be constructed so that BU can accept more students than it has the capacity for which is why I’m skeptical. I heard that students have a very hard time switching to a different college after the CGS London program is over and that they have to take preliminary courses in their junior year to complete their intended degree. I was wondering if you could provide some clarification? Thanks!
@julialaman You move to your preferred college after sophomore year, not after the London summer, which is part of freshman year. A limited number of programs do require additional courses as @shoot4themoon indicates. Please look up your desired program curriculum on this site:
https://www.bu.edu/cgsnow/academics/pathways/
D1 graduated with high honors from COM in 2015, and began her BU career in CGS. To answer your question @darnwaitlist, there is direct admission to Questrom. Some students also enter Questrom at the beginning of junior year, as they come through the CGS path. That said, be sure you review my comment on overloading on the other thread. D1 had actually taken five classes outside CGS by the end of her sophomore year by overloading one class each semester after the Fall. There was no issue with anyone moving into their major and graduating on time, including Questrom students. This question comes up every year at this time… people check the CGS “box” and then have questions on admission. Be sure you read the new thread that I started so as not to hijack this one.
@shoot4moon - thank you very much. I did read your other thread as well. 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.
@a12l34 You tend to be more spread out because they fit you where other students have moved out for the semester. I happened to end up in a suite with 3 other january freshman but I know some people who did not get as lucky.