<p>what are the major differences between the colleges obviously excluding the fact of what city they are in? my brother is an nyu alum and he keeps telling me that the two schools are basically very similar except for the fact that nyu is in new york and thus has infinitely more options and such.</p>
<p>what do you all think? for some reason i felt an attraction towards bu more than nyu but i am having trouble finding quantifiable reasons for this attraction, and an family alum would really be helpful for financial aid and such…</p>
<p>They really are similar. BU has more of a campus - one of the few times you can say that versus other schools. BU has more colleges for specific studies, like COM, but again NYU has a school of ed, a business school, the equivalent of CGS. I'd consider your interests and then think which school might fit your needs and how you feel. And if you qualify for financial aid, consider that too.</p>
<p>Im looking into BU and NYU too. I live on Cape Cod so i'd like to be in Boston but my dad lives in New York City. Looking at the two schools tho i thought that NYU had more of a campus. At BU Boston in your campus, NYU does have a little more grass and some gates and such.</p>
<p>When we toured BU and NYU we had an opposite reaction. NYU is spread out all over, sort of like a geometric shape, and the city streets are the campus. BU is one long line. BU is much more manageable. Some of the gorgeous NYU dorms are quite far from the class buildings.</p>
<p>hmm...if you're looking beyond aesthetics, academically, NYU is getting quite a rep. BU is a great school, but I think if you get into both NYU would be the more opportunistic way to go.</p>
<p>kinshasa: i know what you mean when i visited nyu i thought it was really spread all over and it really turned me off from the school. im glad to hear that bu was much different as it was one of my fears about going to such an urban school</p>
<p>brand_182: the more i look into my intended major (neuroscience) the more i am leaning towards nyu because i really like their class descriptions (they sound interesting to say the least) not to mention i don't think bu has a neuroscience major for undergrads (however im still considering bu because im not locked into an intended major i just sort of picked what i think i would like to do the most right now) do you really think that nyu's prestige is terribly more than that of bu? how is grad school placement for each?</p>
<p>You're not comparing Oxford to the South London School for Bartenders so you can split hairs any way you choose.</p>
<p>BU has a large, strong graduate program in neuroscience and there are apparently 9 different neuroscience concentrations (majors) at BU in undergrand and grad. The complete list with links is [url=<a href="http://web.bu.edu/neuro/dept/index.html%5Dhere%5B/url">http://web.bu.edu/neuro/dept/index.html]here[/url</a>]. The CAS concentration is in neurobiology and is part of the biology department. The biomed department in ENG is one of the largest and, though I don't place any weight on so-called rankings, one of the best.</p>
<p>i have no doubt that both programs are very good but i was wondering if there is any reason you feel strongly about one over the other? perhaps personal experiences? visits? family/alum relations? anything that can give me a little bit of knowledge that isnt things on each schools respective website?</p>
<p>The differences are mostly location and how the city feels, how your social life would work, etc. </p>
<p>At BU, a few things work very well. It's pretty easy to register for classes and get what you want. If you take the time to visit your prof during office hours, you can get a lot out of it. Same with email for some. These are big schools but you can know your professors if you make some effort. BU puts a lot of emphasis on teaching; teaching evaluations go into salary decisions and promotion. Though the school is big, it's broken into colleges and then into departments and most departments are actually fairly small and easy to get to know. </p>
<p>What can I say? There are a lot of places to eat on campus, with a wide variety if you're not super picky. They have vegan, etc. and good options. </p>
<p>Good or bad, the housing is of wide variety in size and quality. I suppose the thing people complain about the most is that BU is tough on alcohol on campus and has a tight guest policy in the big dorms. A lot of people live in apartments around campus and that's where more hardcore partying goes on. </p>
<p>In terms of facilities, I think BU is better on most but not as good in some areas - CFA, for example, really needs work compared to Tisch's facilities, though BU also has other spaces for performance, etc.</p>
<p>i know this is going to be a weird question to find an answer two on account of the size of bu's undergraduate population but how would you classify bu? what are the MAJOR types of people on campus? are people (for the most part) fairly easy-going, nice? being a minority student (although i live in an almost completely caucasian environment so you could say that i'm 'pretty white' as politically incorrect as that is) are there pretty lax inter-racial interactions and such?</p>
<p>and everyone i have ever talked to about bu has commented on bu's boston location citing it as 'the best college town in america' how true is that statement? it is really that easy to meet kids from other schools? </p>
<p>thanks again i really appreciate you being so helpful</p>
<p>Can't really say about race interactions because it varies so much by race and where a person is from. There aren't that many African-Americans. Lots of Asians and East Asians but from many backgrounds and countries so that's not one group. </p>
<p>It's a big school, so there isn't a type. Fair number of northeasterners, from New Jersey up through New England but then a kid from NYC isn't the same as a kid from the Island or from Albany or Springfield. </p>
<p>Some kids dress well but it's not a preppie place. There are some shoppers. There are arty people and business types. Depends on the college. It's not like you can say this is a frat school - it isn't - or a jock school or a nerd school. </p>
<p>Meeting people from other schools depends on interests, location and age. (And if you're a girl, the MIT frats are always looking for girls to come to their parties.) As for age, the clubs draw from everywhere but it helps to be older. Allston, where people live off campus, and areas near Kenmore and into the Fenway have students from all over so there's some mixing. If you're in a particular society or group that reaches around Boston, then that happens. Like there are gay connections, East Asian dance, lots of things. I suppose there are also chance encounters since Kenmore and Back Bay are big areas for people to visit and most of the clubs are around BU.</p>
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do you really think that nyu's prestige is terribly more than that of bu? how is grad school placement for each?
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</p>
<p>No. Neither are incredibly good at placing students into the top schools - chances are that if you do well, take advantage of the opportunities at the school, and do well on the respective test for your interest, it won't matter which you attend. I say NYU is gaining prestige as it is consistently moving higher in multiple rankings (not simply referring to USNews). It is clear that NYU is taking a new place among top schools, to the extent that its undergraduate programs should hopefully finally reach the status of its amazing grad programs. </p>
<p>I see BU as reaping the same benefits as NYU: located in arguably the best college city, BU will continue to receive a high number of applicants who will opt not to apply to Harvard, MIT, or the top LACs in the area as they are all so competitive. It seems that BU is definitely on the same track as NYU, but perhaps some years behind. I imagine BU will only continue to become more selective and strengthen its programs overall.</p>
<p>I don't know much about neuroscience so I cannot offer you help there: for many majors, NYU is the way to go, although there are a few off the top of my head where BU is clearly tops. Ultimately, the choice should be made on fit.</p>
<p>I agree with the above post. It seems that more and more people are treating BU as their "safety" and NYU has become more of a "match" for impressive applicants...</p>
<p>For what it's worth:</p>
<p>BU acceptance rate - 57%
SAT Verbal - 580 - 680
SAT Math - 600 - 690</p>
<p>NYU acceptance rate - 37%
SAT Verbal 620 - 710
SAT Math 620 - 710</p>
<p>Not a huge difference in SAT scores but it's quite a bit harder to get into NYU than BU...so make sure you're in at both before going through the trouble of deciding where you'd go if you had the option ;)</p>
<p>A few things need to be said about those admission numbers.
They reflect an incredible diversity of applicants to a tremendous variety of programs, with multiple admission committees at work. There is a large range of quality of the programs at BU, from the lackluster to the world class. Therefore competitiveness (like quality of education) can only meaningfully be evaluated with regard to a specific college of the university.
Obvious example: the College of General Studies has average SAT's barely 100 points above the national average and non-need-blind admissions. The curriculum is essentially remedial and preparatory to the latter two years of a liberal arts, business, or communications degree.
This is in the same university (and averaged into the same admissions data) as the topflight University Professors Program, a well-regarded school of music with a 30% acceptance rate, a highly selective arts and sciences honors program, and one of the nation's best colleges of communications.
See what I mean? the raw averages are virtually useless. Depending on the desired program and the student's ability, BU could be a reach school and tremendously exciting, or a mediocre backup school.</p>
<p>Anyone care to throw GWU into the mix? I applied to all 3 as my match schools (actually nyu= reach) and see myself debating among the 3 sometime in the future.</p>
<p>S applied to all three and we toured each one. GWU campus was similar to NYU. BU and NYU have more restaurants and shops nearby than GWU, which is a stone's throw from important government buildings; campus security is fabulous.</p>
<p>first of all thanks for all the replies and input, i really appreciate it all. :)</p>
<p>secondly. at the risk of sounding arrogant and cocky and with my luck i probably won't get in to these schools however i am fairly confident that I am above the averages. (1430 SAT (730M 700V) 32 ACT ~3.8 GPA UW). i know much of what i am asking would easily be remedied by visiting both schools but how would you that go there, know people who go there etc describe the 'feel'? atmosphere is something that is very important to me and i pride myself on being a laid back person. for whatever reason NYC rubs me the wrong way as being a very busy-body type of place. i know for certain however that i could go there and love it because my brother and i are startlingly similar and he loves NYU/NYC more than anything. i guess what im asking comes down to the intangibles on campus. im fairly certain i've seen numbers, facts, figures, costs, etc but there has to be (in my over-romanticized view of college) more to it than that?</p>
<p>ps odin64: i have a friend who goes to GWU (hopefully its the same GWU we're talking about...george washington university in dc?) and he absolutely loves it, especially DC. i was seriously considering the school but i've heard school in dc are very politic/law driven (obviously) and since im most likely pursuing a more science major, (not to mention my mother said i had to cut down my list of 14 down some) i decided to drop GWU from my list...</p>
<p>I think you need to visit the schools. You've probably been to NYU because your brother is an alum. When you walk around the campus, your gut will tell you if it's a fit. It's an intangible feeling. At least that was our experience.</p>