To current students-why did you choose BU?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston University
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<p>Why am I here?
Partly because it's a large school, in a large city. The absolute opposite of my high school. It's also about 3 hours from where I live, so I can get home if I need to but I'm not still effectively living at home.</p>

<p>There are a lot of things to consider when choosing a college. My problem was the essay I had that literally asked "Why BU?" I didn't know. I visited, and something just.. clicked. I knew I wanted to go here, because it felt like home on my first visit. I don't remember what I actually wrote in the essay.</p>

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<p>I love BU because of the all it has to offer. There is no "typical freshman / BU experience" because IT IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT!! A lot of the people who dislike BU are those who didn't give it a chance. There are so many things to do, so many people to meet, so many directions you can take the BU experience.</p>

<p>As for partying, sure it exists, but there is also a TON of other stuff to do. I know other people have mention all the clubs, but there's also this place called BU central that has events every weekend (no drinking of course). Also you have all of Boston at your doorstep! </p>

<p>Also, you probably will have a small-ish dorm room freshman year, but the social aspect is unbeatable. I was friends with literally every single person on my floor (all 40+ people). Warren Towers is amazing -- anyone who complains about it is spoiled and doesn't know what college is all about!! If you have a bad roommate, then you can do what's called a direct swap (that means to swap rooms with someone else on campus). The food is great too.</p>

<p>People that complain about BU I really think just don't give it a chance. Maybe it wasn't their first choice and therefore they have a bad attitude. Maybe they are so homesick they don't let themselves open up and meet new people. And of course, there's always that chance that maybe they really did end up at the wrong school. Good luck to ya, BO5TON! Hope you can find happiness at Temple!</p>

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<p>FWIW, BU was my first choice and I applied ED. I think I gave it a good chance and met a TON of people. One of my biggest complaints is that the girls thought entirely too highly of themselves. There were a few exceptions, but what I found so astonishing is that the guys on my floor were all cool guys, we all knew each other, hung out, left our doors open all the time, yet the girls hid on their side, closed their doors and balked at anything social our floor tried to collaborate.</p>

<p>Thanks for the kind words though, I appreciate it.</p>

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<p>BO5TON, I had the same thing happen my freshman year. In Warren Towers, the guys side of my floor was one big community. Every door was open and you would always find sort of be with everyone else. I never felt alone at all. We hung out all the time, whether it was playing guitar and singing, watching movies, just chilling out. While we had a few girls who always hung out with us, most of em just isolated themselves and kept their doors closed to. However, they eventually opened up to us. Took awhile. </p>

<p>On the main topic of why I like BU:
-So many academic programs, all with great professors, lots of academic resources
-BU is a school with a great reputation that people will always look highly upon. You can always be proud to say you go here
-Right outside of the heart of Boston. Any part of the city is within reach
-Lots of stuff outside of the classroom. There are a million clubs to join, lots of intramural sports and stuff along those lines. Our hockey team is our pride and joy (sure, they stink this year, but we love our Terriers). It is so much fun going to our shiny new 100 million dollar arena for a game. It is school spirit to the max.
-My particular program, School of Hospitality Administration, is perfect for me and I love the school and its professors. They are all very accessible and friendly. I have gotten the chance to eat lunch with them and chat on many occasions.</p>

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<p>Ugh. Dont start with that damn hockey team :/
I really thought they did an awful job with intramural sports and the tradition they uphold of not having club sports for stuff they have varsity of is stupid.
I also thought the school spirit for sports was absolutely abysmal.</p>

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<p>BO5TON, can you explain why if you've transferred out of BU you hang around a BU forum? Your point of view is negative and you're entitled to that but this forum is essentially for high school kids looking at schools and your participation is what . . . some axe to grind? unable to let go? </p>

<p>My suggestion is that you go to the forum for the school where you've transferred and move your life there.</p>

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<p>Lernom- Schools aren't about the positives only. Bo5ton adds great perspective and I welcome him to participate on this board. Just because they have moved on doesn't mean his opinion is not helpful. I find these boards unhelpful when its "' I love BU, boston is amazing"...I want to hear more about the real school</p>

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<p>BO5TON, you were here all of 3 months, and only saw our hockey team when they sucked. You've never seen a beanpot, a hockey east champsionship game, an NCAA tournament game. Call the spirit abysmal, but I really don't think you have the experience to make that judgment. We have played all of like 5 home games, during a year in which we suck. How crazy do you expect the kids to get over that? I've had the see us win the Beanpot two years in a row, a Hockey East Championship game against BC decided in double OT, and going into the NCAA tournament as the number one team in the nation. During those years, you couldn't step outside of your room without hearing about hockey. Like I said, we suck this year so the excitement is toned down. But I don't think you can judge based on just these past 2 months.</p>

<p>On a side note, McGuirk, Yip, McGoff, and Ewing have all been suspended indefinitely by BU and we have no idea why yet. Guess the bad season isn't going to get any better with 3 of our best players now out.</p>

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<p>Its hard to do a sports highlight tv show at BU right now, it really is.</p>

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<p>I really think a lot of people come to BU for reasons OTHER than sports tho....</p>

<p>doesn't make me any less proud to go here tho.</p>

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<p>Once we win that Beanpot, we will have Boston bragging rights regardless of our record. Can't wait for February!! Def not missing the Beanpot.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
BO5TON, you were here all of 3 months, and only saw our hockey team when they sucked.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>And? Regardless of how bad we were, no one really cared. I felt as if the kids at the games were watching a movie or an opera. I care. Sports are my life. I gave everything when I was at BU games. Despite how bad we were, I continued going to games and cheering--something very few in the student section did. </p>

<p>Doesnt matter if they're the best team or the worst, you should be prideful. I saw essentially no pride.</p>

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<p>Wow. I must agree with some of the above comments and say that BO5TON is just plain wrong.</p>

<p>Why are you still bashing BU BO5TON?
There is a point when it stops being helpful insight and becomes spiteful attacks.</p>

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<p>How can I be wrong about a firsthand experience?</p>

<p>Glad they beat the U18 team (by a goal)...</p>

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<p>BU isn't a big sports school. If a student wants that, they should go elsewhere.</p>

<p>Other big schools are the same. NYU, for example.</p>

<p>That said, there are good things about not being dominated by frats and sororities and the social pecking order which puts athletes and their groupies at the top of the pecking order. There's also something to be said about not having a phony diversity based in minority athletes. Look at UCLA, for example. Last year, they had 100 African-American freshman (California has anti-affirmative action laws) and almost all of them were athletes. So when you watch UCLA play on TV, realize what you're watching. The same is true of most big time programs.</p>

<p>Again, BU is not a sports school. If that matters a lot to you, go elsewhere.</p>

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<p>USC, Syracuse, Miami, Duke, BYU, Notre Dame. But you're definitely right, Lergnom.</p>

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<p>And you're definitely being a jerk BO5TON...
Those schools you listed all have something in common... they are not in major urban centers like BU and NYU. You have to compare apples to apples. You seemed to have twisted his point and are getting a little argumentative.</p>

<p>As I said before, you're really pushing the line of being helpful to prospecitve students and just ranting about BU.</p>

<p>Don't rain on other people's parades... there are people out there legit excited about coming to BU... and while you're insight is nice, the relentless bashing is getting old. </p>

<p>We get it. You didn't like BU. You've made your point. Don't you have something better to do now?</p>

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<p>You're overreacting...I was just mentioning big schools that are sports schools. USC is in LA, Syracuse is a large city, Miami is in neighboring Coral Gables, etc. I wasnt comparing them to BU...I was agreeing with Lergnom.</p>

<p>Stop with the name calling.</p>

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<p>BU was my last choice (outta 12) and I came here anyways =) </p>

<p>I got into a lot of better schools, but I changed my mind just for SMG, haha... I love being in SMG, it is amazing when you know your building is the best on campus and everyone else is envious (plus whenever you see those business-suit clad flocks heading over there, you're just like, chyea, reppin SMG!) But yes, the T is amazing. Learn to love the T. Warren Towers is like the social freshman center of everything and is extremely noisy -- especially if you're like me and land a quad. I highly recommend heading to the downstairs study lounge (where I am typing this from right now instead of studying for finals in 2 days!) or the many many libraries on campus. </p>

<p>But yeah, I really liked SMG's curriculum... all the profs are extremely talented and nice, and the workload is manageable (though the majority of the SMG kids here always complain it's taking over their lives). I like working in teams and doing our semester-wide projects :) </p>

<p>The party scene is pretty big here if you want it - most freshman head down to West Campus, or the MIT frats on Beacon (which imo is better)!</p>

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<p>I'm not gonna lie, I am a bit confused by BO5TON (or however you spell the SN)'s comments. </p>

<p>I find it ironic because I transferred to BU to ESCAPE the party scene.... and it was incredibly easy to do so at BU. BU for sure isn't like any state school where partying is "the thing to do" on the weekend. Partying is definitely NOT "the thing to do" on a BU weekend. I mean, at BU, you meet people from EVERYWHERE. </p>

<p>I transferred to BU because I wanted diversity. I also wanted sophisticated people with whom I could sit around and talk with about religion, politics, art, etc., rather than drinking and gossip, and I definitely got what I wanted. </p>

<p>BU is a college - people are going to drink in college unless you're at BYU or some strictly dry school that people choose to attend because no one drinks. BU isn't like that. People choose BU for the reasons I listed above - the diversity, the faculty, the urban lifestyle (last I heard, partying may or may not be included in an urban lifestyle). </p>

<p>The biggest plus's of BU in my opinion -
-The students. The students MAKE the school. They're from everywhere, very curious and open to meeting new people. Very independent and sophisticated. I mean, honestly, most students are there because they want to live in an urban cultural center (not because they want to party and get drunk.)
-The professors are AMAZING. They all seem to really enjoy teaching, which is very interesting at such a large institution where research is key. Every professor knew my name, and I can't even tell you how involved they were in helping me pick out grad schools. </p>

<p>The biggest weaknesses of BU -
- Many courses are curved. This is annoying when everyone in the class works SUPER hard. I graduated with a 3.5, though. Not too bad, but I spent most all weekends working and did not sleep as much as I would have liked to during the week.
-Our campus isn't exactly attractive. It's pretty in its own urban way, but, really, the area by the BU bridge where all those highways meet is just unsightly. I think BU is building some buildings there to resolve that, though. </p>

<p>Hopefully this is a more useful post than the rants BO5TON was posting. If someone is unhappy with a school, fine, but you can tell by the posts that this person is desperate to bash BU in any way possible (even talking about the dorms smelling??? I never noticed that before). Be objective, it is much more helpful, or at least be more specific. Considering over half of the people who posted said that they rarely drink... and I can let you I didn't drink or "go out" my entire senior year but still had an AWESOME time, says a lot. If anything, I wouldn't recommend BU to a student who likes to party... the party scene at BU is pretty pathetic, in my opinion.</p>