Trying to compare Boston Colleges for DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BC's campus and culture obviously fits the parochial school pipeline stereotype, but you don't have to be Catholic to attend. Just be aware that an awful lot of its students came from feeder catholic schools, and at a lot of these schools, sports and partying were pretty big deals. The OP may be looking at that.

Northeastern's campus is a nice compromise from BU's disconnected one and BC's more suburban one. Out of all these schools, school spirit would be hardest to find at BU, and that's just because it is so diverse. All these schools attract students from all over the world, not just from all over the US, so you'll get a true multicultural vibe.

The OP didn't mention the career goals of their child, but that should factor into the equation. Economics as a pre-professional degree entry point? Math for Wall Street? BC is the best for getting into finance, with NEU and BU behind it. Northeastern has a very strong quant reputation if you are looking for a combination of math and econ. Tufts isn't known for that type of career. Of the four, BC gives out the least amount of merit aid. Run the NPC and see what grant aid they'll offer, although when we did it, each of the colleges were within a few thousand dollars of one another.

You’ve distilled BC to a school that attracts students from “partying” high schools? Come on. It’s a lot easier to get into a bar near BU or NEU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lived down the street from Tufts for years. Medford and Somerville are great. BC has a preppier vibe and locale. Medford/Somerville feel more Brooklyn-y -- BC is more like Potomac/Bethesda.

Boston College is in chestnut hill which is extremely affluent. Surrounding neighborhoods are 3-4 M homes. It’s still very accessible to city because the green line T runs right through campus. Tufts is in a funkier and more urban area - more triple deckers and old Victorian homes. Also easy public transport up Cambridge and Boston. I would choose BC over all the other schools if I was deciding based on location on my. And facilities. You should see the new athletic center. It’s a beautiful campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why southerners want to go to a very cold city. For that matter, I doubt students from India are clamoring to go to a place that would require them to buy a whole new wardrobe, icluding winter jackets and boots.

this could be why Harvard & MIT have so much trouble recruiting applicants

Yes, & why most of the prestigious colleges in the country are clustered along the Rio Grande & in the Florida Keys. And why they are building that pipeline from UTEP to Wall Street.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My dd had planned to apply to Tufts, when we went to visit the campus though we were so turned off by the setting/location that we cancelled her appointment.

+1 as we drove onto Tuft’s campus my daughter was instantly turned off. She wouldn’t even get out of the car. She hated the environment.

Again, Tufts is spending a ton of money on capital improvements.

Capital improvements don't help the suburban location. Tufts is not in the city of Boston

BC is mostly in the suburbs and is farther to Government Center than Tufts. By the way, Tufts is only 6 miles to Gov't Center.

Yet so much harder to reach than it is from BC where the T comes all the way to campus.

Areas resident here.

Actually they just extended the Green line to Tufts too.

BC is also only 7 miles from Govt center.

But driving from either location or taking the T easily can be an hour depending on traffic and MBTA issues. My son used the Tufts stop this year to commute to an internship in Boston and tons of delays.

In any case, both good schools.

Tufts housing has roaches (my son did a summer program there)

BC no roach reports I know of but yes, crucifixes in classrooms. And huge school spirit.

I’m advising my kid to apply to both. But he wants the west coast.

All schools have roaches. Living in a dive is a rite of passage. If you deprive your kid of that, you will suffer the consequences.

BC tore down the one dorm noted for bugs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dd had planned to apply to Tufts, when we went to visit the campus though we were so turned off by the setting/location that we cancelled her appointment.

+1 as we drove onto Tuft’s campus my daughter was instantly turned off. She wouldn’t even get out of the car. She hated the environment.

Again, Tufts is spending a ton of money on capital improvements.

Capital improvements don't help the suburban location. Tufts is not in the city of Boston

BC is mostly in the suburbs and is farther to Government Center than Tufts. By the way, Tufts is only 6 miles to Gov't Center.

Yet so much harder to reach than it is from BC where the T comes all the way to campus.

Huh? The Green line added a Tufts stop?

It’s a courtesy for the roaches & rats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The last Common Data Set BC posted is from 21-22. Does anyone know when a more recent one will be released?

No, though you can find some data for fall 2023 (what would be in the 23-24 CDS) here https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=boston+college&s=all&id=164924#admsns

I'm a little surprised to see BC's yield at only 41%. Georgetown's yield is almost 50%, while Notre Dame's yield is 60%.

In comparison to the Boston schools, BU's yield is 27%, but Tufts' yield is 51% and Northeastern's is 50%

[Anonymous]

If you're considering BC, they are still test optional for next year, but if you have above a 1350, they really want you to submit it, especially if that score is high for your community/high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're considering BC, they are still test optional for next year, but if you have above a 1350, they really want you to submit it, especially if that score is high for your community/high school.

To be fair, only 28% of freshmen submitted an SAT score. With other colleges going test mandatory again, look for BC to change in the near future. A metric that isn't published, but should be, is the admission rate for those NOT submitting an SAT score. For BC, I bet it is lower than those who did submit.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, there is an incredible school spirit at BC. Between fall football games, homecoming week, etc. no other Boston school has that "big" sports feel.

And yes, around 25% of students at Boston College come from a catholic high school. There are huge feeders from certain catholic schools.

While BC attracts students from all over, there were only 19 freshmen from VA, 8 from DC, and 42 from MD, with the majority from MD coming from catholic schools. This is compared to more than 500 from Massachusetts. So 10x the students from Massachusetts compared to the DMV.

Compared to Georgetown, where 370 freshmen come from NY and CA, compared to fewer than 200 combined from VA, MD and DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The last Common Data Set BC posted is from 21-22. Does anyone know when a more recent one will be released?

No, though you can find some data for fall 2023 (what would be in the 23-24 CDS) here https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=boston+college&s=all&id=164924#admsns

I'm a little surprised to see BC's yield at only 41%. Georgetown's yield is almost 50%, while Notre Dame's yield is 60%.

In comparison to the Boston schools, BU's yield is 27%, but Tufts' yield is 51% and Northeastern's is 50%

Tufts does not report the percent of class admitted ED. So ignore.
Northeastern numbers don’t include the huge number of kids not starting in Boston in the fall.
Would go BC>Tufts>Northeastern>BU

As for Catholic schools, Notre Dame and Georgetown are both underrated by USNews. BC is a great school but, yes, Notre Dame>Georgetown>BC>Holy Cross>everyone else

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BC's campus and culture obviously fits the parochial school pipeline stereotype, but you don't have to be Catholic to attend. Just be aware that an awful lot of its students came from feeder catholic schools, and at a lot of these schools, sports and partying were pretty big deals. The OP may be looking at that.

Northeastern's campus is a nice compromise from BU's disconnected one and BC's more suburban one. Out of all these schools, school spirit would be hardest to find at BU, and that's just because it is so diverse. All these schools attract students from all over the world, not just from all over the US, so you'll get a true multicultural vibe.

The OP didn't mention the career goals of their child, but that should factor into the equation. Economics as a pre-professional degree entry point? Math for Wall Street? BC is the best for getting into finance, with NEU and BU behind it. Northeastern has a very strong quant reputation if you are looking for a combination of math and econ. Tufts isn't known for that type of career. Of the four, BC gives out the least amount of merit aid. Run the NPC and see what grant aid they'll offer, although when we did it, each of the colleges were within a few thousand dollars of one another.

You’ve distilled BC to a school that attracts students from “partying” high schools? Come on. It’s a lot easier to get into a bar near BU or NEU.

Obviously you never went to Mary Ann’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The last Common Data Set BC posted is from 21-22. Does anyone know when a more recent one will be released?

No, though you can find some data for fall 2023 (what would be in the 23-24 CDS) here https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=boston+college&s=all&id=164924#admsns

I'm a little surprised to see BC's yield at only 41%. Georgetown's yield is almost 50%, while Notre Dame's yield is 60%.

In comparison to the Boston schools, BU's yield is 27%, but Tufts' yield is 51% and Northeastern's is 50%

Tufts does not report the percent of class admitted ED. So ignore.
Northeastern numbers don’t include the huge number of kids not starting in Boston in the fall.
Would go BC>Tufts>Northeastern>BU

As for Catholic schools, Notre Dame and Georgetown are both underrated by USNews. BC is a great school but, yes, Notre Dame>Georgetown>BC>Holy Cross>everyone else

BU has a lower yield compared to the other four, but it was 36%, not 27%. Additionally, they accepted about half of their class through Early Decision. Since they are competing with all the top schools in Regular Decision, I wonder if they will increase the number of ED students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The last Common Data Set BC posted is from 21-22. Does anyone know when a more recent one will be released?

No, though you can find some data for fall 2023 (what would be in the 23-24 CDS) here https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=boston+college&s=all&id=164924#admsns

I'm a little surprised to see BC's yield at only 41%. Georgetown's yield is almost 50%, while Notre Dame's yield is 60%.

In comparison to the Boston schools, BU's yield is 27%, but Tufts' yield is 51% and Northeastern's is 50%

Tufts does not report the percent of class admitted ED. So ignore.
Northeastern numbers don’t include the huge number of kids not starting in Boston in the fall.
Would go BC>Tufts>Northeastern>BU

As for Catholic schools, Notre Dame and Georgetown are both underrated by USNews. BC is a great school but, yes, Notre Dame>Georgetown>BC>Holy Cross>everyone else

Would go to
BC for Finance/Business.
Northeastern for CS/Engineering.
Maybe Tufts for premed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The last Common Data Set BC posted is from 21-22. Does anyone know when a more recent one will be released?

No, though you can find some data for fall 2023 (what would be in the 23-24 CDS) here https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=boston+college&s=all&id=164924#admsns

I'm a little surprised to see BC's yield at only 41%. Georgetown's yield is almost 50%, while Notre Dame's yield is 60%.

In comparison to the Boston schools, BU's yield is 27%, but Tufts' yield is 51% and Northeastern's is 50%

Tufts does not report the percent of class admitted ED. So ignore.
Northeastern numbers don’t include the huge number of kids not starting in Boston in the fall.
Would go BC>Tufts>Northeastern>BU

As for Catholic schools, Notre Dame and Georgetown are both underrated by USNews. BC is a great school but, yes, Notre Dame>Georgetown>BC>Holy Cross>everyone else

BU has a lower yield compared to the other four, but it was 36%, not 27%. Additionally, they accepted about half of their class through Early Decision. Since they are competing with all the top schools in Regular Decision, I wonder if they will increase the number of ED students.

BU admits approximately 600 students for spring admission, whose numbers are not counted in its yield. 3,145 get to start in Boston in the fall.

Northeastern admits approximately 1,000 students in its NU.in program who can't come to the Boston campus until spring. 2,738 get to start in Boston in the fall.

Neither Tufts nor BC have a spring admission/study abroad first semester program.

Data from toptieradmissions

2024
Boston College
EDI and EDII
applicants: 4,301
accepted: 1,375

2,335 total number of freshmen

Boston University
EDI and EDII
applicants: 6,916
accepted: 1,920

3,634 total number of freshmen in Boston


Northeastern:
EDI and EDII:
applicants: EDII 3,000
accepted: 600 EDII, Northeastern has not published its EDI acceptance rate yet (is it hiding it??) In the past is was around 35%

2,600 total number of freshmen in Boston

Tufts
EDI and EDII
applicants: Tufts doesn't report this information


Only Boston College has what I consider to be a very accurate and representative yield.

BU's and NEU's yield is skewed by their alternative admissions program and Tufts does not report its ED rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The last Common Data Set BC posted is from 21-22. Does anyone know when a more recent one will be released?

No, though you can find some data for fall 2023 (what would be in the 23-24 CDS) here https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=boston+college&s=all&id=164924#admsns

I'm a little surprised to see BC's yield at only 41%. Georgetown's yield is almost 50%, while Notre Dame's yield is 60%.

In comparison to the Boston schools, BU's yield is 27%, but Tufts' yield is 51% and Northeastern's is 50%

Tufts does not report the percent of class admitted ED. So ignore.
Northeastern numbers don’t include the huge number of kids not starting in Boston in the fall.
Would go BC>Tufts>Northeastern>BU

As for Catholic schools, Notre Dame and Georgetown are both underrated by USNews. BC is a great school but, yes, Notre Dame>Georgetown>BC>Holy Cross>everyone else

Would go to
BC for Finance/Business.
Northeastern for CS/Engineering.
Maybe Tufts for premed

BU for communications, international relations, journalism
But, the OP said math/econ. For that I would say BC>NEU>BU>Tufts

At some point you will have to look at what the career goal of the student. BC is top flight for finance/Wall Street. Northeastern has a combined BS degree in Math/Economic degree, Tufts has a degree in quantatative economics, BU has a joint degree in math and Economics, but it is a BA.