I’d love your thoughts about BUA whether you’re a Boston parent, teen who knows BUA teens, someone who’s applied/was denied/admitted/decided to go/not go, a parent of or student @BUA: what do you think about the school? Please include a little about who you are.
My teen has been admitted and we are looking hard but it’s tough to find out the deets.
Much thanks.
I remember seeing on the decisions spreadsheet that someone also applied to BUA. I can’t remember exactly who, but I think it was @Baller14? Perhaps he could give you some insight?
Yes, I applied to BUA, and was also accepted.
To be honest, it was a safety school, and my main choice was Andover, but I loved BUA. Each grade only has about 50 students, so it is a really tight knit community and the teachers are really close to the students. The classes are really advanced, and there really is no limit what you can learn. One student I met on my shadow day was a freshman who is taking a calculus course at BU. BUA’s music department is great, and based on what I saw on my shadow day, their chamber ensemble is really good. The only downside is that their athletics program is pretty bad. Since there are only about 175 students schoolwide, you could be on the varsity basketball team with a kid who has never played basketball in his life before.
The school day is split up into 5 or 6 classes, and each were 50 minutes long. Also, for a foreign language choice, all Freshmen are required to take either Latin or Ancient Greek. Also, if you maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher, you are automatically accepted to Boston University!
So my thoughts: BUA is a great school. The students and teachers are really nice, and are willing to lend out a helping hand at any time. So if you are financially ready and want to attend BUA, by all means go for it!
thank you for your replies. @baller14: have you decided where you’re going next year? do you mind if I ask, where did you get in? We were seeking FA and were WL’d to many for FA reasons.
No problem @annieoakley. I only applied to Andover and BUA as a safety. I got rejected at Andover and accepted to BUA. However I don’t know whether I will go to BUA. It all depends on the amount of FA we get, because we do need at least 10k to even consider going. But as of now, until I get notified about the FA, I will be going to public school.
That’s too bad about Andover and BUA FA. I’m rooting for you - I hope you get that aid so you have options.
the FA component impacts the apps of middle and upper middle class applicants especially.
Hard to imagine two schools more different from each other than Andover and BUA!
I’ve watched BUA with some interest since it was founded, just because I thought it was an interesting concept. My current take on it, for whatever it’s worth, is that it could be a great choice for a somewhat quirky intellectual kid. It’s small and kind of “alternative”, so it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. For a math/science kid, the opportunity to move into college classes (without having to make any special arrangements) is an amazing opportunity. I see less value in being able to take college courses on the humanities side, where I think that upper level boarding school classes are actually more interesting and challenging than many entry level college courses. The music opportunities are very strong as well, but not sports.
BUA is an amazing school, one that attracts fabulous uber-nerds… the kind of kids who fatten on the intellectual hive aspect, but favor a small, tight-knit community. The academics are demanding, as is true of many top schools, and the homework load can be especially heavy, even bearing in mind typical BS loads. Because the school often attracts kids with out-of-level abilities in math, science and writing (again, even bearing in mind top BS schools) the “average” is high, which can put pressure on “ordinary” very bright kids. Two of my children applied and were accepted with FA, in the past, but both opted for boarding school in the end. For my eldest, the decision (even if night and day at first blush) was especially difficult. BUA would have felt like a warmed up baseball glove. He would have been in the zone, with peers every bit as interesting and quirky as he is… but boarding school ultimately offered him the opportunity to grow in more areas and develop his inherent multi-dimensionality.
I should add that my son’s best friend is a junior and loves it. Has just thrived and is thoroughly relishing the university classes…and summer STEM research program… that BUA offers.
thank you to all for your feedback! It is an amazing school, I just have a reservation regarding the intensity of it…
@Baller14 Did you end up going to BUA?
Recent BUA grad here. I went to public middle school, and my parents and I knew early on that while I could certainly do well in public high school (as many do), that I could do well and really benefit from a private school education. I applied and was accepted with a near full financial aid award, which ultimately made the decision for me, but I LOVED BUA on my visits. BUA is not for the faint of heart. It is an intense environment: academics are (while not impossible) very demanding and the culture permeates very strongly; many students are weird and geeky and passionate about their hobbies, but in an amazing way. There is a strong presence of “mainstream,” if you will, students that go to BUA, too and love it. That was me, ahah. Though there is an occasional jerk, the student body is generally incredibly accepting. The community that I was a part of for four years really was like no other; this is a truly comfortable place to be and to learn.
As for the academics, BUA is as good as it gets. The teachers here teach, which is something I really appreciated, especially when my friends at other schools talked about their teachers who sat and played on their phones all day. Every BUA teacher is so bright and passionate and willing to help students out in every way. There are few classes that you will finish and say “that was an easy class,” but you absolutely will come out thinking, “wow I learned a lot in that class.” Homework load is often heavy, but manageable, and again, not for the faint of heart. The homework is not busy work that teachers assign just to give homework; it is essential to every class’s curriculum, and therefore very important. You can’t get by at BUA without doing your homework, and well.
Thinking a few years ahead here, but the college counseling department is another one of BUA’s strong suits. From your junior year, you meet twice a month (and then up to 4 times a month) with college counselors, who guide you along the process. When the time comes to apply to colleges, the lovely counselors advocate for you as best they can, which is something my friends at other schools have been shocked by. Colleges also understand and really admire BUA’s curriculum and students. Students do well in their college admissions, because BUA shapes them into enthusiastic and skilled learners that colleges look for, and prepares them well for essay writing and test taking.
These are just a few points I thought I should make to a potential BUA parent. Please let me know if you have any questions. I love this school, but I do want to give an honest portrayal of it, because it is not for everyone.