Current Boston College Student Answering Your Questions!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston College
1

Hey all,

I’m a current BC student going into my senior year . I realized people might be making last minute decisions on choosing schools, or might have already accepted but wanted to ask questions without getting some generic response from admissions. So, I’m here to help if needed.

2

Hi! Thank you so much for doing this.

  1. If I am in MCAS, would I be able to get a business degree if I decide to switch?
  2. Are there research opportunities and paid/unpaid internships?
  3. Do a lot of people study abroad?
  4. How would you describe the students?
  5. How do you like the dining?
3
  1. If you want to transfer from MCAS to CSOM, you need to be one of the lucky 10 acceptances each year (from an applicant pool of ~45). It is a lottery and completely luck-based. Additionally, you need to have a 3.4GPA in the semesters prior to you applying. You can still minor in any of the business subjects if you're in any other school. I wouldn't count on it, there's a very small chance.
  2. I haven't been involved with any on campus, but I know there are many opportunities to do research with professors on campus. You'll probably have to be Sophomore+ but there's definitely opportunities to do research on campus. As for internships, the career center is super helpful when it comes to helping students secure internships. They host career fairs where employers come to campus, resume reviews, workshops, and drop-in hours. If you manage to secure an unpaid internship, they also have a fellowship that can provide you funding. Check out the career center here: https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/offices/student-affairs/sites/careers.html
  3. Around 50% of students study abroad at some point. BC offers summer programs, as well as semester/year-long programs. There's programs all over the world. I studied abroad and I highly recommend doing it if it works with your schedule/finances.
  4. This is a tough question, because it really depends on who you associate with. You can make friends with party animals who go out 4x a week and don't care about their grades, people who do nothing but study, and a mix of the two. Most students I've talked to are really friendly and outgoing.
  5. When you're living on campus without a kitchen (freshman and sophomore year for 99% of people), you're required to get a meal plan. It's a bit expensive at $2,665 a semester ($25 a day). This is because BC's food program is run by BC Dining, instead of outside providers like Aramark or Sodexo. All BC food is fresh and isn't nasty like the other two providers I mentioned. Most of the food BC Dining makes is really good, although painfully expensive, and eating in the dining halls is a great time to talk to people and meet new friends. No matter where you are on campus, you're not more than a 5-minute walk away from food. Also, the dining halls are a la carte, which means you pay for what you want to eat. It's not a swipe for all-you-can-eat like other schools.
4
  1. How difficult is it to obtain the classes you want?
  2. What is the dorm life like for freshmen, is it kinda each person to themselves or is it common for doors to be open and people interacting often?
  3. And lastly, is it common to have a decent-sized friend group, or is it more common to have individual friends? Thank you for taking the time to do this!
5
  1. Class pick times are by graduating class, so seniors get to choose their classes first, and freshmen get the last picks. For lower-level classes, you're always able to get the class you need. This is because there are multiple offerings of these classes because so many students need to get them done. It may not be with the best professor or at the time you wanted, but you'll get the class. For the higher level electives, students tend to fill up the classes with the best professors first. So, you may not get the exact elective that you want. Pick time are all random -- some semesters I've gotten exactly what I wanted, while some semesters I had to move classes around and ask professors to sneak me into their class.
  2. As a freshman, you'll probably living in a room with either 1 or 2 other roommates. You're all cramped in a small room, so there's not much privacy. People don't usually keep their doors open during the week -- I remember having my door open Friday afternoons because my friends lived a few doors down and we'd all be done with classes. In my male hall freshman year, there were some people in my hall that would always say hi whenever we walked past each other. But there were also people who aren't that friendly and just like to keep to themselves. I'd say it is more "each room to themselves". Your RA will host events every 1-2 weeks to help you get to know other people on your floor.
  3. Welcome Week is a stressful time on campus because some freshmen are having to find friend groups for the first time in their lives. Everyone is trying to get a friend group, and then close it off to new people after a week or two. It's very cliquey. I was lucky enough to become friends with one guy on my floor. Then, we slowly introduced our roommates to each other, and added some individual friends from classes to make a decent sized group. This whole process is 10x easier if you join a team or a club during freshman year. That's because you'll meet people who have similar interests. You'll also meet upperclassmen who host parties -- a big social stress for some people freshman year is finding parties.
6

Thank you very much! This is incredibly helpful and good to keep in mind.

7

Why are Computer Science, Economics and Mathematics each listed with multiple divisions?

8

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you’re asking why different schools (Arts and Sciences, Lynch, CSOM) have the same major available in all three schools.

This is because different schools have different requirements. For example, most of the items listed under CSOM are actually concentrations. The requirements for concentrations are usually ~6 classes in a given subject. For MCAS, the major requirements are usually ~12 classes, and can sometimes be more than 15!

For this reason, BC separates them so that each school can have its own requirements . It’s best to consult the specific school advisors if you need help planning out what subjects you wish to study.

9

Hi - how do you find living on the two different campuses? Do you take a bus to get to class and how convenient is that? How are the gym facilities?
Thanks.

10

As a freshman, I wound up living on Upper Campus (connected to main campus). The other half of the freshmen live on Newton Campus, which is a 5-10 minute bus ride away. Friends who have lived on Newton Campus say the community is a bit friendlier vs upper campus. The positive of Newton is that you can’t be placed in a forced triple, but the negative is that you have to wake up ~30 minutes early each day to make sure you make it to class on time.

I’ve been abroad so I haven’t been to the new gym yet, but apparently it’s super nice. It was opened last June. There’s courts, pools, rock-climbing walls, weights, machines, and a bunch of other things. There is a smaller gym on Newton Campus with a some weights and machines.

11

Are you familiar with the computer science dept, or do you know someone who is a computer science major? I had posted this question yesterday, but have not received any responses:

I am considering applying ED to BC to major in computer science. I have concerns because I have read various articles about the shortage of professors and class availability in the comp. sci dept. I would love to hear from a current computer science junior/senior or recent graduate about their experience in the computer science program.
From a career path perspective I am interested in tech work, but not consulting. Does the program prepare you for tech work? Do tech recruiters attend campus job fairs?
I would really appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!