Hi. About a month ago I decided to commit to Boston College as a rising sophomore transfer student with a major in Economics. I love the city of Boston, BC campus, and all that BC has to offer. A few days ago, however, I got accepted to the University of Notre Dame for Economics major as well. Honestly, I never thought ND would have accepted me and that’s why I’ve been fully set on attending BC. I know Notre Dame is ranked higher in the national ranking, but in various rankings of Economics departments it seems like BC is slightly above ND most of the time. Both schools offered me similar financial aid packages. Where should I go? I am planning on working on the East Coast (NYC, Boston, Philadelphia) or in Europe after graduation. Thank you.
I would stick with BC. It sounds like you love the school, BC has a great program, and BC is going to have stronger name recognition in many parts of the east coast, particularly in Boston, and in Europe as well.
@adam1234 Notre Dame. The post above is completely wrong. I love BC but ND is several levels above and one of the best known schools in the USA. BC is a great school but only recently had become a true national university.
@qwerty568 do you live in the US?
Notre Dame is the higher ranked school, but the two environments are very different – BC being outside of Boston and ND being in South Bend. For full disclosure my H and S (for grad school) went to ND – it is a special place, but it also has to be the right fit. Think about where you would be happiest because that is where you are most likely to succeed. All things being equal, I’d pick ND (but all things are not always equal).
“BC is a great school but only recently [has] become a true national university.”
True or not, BC’s admissions were competitive with Notre Dame’s in the late 1990s:
School | Middle SAT range | Acceptance rate
Boston College | 1210-1370 | 38%
Notre Dame | 1220-1380 | 40%
(Fiske; 1998.)
Notre Dame carries the name, especially if you want to work internationally eventually. However, BC has a strong program and it seems like you’ve already developed a love for it. If that love still carries, stick with BC.
Notre Dame has more academic prestige and great school spirit.
@BatesParents2019 I live in Boston- I might be a little biased. Where I live, nobody’s ever heard of Notre Dame outside of sports, if they’ve heard of it at all (they often haven’t).
I will add that my daughter just graduated from ND. Sure, there are a few “cons” such as parietals but her experience and that of her friends and acquaintances was phenomenal. The professors are accessible. No problem with unable to understand grad students/TAs. Amazing and interesting classes. Fantastic internship and volunteer opportunities. School spirit. Community oriented. I could go on. I was hesitant at first when my daughter was choosing but I would recommend ND for any high level student that is Catholic. It is the only school that I know of where the kids are seriously sad to graduate even though they all had solid post-graduate plans.
Good luck. You can’t go wrong with either. If ND is a fit for you then Go For It!
Hello again. Today I have to finally decide whether I will go to BC or ND. Over the past few days I’ve made a list of pros and cons of each school, but I’m still having a hard time deciding. In my first post I forgot to mention that I’m a US citizen living abroad. I am guaranteed only one year of housing at BC and not guaranteed housing at ND at all and that’s the first major difference. In the future I will have to rent an apartment either in Boston or in South Bend. Having an apartment in Boston for the summer would be really useful since there is more internship opportunities in the city of Boston than in the neighberhood of ND. At BC I can also easily take up to 6 business classes from its prestigious business school. From what I’ve heard at ND I can take some of the business classes from its great business school, but most of the popular courses are restricted for non-business students. That is really important to me, because on top of the economics major I am planning on getting a solid background in finance. The biggest pros of ND I can think of is its alumni network, general experience, and prestige (considered a level above BC by most people). Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks
I would not pass up ND. If you have to live off campus, apartments are much cheaper in South Bend. Newer rentals are $500 - $750 in South Bend.
You can intern in Chicago where there are many more opportunities than Boston. Apartments in Chicago are far less expensive than Boston.
ND gives housing to all freshman. And to anyone else staying on campus for the both spring and fall semesters. Are you a transfer student?
All you said about the business classes at ND is true. Make sure you can really get business classes at BC.
It sounds like you want to go to BC, so I’d just stick with it. Boston is also a lot more cosmopolitan and that is really great for those who have lived abroad, who know that America can be, well, very American-centric.
BC and Notre Dame are both great so you can’t really go wrong. If you are an international student, I think you would probably enjoy Boston more than Indiana. Good luck!
You don’t need any other entertainment at ND.
If you do Chicago is 90 miles away.
@naviance yes, I’m a transfer student.
@BatesParents2019 Obviously Boston area is more expensive, but that’s not a deciding factor for me. That’s because BC offered me slightly better financial aid (~$4000 more) that would cover the rent difference over the year.
Main question: Would Econ degree from ND open more doors for me in the future than an Econ degree with 6 finance classes taken from a business school at BC? I am planning on having a finance related job after graduation.
A big part of the ND experience is Residence Hall life. If you are not in a Residence Hall, I would imagine that student life would feel very different. Res life is often compared to greek life, especially for male students at ND – as each hall has its own philanthropies, traditions etc. While living off campus would be less expensive in South Bend than Boston, not being part of the residential life on campus would certainly change the experience of ND student life.
And it is true, access to classes at Mendoza B school at ND is changing for next year’s entering class. It would be very important to understand the ins and outs of access to finance etc classes, particularly as finance at Mendoza is considered the toughest, and most desirable major within the B school. Also take a look at the Econ offerings at ND, quite some time ago, the Econ dept was split, and you would want to make sure there are deep enough offerings available to you as a transfer.
You really cannot go wrong with either choice, it is simply which one meets your most important criteria.
“Notre Dame carries the name, especially if you want to work internationally eventually.”
Really?
A slow day, so I went digging to see what happened in Econ at ND a while back (we had some friends who were faculty around then . . . ). More than 10 years ago, the University split Econ dept into two separate departments, (1) Econ and Econometrics and (2) Econ and Policy Studies. The faculty moved into the Policy Studies group were the “less-traditional” Econ faculty with a more diverse focus. Then, the University shut down the Policy Studies group altogether a few years ago, and those faculty were moved into various spots. The Econ department now is the former Econ and Econometrics dept. So, to the OP, depending on your areas of interest in Econ, it might be double checking the course offerings. I imagine that is something the OP already did, but worth a reminder.
@rjkofnovi Yeah really.