HELP! Boston College vs UW-Seattle (only 1 day left to decide)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston College
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<p>So I am a student who’s been accepted at Boston College and UW-Seattle. I need help deciding which college to attend this fall and for four years of my life. I want to major in International Relations and possibly double major in Economics with a concentration/minor in East Asian Studies. </p>

<p>Below is the list of pros and cons of each school. I will truly appreciate your advices!</p>

<p>UW Pros:

  • Cheaper, because I am an in-state resident of WA state and have received 7k in grants and 1k in loans for around 20k cost of attendance.
  • More in-depth and various course offerings in the areas of my interest (IR and EAS), and I believe its international program is better especially with having a separate school (Jackson School of International Studies).
  • Closer from East Asia: I am an East Asian-American student and this is not a big factor to consider but I sure will visit my home country during summer and winter breaks, and it takes only 9-10 hours of flight to reach there, compared to 14 hours of flight from the east coast.
  • Good research programs/opportunities because it’s a big school, although I’m not sure if I’ll do any research as a IR/Econ major… maybe researches in history? (I love history!)</p>

<p>UW cons:

  • I am EAGER to get my butt out of Seattle… even though I’ve lived here only for 3 years (moved here from Toronto, Canada almost three years ago). I want to go to the east coast and live there so badly, but staying here for a few more years won’t be terribly bad either.
  • UW is too big, with over 20,000 undergraduate students. TOO big…
  • Didn’t really feel like a true campus setting when visited many times because it’s too big as mentioned above and Seattle’s weather… 300+ days grey or wet every year so the campus feels kind of gloomy and dark. I dislike the campus.
  • Can’t really meet new people and make strong bonds with other friends because I’ve been attending high school in WA state and so many people from WA areas go to UW… even if I’ll get to meet some people from other schools, everyone’s all connected here so they’re not truly new people… (might be a bit biased, lol)
  • QUARTER SYSTEM! I think this can be both pro & con but I heard in quarter system students’ workload is heavier and they get more tests…@_@ </p>

<ul>
<li>When I talked to a Korean woman who studied International Relations with concentration in East Asian Studies at UW, classes get smaller during junior/senior years, professors were very good and knowledgeable, and she has many UW graduate friends living in East Coast, etc… and UW Jackson International School is well-respected.</li>
</ul>

<p>BC Pros:

  • A completely different, new place! I want to meet new people, experience a different environment. Boston is a very good area to live in terms of quality of life (transportation, Asian markets and restaurants nearby, and BC is located in suburb so not too crowded nor rural).
  • I’ve always wanted to live on the east coast and I think going to BC will have a much stronger alumni connection than UW if I want to get a job and settle on the east coast.
  • Private and small. I heard there can sometimes be big differences between a private school education and a state/public education. Smaller classes also mean more access to professors, stronger bond in community, more involvement in school, etc. etc. Generally all the good things about small schools. However BC is not too small so it’s sort of a perfect size for me.
  • Connection/exchanges with other college students: I heard from a current BC student that people from Harvard, MIT, Tufts, etc. sometimes come over and hang out at BC. I also want to make good friends at other schools.</p>

<p>BC Cons:

  • I’ve looked through both BC and UW’s course list offerings for International Studies and East Asian Studies, and BC has way less courses for IS and EAS… IS seems alright but EAS (minor) list is quite displeasing. Well BC has all the basic courses for both I think but I want to go more in-depth in IR and EAS… this is probably the biggest con of BC and pro of UW. I want to know more about BC’s IR and EAS programs. Anyone that has any ideas about them?
  • More expensive, although I’ve got $30,000 in grants. My EFC on FAFSA was around $6,000 so I thought I would receive more but meh. My parents, however, say that I shouldn’t worry about money that much because they want to let me go wherever I want to attend. I’m wondering if FA package is negotiable after submitting my enrollment deposit at BC, even $10-20k in loans will be okay. However that $30k was also awarded after appeal/negotiation already so I don’t know if it’ll work again.</p>

<p>I truly appreciate your time for reading this long thread.
Generally I think it’s ACADEMICS vs. QUALITY OF LIFE, if excluding the $$$ problem, which my parents told me not to worry about, lol. HOW ARE THE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES MAJOR AND ASIAN STUDIES MINOR AT BOSTON COLLEGE?
After my undergraduate studies, I plan on going to a graduate school for an MBA in International Business or M.A. in International Relations. My career goal? Anything related to international field and foreign languages!!! </p>

<p>I would love to have any of your advices and opinions about my options ASAP so that I can decide before May 1… sorry I should’ve thought about this earlier but I was appealing my FA packages at both BC and UW (can’t really be a good excuse ugh).</p>

<p>THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!</p>

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<p>*I’ve also talked to a current BC student on the phone and asked questions about the school, and I especially liked the fact that more leadership positions and opportunities are approachable at BC… For example she said she was never in Student Government during high school but was selected as one for next year, which I want to try as well. I also liked when she said people make friends at Harvard, MIT, Tufts too and everything’s very nice near the campus area.</p>

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<p>I had the same schools same decision. I chose Boston College or they chose me. I am just finishing my Freshmen year and I LOVE IT HEAR. Seattle is great, but this school and the students and the faculty and the Boston atmosphere is awesome.</p>

<p>Come on be an Eagle.</p>

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<p>with an efc of $6k, your parents say not to worry? Yikes! You could attend U-Dub for the price of loans at BC. Unless your folks have a lot of non-fafsa assets, taking on $20k in loans per year is WAAAAY too much for you, IMO. I love BC, but not at that price AND your parents income level.</p>

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<p>bluebayou you are a buzz kill</p>

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<p>if money was not an issue, I’d nearly always vote for the private school. But no student should take on more than ~$20k in undergrad debt, IMO, particularly if grad school is a possibility.</p>

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<p>YunaCamel-- since you want to major in IR, go to BC. BC has cross-registration program with Tufts Fletcher school and you can take courses there. Plus, the campus, food, dorms, student body,and professors are awesome. I visited BC couple of times and every time I came back from there, I talked about that school for at least a week. My brother, friends got soo irritated of that. But, What the hell- I LOVE that school. That is an awesome place to be.</p>

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<p>I just checked my updated Financial Aid online at Boston College and I got $39,000 in total which is pretty darn awesome!!! 31,900 in grants, 2,200 in work-study and 5,000 in loans! I’m happy with the new package and my parents say they can cover the rest. SO the money isn’t a big of deal anymore, and now it’s the academics and course offerings I’m very very concerned with. Any other help? OH and thank you very much to those who answered! </p>

<p>One thing I forgot to put: my dad works and lives in Korea right now and my mom is in Seattle with me but she’s moving back to Korea after I graduate High School, so missing my family and friends is not something I am concerned with (many of my friends are going away from WA anyway). I actually have many relatives living on the east coast, especially in New Jersey and Philadelphia so I can visit them during breaks, etc.</p>

<ul>
<li>WAIT WAIT, ARE YOU SURE CROSS-REGISTERING TO TAKE IR COURSES AT TUFTS IS AVAILABLE?! THAT’S SO FREAKING AWESOME!!! HOLA~ THANK YOU FOR TELLING MEEEEEEE</li>
</ul>

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<p>Wait, I have another question! I’m in CAS at BC, but is it possible to take some accounting courses even though I’m not in Carroll? How hard is it to transfer?</p>

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<p>^ As long as you have a decent grade at the end of the first semester (3.5), you can always transfer, but check with your dean. He might let you take you some classes from the beginning. I know it’s not that hard to transfer between schools.</p>

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<p>Switching into CSOM is very tough, you have to get at least a 3.7 and do very well in CSOM courses, such as econ, calc, or stats. However, any student can take up to six courses in CSOM, so you could definitely do financial and managerial accounting which are the two basic accounting classes.</p>

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<p>Hello everyone! Thank you very much for your thoughts. I am going to Boston College! I just submitted my enrollement form last night >_<! Now it’s time to register orientation session and apply for housing!</p>

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<p>:) good luck at BC, hope to see you around next year</p>

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<p>Wow, I have almost the exact same plans as you and I just enrolled into BC. I would love to chat!</p>

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<p>YunaCamel-- It’s good to see that you chose BC. You can talk to the your adviser and dean both about the cross-registration program on IR courses. Hope to see you around this fall.</p>