Schools similar to Boston College

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am a current student at BC and am posting on behalf of my younger sister, who will be applying to colleges this fall. She would like to attend BC, but it's a reach school for her. Here are a few of her stats:</p>

<p>Academics-
GPA: 3.98 UW (school does not weight) - top 10% of class of 250 [HS ranked top 50 Catholic HS nationally]
ACT: 27 (has not taken SAT)
Standard college-prep schedule with 3 APs</p>

<p>Extracirriculars -
Runner-up at Nebraska Girl's Cross Country State Championships, 2 years
4 years varsity Cross Country
4 years varsity Track
Lead in the School Musical
Show Choir, Vocal Music Competitions
4 years Student Council, Soph + Junior Class VP
Community Service</p>

<p>Added bonus, if any - being from Nebraska?</p>

<p>So, we are looking for schools that might have some similar characteristics to BC. She would love to hear suggestions for reach, match, and safety schools.</p>

<p>A few of the things she likes about BC:
-Top academics, well-roundedness of cirriculum
-Size (4000 to 12,000 undergrads is ideal)
-Catholic/Jesuit School
-Proximity to a major city
-Fun sports atmosphere
-Fun social scene (work/play balance)</p>

<p>Obviously not all schools will meet all of these criteria, but any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Actually, if she pulls up that ACT by just a few points, BC isn't a reach at all, but more of a high match.</p>

3

<p>Does she want to run in college? If so, that might be a big help in admissions. She's got a good GPA, so she might want to look and see where her running times would be within the range to be recruited, if she's interested in running.</p>

4

<p>Villanova, Fordham, Santa Clara and Providence.</p>

5

<p>I'd say check out Villanova, Emory (might also be slight reach tho), and Notre Dame if she can get her ACT up. But I agree, sounds like she's a stud runner, might want to check into that...</p>

<p>USD is another good one, with a great location, beautiful campus, and strong reputation. Good athletic program too right now, with lots of student support.</p>

6

<p>I agree. She'd definitely have a good shot at getting into BC, particularly if she pulled up her ACT score a bit. Here are some suggestions...</p>

<p>REACH: Wake Forest University (NC), Barnard College (NY), Brandeis University (MA)
SEMI-REACH: University of Miami (FL), University of Richmond (VA), Villanova University (PA)
GOOD FIT: College of the Holy Cross (MA), Fordham University (NY), George Washington University (DC)
LIKELY: Syracuse University (NY), American University (DC), Belmont University (TN), College of Charleston (SC), Providence College (RI)
SAFETY: Duquesne University (PA)</p>

7

<p>Fordham and Georgetown.
Both Jesuit schools close to large metropolitan areas, and both fairly large and academically rigourous.</p>

1 Like
8

<p>Fordham is NYC's BC with a similar gated, gothic campus. Also look at Holy Cross(although it's a bit more isolated)</p>

9

<p>Notre Dame and Georgetown</p>

10

<p>The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities has a website for its 28 member schools. Each school has a link you can access from there. Also check CollegeView</a> — College Finder & Recruiting Service and compare each Jesuit school.</p>

<p>Holy Cross is Jesuit. Notre Dame is run by the Holy Cross fathers.<br>
Villanova is Augustinian.
Providence is Dominican.
I believe Siena is Dominican as well.</p>

<p>Loyola Maryland is a gorgeous campus and rising star. Its Jesuit.</p>

<p>Spring Hill in Alabama is Jesuit and fairly conservative.</p>

<p>But the School which resembles BC the best is Fordham-Rose Hill (Bronx main campus). Beautiful campus, Division I sports, rigorous academics, amazing internships and job opportunities, great kids. About 70% of its faculty have Ivy credentials.</p>

<p>Your sister's stats are PERFECT for Fordham. My D goes there and LOVES it. One of her best friends at Fordham is from Omaha.</p>

11

<p>dickinson, franklin and marshall, gettysburg...</p>

12

<p>If she wants only proximity to a big city and not to actually be in the midst of one (like Fordham and Georgetown are), she should consider Santa Clara University, which is just a short train ride from San Francisco (and the train station is across the street from the school's main gate!). SCU meets all of her criteria: 5300 undergraduates, Catholic/Jesuit, solid academics with well-rounded core curriculum, Division 1 sports with great fan support, and a very friendly, very laid-back student body. It also has a beautiful campus, great weather, and internship opportunities with Silicon Valley firms. I think it would be a good match school for her.</p>

<p>Although my son ultimately chose to attend BC, he had a tough time turning down SCU, which was his second choice.</p>

13

<p>I'll second (third? fourth?) the Fordham recommendation. Fordham and BC are very similar, except that FU is a bit easier to get into, and it's in NYC rather than Boston. Definitely look into it for your sister.</p>

14

<p>Fordham has one campus in NYC but the one that looks like BC's campus in the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx, fyi...but the school provides transportation to the other campus and NYC...</p>

15

<p>If you take away BC's Catholic environment and Wake Forest's historic Baptist connection, the two are quite similar academically and in terms of campus culture.</p>

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<p>-Top academics, well-roundedness of cirriculum
-Size (4000 to 12,000 undergrads is ideal)
-Catholic/Jesuit School
-Proximity to a major city
-Fun sports atmosphere
-Fun social scene (work/play balance)"</p>

<p>You've just described the University of Santa Clara. It's a really fine school.</p>

17

<p>Well, let me extrapolate here a bit:</p>

<p>Seattle Univ: in the center of Seattle. Great school, lots of fun, and SUPERB city. A GEM!</p>

<p>Gonzaga Univ: in Spokane. Great school, lots of fun, excellent Basketball team, and also a gem.</p>

<p>Santa Clara: in Santa Clara....self explanatory. Great school. </p>

<p>USF: in San Francisco with arguably the best view in the city. Not kidding. </p>

<p>Univ. of San Diego: not Jesuit, but Catholic. A great school, great academics, good sports, a gorgeous campus...and San Diego is one of the best in the country.</p>

<p>Marquette: in Milwaukee, and that is really cold, but its a lot of fun and they often run to Chicago. </p>

<p>St. Louis Univ.: 250 million spent on renovations and expansion. A pretty campus in mid town. Very respectable and they have WONDERFUL scholarships and are VERY generous.</p>

<p>Creighton: in Omaha. Its a great school with a wonderful reputation, but its Omaha. </p>

<p>Loyola Chicago: Heart of Chicago and really good school.</p>

<p>Loyola New Orleans: Okay school and its N'awlins!</p>

<p>Loyola Maryland: uptown (trendy) Baltimore, north of Johns Hopkins. Gorgeous campus. A very strong school with a growing reputation.</p>

<p>Loyola Marymount: Los Angeles. Wonderful school in LA. Mediocre sports for the school.</p>

<p>Georgetown: Need I say more?</p>

<p>Notre Dame: South Bend Indiana is the pits, but its only an hour or so to Chicago. Otherwise the Rolls Royce of Catholic education, if you can get in.</p>

<p>Holy Cross: Worcester Mass. Less than 2 hours to Boston. A really, really good school. A gem.</p>

<p>BC: Its Boston. Its BC sports. Its superb academics. Need I say more?</p>

<p>Fordham: New York's BC, so to speak. Climbing RAPIDLY in the ranks. Gorgeous campus. Great sports. Diverse. Its New York City! They work really hard there but they also have lots of fun. SUPERB job opportunities. Fordham kids graduate well prepared and ready to tackle the world. THEY GET HIRED!</p>

<p>U Scranton: Its Creighton East. Scranton Pa, but a fine a school. 90 miles from New York.</p>

<p>John Carroll Univ: Cleveland. Tim Russert's alma mater. Solid Jesuit school in Cleveland.</p>

<p>Canisius: Solid Jesuit school in Buffalo.</p>

<p>St. Josephs University: Philadelphia. Great Jesuit School in Philly. Excellent reputation. A good mix of fun and hard work.</p>

<p>Providence College: Providence Rhode Island. Near Brown. Near Newport Beach. Near Boston. Fabulous academics. Super sports. Not Jesuit..its Augustinian. Any questions?</p>

<p>Villanova: Philadelphia. Outstanding sports. Very, very strong school. Fierce rivals with St. Joes and Fordham. </p>

<p>Xavier: Cincinnati. A really good school in a great town. Superb sports.</p>

18

<p>One thing BC has going for it is its campus straddles the Boston/Newton line, with most of the campus in a really beautiful and safe suburb. Fordham's Bronx campus (the one with the Gothic architecture similar to BC's) is in a neighborhood that gave me the creeps. Most similar woud be Santa Clara and Villanova...both very pretty and safe, but close to a big city. Holy Cross and Loyola of Chicago are IN cities, but seem to be pretty safe too.</p>

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<p>Well, Fordham is in the Bronx. Across the street is Arthur Avenue, the AUTHENTIC LITTLE ITALY. Its very safe and the restaurants there love Fordham families and take care of them. Its not as bad as it looks. On the other side of campus is the Bronx Zoo and New York Botanical Gardens. The Metro North Train runs from Grand Central to New Haven (Yale). It stops at Fordham's gate and is a ten minute ride into the city. Its clean, safe and inexpensive. </p>

<p>I can tell you (and you can look up) the crime stats for Fordham are amazingly LOW. </p>

<p>Fordham is two subway stops from Yankee Stadium.</p>

<p>Fordham kids go into the city OFTEN and usually go in groups. There is RamVan service to Fordham Lincoln Center that runs almost all night long. </p>

<p>Fordham is a VERY safe campus. My D goes there and we are NOT New Yorkers.</p>

<p>If BC is a reach for you (and yes, its extremely selective), then Fordham and Holy Cross are the natural alternatives, with Loyola Md right behind them. </p>

<p>It depends on YOU and what you want out of a college experience: urban, trendy and great jobs, or something more suburban and country club like.</p>

20

<p>I'll take your word for it that Fordham is in "little Italy"...I guess when I was there all the Italians were on vacation.</p>