<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>Just came across this message board and wanted to say hello. I am currently a senior in SMG and CAS. If anyone has any questions they had about the school or Boston (or our lovely porn mag :/) I’d be happy to answer them.</p>
<p>Feel free to contact me via AIM (dantezen), PM or the facebook.</p>
<p>Uh, porn mag? That wasn't in the viewbook. :D</p>
<p>i didn't have a question before i read your post, but now that i have, here it is: porn mag?</p>
<p>Oh yes, the porn mag. <em>Shakes head.</em> There's not really much to say about it. I believe two issues have been released? Not really sure, it's either one or two. Imagine seeing the magazine, and then seeing the models in your classes... hahaha.</p>
<p>At least their release-of-the-first-issue party was awesome.</p>
<p>LOL. I saw the second issue on the shelves sometime last month. It's not sponsored by the school in any way (unlike Harvard's, I believe), but it is run by students. It's had mixed reviews, but they've been able to get it onto the shelves of some convenience stores, Virgin and in a bunch of other places (previously, only Newburry comics would carry it), so it must be doing well. It's called Boink, BTW. </p>
<p>And I actually know a kid in the last issue. That's just weird.</p>
<p>I must say that our "porn" magazine is nothing to write home about. I think that it is good that they make it open to all sexes, meaning that both girls and guys are in the book and would have interest in the book. It was different for me when I first saw it because I didn't look at it as a porn magazine. I looked at it as more of a..."sooo, these people go to my school...sit in my classes...eat with me in the dining hall...have nice..." Guys especially dispised the book because they're overprotective of their pride, but it's just a book. It has room for improvement. I've only seen the first issue.</p>
<p>does each one of us get a seperate phone number or is it like one telephone number per room, to be shared by both rommates?
also, do we even have to bring bed mattresses along with us or does BU provide them?</p>
<p>There are two landline hook-ups per room but we were told only 5% of students order landliines. Almost everyone has a cell phone and Verizon is the most popular on campus. Mattresses are provided but many kids get mattress pads and "egg crate" pads to make them more comfortable. Only metal wastebaskets allowed, but Barnes & Noble sells them, as well as the mattress pads. You need to buy a pillow and sheets & comforter. B&N sells pillows too. There is a Bed Bath & Beyond near campus and you can buy sheets & comforter there if necessary, even order it on line and it will be waiting for you there in Boston to pick up.</p>
<p>two landline hookups means 2 seperate phone numbers or 2 phones having the same number?
thanks for the info on the mattress and stuff.</p>
<p>Two seperate phones (although you have to provide your own phone). Everyone gets their own outlet which has two ports--one for ethernet, one for phone.</p>
<p>I also learned at orientation that you can buy a TV tuner, plug it into the cable connection and watch the cable TV on your laptop or desktop monitor, so you don't need to bring a TV. I'm assuming that there are two cable TV connections in each room, same as two ethernet connections.</p>
<p>i see. and one more thing. do i need to buy both a comforter and a blanket, or will a comforter be enough to keep of the night chill?</p>
<p>You'll most likely want one. I had a roommate my freshman year who wanted all the windows open, even when it was twenty below. I prefer it to be warm, so a blanket came in handy--especially when the heater doesn't work (a problem in some dorms). If you tend to like it cold, then maybe you won't want one, but you don't know how you're heating situation is going to be and I imagine that you're not going to like it when its twenty below outside for weeks at a time.</p>
<p>Mind you, though, that you're not going to need a blanket for some time and it might be easier to just buy one up here when you need it.</p>
<p>ryanbis, just wondering, how do you become a senior in both CAS and SMG? What majors are you into? Is it possible to get degrees from both schools? for instance, my major is economics, but i plan to get into the finance field, can i also get a SMG degree in finance? If yes, how?</p>
<p>Hi Lanking.</p>
<p>In your sophomore year, you can apply to join BUCOP (BU collaborative degree program), which is BU's version of double majoring. You essentially go over your course plan and write an essay explaining why you want two majors. Once accepted, you're officially a member of both schools.</p>
<p>I'm getting a degree (B.S.B.A.) in Business (with a dual concentration in accounting and finance) and a degree (B.A.) in psychology (I originally wanted to go into organizational/industrial psychology). In BUCOP, you're pursuing full-fledged major degrees, not minors.</p>
<p>In your spcific case, you very much can get an econ and business degree. You don't get a degree in finance; however. SMG only has one major--business. Everyone takes the same SMG courses up until they finish SMG Core. From then on, you choose an area to concentrate in (finance, accounting, entrepreneurship, information systems, law, marketing, operatins and technology management and organizational behavior). You take four courses in that area.</p>
<p>So, if you wanted to BUCOP, you'd take all of your CAS Econ requirements and take all of the SMG Business requirements (choosing a finance concentration). BUCOPing in generall isn't easy, as you have to satisfy ALL of the requirements for both schools and the requirements don't always overlap nicely (for instance, I had to take two different philosophy classes for SMG and CAS). AP and transfer credits are a godsend. In particular, however, SMG is really tough to BUCOP with because the program is really structured and you don't have a lot of leeway in terms of scheduling, which becomes a pain when you're trying to get into an upper level CAS class with only one section. </p>
<p>Most of all, though, it's really hard to get through SMG without it becoming your life. There's just too much to do, especially once you hit Core. I knew I was going to BUCOP before I came here and wanted to devote my time equally between my CAS and SMG degrees, but once I got here SMG just took all of my time. If you can do it, I can tell you that it is worthwhile--SMG is a great and underrated program. But make sure you know what you're getting into.</p>
<p>What are your career plans, though? What area of finance? You also might consider just transferring to SMG, depending on what you want to do. </p>
<p>Good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions about BUCOP or SMG or the like. If you want, I can give you an idea as to what courses you'll have to fit in if you decide to BUCOP.</p>
<p>thank you so much ryan, you solved something that has been puzzling me for weeks. As for my career plans, i don't have a very clear picture. considering my backgrounds as an asian with familiarity with the far east area, i might find a career relating to international business or financial organizations. </p>
<p>However, i consider BUCOP something that interests me. If i do decide to go for it though, how should i schedule my courses? Should i finish all my econ requirements first and then go into the SMG core? Any specific courses that i need to take? And usually in which year of college do SMG students start to concentrate in their particular areas? One final questions, if i get involved in BUCOP(ECON and business), will the credits i have to get for every semester exceed 18?</p>
<p>How to schedule your courses isn't easy to answer. When you go to apply for BUCOP, you actually sit down and write out all of the classes you have to take for both majors and figure out when you're going to take them. You have to consider when they're usually offered, whether or not you've fulfilled the requirements to take the course at that point and whether or not you'll be able to get into that class (for space reasons). It's usually good to try and leave yourself some lattitude toward the end and takes courses where multiple sections are offered. Also, try to schedule some electives or general requirements (like a natural science) for then, since you have a lot of options as to which to take (so, if Bio conflicts with one of your courses you can take Astronomy instead...you can't do that with your core requirements, so if you leave one of those conflict with another one your last semester, you're screwed). It becomes like a math problem--I would go over your plan regularly.</p>
<p>You're probably not going to be able to finish all of your requirements in one major and then do all of the requirements in another major. But do plan on having the first semester of your junior year dedicated to Core (might be pushed back to the second semester in your case).</p>
<p>For SMG kids, these are the required Core courses:</p>
<hr>
<p>Freshman Year:</p>
<p>SM 121 and 122 (you'll take SM299 in lieu of these two)
This is essentially "intro business", but a lot more involved. Expect to give presentations often. SM299 is supposed to be 121/2 combined into one semester--I'm not sure how it's structured differently. </p>
<p>Sophomore Year:</p>
<p>AC221/222
Financial and managerial accounting</p>
<p>LA245
Intro to Law</p>
<p>OB221
Organizational Behavior</p>
<p>SM221 and SM222
Essentially, 221 is business stats and 222 is business economics and statistical modeling. They may allow you to substitute MA115 and MA116 for SM221 (so that you don't have to go over the same info twice).</p>
<p>Junior Year:</p>
<p>CORE--FE323, IS323, MK323, OM323
This is your life for a semester. Do not plan on doing much except this project. You have class from 8-12 (or 12-4) everyday and you spend the rest of the day on your project. It sucks a lot, but you'll learn an ungodly amount doing this.</p>
<p>Second Semester Junior/Senior Year:</p>
<p>MG442
Strategy and policy. Small team work.</p>
<p>Concentration Electives
Starting after Core, you start taking your concentration electives. For finance, you have to take three finance courses and one class in any concentration. In other words, you have to take FE442, FE445 and FE449 and one more SMG course (like intermediate accounting I, negotiations or another finance elective like Real Estate Finance).</p>
<hr>
<p>There are also some general requirements, like a natural/computer/math science, philosophy, WR100, micro and macro econ, a social science, etc., but hopefully most of those will overlap with the requirements you have for CAS (for instance, taking microecon will satisfy your CAS major requirement AND your SMG EC101 requirement). So, one of your goals is to find as much overlap as possible.</p>
<p>This link should give you a little more info as to what electives are required:</p>
<p>As for your credit load, you may have to overload. You're allowed to take up to 20 credits (22 if one of your courses is a 6 credit course) in SMG without additional charges as long as you have a 3.3. You'll know how doable this is when you sit down and write your plan of study. Although you can't officially apply until your sophomore year, I would go over the requirements. I'm not sure who coordinates this in CAS (I believe the office is in CAS B3), but you could always talk to Norm in SMG--he's unbelievably friendly and helpful. I'm sure his email address in on the website I gave you somewhere.</p>
<p>I graduated high school with 31 credits (from AP and a class I took at community college). With that, I did not have to overload. I am, however, so that I can double concentrate in accounting in finance. If I were just majoring in psych and business with a concnetration in accounting, however, I would not have to overload.</p>
<p>Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>rynabis: what kind of placements SMG graduates generally land up with after graduation? do you have stats of % employed and % gone for grad school?</p>
<p>I don't have those numbers. I'm sure that you could call the Feld Career Center (617.353.2834) and get them there. If not, maybe the Undergraduate Program Office can help you--try sending them an email. </p>
<p>What's your concentration? What are you looking to do? It's very dependent on that. Generally, though, placement is good--our career center has good working relationships with a lot of major firms that recruit on-campus. For instance, a couple years ago Bloomburg had a big recruiting event where they actually had this huge blow-up apparatus set-up in the atrium. It's hard to describe, but the thing was partitioned so that it had several different areas, and you could speak to all kinds of different people and interview with them while sitting on bean chairs. Just an example of the big recruiting events we have.</p>
<p>Accounting, right now, is a "hot" profession because of the new anti-fraud laws. IS is also big and you can go into many different fields (BU is also ranked in the top 10 for graduate IS programs), so if that's your concentration you shouldn't have a problem there either. The issue with finance is that 40% of the undergraduate program concentrates in finance--there's a lot of people out there to compete with--but there's also a ton of options out there.</p>
<p>Honestly, I've never heard of anyone having a major problem getting a job after graduating from SMG without a good reason (<2.5 GPA, etc.). A lot of local recruiters know our program well and know it's unique. GE even donated loads of money for us to build the Team Learning Center. Although unbelievable underrated by most people, there are lots of recruiters out there who know what SMG is like and actively look for BU kids.</p>
<p>As for grad school--unless you're talking about medical or law school, I can tell you that very few go to grad school right after graduating. More and more business schools are requiring work experience for acceptance.</p>
<p>Definitely give the career center a call, though--I'm sure they can help you out. Generally, though, a degree from SMG will get you into a nice position within a large corporation. If you tell me what you're concentrating in, I could give you a much better idea as to what kinds of things to expect.</p>
<p>Hope that helped.</p>
<p>Ryan-
Do you know if it's very hard to get a decent GPA in SMG? I received a University Scholarship and need to maintain a 3.2 to keep it; with all I'm hearing about grade deflation and the difficulty of the program, I'm getting worried that I won't be able to maintain that level, and I basically can't stay in school without the scholarship. Any ideas about this?</p>
<p>Kiki</p>