My daughter who is in junior now, will be applying to colleges this summer. We live in Massachusetts and we heard a lot of good things about Boston College. My d is looking to do premed. Is premed programs good innBC? Does BC require her to take religious course in the freshman year? We are not Christians and not sure how this college will be suitable. Everything else seems perfect about this college. Please give suggestions
Have you visited the school? My chief complaint about BC is it seems pretty homogeneous to me. Make sure she is comfortable with the student culture/vibe.
D is at BC. She picked it because she wanted to be in Boston and because she wanted a strong undergraduate program in education (through Lynch, she will earn a BA and a teaching credential in four years). The pros and cons as I see them:
Pros:
Location
Size: Not too big, not too small
Excellent faculty
Jesuit emphasis on service, which the student body seems to take very seriously
Pro/Con: Core Curriculum – I’ve heard students complain about the large number of requirements. D tested out of quite a few. And I, for one, think what remains is worth studying. She just finished a year of philosophy. It was not her favorite course, but even she admits it made her a better thinker. Next year she takes a comparative religion class – my understanding is she will study buddhism, judaism, hinduism, islam in addition to christianity. These are powerful forces in our world that our children need to understand.
Cons:
Drinking culture – D doesn’t like it but has made good friends who share her taste in activities (going to Boston, watching movies); the school also seems to be working on creating options for non drinkers
I’m afraid I can’t comment on the premed curriculum, but my daughter reports that her friends who are premed are working very hard.
We are not Catholic, but she still feels very comfortable at BC.
I hope this helps!
Thanks a lot :-)… Awesome info
@prsts5
BC parent here. It is a wonderful university. If you want to get a lot of information and input about BC, go to the BC forum for firsthand information: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/boston-college/
Good luck in your college search.
Pros:
-You can go into Boston (which is actually very nice)
-It is easy to walk to all of your classes
- You have that nice campus environment
- Tons of events
- Good student population size (not too big, not too smile)
- Impressive school academic-wise
- Starbucks & milkshake places
- This one’s a bit silly, but BC has a movie site that provides a bunch of great new movies that you can stream for free.
Cons:
- Expensive
- They charge way too much for the food which isn’t even that good
- It’s mostly Asian & White (there are other minorities here, like me, and it’s definitely not as homogenous as everyone says it is, but it’s just something to keep in mind)
- If you’re a freshman you might end up on Newton campus (which means you have to take a 20 minute bus ride back and forth every day)
- COLD
That being said, I really do like it here. The campus is beautiful, and I love having the option to stay here and go to Boston if I want. You should visit and see what you think. I also want to add that the school does have a religious affiliation, if that affects your decision in any way. But other than crosses in some classrooms, you won’t even notice it after orientation so that shouldn’t affect your decision at all. If you do decide to come here, I think you’d really like it, but be sure to visit first!
@teabiscuit I was not aware that freshman could potentially be placed off campus 20 mins away. Is this just a housing situation or are classes held at the “Newton campus”. lol did not know one even existed. Hahaha.
I guess I would really question the wisdom of the school to place first years off campus or so far away. It seems to me that could affect how you bond or feel connected to the college. It could create a commuter type of feel for you if you have a 20 min commute to school and then back home.
Sorry if I totally misunderstood your words.
BC freshmen housed on Newton campus actually have more of a bond with their fellow classmates living on Newton. No one should ever let the fear of living on Newton keep them from attending BC. Newton is a fun place to live!
The Newton campus is the former campus of Newton College of the Sacred Heart which merged with BC circa 1980. It houses a third of BC freshman and the BC Law School. .
Ah. Interesting. thanks.
BC isn’t known for being generous with financial aid. With medical school, keeping costs down and high grades should be top priorities. If you are paying sticker price for BC, I would think twice about attending since their STEM programs aren’t anything spectacular.
The Newton campus isn’t 20 minutes from the main campus on the shuttle bus. Maybe 20 min by foot…
@WildestDream, that’s one of the main reason we are thinking more about Brandeis.
@teabiscuit Its definitely not 20 min by foot. When I was walking , it took 10-15. Its literally across the street.
Make sure she can keep her grades up. Will she be an “average” student at B.C. vs a top student somewhere else? I know someone who went to B.C. who got weeded out of pre-med pretty quickly due to the competitive academics. Of course if you’re a very strong student with a lot of self discipline you should do well anywhere, just something to keep in mind along with the finances.
Good luck!
OK, I just MapQuested the distance between main campus & Newton Campus: 2.2 miles, 6 minutes by vehicle.
It is not an ideal situation on Newton, it changes the social situation. The Sophomore placement is even worse with a lottery system that you cannot control where you live. Housing is poorly designed.
6 min by vehicle under ideal traffic conditions
@WildestDream Ik this is late but I somewhat disagree. Sure it’s not as robust as let’s say BU and Brandeis, but it is pretty top notch never the less. I was accepted this year for Environmental Geoscience and after spending the entire day at admitted students say and doing touring labs in Devlin Hall, they got a lot of stuff considering only about 28 kids do the major a year. I committed for it the day a month after i committed. And even if it’s not “perfect”, the Jesuits have pretty good curriculums. They recently created a multi million dollar lab dedicated to geochemistry. And recently they got the R1 distinction, so their programs can’t be that lacking.