Boston College vs. U Michigan

College Search & Selection
1

Having a tough time choosing between these two schools which are quite different…
From the Northeast
Multi-national heritage/catholic
Cost similar at both
Entering as undecided major. Leaning towards pre-law, though have considered pre-med for a time and even business

BC: Visited over the summer and loved it. Accepted RD and was truly “thrilled”. Visited for Accepted Eagles Day and felt somewhat stifled by the school. Building were old and dark inside. Poli Sci professor was there for over 40 yrs and sounded complacent. Pre - med advising stated that only path was to take Bio and Gen Chem first semester or else. Business (non CSOM school) was energizing. I feel that BC has been a favorite for a long time, and I would “fit” in very well. Good sports/school spirit, ok with or without Greek life, Boston proximity adds new adventures. Wondering if in Boston- just one of many schools so opportunities are more diluted.

U Mich: Visited 5 years ago with family- decided then that it was not a school for me . Applied to round out my list, not really sure why - by far the largest school on my list. Was “eh” when I was accepted March 1. Visited last week and came away excited. Tons of opportunities for someone who is really undecided. School felt manageable and not as big as I anticipated. School spirit 10/10, +/- Greek life, Ann Arbor seems to have what I would need - Midwest, with its own quirks. Not as classic of a “fit” as BC, but I am quite adaptable with my family background.

Wondering if I should take the leap at U Mich or go with the safer “fit” option of BC. Also, questioning if the Eagle Day visit should sway me. Feeling that safe may feel too confined in 4 years.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

2

Hi OP. What wonderful options. Love both schools in so many ways. Just awesome for you.

D is a freshman premed at BC. So I have a little real time intel for you.

You can now take the new neuroscience major path too. You most definitely do not have to take chem and bio first semester. But if you want to be prehealth track. It’s not a bad idea to make sure you really like that early enough to pivot. BC also has huge med and lab research in the city. She has research assigned already and landed on spot on the med journal.

And they allow all majors to obtain a full minor from the Carroll school. You can match your prehealth and the business school at the same time.

We’ve found the advising to be great. She also has been part of women’s mentorship program and has a junior premed to help be guide. They have a retreat and meet as a group or one on one all the time.

Also if you are service minded the commitment to this is really part of the culture. She joined appa which is a alternative spring break and they went to Tennessee coal country to help habit for humanities in 12 person groups. She loved it.

Honestly. The facilities are awesome. But you see more when you go for orientation. Eagles day is different because you are in the conte forum and then to the break out sessions and the one dining hall. It’s not representative.

Dorms have a lot of light and lower has amazing facilities too. They will have the brand new student activities center completed for fall. This is the big new 200mm building just for student fitness and wellness. The are knocking down the ugly student fitness area.

Also the 1b integrated sciences building is going up. It’s going to be a whole new science approach and will hold the brand new school of engineering too. Exciting times.

But there are cathedral like buildings and some hogwarts style libraries like Bapst. I thought they were classic and like you see in the movies.

She’s never stepped foot in there once since that visit lol

She studies in the airier lounges In the newer sciences buildings like the Tip O’Neill hall named for the former USA speaker of the house.

I can’t tell you what to do but it’s been a great year of growth for her.

But she has been amazed at the intensity of the work. Im sure Michigan is the same.

She also loves the energy of the campus and smaller size footprint , everything is a walk. Including all the sports and football etc.

So that’s my take BC from my front seat view. But I’m sure everything at Michigan is equally wonderful. You can’t go wrong.

3

I am surprised BC has not updated the cafeteria, bookstore and places for the students. Great they keep building academic buildings, needed, but students really want nice amenities too.

4

@goodjob

That’s a good point. I did find the new cafeteria on lower across from st Thomas Moore is really nice. With the fireplace and speciality restaurant. But food hasn’t been a highlight reel part of the school for d.

Which is funny because they hired a big time Todd English level chef and have a pay policy that’s very progressive for staff.

The bookstore on Main is much better than the one on lower. It seemed perfectly good to me.

But I agree with your point.

5

It feels tired. New activities building will be nice but the campus layout is rough in cold weather. I think the academics are probably superb and the city is obviously incredible but the campus does nothing for me. I know I am probably one of the few who feels this way but it is not high on my list.

6

Like anything it’s personal taste etc. it feels classic to me and I love the beautiful surrounding homes and neighborhoods. Big fan of the cathedrals. The green slate.

I guess it’s what you compare it to from a New England college perspective and one’s I visited recently.

Compared to tufts bu neu Emerson mit pc Brandeis babson Brown Clarke and the Harvard mud bowl quad - it’s by far the nicest campus.

Especially with the new spring and fall plantings, it is kind of spectacular to me. Only Wellesley and Williams are nicer campuses to me. But they are tiny schools.

What is a nice campus to you. No state school I’ve seen is nicer. And I’ve seen a lot. especially with buses and roads, bifurcated campuses etc. some of the southern schools are great. But they have better growing seasons. A lot of lovely campuses are surrounded by less than ideal neighborhoods. Penn usc. Etc

Safety is another part of campus life. And Being fully contained is nice too.

But it is a hilly campus for sure. But good for your legs I guess

7

I like the classic feel also. I would say Wake Forest, UVa, U of Richmond, Williams, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Auburn, and Johns Hopkins are better campuses. Don’t take it the wrong way. It is beautiful. I just think that with all the money they are spending I would focus on the cafeteria, bookstore etc on the upper campus end. I purposely steered my son out of the building so he didn’t see the cafeteria. I did not want him to knock it off the list because at the time we did not know what his options would be.

8

OP: Based on your original post in this thread, it seems as though you prefer Michigan.

9

@goodjob you picked out some of my favorites. The southern schools have a charm that’s for sure. Especially wake and Richmond. Jhu I can’t separate the location from the campus. UVA is nice too. The lawn dorms are overrated. Except for location. Kind of like a classier version of the BC mods which I wish the alumni would let them tear down. Lol. Vanderbilt looks beautiful and ND is nice. South Bend is pretty lame to me.

Auburn. Never been but it’s a dream school for me when someone invents a time machine!

10

@privatebanker You didn’t mention Holy Cross. Absolutely stunning campus. Colgate, Colby and Midd are beautiful too.
Back to the OPs question. Tough choice as those are 2 great options. I like the real sense of community at BC and Jesuit educational philosophy. Those 2 aspects set it apart from Michigan.

11

BC frequently shows up on some ‘beautiful campus’ lists. But if it doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work for you. My s refused to apply to Yale bcos of what he called “fake gothic architecture”. :smiley:

It only takes a couple of rain storms for the Frosh to figure out the shortcuts thru dry buildings and covered parking structures – and where the elevators are hidden (to avoid the million dollar stairs).

When I first saw the Chem building, I thought it was antiquated. But once I went inside I see that its up-to-date and nice inside – for a building containing deadly chemicals! The building was gutted and rebuilt from teh inside out, saving the old weathered stone.

Did you walk into Gasson? Completely refurbished. It has slate chalk boards on purpose. The are definitely not old, and were mighty expensive. Instead of white boards for felt pens, BC wanted an old school look with all the amenities, coffee bar, wifi, etc. They also used old, weathered stone on the exterior on purpose. to match the existing.

https://www.shawmut.com/portfolio/cultural-historic/academic-building/boston-college-gasson-hall-chestnut-hill-ma

Or Bapst Library, BC’s version of a Harry Potter room? one of my D’s favorite places to study.

https://libguides.bc.edu/bapst/study-spaces

My D loved the food. Heck, I even ate on campus when I came to visit. Those sandwiches made with homemade cranberry bread…I still think about them.

P.S. Agree with pb, you don’t have to take Chem and Bio on Day 1. I’ve always been a fan of taking Bio after at least one semester of Chem; so much of bio is now microcellular, it really helps to have a strong foundation of what is going on chemically.

OTOH, not taking Bio & Chem as a Frosh will likely mean that you won’t be able to apply to med school until after you graduate. Not a bad thing as all professional schools love gap years. (So what you heard from PreMed advising was for those that want to take the mcat as a junior and apply their senior year.

Michigan is also great. Ann Arbor is teh quintessential college town. No bad choice here. For similar money I’d trade off the slightly higher academic prestige for the private college. Generally better advising, housing, teacher interaction, etc.

Definitely check out the new Neuro major. And Philosophy, which is great for critical thinking skills for prelaw. (PL is a popular second major and minor at BC, since its really strong.)

12

If all things are equal do you want a change of scenery from the Northeast?

I did some medical internships in Boston years ago and loved it since it had such a different vibe then Detroit /Chicago/Cleveland but at that time I really only knew the Midwest.

Now living in Chicago I love visiting Boston for conferences.

The weather is very similar.
At Boston College the make up of the school will be heavily East Coast /North Eastern and at Michigan heavily Midwestern with a good portion from New York and California, Illinois.

To me that is the largest decision.

13

@wisteria100 You are right. Forgot about HC. Awesome. I wasn’t listing every school lol. Just ones that popped into my head and especially around Boston. The nescac schools are all pretty. Wes and trinity were our least favorites. But still nice.

@knowstuff That’s good info. Funny about my d at B. She came from Florida. She has one roommate from LA and the other is from Portland Oregon. Lol. Decent amount of Florida students and my state Long Island and New Jersey and Pa Obviously all the New England states. And a surprisingly large foreign contingent from China and Europe she tells me.

14

Ugh, now that one was extremely disappointing to me. To each their own!

True, but the 4th most represented State (after MA & NY & NJ) is California.

15

@bluebayou Food comment. That sounds tasty. I’ve only eaten on campus once
at the flatbread place on lower. It was great. We’ve fallen in love with an Israeli style coffee spot called cafe landwer in Cleveland circle. I can’t go there without stopping in. I’m addicted.

And I’m relaying d’s comments and she doesn’t always want to tell dad that everything is perfect. Maybe setting me up to ask for money to go out to dinner with the sob story. Thanks for telling me. LOL!

16

All things being equal…Take the leap. Both are great schools but change is good, diversity is good. You’ll have plenty of time to play it safe when you are a bit older and have more responsibilities. Expanding your world now should be a priority.

17

If some of you want everything to be new and sparkly, then pick Florida International, Florida Atlantic, or some other school that was founded in recent decades. What good is a college’s pedigree if there is no trace of the past…no creaky wooden floors, no classrooms where famous professors taught, and no dining hall where famous athletes ate? If BC gives you the vapors, you better stay away from Harvard & Princeton, much less Oxford & Cambridge.

18

My daughter had similar feelings about admitted students day. She was disappointed that it wasn’t more interactive! Sitting in 4 panels in a row that were not real helpful. Thankfully she started discussions with the girls in dorms we visited or it would have been a total no! She is still undecided as well! I am an alumni and I was disappointed with the day compared to the other school we attended!