<p>So, I was reading some reviews of schools and it seems like Boston University is widely disliked. I’ve been to visit and I wasn’t too impressed, but I didn’t absolutely hate it either. Now I’m considering applying to Boston College. It seems like a better school in itself, but I won’t be able to visit before I apply. So what do people like about Boston College?</p>
<p>I’ve lived close to these two institutions for much of my life, and all I can say is that they are complete mirrors of one another. The cultural differences between these two schools largely stem from the locales they are located in - one university being a physically enclosed institution located in one of the nation’s most wealthiest suburbs, and the other university sharing its space along a transit line.</p>
<p>Neither school is necessarily better than the other - for example, BU has many things that BC lacks (engineering school, medical school, relative proximity to the city, etc.) while BC has many things that BU lacks (football team, affiliation with the Catholic Church, etc.)</p>
<p>Instead of asking whether school X is better than school Y, you should be asking, “Which school is most conducive to my learning goals and interests?” For example, if you plan to study engineering in college, then BC, regardless of how much “better” it may be, should not even be an option, because it lacks an engineering school in the first place.</p>
<p>Answer this question first, then get back to us. If in doubt, apply to both. Both schools are fabulous schools - I know many friends who attend BU and are having a wonderful time there. And I, of course, attend BC.</p>
<p>where did you read reviews that BU is widely disliked? (hopefully it was not one of those sites where bitter people trash ALL schools)… and what kind of things were they saying? I might be able to clear up a few things about the school.</p>
<p>BC is very solid, especially in humanities (not really in sciences/engineering), has a lot of school spirit, but lacks diversity (which BU has more of)</p>
<p>Ny0rker, there will always be people dissatisfied with their experiences, regardless of whatever school they attended - be it Harvard or the local community college. Take everything you read and hear with a grain of salt, please.</p>
<p>Needless to say, both BC and BU are fine schools and I doubt you will be dissatisfied with either. Trust me, I live less than three miles away from both schools and have visited both many times during the college application process.</p>
<p>Evaluate what each school has to offer and see if it fits with your interests. Then, make a decision based on that feeling.</p>
<p>As for diversity, I would argue that both BU is not very diverse either - it’s probably less noticeable because their student population is so much larger than BC’s. From the statistics that I read, BU is 70%+ Caucasian.</p>
<p>I was just reading on StudentReview and most of the reviews are negative. I know I can’t rely just on that. I’m still applying anyway. But I wasn’t too impressed with BU when I went to visit myself either. You know how when you visit a school you really like, you just get that feeling that it’s for you? BU kind of just left me in the middle. I neither hated it, nor loved it.</p>
<p>According to CB, BU is 43% white and 23% not reported. BC is 66% white and 7# not reported.
BU didn’t seem that diverse when I went to visit…</p>
<p>Well, if BU doesn’t impress; don’t apply. I understand this sort of feeling - I had the same thoughts about Brandeis when I visited two summers ago.</p>
<p>Well, I think I’m still going to apply because I don’t absolutely hate it and I had someone write a recommendation specifically for BU.</p>
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<p>Suggest you find better data sources. :)</p>
<p>BU is 49% white according to the feds (IPEDS), with 19% unreported (which is likely a mixture of Asian and White).</p>
<p>Well, off the mark, but still somewhat close. Don’t remember where I read that statistic. Must have been on Wikipedia way back…</p>
<p>Ohboi wrote (re BU):</p>
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<p>Be careful of the StudentReview site. </p>
<p>For example, if you search that site for Boston College, you’ll see that 44% of those responding would not return to BC. Boston University list 32% would not return to BU. Many other schools are abnormally high as well.</p>
<p>The sample size for the reviews is very small and it tends to be more of a gripe site. What you read there can only be viewed as a single data point and it must be kept in perspective.</p>
<p>I am applying to both BU and BC & also have some perspective on both schools-</p>
<p>Both of my parents attended BC & my brother is currently a BU student. They are very different, but both have strong points. </p>
<p>BC has that Jesuit Catholic, medium-sized school community-tighter-knit; probably more preppy/affluent (generally speaking); Beautiful suburban campus with loads of green space. Amazing school spirit at football games, etc; if you go to BC, you are going because you love BC- not necessarily the city of Boston b/c you might not really venture downtown often; More prestigious in the eyes of some-technically speaking, harder to get into.</p>
<p>BU is a city school in every aspect of the term; Easy access to everything Boston has to offer; More diverse (generally speaking)-more international from what i’ve heard- although my brother has had many roomates from cities nextdoor to ours. More majors/academic flexibility; BU does have hockey, which gives it school spirit; if you want the city of Boston you want to go to BU</p>
<p>So just decide whether you want the Jesuit community/prestigious BC or the very city/international BU. They are both wicked amazing so you can’t go wrong…</p>