<p>I applied to the College of General Studies at BU, but my acceptance letter and my Dean’s letter said I was in the College of Arts and Sciences. I am not sure if CGS is a part of CAS. Does anyone know if I am in CAS or CGS?</p>
<p>Call the admissions office and ask. We won't know. They are two separate schools, so you'll need to find out.</p>
<p>if I were you I'd definitely call. but I wouldn't immediately call it a mistake. see what they officially have you in as and if by some stroke of luck they messed up and you're in CAS..then STAY. even if you don't necessarily wanna study in CAS you can switch after the first semester of general freshman classes and go wherever you like. beats the hell out of ever going to CGS</p>
<p>relax. CGS isn't a death sentence.</p>
<p>Yea, seriously. Why do people made CGS sound like the end of the world?</p>
<p>Personally I would prefer it over CAS but it really depends on what you want as your course of study. CGS:
-has less students in a class
-GED classes which have to be completed by all students at the end of the four years at BU is completed in the first two years so you get that over with
-classes probably are not as difficult (but still by no means easy) as some of the courses at other 4 year BU schools such as SMG, which is a big plus because of BU's grade deflation Who would want difficult courses with grade deflation present at a school anyway?</p>
<p>The only downside I find is that people entering four year schools may be better prepared for their majors and degrees in their 3rd and 4th years at BU while entering CGS kids may not have as well an idea of their course. You should weigh for yourself what seems more appealing to you.</p>
<p>yeah who would actually wanna earn the degree they'll claim to have for the rest of their lives let alone have been worthy enough to study among the same kids who did..</p>
<p>My D was admitted to CGS instead of the program that she had applied for. She had solid grades & a 30 on the ACT. So was certainly average or above average by BU standards.</p>
<p>We decided to pass and go to a much higher ranked school that admitted her to her school of choice & because we thought it might not be the right fit for her -- did not particulary like the fact that she would not be able to pick her classes.</p>
<p>That being said, I think reading through all of DJ's posts, he is unduly prejudiced about this program and you should take this will a pinch of salt. It has it's advantages and disadvantages and you should see if it is a good fit for you. </p>
<p>Calling everyone who goes to CGS as "dumb" is the same thing as someone from say "Cornell" calling all "BU" students the same thing. Obviously that does not make any sense either.</p>
<p>I did not mean to say that it was easy, because I heard it wasn't the least bit.</p>
<p>nobody called anyone "dumb" and your Cornell analogy was different in just about every way. Since you are so familiar with my posting you should know that I'm not prejudiced against the program, but I openly am not in favor of it. Again, as I state in many of my posts about the subject, I have nothing against the people who choose to attend CGS. I mean, hell, for them it's a prettyyy darn good deal. I do have issues with the school I attend choosing to fund it and the fact that they accept nearly 25% of every class to CGS and that SIGNIFICANTLY affects BU's prestige. And I also resent the fact that the program allows others to jump in other programs without having worked under the same conditions and take the same classes for the first two years and obviously not worthy of being accepted in the first place. I hope my tone doesn't come off as offensive cause it's not really a big deal at all to me but whenever this comes up I say what I think and I would and have said the same things to CGS kids' faces.</p>
<p>I understand where your coming from DJ, but you do come across as offensive. </p>
<p>"And I also resent the fact that the program allows others to jump in other programs without having worked under the same conditions and take the same classes for the first two years and obviously not worthy of being accepted in the first place."</p>
<p>Thats not fair to the students at CGS, especially to the entering freshman class. Since so many applicants applied, many "worthy" applicants have been given a spot at CGS because there wasn't enough room in their choice college. I, for example, was not accepted into CAS even though I have 4.0 unweighted GPA for a private high school. I was also accepted into other more prestigious schools, but I am choosing to attend BU because I was given $49,000 as my financial aid award. (Yes, including merit money)</p>
<p>I also wanted to comment on something else : "I mean, hell, for them it's a prettyyy darn good deal."</p>
<p>Seriously? What do you mean by "for them"? I sorry that you feel that BU's College of General Studies brings down BU's prestige, but if you care about prestige so much, them maybe you should have gone somewhere else. </p>
<p>As the first person in my family to attend college, I will be proud to attend CGS. I know that its "not really a big deal" for you, but I suggest that you go and find something better to do with your time.</p>
<p>And thanks for your input Cupksdad. I agree.</p>
<p>Momentum23, After a rather troubled night, it was refreshing to read your reply #11. I applaud your hard work in high school and your success with your college acceptances. Your family must be extremely proud! It's a relief to know that if my son does decide to accept BU's offer that there will be students like you in the College of General Studies. He also received acceptances at higher ranked schools as well as scholarships. He'll probably turn them down to attend BU. Why? because he really loves BU and sees CGS as a means to an end. </p>
<p>DJglover16, Your comments in post number 10 were the reason for my sleepless night. I'm committed to letting my son select his school, but as a mother, I really don't want him to be confronted by someone like you, who thinks that he isn't "good enough" to attend BU, during his freshman year. I've sincerely appreciated all of your advice to students thus far. Your attitude, however, disappoints me. Maybe you should take the advice that you gave to another student about researching a school before deciding to attend. I'm assuming that you knew about CGS before entering BU. If so, then maybe BU really isn't the place for you since you consider that it has such a large blemish that should be removed.</p>
<p>Momentum 23 -- Congratulations & Good Luck. BU (and CGS) is a wonderful school & I am glad that you are going there. NPR news were saying that this is record year that colleges (and rejections) -- being accepted by BU is extremely creditable and you should be proud. </p>
<p>Liland - This was difficult for my D as she was clearly enthralled by the opportunity to live and study in Boston. Maybe for graduate school. Good luck to your son & you.</p>
<p>liland- once AGAIN..I have absolutely nothing against students who choose to attend CGS and you'd be hard-pressed to find current students that hold anything at all against them. It is a hell of a deal when you think about it and far superior than simply being rejected. The students who choose to attend CGS not only come out with whatever degree they like but get to attend a school they may have not been able to in the first place. I'm not out to belittle the program by any means. I try and keep up with most threads that I feel I can contribute to when this question comes up specifically I am very open about how I feel about the program and its motivations. Congrats to your son maybe I'll see him around</p>
<p>DJglover16, Whenever I've checked the BU forum during the past weeks your posts have been a strong selling point in favor of the university because you are obviously a dedicated, articulate, and thoughtful young man.</p>
<p>I think that I'll just agree to disagree with you about the subject of CGS. My son was admitted to more selective schools than BU, but he may decide to go the CGS route because he feels that BU is the best fit for him. I don't, however, agree that BU did him a favor by admitting him. Thanks for your congratulations -- and I truly don't mean any offense, but if he does end up at BU, I hope that he doesn't see you around because I'm really worried that you, or someone like you, will make him feel inferior to the other BU students. At the moment, this is my major concern about BU. He doesn't spend any time on CC and I've been debating if I should even tell him that such an attitude towards CGS students exists. Is it a general one?</p>
<p>Again DJ, thanks for all of the other useful information on BU. It is extremely helpful, especially as the 1st of May is fast approaching.</p>
<p>I have a friend who graduated last year that started in CGS. Not only was she one of the smartest girls I knew at BU, but she said that her time in CGS helped her get her priorities in line and get her study habits right. She was as sharp as they come and completely shattered any stereotype I had of the typical CGS student. It made me realize that the school is a completely viable choice for students who are somewhat undecided and want to take a few general courses before they have to commit to a major. Those who give the school a negative stereotype are the ones who do poorly and don't try. Those who work hard and take full advantage of the opportunities there will be in as good, if not a better position than their peers come junior year.</p>
<p>I agree Devilsrule. Everyone has preconceived notions about a situation or group before they enter because it makes them feel more comfortable. Being a business major involved in theater, I met many non business majors. In my first year people were actually surprised that I was not a soulless, money hungry tool. There are still stereotypes everywhere. But they quickly go away when you meet other people and broaden your horizons a little.</p>
<p>Devilsrule and lostandfound5, I'm feeling better after reading your posts! </p>
<p>Even though my son is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, I'm still a mom and worried about his first year away at college. For some reason, I have the irrational image of other BU students taunting him (think first graders on a playground) because he's in CGS. Your posts helped alleviate this fear...somewhat!</p>
<p>:-) I'm sure he'll be really happy no matter where he chooses. Hopefully he can visit BU and maybe go to an open house for CGS? You should feel free to call the admissions reception center as well if you can't visit. The people answering the phones there will all be current students and I've spent many hours listening to them answer phones. They always give honest and candid answer to all types of questions (even if they are getting paid to answer phones) and really do care. </p>
<p>Feel free to ask us any other questions you may have. Good luck!</p>