Should I apply to CGS

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston University
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>first of all excuse my english, I’m an international student.
I am applying to BU for the Spring 2014 admission, and on the Common App I’m asked if I want to apply to the CGS either.</p>

<p>I’m not sure of my answer yet since I don’t really understand what it is, but if I do apply, will my chances to get into BU be lower ? Is it taken as “he’s not that much into BU if he’s ok to get into the CGS as well” ? Because BU is from very far my first choice.</p>

<p>Tell me if it sounds dumb.</p>

<p>Thanks !</p>

2

<p>You haven’t mentioned your grades, test scores, academic interests. However, BU asks if you want to apply to CGS because sometimes an applicant’s scores may not be up to standard that they are considering in some majors/schools in the university. Therefore, they will accept you in the College of General Studies which offers smaller classes and allows you to create all your core requirements in your first two years. If you obtain good grades, you will be able to transfer to any of the other schools/majors that the college offers. </p>

<p>If you have your heart set on attending BU, you should check that you want to be considered for CGS. It won’t hurt you either way- especially since you are interested in applying to other schools.</p>

3

<p>I second the above - there is no downside to checking CGS. DD went there and had an excellent experience - if I were advising her again and had a choice between CGS and CAS (where she originally applied) I would recommend CGS in a heartbeat. Better advising - smaller classes taught by excellent professors - first class program. My experience after meeting many students from CGS is that there is no difference in capabililties. There was, however, a larger number with something “quirky” in their background. For example, one student had cancer in high school, one had a series of deaths, a couple were super in extra curriculars but didn’t decide to apply themselves academically until later,etc. I think if the university sees great potential, and perhaps a possible benefit of smaller classes, they go for it. The Dean is very, very into keeping up academics as comparable or better than other programs -</p>

4

<p>CGS doesn’t get much respect amongst BU students in other colleges, many believe that CGS is full of trust funders that could not get into any other school at BU. if you really want in BU, i would say applying to CGS is a good option.</p>

5

<p>Wow thank you for all these quick answers. OK then I’ll probably apply to the CGS.</p>

<p>maclassof2013, when you talk about transfering to BU after two years at the CGS, does it mean that it will take a 6 year-row to complete a degree ? Or are the two years at CGS included in the four typical years ?</p>

<p>Thank you guys.</p>

6

<p>maze, please be aware that the opinion of chickenfried should be weighed carefully, as he does not attend BU, and in fact is applying to begin in Spring 2014 (per other posts). I’m not sure who the one or two people are who told him this, but it is a silly prejudice that is passed on and on by people who state it habitually, and are actually addle brained enough to think it is true. Noone who is a thinking BU student actually believes it. </p>

<p>Yes, there are some people who say that CGS students are not as “smart” and that it is a “trust fund school.” There is even a set of acronyms used in jest
CGS - Crayons Glue Scissors School
SMG School of Malice and Greed (business management)
ENG - … no girls (engineering)
COM - College of Optional Math advertising and communications)
To be brutally honest, these are acronyms used in jest. Our DD finished CGS and is moving to COMM (college of optional math, where by the way she has two statistics classes this semester). She has overloaded every semester, so has taken nearly as many classes outside of CGS as inside in her first two years. Her answer “Mom, there are unmotivated and lazy students in every school, and usually every class. Somehow, they squeaked into BU, but then checked out. There is no difference between the number of sliders in or out of CGS, nor is there a difference in their academic or non-academic achievement. In fact, I have had several professors tell me or my friends that the students transferring in from CGS typically have much better writing and reading comprehension skills than the students who start outside of CGS. This makes sense, because the writing and reading demands of CGS are very high. By the time we leave, we have completed a systematic writing program that culminates in our capstone project.” Note: this is a kid that was in AP English and was an excellent writer prior to entering BU - these aren’t “remedial” writing classes. </p>

<p>And special to you, chickenfried, people who believe these silly prejudices are the ones not respected - just FYI as you complete your application.</p>

7

<p>SMG is “Sex Money Greed” and ENG is either “English No Good” or “Essentially No Girls”</p>

<p>Anyway, I’m not sure what your grades are, but it doesn’t hurt to check off the box for CGS. Yes, the school does get made fun of, but there are jokes made about every single college at BU. You will still graduate with the same degree as those who did not attend CGS for two years.</p>

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<p>Maybe you should post your stats? Don’t immediately resort to CGS :/</p>

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<p>shoot4moon – my d is applying to cgs and plans to continue into com after that. she is in her 2nd year of ap English and is an outstanding writer. sounds like this will be a good fit - we loved the smaller class sizes and individualized attention, but were a bit worried that the program wouldn’t be challenging enough overall. any thoughts on this path into com? sounds like you and your d were very happy with the process.</p>

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<p>All I can tell you is our personal experience with CGS. DD came in with terrific writing skills, excellent SATs, moderate grades from an excellent public high school, and a well written, BU focused essay. Letters of Rec were likely excellent, but we never saw them. She applied to CAS, and checked the box for CGS. Lots of people on this forum seem to think that checking CGS has some sort of pre-biasing connotation == e.g. if I check that they will think I am not confident about getting in. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and actually I think the opposite is true. If you check CGS, it is another way of stating that you are committed to BU, and have researched CGS enough to understand its value. BU was her first choice from the very beginning based on our visit early in her search, and remained her first choice through the 15 or so other colleges we visited. It took a full year for me to realize that yes, indeed it was as good or better than our impressions before admissions. I can’t really put a finger on why, except to say that the intellectual climate there is super energized. The Dean of Students is a charismatic magnet of intellectual curiousity, and I think it filters down from there. </p>

<p>When admission results came out, she received substantially more merit aid at other schools. We went back again (ooooh - those Visa bills) to see if CGS was worth the extra cash. It took less than 5 minutes of listening to the philosophy of the program, the Dean, and the professors for her to write me a note “I’m in!!!” Please know that this was her financial decision - she has a specific amount of money for college, and when she is out she is out. We gave the decision totally up to her - no more helicopter parents!!
Not only did she realize that CGS is a great school, but she quickly realized that she preferred CGS over CAS because of the more personal approach and the small classes. Think about it - if you are an excellent writer, and you are in a class of 75 that asks for one paper a semester, are you going to improve your skills dramatically? No. If you are in a class that satisfies the same requirement with five essays, and a class of 20, would your skills improve more? And what is the main comment of many companies that are interviewed about recent grads? Yup - they need more focused writing skills. Not grammar - better communication. As an example, students were asked to return all their papers at the end of the first semester. The professor took them home over the break so she could make an overall assessment of where she would recommend they focus during second semester. </p>

<p>In response to your question about COM, the transition has been seamless. If you look on the CGS website or call the CGS office, they will tell you that they guide students carefully based on their planned college as a junior. In DD’s case, she raised her GPA to near perfect the first semester, and decided to overload for the next three. The result was that she will have be graduating in December, saving her a semester of tuition but allowing her to gain knowledge in many areas. SCORE ONE for the kid!!!</p>

<p>I would not recommend CGS for Sargent students or students who are passionate about math - there is no math built into the CGS curriculum (although everyone takes classes outside of CGS every semester). CGS will tell you that Sargent’s sequential coursework can be difficult to complete in 4 years if you are in CGS. </p>

<p>If she had it to do over again, I know that she would never apply to CAS - CGS was a far better fit in terms of value for dollars, and amount of practical knowledge gained.</p>

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<p>One other thing to ChickenFried, I was a little harsh with you. I apologize. I know that you are just repeating what you have heard, and trying to be helpful. However, over the last three years I have observed a disturbing trend in regard to CGS. Our family gained so much from this website, and the BU threads, that I elected to “give back” after DD was enrolled at BU to help future students. With ONE exception over the two years, every single negative comment about CGS has been heresay - either from someone outside of BU (such as yourself), outside of CGS as a new freshman who doesn’t know anyone from CGS, or from 20 years ago. When a former CGS student responds, it is ALWAYS positive except if they are in a math heavy major. I get discouraged at this trend, and snapped at you. Sorry.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the great information! CGS seems like a perfect fit – now just crossing fingers that she gets in! On your note above, this BU forum seems to have a few members who like to bash people/programs and bring them down for some reason
– not the case at the other schools I check in on. It does get frustrating, as most people are here to share their actual insights and get help from people further along in the process. Thanks for all of your help – it has been much appreciated!</p>

13

<p>Thank you guys,</p>

<p>my average grade is B+ / gpa 3.33 but it’s not based on an american notation so I’m not sure it really makes sense. It sounds good but I’m just an average student in France. I think I have correct essays and writing supplements but I have a quite complicated students cursus which is not going to help me. On the other hand I’m supermega motivated.</p>

<p>Thank you for your thesis long comments shoot4moon, very instructive, I don’t care even just a second about if people make fun of it hehe. I’m taking note of everything you said.</p>

14

<p>Like Shoot4moon stated, there is some schools at BU like Sargent College for Allied Health and Engineering where those colleges are so structured that you may not be able to graduate in 4 years unless you take some summer courses to catch up. However, in most cases you will be able to transfer to another school within BU and be able to graduate on time- especially if you are highly motivated which you seem to indicate that you are.</p>

15

<p>Just be aware that the writing and reading component are very demanding. There’s no “catch up on comma knowledge” kind of instruction - the emphasis is on using your writing to communicate clearly and persuasively. It’s a whole different focus which is critically important in nearly every profession. The Capstone Project (at the end of your sophomore year) is daunting, but excellent practice for working on a complex issue in a work group. I can’t recall the topic last year, but I remember when DD told us, we made some comment about it sounding like a featured article from a sophisticated magazine on international relations. They did it, and did it well, but it was a learning experience!</p>

16

<p>You have a higher chance of getting into BU through CGS… most kids I know that are in CGS say it isn’t what they thought it would be (Doesn’t seem to be in a positive light that they say this). There is a negative connotation towards CGS though.</p>

17

<p>OK, thank you all… well I made my decision I’m applying to CGS. Fingers crossed !</p>