<p>I’m going to be a senior so I was looking at potential schools. I like BU because it’s a diverse, it has good programs for what I want (com & business), it’s urban but it’s not as intense as say, NYC, and just seems like it’d be great for what I’m looking for.</p>
<p>But when I mentioned this to my parents, they pointed out that apparently, BU isn’t all that “prestigious” (which is weird because I always considered it to be). I told them that prestige isn’t that important to me if everything else seems really great. They responded that right now I don’t feel that way, but upon graduation and looking for a job I’d wish that I went to a better school (& in their opinion that’s one with more selective admission). They think my stats are “better” than BU and that I’m just looking for an easy way out but I honestly wasn’t.</p>
<p>Now that I’ve got to thinking, maybe they’re right. I never thought prestige was that important but when I see it their way, it does. My parents said we should consider this school only if they give lots of financial aid.</p>
<p>So is BU really that lowly regarded? *** I always considered it to be a really good and hard-to-get-into school. Are my Asian parents just being Asian? Thoughts? Advice? I’m asking this because I’m kind of floundering in where I want to be and it’s getting me anxious.</p>
<p>Your Asian parents are not just being “Asian.” BU isn’t highly-regarded, though it is respected. </p>
<p>I think the perception of BU is slightly below “top-tier” and would be seen as a peer to GWU, both schools having programs they’re really good at and others not so much. BU is ranked ahead of several research powerhouses, IU, University of Minnesota, and “good schools” like Clemson and Rutgers. So, I think BU is in good company, just not that of the most elite.</p>
<p>Show your folks this world ranking if you’d like</p>
<p>BU comes in at 59th in the world - above most of the other schools on your list</p>
<p>They’ve also got a world reputation (or “prestige”) ranking on the site - BU comes in tied at 61st in the world</p>
<p>BU is a very good school</p>
<p>THE World University Rankings 2010 World RankOrdered by this column, descending Institution Country / Region Overall score change
1 Harvard University United States<br>
96.1
2 California Institute of Technology United States<br>
96.0
3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States<br>
95.6
4 Stanford University United States<br>
94.3
5 Princeton University United States<br>
94.2
6 University of Cambridge United Kingdom<br>
91.2
6 University of Oxford United Kingdom<br>
91.2
8 University of California Berkeley United States<br>
91.1
9 Imperial College London United Kingdom<br>
90.6
10 Yale University United States<br>
89.5
11 University of California Los Angeles United States<br>
87.7
12 University of Chicago United States<br>
86.9
13 Johns Hopkins University United States<br>
86.4
14 Cornell University United States<br>
83.9
15 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Switzerland<br>
83.4
15 University of Michigan United States<br>
83.4
17 University of Toronto Canada<br>
82.0
18 Columbia University United States<br>
81.0
19 University of Pennsylvania United States<br>
79.5
20 Carnegie Mellon University United States<br>
79.3
21 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong<br>
79.2
22 University College London United Kingdom<br>
78.4
23 University of Washington United States<br>
78.0
24 Duke University United States<br>
76.5
25 Northwestern University United States<br>
75.9
26 University of Tokyo Japan<br>
75.6
27 Georgia Institute of Technology United States<br>
75.3
28 Pohang University of Science and Technology Republic of Korea<br>
75.1
29 University of California Santa Barbara United States<br>
75.0
30 University of British Columbia Canada<br>
73.8
30 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill United States<br>
73.8
32 University of California San Diego United States<br>
73.2
33 University of Illinois - Urbana United States<br>
73.0
34 National University of Singapore Singapore<br>
72.9
35 McGill University Canada<br>
71.7
36 University of Melbourne Australia<br>
71.0
37 Peking University China<br>
70.7
38 Washington University Saint Louis United States<br>
69.9
39 Ecole Polytechnique France<br>
69.5
40 University of Edinburgh United Kingdom<br>
69.2
41 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong<br>
69.0
42 Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris France<br>
68.6
43 Australian National University Australia<br>
67.0
43 University of Göttingen Germany<br>
67.0
43 Karolinska Institute Sweden<br>
67.0
43 University of Wisconsin United States<br>
67.0
47 Rice University United States<br>
66.9
48 École Polytechnique Federale of Lausanne Switzerland<br>
66.5
49 University of Science and Technology of China China<br>
66.0
49 University of California Irvine United States<br>
66.0
51 Vanderbilt University United States<br>
65.9
52 University of Minnesota United States<br>
65.6
53 Tufts University United States<br>
65.2
54 University of California Davis United States<br>
65.0
55 Brown University United States<br>
64.9
56 University of Massachusetts United States<br>
64.7
57 Kyoto University Japan<br>
64.6
58 Tsinghua University China<br>
64.2
59 Boston University United States<br>
64.0
60 New York University United States<br>
63.9
61 University of Munich Germany<br>
63.0
61 Emory University United States<br>
63.0
63 University of Notre Dame United States<br>
62.8
64 University of Pittsburgh United States<br>
62.7
65 Case Western Reserve University United States<br>
62.2
66 Ohio State University United States<br>
62.1
67 University of Colorado United States<br>
61.6
68 University of Bristol United Kingdom<br>
61.4
68 University of California Santa Cruz United States<br>
61.4
68 Yeshiva University United States<br>
61.4
71 University of Sydney Australia<br>
61.2
72 University of Virginia United States<br>
61.1
73 University of Adelaide Australia<br>
60.7
73 University of Southern California United States<br>
60.7
75 William & Mary United States<br>
60.4</p>
<p>Our parents should grab drinks together, however, they are right.
BU is not the greatest school out there. What it does offer is a good environment and a lot of opportunities, but you need to take advantage of them. The “real” world isn’t just about where you graduated from, it’s about the work you did there. Anyone can do well anywhere.
BU is my dream school so I won’t knock it too much (funny how I can do that), but I will say that I agree with your parents. It has a good name but not much to show for it. It’s a good school, sure, but it isn’t great. It can however be great for YOU and what YOU want to do. Especially if you work to make that happen. :)</p>
<p>You always can apply to BU and then see where you get in down the line. If you’re a high caliber applicant, certainly apply for scholarships here as well. Taking advantage of those things to go to school for a cheaper price probably would make your parents happy too.</p>
<p>I think that going to a good school is a perk. Still, I think how you fit in at a school matters the most in dictating how successful you’ll be there. One of my best friends at BU got into Brown. She turned it down because she thought that the atmosphere in Boston fit her better. She’s in the Honors program, has a scholarship, and is super happy. Like many have said, it isn’t like you’d be going to a terrible school if you chose BU. Some schools are on a slightly higher tier but BU is what you make of it too. The opportunities here are vast and awesome. You certainly can succeed post-grad if you work hard at BU. Along the way, it’ll challenge you too.</p>
<p>I think one of the main reasons that BU does not rank very high is that it includes CGS (College of General Studies) stats in its overall stats. Many other schools that offer CGS-like programs don’t do that (I think Emory for example). Last year I heard a lot of talk that BU is planning to discontinue the CGS program to increase its rankings and reputation, but I don’t know how far that is true. </p>
<p>To echo the comments above, BU is very very very good about giving merit scholarships, because it knows that students generally regard it as their safety school. Thus, BU entices good students with generous merit aid. Though BU was not one of my top choices, it offered me a full merit scholarship which cemented my decision on going here. </p>
<p>These are all options to think about. Don’t get put down by rankings and examine all factors when applying and choosing a school. Good luck.</p>
<p>if you looked at how us news ranks schools, you’d also see that they use things like “reputation” which would naturally include prestige, sports, etc. as well as financial resources (Harvard>>>>>>>BU).</p>
<p>Undergraduate academic reputation (weighting: 22.5 percent for National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges; 25 percent for Regional Universities and Regional Colleges)
-The academic peer assessment survey allows top academics—presidents, provosts, and deans of admissions—to account for intangibles at peer institutions such as faculty dedication to teaching. For their views on the National Universities and the National Liberal Arts Colleges, we also surveyed 1,787 counselors at public high schools from nearly every state plus the District of Columbia that appeared in the 2010 U.S. News Best High Schools rankings.
Graduation and Freshman retention (20 percent for the National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges and 25 percent for Regional Universities and Regional Colleges).
Faculty resources (20 percent).
Student selectivity (15 percent)
Financial resources (10 percent)
Graduation rate performance (7.5 percent; for National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges only)
Alumni giving rate (5 percent)</p>
<p>So as you can see, the rankings don’t really mean anything. so i wouldn’t choose ANY college based on anything us news had to say about it. go by actual students and threads like this.</p>
<p>I agree with the CGS comment above. For example, the acceptance rate is misleading because of it. Sure, CGS lets in a bunch of people, but schools like COM and SMG are way more selective. I’m a COM student and I can tell you that the COM acceptance rate is only around 10% (around 4,000 applicants for 350-ish spots). It’s on par with the acceptance rates for the communications programs at Northwestern, NYU and Syracuse (all schools which I applied to/got in to)
Considering that you aren’t applying to Harvard or any other ivies, then I’m not really sure what kind of brand-name college your parents are expecting. I can tell you that people I have talked to and mentioned I go to BU to are impressed. It doesn’t really matter all that much where you go to school, but what you get out of it experience-wise, and BU is filled with different ways to get experience and build contacts.</p>
<p>If its not as prestigious as you’d like it to be, don’t go simply</p>
<p>My mom went to Rowan (Im sure your parents look down on that school too) and she now is a supervisor for the executive branch of the government making 230,000 dollars a year</p>
<p>And not to mention, you want a school that is really prestigious, even though you can’t afford it. Give me a break kid.</p>
<p>If your main concern is prestige, Im surprised your smart enough to get into any college.</p>
<p>College is about picking a school you want to go to, because of what it offers YOU, not what OTHERS think of it. </p>
<p>Boston University is one of the leading schools in the world in alzheimer’s research, which is currently one of the most profitable medical fields to be in. Its business program is also very well respected, and has connections with some of the worlds leading brands, like Apple, Microsoft, etc. </p>
<p>I’m not going to sit here and tell you that going to Harvard or Yale or MIT won’t help your chances in the job market, but if your not getting into the top 7 schools, it doesn’t matter where you went.</p>
<p>College is what YOU make of it, and your going for the wrong reasons.</p>