<p>I have been accepted into all these schools and am trying to pick between them (also accepted into GW and Notre Dame, but not totally considering them as of now…). I am looking to be pre-med. Also on the waitlist at Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, and WUSTL, and would probably attend any of them if I somehow got in… Any input on any of these would be greatly appreciated!!</p>
<p>I’m in a bit of a similar position choosing between BC or William & Mary. The question is, what are you looking for? Big picture would be in or very close to a big metropolitan city (BC and NYU) or small city, town-like atmosphere (UVA and more so, W&M). And finances come into play. The 2 city schools are one of the highest in the country while the 2 Virginia state schools are definitely less (although not much less, unless you are instate). For me, location is key and much like you, I applied to a variety of schools so I’d get the choice if/when I got in. Since I live in a suburb of NYC and go often, I know the benefits of living by a huge city and the opportunities it brings along with the many activity choices you have. But then again a change if pace would be nice so that’s why at this point I’m leaning towards W&M. I’ll have to visit both and then decide for sure. You should definitely do this if you have the chance and got an overall feel for not just the campus, but the area that surrounds the campus as well. Also, NYU is the only one of the 4 to not offer a central campus in the traditional sense. NYU is only great if you enjoy big city, bustling people and cars, and bit of a hectic lifestyle. Nyu, bc, and w&m are all pretty comparable academically while uva is perceived slightly higher up. I don’t want to get into student life, housing, or anything else because I have no idea of the other aspects to these colleges. Good luck choosing!</p>
<p>We sound like the same person lol I live in a suburb about an hour outside NYC… I loved the big city atmosphere of the other two, but even out of state, there is still a significant price difference… I love the atmosphere at NYU and I think I’d like the people there a lot, I’m just not sure if it’s worth the extra cost and giving up a centralized campus yet. On paper, everything about BC looked great (campus, city, sports…) but I didn’t love the more stereotypically preppy vibe. Good luck to you, too!</p>
<p>Thanks! I’m from central Jersey and i love the city too and Stern was actually my top choice but I got rejected so I’m down to these two. Yes, I’m also concerned about the snooty, preppy nature of BC but I’ve heard it’s gotten a little better recently and I know someone who is happy there who is neither snooty or preppy. But i want a diverse campus with different races, sexuality, ideas, and cultures present. At this point, I dont know if BC has the whole package. And W&M has a bit of a quirky personality from what I’ve seen and heard. It really seems that they have a good connection to their students as well like their acceptance email, the colloquial, friendly nature of the packet, website, and blog and they have an active presense on this board. Not the greatest examples to base a huge decision on but little things do matter. On the downside, w&m’s sports suck and idk about nightlife/bars/partying options in a small, touristy family town. in a perfect world, i wish that everything about w&m was located in as great a place as Nyc or Boston. Then again, if everything was perfect, I would’ve gotten into Stern haha. Btw sorry for hijacking your thread!</p>
<p>Oh don’t be sorry! It’s actually really nice to hear about someone in almost the same situation as me. Sorry about Stern, but I basically was thinking the same thing about BC… I liked it better the second time I visited, but from what I gather, W&M seems to be a bit more quirky and accepting…I also loved the acceptance package =] NYC and Boston are amazing though … so it’s just hard for one thing to completely weigh out the other.</p>
<p>We haven’t found BC to be snooty . . .</p>
<p>Hey guys, I’m also in the same position of deciding between BC and W&M (and Carnegie Mellon and Rochester). I live in the same town as BC so I’m very familiar with it (been to millions of sports games, know the campus inside out, etc.). I won’t lie, one of my main concerns was not only the homogeneity but the prospect of staying in the exact same place I’ve been my whole life.</p>
<p>I was accepted EA so I have had time to connect with students there, visit campus extensively, go to Admitted Eagle Day, etc. Here is what I have discovered: the usual concerns are pretty much bull ****. Not completely untrue, but the truth is you can make your experience at BC amazingly diverse. Yes, there are many (white) kids from well-to-do families, the campus is not by any means the most diverse, but even within students who look the same and even dress the same, there is a multitude of backgrounds, attitudes, and viewpoints. And while BC will not shove diversity in your face, it gives you the opportunity to take it upon yourself to branch out and connect with all kinds of people. The diversity is there, in all forms; it’s just up to you to take advantage.</p>
<p>Also, the “snooty” thing is ridiculous. I have met tons of people, and all of them are unbelievably nice and unpretentious. People may look preppy with their upscale fashion, but many of them really aren’t. Of course, if preppy and snooty and “lax bro” is your thing, you can find that at BC easily as well, but I don’t think it’s prevalent at all. And people are very accepting and quirky as well, it’s just not so much in-your-face.</p>
<p>It is probably true that places like W&M are slightly less preppy and homogeneous, and more evidently quirky and accepting. However, I think if you go to BC you wouldn’t even notice this. The differences are minimal, and completely overblown by stereotypes. I understand your concerns, though – even though I have spent this whole post defending BC, I have still not been able to 100% drop the same concerns from my mind! I know they’re not true, but I’m still a little cautious of them. And truthfully I cannot decide between BC, W&M, or the other two that I have to choose from. I really love all of them, but they all have their flaws: W&M the location, BC the cost/FA, CMU the “nerdy” stereotype (which I’m sure is also totally overblown but I still can’t look past it), and Rochester… well I don’t know what specific glaring flaws Rochester has, it just doesn’t stand out.</p>
<p>I’m convinced that either of these schools will give any of us an amazing four years that we won’t regret. It’s just so hard to decide!</p>
<p>I had the same concerns about BC mainly because of college review websites (the ones CC won’t let you type) that try to present all schools, BC included, as fitting one mold. I am happy to say that my concerns were not an issue because while they were present to some extent on campus, there were SO many people who did not fit that mold.</p>
<p>Well that’s nice to hear! I visited twice, once last year and once after I had been admitted early action, and I was much happier after the second visit. I got a much better impression the second time. My only other real concern is what people do socially other than parties… Obviously Boston is right there, but as a whole do people take advantage, or is it mostly sports/party culture?</p>
<p>Many people take advantage of Boston, whether it be for volunteering, internships, jobs, or social activities. I’m not kidding when I say you literally see BC students all over Boston; they have a strong presence there. Sure, people party on campus, but on the weekends there are tons of students going into the city (and even during the week). Also, this year the UGBC started a program called BC to Boston where they give discounted tickets to awesome events like Red Sox games, plays, concerts, museums, etc. Some students might not take advantage of the city, but many do.</p>
<p>Hey guys!</p>
<p>Ok my position was relatively similar to many of you so hopefully this helps! Just to clarify, around this time last year I was accepted to:</p>
<p>University of Chicago
Boston College A&S Honors
Pomona College
Tufts U</p>
<p>I was into others but I was deciding between these four. I visited all of them besides Chicago (not enough aid), and BC was just RIGHT. I can’t put it any other way but say it has everything I was looking for. It definitely has some downsides (like housing), but the housing isn’t even bad. You meet great people in the same situation as you wherever you live, and the dorms (on newton or upper) are NICE. </p>
<p>I was worried coming to BC that it wouldn’t be as challenging as Chicago or Pomona, but it is actually meeting all of my academic expectations. I am currently a double-major in Biology and Psychology, and I have had some amazing classes in both. My cell biology professor is fantastic and she knows SO much about cells…but more than that she LOVES cells and loves teaching her students about them. </p>
<p>The students are primarily white, but the socioeconomic diversity is actually pretty large. Most of my friends are a solid balance of students on financial aid and those that can pay without needing any aid, but from meeting them I wouldn’t be able to tell which is which. I have a few friends who are VERY wealthy, but I would never know just from meeting them. They are extremely down to earth. Also, there are over 2000 students in your grade! There are so many different types of people to be met. BC has so many incredible opportunities and I think you all sound like you’d fit in really well at BC. I hope that helped :). You can PM me with any questions, if you want.</p>
<p>dreamsofivy:</p>
<p>Why did you choose Boston College over Tufts?</p>
<p>dreams of ivy:</p>
<p>That’s really awesome to hear because I’m thinking of double majoring (or majoring and minoring) in Bio and Psych also in CAS Honors. Everyone I’ve spoken to about BC seems to only have good things to say about it.</p>
<p>I am not going to bore you with an extremely long explanation</p>
<p>1.UVA
2. NYU
3. Williams and Mary
4. BC</p>
<p>Bc is too catholic and strict. UVA is the best overall school, followed closely by Georgetown (wait for that one!). NYU is a fantastic school, with so many opportunities in the city, but make sure that you WANT to be in the city before attending there. William and Mary is an awesome school which I loved when I visited, but not as large or as well regarded as UVA, or NYU.</p>
<p>Funny, I’m reading this on my phone at UVA right now. It’s raining here, but was amazing yesterday when it was 85 and sunny. Im Only worried that being out of state, and even more so, from new York, if it’d be too much of a culture shock. Everyone seems very nice, though.</p>
<p>jaybaybay: “Bc is too catholic and strict”… Not even worth the time to ask you to back this up. </p>
<p>Anyway, your post shows a) you’re not in college b) you know nothing about college c) your understanding of a college’s worth comes from US news rankings.</p>