<p>My advice is that she find an apartment as soon as possible. The fist year is about making some friends and getting off campus. My favorite part of BU was that it encouraged students to live on the economy. You were an adult going to a large urban university, rather than a prep school student. Boston is a great city. You get to know it well at BU. Some students might prefer a dorm style small campus experience rather than an independent urban life setting. BU may not be for that kind of student. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any info on if CGS is still grading using a Bell Curve system for core courses?</p>
<p>BU is a better school than UMASS. The communications school there is top rate. </p>
<p>Is it worth the $ compared to UMass? Not sure. I do not know much about the comm program at UMass. I do know that if you attend BU for Communication you’ll be getting a first rate education. </p>
<p>Are you looking at UMass Boston or the main campus in Amherst? There are some obvious differences there. I am not sure how good UMass is in terms of its satellite programs… I’d imagine that Amherst would be a better place in terms of school resources. Also, the obvious differences between Boston and Amherst…</p>
<p>CGS is no longer designed to have people fail out, PCV. I don’t know if they use a strict bell curve anymore, but I know zero people who flunked out of CGS, let alone 1/3 of students. The program is designed so that students in CGS can continue into other schools at BU, otherwise no one would come.</p>
<p>They also don’t use only multiple choice questions for finals anymore. In fact, to graduate from CGS you have to complete the Capstone Project, which is an intense research paper and presentation that you complete with a few other students in CGS. CGS in the 80s is clearly completely different from what it is now.</p>
<p>they had capstone when I was there. The second year. That has not changed. </p>
<p>If they no longer grade using a bell curve system, that is a good thing. I can tell you that the years I attended it was one of the hardest graded programs at the school, and about 1/3 of the students flunked it.</p>
<p>It looks like they added a variety of courses as well… that is good. Anyone here have any practical experience on how they are grading now?</p>
<p>This is no longer the case at CGS. The retention rate is 93% and the graduation rate is identical to students who started at other schools at BU!</p>