Current BC student taking Questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston College
41

<p>Alexander-</p>

<p>I read on BC’s website that the campus is split for under and upperclassman. Is this a detriment to social life? Does this cause problems with getting to classes which may be on the ‘other side’ of campus?
Yes, each year their is somewhat of a split. Freshmen year there is newton and upper, sophomore year there is lower and college road, and junior there is on and off campus. I live on Newton now, and it is definitely not harmful for social life. 40% of teh freshmen are on Newton. You will never be alone, anywhere you live there will always be a big number of your class with you. The campus itself is not very big, it si much smaller than some schools of the same size. The only ‘problem’ getting to class is if you live on Newton, where you have to take a shuttle bus that is about 5 minutes.
Don’t worry about all this, no matter where you live you end up loving it. There are pros and cons to all of them.</p>

<p>-How prevalent are Republicans? (i.e. if I was turned off my Brown’s very liberal atmosphere, would I like BC?)
I like the BC student body because I think it’s pretty balanced. Any college is probably more left leaning, but BC is probably different then Brown if you thought that was too liberal. I know people of all political beliefs. You would not feel at all isolated.</p>

<p>-What is the workload like?
I can depend on classes, major, school, but overall I think the workload is manageable. For the most part, as long as you go to class, do the work, and do your reading, you should be fine. People get stressed around midterms and finals, but that’s to be expected.</p>

<p>-Are the winters unbearable?
No. I am from somewhere that is colder from Boston, so I am used to bad weather. There are a lot of people from warm area, they seem to do fine. I like winter haha.</p>

42

<p>Hi, </p>

<p>1) On the BC website, I saw that some science courses require student to take a laboratory course to supplement the lecture course material. Does that extra lab course count into the five courses that a student can normally take?
2) If it does, are we allowed not to take it?
*Also, on the website, it says lab fee is required. Typically, how much would it cost?</p>

<p>3) Is there any core courses we MUST take during FRESHMAN YEAR? (e.g writing, theology…) </p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

43

<p>No the extra lab does NOT count as one of the five courses. And yes, you are allowed to take it.</p>

44

<p>bluebayou, </p>

<p>did you mean we are allowed NOT to take it?</p>

<p>thank you</p>

45

<p>You don’t need to take a natural science with a lab. There is ecology, geology, astronomy and a few others.</p>

46

<p>iMac, </p>

<p>i understand. But Im more interested in physics/ bio than in other kind of science.</p>

47

<p>“Is there any core courses we MUST take during FRESHMAN YEAR? (e.g writing, theology…)”</p>

<p>Most freshman take a literature course and the First Year Writing Seminar their first year, different semesters. You don’t have to, it’s just recommended. I know some people who will take it next year as sophomores. All of the other core classes you can do whenever.</p>

48

<p>Alexander03–</p>

<p>I’m a Mom of a hs jr; I went to Brown, used to live in Boston, my oldest dau lives just outside Boston. I am answering your weather question, and these remarks apply to any N Engl or upper Midwest school, really. </p>

<p>One word—wool! </p>

<p>Buy some thick heavy duty nearly all-wool hunting sox (Wigwam brand, Smartwool, etc) which you can get online or in Walmart in the sporting goods dept in autumn for quite reasonable prices. Be sure to wash them in cold water, gentle cycle, and hang to dry (or you will be looking for a 2nd grader to hand them down to). Your feet will be comfy all winter even if wet, and warm feet are half the battle.</p>

<p>Also get some wool sweaters and layer when it is nasty. Fleece is OK if you are layering but the wind goes right through it if you don’t have a shell on top. Wool will warm you even when it is wet. You can buy wool sweaters at REI, LL Bean, Campmor, etc. They are pricier at Bean’s. See if there are seasonal clearance ones at Campmor.com right now. Bring one of these sweaters to school; you will be surprised how cool it can get in Boston on a Sept evening (it can be hot, too–autumn in N Engl is not boring). </p>

<p>You will want 1 -2 pr long johns – you won’t really wear them a lot but the few days you do need them you will be glad you have them. If you decide to do any kind of all-day winter outings you will want them for sure! Buy the on sale ones at Campmor. Don’t buy cotton. To save on packing bring them to school after Thanksgiving, but buy them now while the spring sales are going on. </p>

<p>In that area you get more days with blowing rain and/or sleety stuff than tons of snow, and you get plenty of rain in fall & spring, too. We visited BC last year on a rainy day. We noticed it seemed all the girls had those vinyl Wellies with little animals or ladybugs printed on them. Guys won’t wear those but they’ll want some kind of waterproof bottoms on their shoes. You walk around a lot on that campus. Get whatever is stylish for you but be sure it is really waterproof. </p>

<p>While you are at Campmor’s site order a wool hat. You lose a lot of heat out of your head. You won’t use it every day but when you need it, you will be glad to have it!</p>

<p>Get a lightweight rain jacket that has a hood (if you don’t already have one). You can layer with it and you use the hood for your head, and you can stash something small you want kept dry, like a notebook, inside it, walking to a class. Waterproof ponchos work, too, the kind you use for hiking. I didn’t see any when we were at BC but they sure were used back when I went to Brown!</p>

<p>If there are wind tunnel areas on a campus (near tall buildings), umbrellas blow inside out. </p>

<p>The weather is not really that bad in Boston but 40 degrees and rain feels like 20 below if you are not dressed for it. </p>

<p>Have a wonderful time!</p>

49

<p>Shooting some questions here, does bc have a ski/snowboard club and if so do they have winter trips out west? </p>

<ol>
<li><p>how are the dorms at bc?</p></li>
<li><p>how are the professors engaged towards the students learning? for example if you go look them up during office hours are they helpful or not?</p></li>
<li><p>any college traditions? </p></li>
<li><p>and how many libraries are there on campus?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>thanks in advance!!</p>

50

<p>^^ In response to the weather question: I am not a current BC student (will be attending next year) but live very close and want to let you guys know that for younger people wool sweaters aren’t really popular. We typically just wear North Face jackets or peacoats in the winter over our clothes. We also don’t really wear long johns. On absolutely freezing days I might wear tights under my jeans, but never long johns.</p>

<p>Now take that with a grain of salt because I am not a student at BC now, but I won’t be buying any wool sweaters or long johns or anything.</p>

51

<p>Only J Crew wool sweaters.<g></g></p>

52

<p>Sorry… I was picturing a bunch of California kids going on an Irish wool sweater spree and wanted to step in.</p>

53

<p>About the weather… I hope that long post doesn’t scare people away. No one wears wool socks and long johns here. Most people are fine with boots, a good north face or ll bean jacket or a pea coat. Rain boats are great, and the best way to stay warm in the winter is layering because the buildings are warm. The weather is not that bad, trust me!</p>

<ol>
<li><p>how are the dorms at bc?
They are good. All of the freshmen dorms are similar, mostly double rooms and communal bathrooms. Most upperclassmen dorms are really nice, they are mostly suites with big common rooms and bathrooms.</p></li>
<li><p>how are the professors engaged towards the students learning? for example if you go look them up during office hours are they helpful or not?
Yeah, all professors have office hours. I have found that they are always extremely helpful. In big classes, it may be a little harder to get one-on-one time, but you can also e-mail them and they will usually respond very quickly. I have found that my professors are very caring and willing to help students.</p></li>
<li><p>any college traditions?
There are a lot I could name. I’ll mention a few-
-Super fan shirts at football games. BC vs. Notre Dame is always fun
-Hockey games! The hockey team just won the national championship
-Marathon Monday is this Monday. BC is right along the Boston Marathon route, so campus shuts down and everyone goes out to watch the race and cheer on the runners. (And maybe party a little…)
-The student government always brings big artists for a concert. This fall we had Akon and in a few weeks we will have The Fray
-Opening weekend- the first week you come to BC there are events for freshmen. There is a boat cruise on the Boston harbor, a “block party” on the dust bowl
Lots more, let me know if you want to know any more</p></li>
<li><p>and how many libraries are there on campus?
There are 2- O’neill and Bapst. O’neill is the big main one in the middle of campus that has most of the books. It is more modern looking. Bapst is the art library. It is a little smaller and really really pretty. All of the tours go in it because it is so amazing. It looks like something out of Harry Potter. It is a great place to study, it is my favorite place on campus.</p></li>
</ol>

54

<p>There are actually more than 2 libraries on campus, but Bapst and O’neil are by far the most popular ones on campus. Burns (adjacent to Bapst) contains historical records. There’s also the social work library located in McGuinn. </p>

<p>A complete list can be found here: [Library</a> Hours](<a href=“http://www.bc.edu/libraries/about/hours.html]Library”>Hours - Library Hours - Libraries at Boston College)</p>

55

<p>That sounds really great. Thanks for the info guys it will come in handy towards my decision.</p>

56

<p>i actually forgot the most important question, how is the gym at bc? big or small? fee?</p>

57

<p>Another thing to take into consideration, O’Neil is the main library and has study rooms most students use for group projects. These rooms include a white board and a monitor (for those who are working on say a powerpoint). Bapst library is typically open 24 hours a day except on holidays when most students are not on campus.</p>

<p>The gym is fairly sizable. There is no apparent fee, but I’m pretty sure it’s included in your tuition. The first floor in the gym area contain all the weights and a few ellipticals. The second floor of the gym has the majority of the cardio stuff like treadmills, bicycles, and more ellipticals. There are also basketball courts, which can double up as volleyball courts, tennis courts around the gym area, a swimming pool on the second floor, racquetball courts, and instructional sessions like yoga and cycling.</p>

58

<p>how do u feel about the academics? do u find them really hard? for instance im taking 4 ap classes rite now…are these courses similar to what college courses are like?</p>

59

<p>The first year at BC is a joke. You’re essentially back in high school, trying to knock out all of your core courses. The second year is when you start taking courses in your major. I’m in CSOM and the courses become more mentally stimulating and challenging as you progress through the classes, core, and major. I would say the course difficulty is harder, because it’s a similar amount of material crammed into 2 or 3 classes a week in one semester.</p>

60

<p>How is the grading policy at bc? Like for example do they give out grades like A+, A and A- or is everything above a 90 and A?
I wasn’t actually considering going to bc but the schools sounding better and better to me. Thanks for the info guys.</p>