<p>This is a serious question, i am not a ■■■■■ or anything like that.</p>
<p>I would like a logical comparison of the two and not just “this is the college i go to so, yep its better.”</p>
<p>Here is information I came up with comparing the two, but I know there are other factors, which you guys can point out to state which is better. </p>
<p>Nova avg ACT score: 30
BC avg ACT score: 31</p>
<p>US news ranks BC at #33 (Based off memory)
US news ranks Nova on a totally different list as #1 in regional North Universities. (tough to compare based on US news putting them in different categories.)</p>
<p>Business week ranks Nova undergrad b school as #7 and BC biz school as #16. </p>
<p>Barrons ranks both Nova and BC as Most competitive: in the same category as the ivys, gtown, ND, JHU etc.</p>
<p>According to the National Merit website: BC in their 2010 freshman class has 12 merit scholars and Villanova has 9. (BC is a larger school, approx 11,000 compared to 7000).</p>
<p>BC has a greater endowment at 1.5 billion and Nova has at 300 million. </p>
<p>To me they look pretty similar, but everyone has different in puts…what do you guys think?</p>
<p>Yea. BC (ranked 31) and Villanova are in different categories on USNWR. Villanova has an acceptance rate of 45%, while BC was 31%, so BC is clearly more competitive by a good amount. SAT ranges are a bit higher at BC than at Villanova. </p>
<p>Academically, there’s probably not too much of a significant difference. But if you’re choosing between these schools, you’ll also want to consider location (BC definitely wins there) and other factors like diversity (which again goes to BC). BC is also a bigger name, if that matters.</p>
<p>First, let me say that I considered both schools seriously while looking for what college to apply to, but for my needs, I found BC to be much superior. Yes, they both have excellent business schools (according to that ranking, Villanova is better). However, I found the Villanova Science and Arts College to be lacking. I, personally, am most interested in biochemistry. Now, before this Regional School ranking idea (which I think is unnecessarily confusing and isolated from the other rankings), Nova was considered a Liberal Arts campus, which is fine normally, but what stood out most for me was the lack of active research. In the world of science, research experience is extremely important, and it is a bad choice to go into a school without opportunities of that nature.</p>
<p>So for me, as a math/science type, Villanova is comparatively undesirable to BC, whose chemistry department is the most well known of the school. As a whole, base your college search on your prospective major, not the school’s general reputation, because ultimately the skills you develop within your own discipline are most important.</p>
<p>I was accepted to both Villanova and BC. It was a very difficult choice for me, and I’m sure I would have been happy at both! Both schools have very good business programs, attract a similar student body (white, somewhat preppy), are similar in academic standings overall, and rally around their sports teams.</p>
<p>The reason I chose BC is because location is very important to me. Villanova is near philly, but philly is not as accessible as Boston is for BC students. Personally, my friends and I go into Boston for shopping and dinner quite often and it’s easy to get in on the D line. Another reason I chose BC was due to the research opportunities and science departments. BC has a great chemistry/biology department with plenty of research opportunities for students.</p>
<p>Also, a lot of people tend to criticize both social scenes which really gets old after a while. A lot of people say Nova and BC have snotty rich kids that drink every chance they get. Of course there are people like this at every school, but I can tell you that my friends are nothing like that and I have met a lot of caring and intelligent people my first year at BC (I’m sure Nova is the same). So please don’t let these stereotypes affect your decision…be yourself from the start and you will make friends that you naturally get along with. The only thing that I really took into consideration regarding the social scene was the name ‘villa-nofun’ really kind of turned me off haha. </p>
<p>I think it really depends what you plan on studying. Whether you choose to go to Nova or BC you will get a good education and as long as you work hard you will open a lot of doors for yourself. Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>I was accepted to an visited both BC and Nova this year. BC just appealed to me more. I liked the campus a good deal better and love Boston. ROTC was a big factor in my decision as well and the squadron at BU seemed great while the one at St. Joe’s seemed to be a bit too laid back (neither Nova or BC have AFROTC squadrons of their own). Another factor for me was that I’m a HUGE hockey fan and a decent football fan, basketball however does not appeal to me at all, so clearly BC was the better choice for me there. Finally, as someone who is not really religious, I liked BC’s Jesuit emphasis on education and service rather than blind faith.</p>
<p>Both are great schools that will afford great educations. While BC is more selective and has better numbers, the difference is not huge enough between the two to be a deal breaker in my opinion. You should really go by finances and fit and which you prefer in this case.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the posts guys! they are really informative.
Lalacey-- it sounds easy to go into boston from campus, which is definitely a plus. I hear Nova has a train that goes right from campus into philly as well. I visited both campuses and found BC’s to be a little less outgoing than Nova’s…For a student who actually is going, how is the BC social scene? I know college.pro.wler website says that BC and Nova have extremely strict campuses, so you cannot do much( in terms of parties). is this true?</p>
<p>Kcombs–It sounds like you definitely made the right choice…in terms of sports I enjoy watching I am definitely a basketball fan, but I know BC has good basketball too, so that wont affect a decision much.</p>
<p>I feel like research opportunities are better at BC, but when I looked at Nova’s website they were bragging about having this really great NASA research lab. idk what to do.</p>
<p>Well, I can tell you that NASA itself is suffering, and a lot of politicians want to/have already cut the budget for NASA. So I would not put that NASA lab opportunity in the bank. If you really want the research experience, got to BC.</p>
<p>You mentioned the business schools in your first post, but are you planning on being a science major? I remember when I was researching the research labs at Nova and BC last summer, I realized that Nova had a good labs with professors doing interesting research. However BC seemed to have more professors willing to take on undergrads and there was more of a wide variety of research going on. Also, and I can’t speak for Nova because I can’t view their course catalog, BC has various research classes that count for academic credit. It is now required (class of 2014 and on) for Biology majors to have an ‘Advanced Experience’ class in which they do at least one semester in a lab [Research in Biochemistry lab, Research in Cell Biology lab, etc.]. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t say BC’s campus is super strict. Basically, if you’re being an idiot you will get in trouble, such as drinking in the dorms and being obnoxiously loud or walking around wasted at football games. Other than that, BCPD leaves you alone and the RA’s don’t inquire if they knock on your door and you apologize for a noise violation. I’m not sure how this works at Villanova, but I’m sure it’s the same on any campus. Finally, the train may take you into philly, but how far is the ride? If it’s an hour or so it might be a pain. I like how at BC going into Boston doesn’t necessarily need to be an all day event.</p>