Hey everyone! Hope you all have had a great Christmas and New Year.
I’m a current freshman @ BC in MCAS and was an RD applicant accepted off the waitlist (on the very last day possible, no less). I’d be happy to answer any of your questions about BC, whether they be about academics, social life, the application process, or anything in general. 
I was deferred from the Lynch school of education with a 3.5 weighted GPA and a 32 ACT (35 English 34 Reading 30 Science 29 Math). I submitted a letter of continued interest. My senior grades so far have not been as well as I would have liked. A’s, B’s and a C in regular Calculus for my mid year report… do you still think I can get in?
do you still think I can get in?
You always have a chance, but no one is able to tell you what that chance is.
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What are you doing to get your current grades up to where you’d like them?
By not putting the effort in to do what it takes now in your senior, what indication are you giving the adcoms that you will do it next year when the workload gets harder?
Put yourself in the shoes of an adcom. If he/she saw an update from you saying you studied till midnight every night and weekend to pull your grades up to straight A’s, couldn’t that only help?
@Sexyaznninja jpm50 is really correct here. I had similar overall GPA as you as well as the ACT score before senior year. Throughout senior year I really improved my grades, and you still have a chance to do so. Never say never. If you really want BC, you shouldn’t give up hope. At the same time though, try to find a school as a “second choice” and try to get excited about it too. I didn’t do this, and while I was lucky enough to get into BC, if I hadn’t, I would have been devastated.
@Jesuit123 is there anything you did that you would have done differently about the application process, i.e., essay response, interview, visit, extra-curricular, etc… Just looking to see if there helpful hints here.
Part of me wishes I was less pushy. I got a faculty member to speak to the people at admissions, I visited the admission office myself in a suit and tie trying to speak to my admissions counselor, and I wrote a lot of emails and made a bunch of phone calls. This seems like a lot when I think about it initially, but then I realize I was really on the line for admission.
The fact that they didn’t accept me til the very last day possible tells me that my extra effort is what really got me in, not just my grades/resume.
That being said, I wouldn’t contact them as much as I did unless you are on the waitlist, and a few batches of acceptances off of the waitlist have already occurred. Their policy explicitly says not to do the things I did, so doing it while they still have a large applicant pool might make it harder for you to get in than easier.
Overall, just try to not stress so much about it. It’s gonna be okay no matter where your child (I assume by your username) ends up. 
@Jesuit123 Thanks I’m actually in the midst of working with my S17 with respect to college choice so the stress level is on that end lol, but my daughter’s “dream” school is BC and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to start asking questions now. No stress. She knows it is a reach and she is going to apply with that in mind. Congrats on sticking with it and getting in and working through your first semester!!! Enjoy your college years!
^^if a Junior, before answering the essay prompts, search for posts from scottj, which will be helpful in framing the response.
If a senior who has already applied and ends up on a WL in March, use the posts from scottj to frame the ‘Why BC?’ response.
Good luck.
Is there anything else I can do to increase my chances of acceptance after a deferral besides improving my grades? Does BC take into consideration an additional letter of recommendation?
I wouldn’t do another rec letter. Find someone who may be even PARTIALLY connected to BC. See if you can have them shoot someone an email. I got the president of my high school (he was a Jesuit priest, although he didn’t have any connections directly at BC to my knowledge) to email the admissions office, as well as a faculty member who I did not realize was a family acquaintance until very late in my application process.
In short: Formal rec letter, no. Informal message from someone impressive, yes.
And neither is officially “okay” according to BC. You have to make sure you don’t overdo it and send a ton of stuff in general if they’re like “don’t do this”.
The standard answer for ALL colleges is that only if the additional letter provides new information. Otherwise, its a waste of everyone’s time.
Jesuit education is special, and anyone who can state how the applicant follows the Jesuit ideals of scholarship, loyalty and service, is a plus factor.
@Jesuit123
I am planning to attend BC next year (accepted EA). How easy/hard was it for you to adjust to campus life at BC?
@acron611 Congrats! Overall I’d say it was medium. I had a lot of trouble at first because I really didn’t like the school’s orientation and Welcome Week programs. The orientation is during the summer, and was very cringey and not very helpful. Welcome Week, the week before classes, was basically the exact same thing all over again.
Once I got out of those welcome routines and into the actual routine of the semester, things evened out. Teachers were good, campus was still amazing, and the people were generally nice. I come from a smaller high school, so I felt, and to al degree, still do feel a bit lost in the crowd. But that’s just me. It could be different for someone else.
How’s the party scene?
@Jesuit123 Can you share specifically what it was about the orientation and welcome week that you found particularly “cringey and not very helpful”? I may help set the expectation for some that they just need to get past these first two events and not let it color their initial view.
@businessmajor1 I’m not really one for parties so I couldn’t tell you first-hand. What I have heard is they’re OK as far as in comparison to other schools.
@paveyourpath Basically at orientation, you’re split up into groups that are led by current undergrads, and you stick with them for the majority of your time there. There are these mandated ice-breaker games you have to play that are really juvenile and awkward, and that’s where most of the cringe comes from. The whole first evening, at least for me, was just ice-breaker after ice-breaker after ice-breaker until it’s time for bed. The following days aren’t so bad as you get to know your orientation leader and fellow group members in low-key settings, but there are still some other ice-breakers interspersed that are kinda silly.
The rest of orientation is traveling across campus to different buildings to learn about various programs at BC. There were 2 separate days where we watched an hour of the orientation leaders performing skits on a stage. These skits tried to be funny while also conveying serious stuff about college (underage drinking and its consequences, etc.), and they just ended up being really bad. Not the students’ fault at all, I believe the skits were written by some company and BC paid for access to them.
At the end of orientation, I didn’t think it was too bad overall, because I finally got to know some people in a normal organic setting rather than the awfulness of the first night. Same thing goes for welcome week. The standouts from both welcome week and orientation were probably the great guest speaker professors. Really amazing presentations, and overall awesome people.
Also, don’t let my opinion of orientation/welcome week discourage you. I’ve heard some people weren’t bothered by it at all or actually liked it. You never know how you’ll react to them. Keep an open mind.
Thank you @Jesuit123. This is very helpful! My son is not a big fan of the forced ice-breakers either and prefers the low-key settings. He engages well with people, as it sounds you do, and he cringes when at things he considers forced. I always tell him that it helps some who may be more introverted and even many extroverted enjoy them. He’s just in the category that doesn’t. I’ll share with him that it may not initially be his cup of tea but to roll with it as things will be okay once everyone is settled in. Thanks again for sharing.
@paveyourpath No problem! Glad to help.
@Jesuit123 thank you so much for posting. I was waitlisted at BC and it’s my dream school. I do have a second choice that I put my deposit down at but I would love to go to BC. I wrote a letter of continued interest to my regional rep but do you think there’s anything else that I can do to encourage my chances? What did you do?
Hi @jenjen2021! I did a lot of things different things. I go to a Jesuit high school, so I got the president of my high school who is a Jesuit priest to contact some people at BC. I made sure my school sent updated grades as soon as they were ready awhile also calling the BC offices around those times. It’s also important to note that the entirety of my senior year, I had a grade of 98 overall, which was way up from what I had previously. This is probably what made the most impact.
I also drove all the way out to BC in a suit and tie and walked into the admissions office looking to talk with my counselor. They were very polite and implied I wasn’t getting in, but it must have left some sort of an impact, since I did get accepted after all.
I think the clincher is that, last minute, I discovered a family member was an acquaintance with a graduate school professor who was also a Jesuit. While my family member didn’t know him very well, I still reached out via email and he agreed to contact the dean of admissions on my behalf.
Basically, if BC is really your dream school, fight for it. Do everything you can. But at the same time, make sure you aren’t being super excessive. Don’t send more letters from teachers. Find something unique that will make you stick out from the crowd.
Also, I think it would be a good idea to just try to look at things in your deposited school, and try to sort of fall in love with it. Don’t diminish your hard with at getting into BC, but try to lessen the sting of a possible denial.
Hope this helps!