<p>Anyone want to describe what it’s like? I know the school is pretty jocky, but what else? Is it cliquey and homogenous? I’m trying to get a feel for the school in itself. The more I know, the better.</p>
<p>Dear jckund : With 10,000 students on campus and about 500 participating in Varsity sports, "jocky" was not a term that I would use. Does BC have a more sports oriented atmosphere than some schools like Harvard, Tufts, or Northeastern? Absolutely, particularly with home football games and a national championship ice hockey team, both of which play right on campus. There is a terrific intramural and club structure for volleyball, soccer, basketball and just about everything you can dream up. When I think of a school with a "jocky" image, I am thinking about Williams where almost 30% of the population is in a varsity sport. Honestly, I think this "jocky" reputation has to do with the number of students needed to fill the teams compared to the overall campus size.</p>
<p>If you go to the BC web site, you will see information about the talks and such given at the school - social awareness, community activism, history, current events, latest literature and range of other topics. The Band performs along with the University Wind Ensemble and Choir at various events - very entertaining. On campus concerts, events, clubs, and such abound. BC does not have Greek Life, a positive for some, but the housing is general good and certainly above average compared to most campuses. Then there is commuter transit at your doorstep which has you in Boston within minutes.</p>
<p>It just cannot be summarized without a visit, plain and simple. Boston College is truly one of the most beautiful campuses in America.</p>
<p>BC is an awesome school, and you won't find a prettier campus that close to Boston. The student body is pretty diverse due to BC's increase in national and international recruiting starting about 20 years ago (a change after decades of attracting primarily local white Catholic preppies) making it more mixed than some other schools of similar size and history. And the food is some of the best college fare around, IMO. </p>
<p>But there are a couple of atmosphere issues that you should be aware of, none of which should cause you to reconsider your application, but since you asked:</p>
<p>1.) Housing is an issue. Freshmen live on a separate campus ("Newton campus") that is a 10-15 minute shuttle bus ride away. Not a big issue, in fact some freshmen like being with all other freshmen, but in the morning you have to allow time for the travel, as well as travel back after you finish classes or work or any EC's you're into on the main campus. Also, inre housing: Juniors are pretty much ALL sent off-campus, so by the time you are a junior, you should plan to feel comfortable with the whole proces of finding an apartment in a local neighborhood, and dealing with the whole landlord/tenant thing. Again, juniors being booted off-campus is common at many Boston-area schools (Tufts is brutal in this respect too) and it's no big deal and probably a good learning experience for when you actually graduate and need to get a place of your own (assuming you are not going back to Mom & Dad's.). But, again, you should be aware of it.</p>
<p>2.) BC has a pretty well-developed drinking culture compared to most other similar Catholic schools. I have friends at (or have personally been to) Providence, Marist, Villanova, Holy Cross, and Fordham. HC comes close, but on-campus drinking at BC on the weekends (especially during football games) is common and pretty much ignored by the administration. Again, this is not an issue for most prospective students, but is something you should be aware of. Not saying you have to be a drinker to go there, but if you do not drink you should be prepared to interact with drunk students off and on.</p>
<p>3.) The neighborhoods around BC don't like the shool or the students very much, probably with good reason since BC did some land-grabs during the 1960's and 1970's that did not sit well with the locals, and having 12 kids pee on your lawn on the way back from Sat. night football games is a drag no matter how tolerant you may be. This also accounts somewhat for the issues with lack of adequate housing, since BC struggles to get permits to build new dorms, etc. It also results in student cars getting towed b/c there is mostly 'resident only' street parking. </p>
<p>4.) Prior to the stock market collapse, BC had plans to do a ton of new construction on campus (even a new dorm or two I think) and so you may want to be prepared for that pristine campus to have muddy holes and tractors-in-reverse-beeping going on if you plan to go for the class of 2013. Don't know if the crash in endowments and loan availability may cause BC to rethink the scale of these projects, but again just so you know...</p>
<p>Caveat: These are obviously all just my opinions and based on knowing a whole bunch of people who are at BC now and having been on campus probably 6 or 7 times a year for the past 3 years. Others may shoot holes in what I say.</p>
<p>One advantage that Holy Cross has is that there is sufficient housing on their campus for nearly all students. They also just got planning board approval to build a $20 million dorm on campus in the spring to get those last few housing. The new residence hall will have 39 suites and be able to house up to 156 students and will be built near the center of the school’s 174-acre campus. Worcester</a> Telegram & Gazette News</p>
<p>Let me quickly correct some of the misinformation about housing at BC given above:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Not all – just 40% -- of the freshman class (roughly 800 students) is assigned to the Newton campus; the majority of freshmen live on Upper Campus, which is part of the main campus in Chestnut Hill. Incoming freshman can request which campus they would prefer, but there are usually more requesting Upper than can be accommodated so some will get assigned to Newton even though they requested Upper. Many students do choose Newton over Upper because, even though the shuttle bus is a hassle, the Newton campus has much more open space (beautiful grassy lawns and playing fields), is very quiet, and has the best dining hall. They also like the fact that the dorms there are freshman-only. Some students say that it is easier to meet new people and make friends on Newton since you see them all the time waiting for/riding the bus.</p></li>
<li><p>Last year BC announced a new Master Plan that included roughly $1.6 billion in new construction over the next 10 years. One of the stated goals is to provide on-campus housing for ALL undergraduates on campus to get the students out of the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Some of the new construction will be on the main campus but most of it is on the Brighton campus (an old seminary that was recently purchased by BC from the Boston Diocese). The Brighton campus is literally across the street from the main campus, on the other side of Commonwealth Ave. I don’t know how the current economy will affect these building plans.</p></li>
<li><p>With your acceptance letter, you will be told how many years of GUARANTEED on-campus housing you will get. Half of the students get 4 years and the other half get 3 years. If you get only 3 years, the year you don't get the guaranteed housing is the junior year. They do it that way because so many BC students study abroad in the junior year (so they aren't around anyway) and also because, unlike many schools, BC seniors really want to be on-campus. (The senior housing area -- "the mods" -- is Party Central.) And even if you do not have the fourth year of guaranteed housing, you can request it and will get a room if one is available.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>1980- please stop promoting Holy Cross here... all of your posts relate to it, and I really am not asking for it.</p>
<p>worried_mom: Thanks for correcting the inaccuracies in my posting of 9:42am yesterday.</p>
<p>Seriously, Holy Cross is a great school, but does it need to coattail BC forum to get some attention? 1980collegedad, although it's commendable that you have pride in your school and want to promote it, but must you copy and paste the same info over and over again? Holy Cross can stand on its own merit, no need for obsessive promotion.</p>
<p>I have a question. I'm quite aware of BC's reputation as a haven for the preppy, white J. Crew crowd, but I'd like to know if there's any kind of niche for the more artsy, bohemian-y students. I'm not a complete social hippy, nor a popped-collar prep, but I'd like to know if the stereotype is as true as it's made out to be.</p>
<p>The stereotype is not nearly as true as I thought it would be. Yes, there are quite a bit of rich white people, but not everyone wears polos and I've yet to see a popped collar. There are plenty of people here who get their clothes from old navy and gap instead of A&F or J. Crew. Also, I've seen some people with dreadlocks, pink hair, etc. Most people here dress normally on the verge of dressy/preppy. Some people go to class in sweatpants and less frequently, pajamas. You can easily find a group who is not ultra preppy. One of my friends has a style similar to what you describe and she fits in just fine.</p>
<p>My son attends BC and he doesn't own a single polo shirt -- not even one from Old Navy or the Gap, lol! His style is much more Hawaiian shirts (summer) and jeans with hoodies (winter). He's doing fine there and doesn't feel the least bit out of place.</p>
<p>just like everyone else said.. while there is definetly a preppy feel to the student body, i dont think its overwhelming. i didnt even know what jcrew was before i came here. and while youll definetly see less bohemian-y styles here than at some other schools, you wouldnt be out of place. i got to class in sweatpants at least once a week, you see some kids in that traditional preppy look, while some girls get all decked out for class.</p>
<p>There's a little bit of every different type of style. Even if the general stereotype is that everyone dresses up, it's hardly noticeable--you can dress in whatever type of attire you want.</p>
<p>Jckund, it's sort of flattering to have a Holy Cross person here. I graduated from BC several decades ago, and when I was there, Holy Cross was clearly better than BC academically, and was significantly harder to get into. We should wallow in the fact that we've edged past them academically, just like we've edged past Notre Dame athletically. There are very very few universities in the country that have BC's mix of beautiful campus, proximity to a great city, excellent academics, and top-notch athletics. Our niche is not to be the very best in any one of these categories, but to be one of the very best combinations of all of them.</p>