Partying at BC

I hate to sound really superficial, but is partying a total dump for freshmen at Boston College? I am applying to BC EA (will found out next week) and if accepted I will definitely go, but I’ve read that partying on campus is mainly at the mods which is only for seniors - is this true? Are freshmen expected to go off campus to find things to do? I’ve read that without greek life at BC it can be pretty boring for freshmen… any thoughts?

I went up to BC for a weekend to visit some friends and it seems that many BC students go to BU for parties as it is less than a 5 minute uber away.

I’ve heard the same thing about partying being pretty exclusive for the seniors…

I visited a friend at BC and it was the night of a football game; he basically told me that there is not a lot for freshman to do and I could definitely tell. I was kind of pushed away from BC after getting this weird feeling that the upperclassmen were really exclusive and not welcoming of underclassmen. Don’t really care if I can party or not but definitely don’t like not being able to go hang out at a tailgate for my school’s football team…

“Less than 5 minutes by uber”. LOL. It must be a magic carpet!

@maevechrist15 this is what I am also worried about… BC is my top choice at this point and partying isn’t a #1 priority for me but I at least would hope that I could socialize with other years and not feel bored.

Boston College has many great qualities, but fun (meaning the kind of fun that freshman and sophomores are looking for) is lacking. As noted above, there are basically no parties on campus outside the mods, which are reserved for seniors. College students will find ways to drink, and some students party in the privacy of their dorm room, get fake IDs, etc., but the social life is otherwise restrained/ pushed off campus. The sports teams are in a terrible down cycle so there is little to no interest in football and basketball games on campus.

I am not sure if the posters above are students at BC but my child is a sophomore. She absolutely loves it there and has tons of fun both on and off campus. Although some of the sports teams are struggling this year, there is still lots of school spirit and they have fun at the games. The upperclassmen have been welcoming both socially and as mentors. The clubs are varied and often have social activities in the evenings. If BC is at the top of your list do not let this thread make you think that the freshman are not having fun.

I second what 1234 is saying. My kid is also a sophomore and doesn’t seem to have any problems in this area. There aren’t frat parties in the traditional sense but it’s not exactly a monastery. At the parent orientation they basically said just make sure your kid is sensible and there won’t be any problems. Don’t be stupid and you can have fun on campus.

@chilonbos23

The above replies from @1234 and @keepmecruisin are so true.

Exactly what kind of “partying” does BC need to have to meet your needs?

Do you remember back in grade school not wanting to move into middle or high school because it didn’t have recess? Then once you got to those new schools you found out how much more rewarding it was in so many other areas?

@jpm50, I was just curious as to whether a freshman’s year at BC would be fun, after hearing that underclassmen at BC tend to have a pretty dry year in terms of socializing - I am aware that BC doesn’t have greek life in which I have heard from current BC students that it can be difficult to find places to socialize and drink, such as on places off campus with the aid of fake IDs. I just wanted to put the question out there to see what other people thought - BC is still my top choice regardless of whether this is true or not, I don’t need to party to have fun in any way I was just curious.

If you are looking for a UMass Amherst or Penn State type of drunken partying, you should go to those schools.

@TomSrOfBoston not at all, just was curious.

@chilonbos23:
There is a reason that many graduating seniors say BC was the best for years of their lives.

I’m a freshman at BC. Yes the party scene isn’t great as a freshman if you have no connections. However, if you want to get into parties as a freshman, join clubs. Lots of clubs throw parties for their members and sometimes these parties will be in the mods or other upperclassmen exclusive housing. So if you really want to get into the party scene freshman year, join clubs, get to know upperclassmen that will get you in. If not, then you can still have fun as a freshman, you just may not be going to the kind of college parties you see in Animal House

HI I am very late to post but I just want to make a VERY important post as it relates to social life at BC. Some has already been implied but I want to drive home the point because I think it’s very important. I am an alum and the mother of a junior girl who I honestly worry parties way more than she should.

First thing to know…BC is great and each year you are there is unique.

Freshman year: You may find some huge parties if you are “lucky”…but please keep this in mind. Freshmen at BC live in traditional dorms (whether it be Upper or Newton either is fine) really BOND. You will make your best friends this year whether they be on your floor, in your building, or on your campus and you have some classes together…but the freshman form great friendships that last a lifetime. And you will continue to make more friends as the years go on to.

Sophomore year: Whether or not you live on lower, you will know people that do and they do have parties. Not animal house parties (thankfully in my opinion) but there are parties and if you want to go to them, you will. They may get broken up, but they don’t always.

Junior year: A chunk of you will move off this year (but keep your eye on the prize…senior year you are ALL back on campus!!) and there are parties everywhere off campus. You will have to pick which ones to go to. If you are like my daughter, you had four years housing but you decided to give up your third year because not all of your friends had four years and you want to stay together. And the plan is to move back on an try to get a MOD senior year.

Senior year: OK, unlike MOST colleges, senior year is THE BEST at BC…so all of these kids that you have bonded with and maybe you used to complain a bit about not going to upperclassmen parties, but now you have arrived and it is YOUR turn. You won’t want to graduate. If you get a mod, you will have parties. If you don’t, you will still go to them (might be the best of both worlds because you will be close by…lower campus is not a very big place!!).

What is uber special about BC is that the social life/bonding really gets stronger and stronger every year…no it doesn’t have that frat party feel until junior/senior year for everyone (but not as gross, in my opinion) but this is why you won’t be sick of college life at this point. At schools like Michigan and Penn State, everyone moves off campus eventually. BC’s best year is senior year and you will love every minute of it.

If you are prospective freshman looking at BC, please please please do NOT let the huge frat party image you have in your head rule your college decision process…if you get that as a freshman you may grow to hate it and get sick of it.

Hope this helps some people.

I don’t know anyone personally who has attended BC, but looking at all the info, I think it would be great for my daughter, who is a rising high school senior. Here’s the thing: I am so confused about housing at BC and can’t find any good info about it (everywhere it’s assumed that a person knows some of the info, and I know almost nothing). How is determined if people have to move off campus during the junior year…am I even getting it right that some people do. And with Newton/Upper, is Newton the one that’s further away, and, honestly, is that miserable? I appreciate any insight you can give on housing…it’s the one thing that’s making me nervous about the school.

Newton is a great experience. All freshman dining, activities, intramurals, etc. The slight inconvenience of the bus just really means you plan to spend the day on main campus. I was able to do that with the further complication of being a walk-on athlete that had to plan for practice as well with no problems.

IMO, the biggest difference is that Upper Campus is majority sophs. BC is a very social school. Now that I am many years out, I am struck by the comments I hear from the people I know who started on Upper Campus. They are amazed at how close the Newton people are and feel like they missed out on something. Now several decades out, we still have non-BC sponsored class gatherings several times a year.

Lived on both. Can’t really go wrong with either.

Most students live off campus their junior live unless they have been given four years of housing. The students rent houses/apartments for the year. Please keep in mind that most juniors go abroad their junior year so you really are only living in the house for a semester. Most homes are close by and the students have fun parties in them. As far as your question about freshman year housing, my son was on Newton and my daughter on upper. The bus can get a little hectic during cold weather but both my kids are great experiences. BC is truly a special place!!!

Self proclaimed BC expert here…Newton is FINE. I am an alum and lived on upper, but my rising BC senior daughter had Newton and loved it. I actually just ran into a boy who just finished his freshman year at BC on Newton and loved it. Either spot is fine. I think there may be no forced triples on Newton which is a bonus. Bonding takes place on both, but definitely something special about the Newton bonding.

As for junior year, even kids that get four years housing (my daughter was one of them), sometimes elect to live off junior year in order to stay with their friend group. The off campus housing is close by and junior year, because of the fact that so many juniors live off, offers a lot of parties.

Every year at BC offers something a little different, and every year is great.

But nothing beats senior year socially…best year of all, a unique BC-ism if you ask me. Everyone is back on and no one wants to graduate. My daughter has a mod next year…she and another 11 girls have two mods side by side. She cannot wait to get back!!!