<p>Hi. I am considering applying to both schools, but I was wondering what the pros and cons of each school are? If you have attended either, or know a lot about them, please help! Thanks so much!</p>
<p>BC is liberal arts, harder to get into, and have presitigous programs in business, theology, philsophy, etc. From my visits, the attitude of the campus was very friendly but plastic-y, everyone was in designers clothes and whatnot. It is an enclosed campus right outside Boston. Larger side of liberal colleges so it has decent facilities and research oppurtunities.</p>
<p>BU is a large institution with a lot of focus on sciences. Business is also rated very highly, BU is easier to get into but CGS is absolutely terrible and a waste of money (even for college standards). BU has great food everwhere, right in the heart of boston. A lot of hippies in BU, but there is every type of person in BU because there is 32k people enrolled.</p>
<p>This has been discussed before many times. I agree what the above poster has stated. BU is not too selective and has a much more diverse student body than BC. BU has a HUGE population.</p>
<p>I’ve gotten the impression that BU has better sciences, a more diverse student body, and a better hockey team. :)</p>
<p>And BU has a higher acceptance rate, but better name recognition across the country.</p>
<p>^ somewhat true, but BC definitely focuses more on individual students than BU does. You need help from friends in BU to do things because it is harder to reach the faculty due to the size.</p>
<p>BC has a secluded residential campus with ivy-like buildings. BU has no campus whatsoever, it’s just a straight line of modern buildings in the city.</p>
<p>I’d say most of this is nonsense, about both schools. The differences are size, location - BC is at the edge of Boston not really in it), campus (BC has a more college-like campus, though there’s not much around it at all*). Both schools are known nationally and you should look at your program at each school - read the websites first to get a handle on it, find out how big the department is, etc. BC has major college football and competes in the ACC for basketball. BU doesn’t have football and competes in a smaller conference in other sports except hockey. BU was the national champion last year and BC the year before - which says how close the two schools are across the board, the Catholicism of BC aside. They are both excellent schools and you’ll find partisans splitting hairs about them without recognizing they’re splitting hairs.</p>
<p>And did I mention that BC is Catholic. </p>
<p>*I live between BC and BU.</p>
<p>BU is urban, BC is suburban…which pretty much encompasses every difference between them…people, campus, concentrations blah blah.</p>
<p>My friends that applied and got into BC to study business (which it is most well known for) didn’t go there. In fact out of everyone in my school that got in, none of them wanted to go to BC (this year). Why? It was just simply too much money or they got into better schools (well ivy leagues anyways >_< which I guess THEY considered better)</p>
<p>Whether or not its worth it is up to you. BC has one of the BEST business programs for undergrad in the country - its known nationally for that. It is a GREAT school, but its really expensive - which is just a heads up if/when you get in.</p>
<p>I somewhat agree with TheMan. Go to the school that is best for you financially. You’ll get a fantastic education at either school. Both schools are different in almost every way. But in this economy, FA should trump almost everything else.</p>
<p>I have been to both schools (will be attending BU in the fall) and the biggest difference I came across is people. BC has mainly white, preppy, wealthy, and sort of snobby people while BU’s student population is much more diverse. You’ll literally find all sorts of people at BU and BC is pretty much the complete opposite.</p>
<p>And you’ll find people who complain that all the people they see at BU look rich. BC is less diverse, partly because it’s mostly Catholic, but both are private schools that charge a lot of money. BU has more aid - notably to Boston Public School graduates - but it’s still a big private school.</p>
<p>Thanks all for the responses! So, could you guys tell me which you would rather go to given the choice?</p>
<p>in boston area it goes like this</p>
<p>bc>northeastern>boston u</p>
<p>of course there mit and harvard but they dont matter.</p>
<p>if you looking into bu seriously(stat wise) you dont have a great shot a bc</p>
<p>"in boston area it goes like this</p>
<p>bc>northeastern>boston u"</p>
<p>I really don’t see what makes BC and Northeastern better universities than BU. At all.</p>
<p>collegebound41, your response is nonsense. My children have all gone to a Boston area high school, one of the finest in the country, and you have been drinking Northeastern’s marketing kool-aid. And I can back that up with data. </p>
<p>Per our high school, which is highly mixed economically, ethnically, etc., the rankings are Tufts, BU & BC (indistinguishable, though BU has more applicants), Northeastern. The numbers aren’t that close; the applicants and acceptances at Northeastern have worse scores and grades. The scores for BC and BU, even with more kids applying to BU, are the same. Tufts is significantly higher. That matches the general perception here, as well as the data reported by the schools (to real sources, not the self-reported rankings crap some schools bluntly manipulate).</p>
<p>And btw, I know Northeastern professors and, believe me, I have nothing against the school. (But I do have something against its marketing and I certainly question the validity of its self-reported data.) These are all fine schools and one should choose where one likes and which has a program you believe fits you. E.g., if you like co-op education, then Northeastern is a fine fit. Fit is what counts.</p>
<p>The choice of BC versus BU is personal.</p>
<p>Well i go to a good private school in MA. Tufts is perceived way better than BC, BU, or NEU at my school.The cross admittance between NEU and BU is very high. Less so between BU and BC or even Northeastern and BC. BC clearly has a stronger student body than BU. BU is more comparable to NEU which in my opinion is underranked. Our valedictorian went to NEU and everyone thought she would get into Harvard.Also on my tour of NEU they said they had the largest cohort of valedictorians incoming for last years class which is the most out of any boston campuses…which includes BU.</p>
<p>Boston University</p>
<p>Total Applicants: 37,768
Total Freshmen Enrolled: 4,100
Ranked in Top 10% of High School Class: 61%
Ranked in Top 15% of High School Class: 76%
Ranked in Top 25% of High School Class: 91%
Average GPA: A-
Composite SAT (middle 50% range): 1850–2080
ACT (average): 29 </p>
<p>Boston College</p>
<p>“Over 30,000 candidates honored Boston College with applications for 2,250 openings in our freshman class. We admitted 26% of them.
Highly competitive SAT or ACT scores improved the chance of admission. The mean SAT score for admitted freshmen at Boston College was 2059, and the range of SAT performances for the “middle 50%” of enrolled students earned scores between 1910-2110 (Critical Reading 610-710, Math 630-720, Writing 620-710). The average ACT score for admitted freshmen was 31 and the “middle 50%” range for enrolled students was 28-32.”</p>
<p>Northeastern University</p>
<p>Freshmen Enrolled 2,923
GPA: 25% earned above 4.1
GPA: 50% earned between 3.6-4.1
GPA: 25% earned below 3.6
SAT: 25% scored above 2030
SAT: 50% scored between 1770-2030
Critical Reading 570-660
Math 610-690
Writing 580-670
SAT: 25% earned below 1770
ACT: 25% scored above 30
ACT: 50% scored between 27-30
ACT: 25% scored below 27</p>
<p>It seems to me that as far as the middle 50% for the SAT goes, BC is only slightly higher than BU, but both are higher than NEU. For the ACT, BC is in the lead with 31, BU has 29, and NEU is 27-30.</p>
<p>i was talking about difficulty, and yes tufts would be the hardest out of all of them.</p>
<p>^^you forgot to mention that bc is 80-90% top 10%</p>
<p>edit: lol curve the stats? </p>
<p>The middle half of the class of 2012 had test scores that ranged from 1950-2220 on the SAT and 30-33 on the ACT.[58] Admission to Boston College is among the most selective in the United States. For the class of 2012, BC received a record 31,000 applications from prospective undergraduates, admitting 26%, making it the most selective class in the school’s history.</p>
<p>also, isnt bu acceptance rate like 70%?</p>
<p>i guess thats what threw me off lol. 42% is top 10 for neu and 51% for bu. alright bu is better my bad</p>
<p>lergnom bu and bc are not really comparable. the average student at bu would not get into bc, but average or lower 25% at bc would get into bu</p>
<p>Why are you posting here collegebound. This isn’t even related to the original question which is BU vs. BC. You just wanted to throw in Northeastern most likely because you go there, are going there, graduated from there or have some affiliations with the school. NO ONE CARES. You can say BC is better or BU is better - it really doesn’t matter, but to be frank, no one asked for your opinion on Northeastern. Do you really have nothing better to do than putting down BU? </p>
<p>
Oh and your stat is wrong - very wrong. BU acceptance rate is 51%.</p>
<p>Back on topic. I think its been said that BC is better for business related things and BU is better for sciences and engineering.</p>