<p>Hi! I just received my acceptances from Boston College and USC and am torn between the two. If you could give me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it : ). I am a transfer student from another country.</p>
<p>Both have a great balance between social life and academics and cost about the same for me. They both have really cool mascots and their school colors are even similar!</p>
<p>Here is my dilemma:</p>
<p>USC - I have a great love for rock music and media, so LA would be great. Just for the idea of USC = wow! a school for the arts! is nice and the main reason why it is so attractive to me. However I have visited once and I remember the area around wasn't that attractive to me. As a transfer student I receive off-campus housing, and I have no idea how similar this is to a dorm experience, which is what I really want. I also hear there isn't much to do unless you have a friend with a car who can drive you around. I want a social scene without having to join frats/sororities. The phrase "fight on!" is also very much...like me.</p>
<p>BC - I remember the campus was just. so. beautiful. I liked it better than USC's and I know Boston is definitely a college town, and the area felt just so safe. I am also guaranteed a year of housing and I know access to the college town is available. I can't forget how beautiful the library was, and it has always been my dream to study in that kind of typical college environment. It's basically a perfect college --- However I will miss out on the association with media...I want to do some media-related work in the future. If I go to BC I have a feeling my personality as a rock musician will stand out, but if I go to USC I have a feeling I will meet people just like me. The only thing lacking is that association with film and entertainment I love.</p>
<p>Other things about me: I'm a shy person. But passionate. And I have never lived in the USA. </p>
<p>Both are such good choices. If any of you have attended, etc., please PM me about your experiences.</p>
<p>What is your intended major? Why did you decide to apply to these two schools in the first place? Do you hope to work in the music industry? It’s true that USC is close to the recording industry but don’t underestimate the Boston rock scene. With all the colleges in town there are countless places to hear new, up-coming bands. I suppose safety can be an issue but most rock bands I know of started in less than savory environments. You need to prioritize why you want these two schools not merely list the advantages of each.</p>
<p>Thanks vinceh. I’m glad you mentioned the Boston rock scene because I’d forgotten about that.</p>
<p>My intended major is economics. I chose these two schools because they felt right when I visited. Along with the other schools I applied to they had the best balance of social, academic, and athletic life, which is why I narrowed them down to two.</p>
<p>Will weather be a factor? Obviously, USC wins that battle. I have a daughter at BC and we’re from Southern CA. She loves the city of Boston, which feels more like a traditional city than LA, which is spread out over a much larger area. BC will have less ethnic diversity than USC. Most students at BC do not have a car and do not need a car. There’s a “T” (Trolley) train stop on the edge of campus that takes you into downtown Boston and other parts of the Boston metro area like Cambridge, etc. Some kids at USC would also say that they do not need a car, but not to the same extent as students at BC. </p>
<p>Both schools are awesome, but I would advise you to choose BC for the main reason that living in a dorm environment would be important for at least one year. It’s a good way to make friends and feel “connected” during your first year.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. By the way, another concern is that I have heard that BC is sort of conservative. And I don’t know how much of the preppy atmosphere is a stereotype. </p>
<p>I’m very very liberal both politically and in a social sense (LGBT-community related stuff, etc.). I’m an international student. I don’t drink or smoke or do drugs but have no problem with being with people who do. I also don’t have any problem with being religious people but I am an atheist.</p>
<p>What made me sort of frightened of Boston College is that I remember seeing a video on youtube where Boston College students stormed the library and celebrated Osama Bin Laden’s death, singing the national anthem. It was scary, and I didn’t think that kind of mob-mentality could take over students in such a good academic institution. I just hope they were drunk or something.</p>
<p>I also read about LGBT parties being banned and stuff…</p>
<p>HAFH - It’s hard to explain how devastating 9/11 was here in the US. I’d imagine there were spontaneous celebrations all over the US when the good news broke - hopefully there were a few big ones on every campus! I’m sure it’s not a common event; this was a really unique situation.</p>
<p>Thanks MisterK. I guess people get carried away in the moment. </p>
<p>I know how devastating it was since some people I know died in 9/11, but I still thought that the death of an individual wasn’t something to be celebrated about, as killing will only bring you down to the level of the killer himself/herself. I don’t think it was good news.</p>
<p>I thought that in such a good academic institution, people will not be as simple-minded as “yay a terrorist is dead, God bless America.” That whole mob just seemed to contradict the ieals Boston College was based on, but now that I’ve done more research, those people simple-minded people seem to be the minority.</p>
<p>I think it’s very unfair of you to call them simple minded just because you don’t agree that they celebrated Bin Laden’s death. You seem more simple minded for automatically writing off their celebration when you never truly lived with the aftermath of 9/11.</p>
<p>The entire country was celebrating that night. Go to Youtube. Look at the footage of people outside the White House or in Times Square. It was a nationwide celebration. Just because you don’t agree that killing Osama was the right move doesn’t mean you’re right, or have the right to judge the way others respond.</p>
<p>Wow tough choice! You’ve definitely thought through this pretty well. I think there are many benefits to BC - real college campus, beautiful area, dorm living, smaller so it will be easier to meet people, etc. But my concern is that you might actually fit in more at USC as BC can be a little preppy. I’d probably vote for USC just because of the make-up of the student body probably being a better fit, but its a close call for sure. Also if you have any interest in working in film or entertainment then USC, there isn’t a better school to get that experience.</p>
<p>Conservative-Liberal is a spectrum, perception of which is related to personal opinion. What you might consider conservative someone else might view as radically liberal. Generally speaking, the City of Boston and Massachusetts are considered to be at the liberal end of the spectrum, politically speaking. Furthermore, most people view most colleges as exceedingly liberal, with notable exceptions like the military academies. </p>
<p>Is BC more conservative than USC? Probably. Is it dramatically more conservative? I tend to doubt it. To my knowledge BC has no policy banning LGBT events, in fact some visitors are often moderately surprised that the school isn’t banning more things (pro-choice rallies etc). BC is a Catholic affiliated college however BC is widely considered to be among the most secular of the religiously affiliated schools. You might want to ask your questions on the BC forum, there are a number of very well informed posters over there.</p>
<p>As for your unfortunate use of the term “simple-minded” to describe the BC students in the video here’s hoping you were equally dismissive of the people in the Al Jazeera videos who were dancing in the streets after the 9/11 attacks that killed 3,000+. Dismissing opinions and actions contrary to your own beliefs by questioning the intelligence of your “opponents” is actually indicative of your own poorly reasoned stance. Lacking the insight and analysis to correctly dissemble a contrary position you attack the messengers and portray them as somehow lesser than you. Your response actually betrays a strident and close-minded attitude. It is certainly incongruent for someone so liberal to take such a simplistic and one-sided view of the world. Go to BC; the Jesuits will open your eyes and your mind.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there are no obvious choices here, only two great options.</p>
<p>While BC may be a little more east caost preppy, SC is a LOT more fashionista. A distinction without a difference.</p>
<p>'SC is big on Greek & Saturday afternoon football. </p>
<p>BC is extremely welcoming; despite the “simple minded” (and classless, IMO) students who stormed the library. (Many kids were actually in the library to study for finals and write term papers – who knew?) OTOH, there ARE a lot of BC kids who hail from NYC and it’s local environs, and who might have been personally effected by 9/11 (when they were 8-10 years old).</p>
<p>Both local communities are welcoming to LGBT. If I had to guess, and it’s only a guess, I’d give the LBGT issue to 'SC, but only slightly.</p>
<p>^^There is a time and place for everything. And the library is not the place, IMO. (The reason many kids STUDY in the library is because so many parties occur in the BC dorms.) And right before finals, when term papers are due, is not the time in the library. OTOH, the campus Mods are always up for a good celebration, 24/7.</p>
<p>But the more serious and philosophical (Jesuit) question, is it appropriate for a Christian to “celebrate” someone else’s death?</p>
<p>Do you want to work/live on the West coast or the East coast? Really that should be a big factor.
BC is conservative for Massachusetts, but thats still fairly liberal as compared with the rest of the US so I wouldn’t worry.</p>
<p>“killing will only bring you down to the level of the killer himself/herself.”</p>
<p>A lot of BC students are from the NYC area and probably had friends and relatives killed in 9-11. Also, they might be smart enough to understand that the Navy Seals using extreme caution to avoid harming innocent civilians while killing a terrorist mastermind were at a different level than the terrorist mastermind was when his guys killed thousands of innocent civilians. I think you would be happier at Boston U or Wesleyan than at BC or USC.</p>
<p>HAFH, If there’s a better reason for a wild spontaneous celebration than Bin Laden’s death, I sure can’t think of it. Happily, there are simple-minded folks all over the country who feel the same way, and we all enjoyed the camaraderie of our shared simplicity. But we appreciate having intellectuals such as you to guide us, at least to the extent possible given our simple capacities.</p>
<p>I feel pretty confident that there were Harvard and MIT students joining the BC students in celebrations in Boston. I’m not a real fan of those kinds of mob celebrations, but having said that, it’s not as though only “certain kinds” of schools / students participated in those celebrations.</p>
<p>Yep. When I heard the news, my first thought was to hop a plane and get to NY/Times Square for the inevitable celebrations. If it weren’t for pressing work obligations, that’s exactly what I would have done. Former MIT guy here. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the info on BC guys. It actually doesn’t seem too bad there, and everyone I met on the tours were very kind. The campus is beautiful and BC is actually the only college that has offered me housing for a year as a transfer student. I also like the fact that they’re really into helping the community. Another option I have is Tufts University, but I like the campus and athletics at BC a lot better and Tufts hasn’t given me any info about housing. </p>
<p>As for the Bin Laden discussion, I knew I was bringing up something sensitive but it’s difficult to believe that roaring crowd at the college and Times Square were rational-thinking human beings. It’s probably true that there are people who celebrated like that everywhere and not just at BC. I know some BC graduates I’ve talked to who were ashamed something like that had happened.</p>
<p>Please don’t judge that I “haven’t truly lived in the aftermath of 9/11”. I felt the pain of losing people in those attacks too. By celebrating someone’s death you’re just the same as the ones who celebrated the thousands of victims of 9/11. I sure would have celebrated if he’d been captured and put on trial like a civilized country would do. The drunken screaming mobs didn’t look like the intellectuals these colleges are famous for — that is what prompted me to call them “simple-minded”. They looked like people who were consumed by revenge who hadn’t thought out the consequences of their actions. </p>
<p>We’ll just have to agree to disagree on that matter and notice that our failure to understand each other — me not understanding what made the celebrations right and you not understanding what is wrong about it — makes us all close-minded. Call me what you will, I stand by my belief that, regardless of what a person has done, killing them or celebrating that is wrong and will only perpetuate a cycle of revenge that will never end. Peace.</p>
<p>“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
-----Martin Luther King, Jr.</p>