<p>Did you ask them WHY they thought BU was better? </p>
<p>In my son’s school, BU is a safety school for those accepted at BU. Backing that up with fact, last year 30 kids applied to BU, 12 were accepted and 0 attended. Don’t take it that 18 kids weren’t accepted, it’s just the reality that in a town of approximately 17,000 residents, BU is only going to want so many kids from the same small town. The problem is that the kids BU wants, don’t really want BU, even with more merit money. Meanwhile 26 kids applied to Boston College 8 were accepted and 3 attended. </p>
<p>It’s not just our school. From The Princeton Review, BU accepted 56 percent of their applicants and 22 percent attended. BC accepted 27 percent of applicants from a higher scoring entering class and 29 percent of those attended. </p>
<p>The good news for BU is that talented kids DO apply to BU. They see it as an acceptable alternative if the schools they really want don’t want them. BU accepts a large percentage of their applicants because they are strong students. So, as an example, if a kid’s reach school is Dartmouth, his ‘meets’ school may be BC and his safety school may be BU.</p>
<p>As an aside, rather than going after students that REALLY want to go to BU, BU’s strategy seems targeted at students who need to settle for BU. Naturally this doesn’t mean that many of these students can’t adjust and love the school, but it can lead to many transfers and other problems. I know a girl in our town that would have LOVED to go to BU (it was her first choice) but wasn’t accepted simply because too many better students applied to BU as a safety. This just seems like an unhealthy process to me.</p>