Three Questions for a Current Student

<p>1) How often do students typically go into Boston? How long does it take to get to the downtown area and is it convenient?</p>

<p>2)I have heard that BC is a “party school.” Are there things to do on the weekends besides drink and party? Do you have any shot at a normal social life if you don’t drink?</p>

<p>3)Is it a problem that almost half of the freshmen live on Newton campus? I’ve heard the dorming situation isn’t that great- any comments?</p>

<p>Any answers would be much appreciated. I am visiting campus on April 20th for the Admitted Eagles Day, but I need to have some idea of my decision before then.</p>

<p>1) Students go in to Boston a fair amount. It varies from individual to individual, but there's nothing stopping you. The T (our subway system) is convenient and it will take you anywhere you want to go. Downtown Boston is probably 45 min away.</p>

<p>2) There's no doubt that BC is a party school. You will definitely stand out if you don't drink. That being said, I have many friends who don't drink at all and I am a light drinker myself. We still manage to have fun. Overall the amount of alcohol on this campus is ridiculous. You will find people drunk almost every day of the week, not to mention the weekends. BC is also a notoriously big hookup school--there's a lot of random sex on campus. There are always posters beckoning poeple to "bring back the date" but so far this hasn't happened. I would say that if you decide not to drink, this school might not be the best fit for you. Also, the substance-free program is terribly underdeveloped compared to other schools. I would say that it is possible to have a "normal" social life without drinking, but its not going to be a cakewalk--you're going to have to put yourself out there and find likeminded people.</p>

<p>3) Don't worry about Newton--its not that big of a deal.</p>

<p>1) How often do students typically go into Boston? How long does it take to get to the downtown area and is it convenient?</p>

<p>This often depends with the person, but personally, I go into the city about 2 times a month. the ride into Boston doesn't take that long. I currently live in Newton and it takes me about 45 minutes to get into the downtown area. Getting into Boston is relatively convenient because everything is connected (BC busses and the T). However, it is a pain to get back because the subway system shuts down after 12, but you can easily just get a cab back to campus.</p>

<p>2)I have heard that BC is a "party school." Are there things to do on the weekends besides drink and party? Do you have any shot at a normal social life if you don't drink?</p>

<p>I'm not really into the party scene, so I wouldn't know how to describe it or compare it to other schools, but people here definitely drink. As for partying, I would say thre aren't many. The usual (on my floor at least) is just a little beer pong and some other games associated with drinking. I personally don't drink and I've a few people on my floor that rarely drink or don't drink at all. I would say my closest friends are those that don't drink, but I socialize with plenty of people who do drink. I don't think drinking really hinders a person's social life greatly. Drinking is just one of the many ways of getting to know people, but you usually end up with the same crowd.</p>

<p>3)Is it a problem that almost half of the freshmen live on Newton campus? I've heard the dorming situation isn't that great- any comments?</p>

<p>It isn't that much of a problem living on Newton. The only nuisances I find are the food and the fact that you have to wait in the cold for a bus in order to get back to your room. However, those nuiances are manageable, but it does suck (for lack of a better term) to have to wait in the New England cold for 10 minutes waiting for a bus. The dorms on Newton are actually somewhat bigger than the ones on Upper and there are no forced triples on Newton either (not yet anyways). The dorming situation in Newton probably isn't great, but it isn't exactly bad either. Also, one thing to think about, Newton has green space where people can sunbathe in the early and late school year. There is also a soccer field on campus which my friends and I use as a football field. Many people will glorify Upper campus, but if I had the choice of choosing Upper or Newton, I'd probably take Newton again. Oh, and when you hear about the "close knit community that is Newton", don't believe it. Yes, it is true that Newton is a freshman campus, but cliques emerge essentially the day you arrive on campus. Honestly, you should only take the information from tours with a grain of salt since BC is trying to sell the school and gives biased reasons as to why (in this case) students should prefer to live on Newton instead of Upper. </p>

<p>I don't think I sufficiently answered the thrid question, but if you have any more questions, feel free to ask them on this thread. I'm pretty sure beanieboo is also a freshman that lives on Newton campus, so she can also be of some help to you.</p>

<p>Edit: Looking at what ClassicGuitar posted above, the substance-free program/floor is a complete joke. If anything, the alcohol comsuption is more prevalent there than any other place on campus, not to mention drug use as well. The only benefit (if you'll call it that) is that you get to live on Upper.</p>

<p>I want to rebut ClassicalGuitars comment that BC has a strong hook up culture. I think that that is true in your freshman through sophomore years, however I have found that by junior year BC has a great dating scene. I guess it is an age and maturity thing...by 21 people are not looking for random sex but more for companionship and a potential life mate.</p>

<p>I graduated less than a year ago and I have about 4 BC weddings to go to in the upcoming year. I think that is evidence of a strong dating culture.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>i would say that i go into boston about 2/3 times a month. downtown will take about 45 minutes to get to (from newton) but there are other parts in the metro area that are closer. i just went to harvard square this weekend for dinner and margaritas at a cool mexican restuarant.</p></li>
<li><p>there are other things to do on the weekend definetly. but it seems that that the groups of friends develop according to whether you drink or not. but if youre social and fun to be around theres no reason you have to drink to have a social life. i personally am a drinker and even i think it gets old EVERY weekend doing the same exact things. half of saturday night i was sober and had an awesome time and didnt want to drink but got pulled into a game of pong just cause i love it so much =)</p></li>
<li><p>miragemage is right, im a freshman who lives on newton. DEFIENTLY wasnt my first choice and even though i do go on my I HATE NEWTON rants about once a week, i really do like it. while the groups do develop, i feel like i know a lot more of the kids on newton than upper kids do of other kids on upper. the bus is a pain in the winter and the snow but the first week or so is a GREAT place to meet people. newton rooms are bigger and the green space all around campus is wonderful. the grilled cheese at stuart would convince me to live there again alone. if i could do it again, im not sure if i would have requested newton.. but i think i would love it even more if i lived in a different dorm. most of my friends are in the two other dorms and newton and have heard that my dorm is the "cliquey/stuckup" dorm this year. i hadnt heard this until 2 weeks ago but i acutally do agree.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>maybe it changes later on, but right now its totally only a hookup scene. i know of ONE couple that has started going out since being at BC. seems like most of the people arent looking for the realtionships right now and jsut want to "experience college"</p>