Tell me about Boston College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ND and GT are Catholic schools

? So is Boston College. You didn't know that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U.S. News has it;
Notre Dame #15
Georgetown #20
Boston College #31

Holy Cross is a LAC and ranked 332 among that group.

That is not a Jesuit ranking that's a general ranking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U.S. News has it;
Notre Dame #15
Georgetown #20
Boston College #31

Holy Cross is a LAC and ranked 332 among that group.

That is not a Jesuit ranking that's a general ranking.

Those are the top Catholic schools.in order of their USNWR ranking.

[Anonymous]

yeah, except OP was just looking for info about BC, not where it ranks among relgious institutions.

[Anonymous]

Okay, I'll take a stab at it since I went there. Take this with a grain of salt because I graduated years ago.

The Jesuits are very present, but because the order doesn't generally wear religious garb (the president was the only one I remember wearing the all-black outfit with the collar) and because they are more liberal than other Catholic orders, some are mistaken for regular professors or staff. I remember one friend who didn't realize the faculty member who lived in our dorm was a Jesuit.

Anyone who has had a Jesuit education would probably feel a kinship or a sense of community in any Jesuit-run school because the core principals of men and women for others and care for the whole person are talked about regularly. Your DS will probably feel at home at other Jesuit schools.

When visiting friends at smaller Catholic schools (I had friends at Holy Cross, Providence, Fairfield), I felt like everyone went to church and campus was dead during mass times. Not the case at BC. It was a pretty diverse student body then and I think that's still the case.

As for why you don't see much discussion about BC, I have some guesses. Perhaps it's because more alumni seems clustered in New York, Chicago, and Boston? There are definitely alumni here, but most of the people I knew were interested in working in those cities. Or, maybe it's because there are also excellent Catholic colleges even closer to us?

I hate to say it, but I also think that weaker football and basketball might mean less enthusiasm among alumni around here. Hockey is still great, but those other teams have had some rough seasons.

The Jesuit education was fantastic and I'm grateful that I went there. The location is perfect - residential, but on the end of the T, so we spent a lot of time in Boston. I think Boston is a great great town in which to be a student, but the one drawback is that you're competing with tons of students for jobs and internships, so be prepared for that.

Found a list of all Jesuit colleges: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Jesuit_Colleges_and_Universities

[Anonymous]

I have to add that by saying "more liberal than other Catholic orders," I didn't mean they are liberal. It is still a Catholic school. Students sometimes clashed with the administration, like around the LGBT kids being allowed to have a club. Most people didn't think it was a big deal, but the administration wouldn't allow it.

I would characterize the students as center-left, which I think is a normal thing for New England Catholics? I was there during a presidential election and everyone seemed to be supporting the Democrat that was running.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yeah, except OP was just looking for info about BC, not where it ranks among relgious institutions.

well, that's some info isn't it?

What's your contribution?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you say why he felt "right at home there"? We're going to visit also, but it's summertime, I don't know if we'll get a real feel for the place when few students are around.

OP here. I guess based on what he heard during the student discussion (5 students sitting on a stage answering questions), he felt he would fit in. He goes to a Jesuit high school, so he is familiar with the culture. It is a beautiful campus and easy access to Boston. We live in metro DC, but he is a fan of all professional Boston teams, so there's that. It was pouring rain that day, so it wasn't a pleasant experience at all, but that didn't seem to have a negative on his impression.

Also, interesting that Notre Dame came up in this discussion almost immediately, because he is a huge ND fan and it is on the top of his list of schools.

We also toured Northeastern that day, and that school just left him flat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay, I'll take a stab at it since I went there. Take this with a grain of salt because I graduated years ago.

The Jesuits are very present, but because the order doesn't generally wear religious garb (the president was the only one I remember wearing the all-black outfit with the collar) and because they are more liberal than other Catholic orders, some are mistaken for regular professors or staff. I remember one friend who didn't realize the faculty member who lived in our dorm was a Jesuit.

Anyone who has had a Jesuit education would probably feel a kinship or a sense of community in any Jesuit-run school because the core principals of men and women for others and care for the whole person are talked about regularly. Your DS will probably feel at home at other Jesuit schools.

When visiting friends at smaller Catholic schools (I had friends at Holy Cross, Providence, Fairfield), I felt like everyone went to church and campus was dead during mass times. Not the case at BC. It was a pretty diverse student body then and I think that's still the case.

As for why you don't see much discussion about BC, I have some guesses. Perhaps it's because more alumni seems clustered in New York, Chicago, and Boston? There are definitely alumni here, but most of the people I knew were interested in working in those cities. Or, maybe it's because there are also excellent Catholic colleges even closer to us?

I hate to say it, but I also think that weaker football and basketball might mean less enthusiasm among alumni around here. Hockey is still great, but those other teams have had some rough seasons.

The Jesuit education was fantastic and I'm grateful that I went there. The location is perfect - residential, but on the end of the T, so we spent a lot of time in Boston. I think Boston is a great great town in which to be a student, but the one drawback is that you're competing with tons of students for jobs and internships, so be prepared for that.

Found a list of all Jesuit colleges: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Jesuit_Colleges_and_Universities

Thanks for this very thoughtful response. I agree that the Jesuit education is wonderful...he is getting a great Jesuit high school education and will be well prepared for college!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of rankings, it's not a good school. They used to call it "like high school, but with ashtrays." Now it doesn't have any ashtrays.

If you think a school ranked #32 in the country is "not a good school"...I'd love to know what you think the other 4000+ schools below it are!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to add that by saying "more liberal than other Catholic orders," I didn't mean they are liberal. It is still a Catholic school. Students sometimes clashed with the administration, like around the LGBT kids being allowed to have a club. Most people didn't think it was a big deal, but the administration wouldn't allow it.

I would characterize the students as center-left, which I think is a normal thing for New England Catholics? I was there during a presidential election and everyone seemed to be supporting the Democrat that was running.

Huh? There is most certainly a LGBT club (multiple actually) at BC. Plus LGBT programming, outreach, etc.

http://www.bc.edu/offices/dos/subsidiary_offices/GLBTQ/lgbtq-programming---outreach.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to add that by saying "more liberal than other Catholic orders," I didn't mean they are liberal. It is still a Catholic school. Students sometimes clashed with the administration, like around the LGBT kids being allowed to have a club. Most people didn't think it was a big deal, but the administration wouldn't allow it.

I would characterize the students as center-left, which I think is a normal thing for New England Catholics? I was there during a presidential election and everyone seemed to be supporting the Democrat that was running.

Huh? There is most certainly a LGBT club (multiple actually) at BC. Plus LGBT programming, outreach, etc.

http://www.bc.edu/offices/dos/subsidiary_offices/GLBTQ/lgbtq-programming---outreach.html

Sorry...when I was there, it was a big controversy. LGBC is relatively new compared to the LGBT groups at other schools.

Read "A Constant Battle" on this page: http://bcheights.com/longform/index.php/2016/walking-the-line-history-lgbtq-community-boston-college/

[Anonymous]

I was impressed with the caliber of student heading there from my "Big 3" school over the last few yeas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major Notre Dame inferiority complex.

Of the Jesuit schools I belive the ranking would be Notre Dame, Georgetown, Holy Cross and Boston College.

So what, they're all very good.

By DCUM's lights it appears BC is not the hot destination this year like Pomona and Carleton.

Fordham is also a popular Jesuit school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U.S. News has it;
Notre Dame #15
Georgetown #20
Boston College #31

Holy Cross is a LAC and ranked 332 among that group.

Rankings are stupid. Just a way for US News to make money. They are all fine schools.