What type of stats/activities do you need to get into Boston University/BC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went on a college tour at BU and the AO presenting said the average SAT score was 1500. They also take test optional so I’m assuming the 1500 is for only the ones with high scores. But then Duke is also TO and would think they would also be similar 1500+.

I have one junior who is 1500+, straight As, too many activities and awards to list that I am not worried about for college.

I have another kid who also has good grades, did not take SAT yet, plays 3 sports and an instrument. Does not do many/any other clubs. Can a kid like this get into BU/BC if he has a decent SAT score and mostly As?

I haven't read the long thread here so apologies if this was said. But pay close attention to demonstrated interest. My kid had 1550, tons of APs, high GPA and wasn't admitted. I think they get tons of applications and make some decisions based on yield protection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went on a college tour at BU and the AO presenting said the average SAT score was 1500. They also take test optional so I’m assuming the 1500 is for only the ones with high scores. But then Duke is also TO and would think they would also be similar 1500+.

I have one junior who is 1500+, straight As, too many activities and awards to list that I am not worried about for college.

I have another kid who also has good grades, did not take SAT yet, plays 3 sports and an instrument. Does not do many/any other clubs. Can a kid like this get into BU/BC if he has a decent SAT score and mostly As?

I haven't read the long thread here so apologies if this was said. But pay close attention to demonstrated interest. My kid had 1550, tons of APs, high GPA and wasn't admitted. I think they get tons of applications and make some decisions based on yield protection.

Of course they yield protect. There are 50+ better national universities and LACs than them, it’s standard practice for a school of BC’s position

[Anonymous]

Private schools need safeties for the bottom part of their classes those Boston schools check the boxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private schools need safeties for the bottom part of their classes those Boston schools check the boxes.

BC is NOT a safety lol. Signed mom of a private school kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BC and BU were very local schools 40 years ago. They have benefited by a segment of kids that want to spend 4 years in Boston and have no chance of getting into a top 25 school. Neither has the alumni prestige of many NESCAC schools. To suggest BC is on the same level of Notre Dame or Georgetown is fiction.

If you grew up in Boston you would know this is true from ai.

“ Boston College (BC) graduates have historically shaped—and continue to shape—Massachusetts courts and politics. Prominent alumni span the highest tiers of the state judiciary and government, including Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) Justices Serge Georges, Jr. and Elizabeth N. Dewar, and former State Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti.

The influence of Boston College Law School (BC Law) runs deep through the legal and political framework of the Commonwealth. This institutional dominance is highly visible at the highest levels:”

I went to the law school in the early 2000s and am still involved, it’s really not that good and most of the ~200 law schools in the country have some prominent alums. It’s at best a coin flip as to whether you get big law, which is the only way to pay sticker there. The issue is Boston is a rather small legal market, there are plenty of T13 grads who want associate roles, and BU and even Northeastern are cutting into BCs share of large firm roles. If my children ever considered a career in law I’d tell them to retake the lsat until they get into a much better law school.

If you went to BC Law you are uninformed. Yes the Boston legal market is limited (not small just limited) but BC LAw puts lots into Big law in DC and NY. BU and NE are not cutting into that.

[Anonymous]

BC’s peer is Villanova both former commuter schools that parlayed sports success and suburban locations into appeal. Catholic schools like Marquette and St. Louis U don’t have the location magnet for full pay families. Obviously none have the star power of ND.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BC’s peer is Villanova both former commuter schools that parlayed sports success and suburban locations into appeal. Catholic schools like Marquette and St. Louis U don’t have the location magnet for full pay families. Obviously none have the star power of ND.

Notre Dame
Georgetown

BC


Villanova
Holy Cross

Fordham
Fairfield

the rest

[Anonymous]

ND is so far superior to the rest of Catholic schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools need safeties for the bottom part of their classes those Boston schools check the boxes.

BC is NOT a safety lol. Signed mom of a private school kid.

Depends on the private school and your stats. For some it is

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BC and BU were very local schools 40 years ago. They have benefited by a segment of kids that want to spend 4 years in Boston and have no chance of getting into a top 25 school. Neither has the alumni prestige of many NESCAC schools. To suggest BC is on the same level of Notre Dame or Georgetown is fiction.

If you grew up in Boston you would know this is true from ai.

“ Boston College (BC) graduates have historically shaped—and continue to shape—Massachusetts courts and politics. Prominent alumni span the highest tiers of the state judiciary and government, including Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) Justices Serge Georges, Jr. and Elizabeth N. Dewar, and former State Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti.

The influence of Boston College Law School (BC Law) runs deep through the legal and political framework of the Commonwealth. This institutional dominance is highly visible at the highest levels:”

I went to the law school in the early 2000s and am still involved, it’s really not that good and most of the ~200 law schools in the country have some prominent alums. It’s at best a coin flip as to whether you get big law, which is the only way to pay sticker there. The issue is Boston is a rather small legal market, there are plenty of T13 grads who want associate roles, and BU and even Northeastern are cutting into BCs share of large firm roles. If my children ever considered a career in law I’d tell them to retake the lsat until they get into a much better law school.

If you went to BC Law you are uninformed. Yes the Boston legal market is limited (not small just limited) but BC LAw puts lots into Big law in DC and NY. BU and NE are not cutting into that.

The % that enters big law in NY instead of Boston is much smaller, and it is not a matter of self-selection. Those spots are more competitive despite NYC holding about half of entry-level big law positions. BU historically placed more into NY than BC while BC placed more into Boston, it has evened out in the last 15 years. The big fish are NY DC Chicago and increasingly SF/SV. Boston has stagnated and is more along the lines of ATL MIA, although healthier than both of those examples in pay and scale.

I worked on a recruitment committee for a V50 law firm’s Boston office. Schools of BCs rank do okay during fat times (again, a coin flip, and being on the wrong end of it leaves you with little), the second there’s a downturn or structural changes (AI, which threatens every transactional practice), the non-T13 candidates are the first on the chopping block. Taking out any notable debt to attend BC Law is a wildly risky endeavor that can have catastrophic lifelong financial consequences. Someone smart enough to get into BC Law should do something else with their life or attend a better law school. Anecdotally, two classmates in my section live in Turkey and France teaching English to avoid student debts that cannot be paid off in bankruptcy, and one will give up citizenship ASAP to this end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BC and BU were very local schools 40 years ago. They have benefited by a segment of kids that want to spend 4 years in Boston and have no chance of getting into a top 25 school. Neither has the alumni prestige of many NESCAC schools. To suggest BC is on the same level of Notre Dame or Georgetown is fiction.

If you grew up in Boston you would know this is true from ai.

“ Boston College (BC) graduates have historically shaped—and continue to shape—Massachusetts courts and politics. Prominent alumni span the highest tiers of the state judiciary and government, including Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) Justices Serge Georges, Jr. and Elizabeth N. Dewar, and former State Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti.

The influence of Boston College Law School (BC Law) runs deep through the legal and political framework of the Commonwealth. This institutional dominance is highly visible at the highest levels:”

I went to the law school in the early 2000s and am still involved, it’s really not that good and most of the ~200 law schools in the country have some prominent alums. It’s at best a coin flip as to whether you get big law, which is the only way to pay sticker there. The issue is Boston is a rather small legal market, there are plenty of T13 grads who want associate roles, and BU and even Northeastern are cutting into BCs share of large firm roles. If my children ever considered a career in law I’d tell them to retake the lsat until they get into a much better law school.

If you went to BC Law you are uninformed. Yes the Boston legal market is limited (not small just limited) but BC LAw puts lots into Big law in DC and NY. BU and NE are not cutting into that.

The % that enters big law in NY instead of Boston is much smaller, and it is not a matter of self-selection. Those spots are more competitive despite NYC holding about half of entry-level big law positions. BU historically placed more into NY than BC while BC placed more into Boston, it has evened out in the last 15 years. The big fish are NY DC Chicago and increasingly SF/SV. Boston has stagnated and is more along the lines of ATL MIA, although healthier than both of those examples in pay and scale.

I worked on a recruitment committee for a V50 law firm’s Boston office. Schools of BCs rank do okay during fat times (again, a coin flip, and being on the wrong end of it leaves you with little), the second there’s a downturn or structural changes (AI, which threatens every transactional practice), the non-T13 candidates are the first on the chopping block. Taking out any notable debt to attend BC Law is a wildly risky endeavor that can have catastrophic lifelong financial consequences. Someone smart enough to get into BC Law should do something else with their life or attend a better law school. Anecdotally, two classmates in my section live in Turkey and France teaching English to avoid student debts that cannot be paid off in bankruptcy, and one will give up citizenship ASAP to this end.

Geez, that's horrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BC and BU were very local schools 40 years ago. They have benefited by a segment of kids that want to spend 4 years in Boston and have no chance of getting into a top 25 school. Neither has the alumni prestige of many NESCAC schools. To suggest BC is on the same level of Notre Dame or Georgetown is fiction.

If you grew up in Boston you would know this is true from ai.

“ Boston College (BC) graduates have historically shaped—and continue to shape—Massachusetts courts and politics. Prominent alumni span the highest tiers of the state judiciary and government, including Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) Justices Serge Georges, Jr. and Elizabeth N. Dewar, and former State Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti.

The influence of Boston College Law School (BC Law) runs deep through the legal and political framework of the Commonwealth. This institutional dominance is highly visible at the highest levels:”

I went to the law school in the early 2000s and am still involved, it’s really not that good and most of the ~200 law schools in the country have some prominent alums. It’s at best a coin flip as to whether you get big law, which is the only way to pay sticker there. The issue is Boston is a rather small legal market, there are plenty of T13 grads who want associate roles, and BU and even Northeastern are cutting into BCs share of large firm roles. If my children ever considered a career in law I’d tell them to retake the lsat until they get into a much better law school.

If you went to BC Law you are uninformed. Yes the Boston legal market is limited (not small just limited) but BC LAw puts lots into Big law in DC and NY. BU and NE are not cutting into that.

The % that enters big law in NY instead of Boston is much smaller, and it is not a matter of self-selection. Those spots are more competitive despite NYC holding about half of entry-level big law positions. BU historically placed more into NY than BC while BC placed more into Boston, it has evened out in the last 15 years. The big fish are NY DC Chicago and increasingly SF/SV. Boston has stagnated and is more along the lines of ATL MIA, although healthier than both of those examples in pay and scale.

I worked on a recruitment committee for a V50 law firm’s Boston office. Schools of BCs rank do okay during fat times (again, a coin flip, and being on the wrong end of it leaves you with little), the second there’s a downturn or structural changes (AI, which threatens every transactional practice), the non-T13 candidates are the first on the chopping block. Taking out any notable debt to attend BC Law is a wildly risky endeavor that can have catastrophic lifelong financial consequences. Someone smart enough to get into BC Law should do something else with their life or attend a better law school. Anecdotally, two classmates in my section live in Turkey and France teaching English to avoid student debts that cannot be paid off in bankruptcy, and one will give up citizenship ASAP to this end.

Geez, that's horrible.

People commit suicide because of graduate school debt. If you’re not in the top 10% of your class at BC by the end of 1L dropout and cut your losses. You may read that 30-50% of the class gets big law, it may or may not be you until you’re that high up.

[Anonymous]

You can tell BC has a lot going for it from the desperate criticism from ND, Georgetown, & Holy Cross fans.

ND folks are apparently green with envy over BC’s unlimited off-campus activities. It seems to really bother Hoyas that BC has a beautiful campus & a football team that draws tens of thousands of spectators rather than just tens. And Holy Cross boosters always point out that the city of Boston is just a quick one-hour drive from Worcester. And somebody here is obsessed with the % of commuters BC had during the Nixon years.

How’s about everybody just calm down & revel in the strengths of their own school without inventing stuff to hurl at the others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both are easy with ED and full pay.

Yes. That’s true of most colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can tell BC has a lot going for it from the desperate criticism from ND, Georgetown, & Holy Cross fans.

ND folks are apparently green with envy over BC’s unlimited off-campus activities. It seems to really bother Hoyas that BC has a beautiful campus & a football team that draws tens of thousands of spectators rather than just tens. And Holy Cross boosters always point out that the city of Boston is just a quick one-hour drive from Worcester. And somebody here is obsessed with the % of commuters BC had during the Nixon years.

How’s about everybody just calm down & revel in the strengths of their own school without inventing stuff to hurl at the others?

Thanks for this

As for ND boosters, I am one (but I don't knock BC), and I can tell you that my kid who went to ND wouldn't trade it for the world (or access to Boston). And he's a huge Red Sox fan