BU and BC

[Anonymous]

A close friend of mine from HS went to BU. I visited and we bumped into other people from our HS in Greenwich Ct. All of them were mediocre students except my friend who was straight A grades and high SAT but very bad in interviews.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BU feels like Pitt. BC feels like University of Richmond with Jesuits.

Not really. BU is Northeastern. NYU but the students not as good. Drexel. A little GWU.

BC is Duke, Wake Forest.

Drexel is two levels below BU.
GWU is a level below..

Duke is two levels above BC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course BU attracted Jewish kids. BC is Cstholic.

But how Catholic is it really? What does that look like in day-to-day student life?

(I'm asking about the CURRENT student experience, not what it was like (or its reputation) in 1985-2005.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course BU attracted Jewish kids. BC is Cstholic.

But how Catholic is it really? What does that look like in day-to-day student life?

(I'm asking about the CURRENT student experience, not what it was like (or its reputation) in 1985-2005.)

NP. Back in the late 80s, plenty of Catholic students like myself attended mass maybe once in four years. There are current students who attend regularly, and participate in religious-related clubs, but most do not. Plenty of other things to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course BU attracted Jewish kids. BC is Cstholic.

But how Catholic is it really? What does that look like in day-to-day student life?

(I'm asking about the CURRENT student experience, not what it was like (or its reputation) in 1985-2005.)

BC, like most Catholic schools, has been getting more Catholic lately. Not as much as ND, but I'm told it's a noticeable difference from the late 90s. I would not go there expecting even Georgetown level Catholic lite-ness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Small sample size from DD’s school, this past yr & previous yr. Know of 4 kids accepted ed1 & ed2 to BU, 3 test-optional, good gpa’s but not quite at tippy-top of hs class(guessing top 20-30%). One good friend rejected from BC ed2, 1550 sat & now attending a t20. My dd(uw4.0, 35/1520, now attending t20) & ex-bf(nmsf, uw4.0, 35/1550, now attending an ivy)in at BC rd. Both waitlisted at BU.

Imagine a spaceship from another solar system intercepting this post & trying to make sense of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BC is small and traditionally Catholic (tho not overtly so any more)

BU is large

Both are places people go to when they don't get into Harvard but still want the Boston experience and to rub shoulders with the Harvard kids. I am not joking.

I don’t know where you got the idea that BC & BU kids are actively trying to rub shoulders (or any other body parts) with Harvard people

Oh just having grown up nearby and seen it with my own eyes, decade after decade....

See WHAT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course BU attracted Jewish kids. BC is Cstholic.

But how Catholic is it really? What does that look like in day-to-day student life?

(I'm asking about the CURRENT student experience, not what it was like (or its reputation) in 1985-2005.)

BC, like most Catholic schools, has been getting more Catholic lately. Not as much as ND, but I'm told it's a noticeable difference from the late 90s. I would not go there expecting even Georgetown level Catholic lite-ness.

DH and I are BC alums and DD is heading there in a couple weeks. No, BC did not turn up the Catholic. It’s still as Catholic-or-not as you want it to be.

[Anonymous]

BC is Catholic and they don’t try to hide it. You will see signs, sounds and activities of Catholicism. There is a large Catholic student population there. In no way do students need to be Catholic and you don’t have to participate in anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Agree with PP- less noticeable than ND, more so than Georgetown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BC is Catholic and they don’t try to hide it. You will see signs, sounds and activities of Catholicism. There is a large Catholic student population there. In no way do students need to be Catholic and you don’t have to participate in anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Agree with PP- less noticeable than ND, more so than Georgetown.

BC and Georgetown are Jesuit schools, Notre Dame is not. The Jesuit brand of Catholicism is different, has always been different. A couple of decades ago there were Jesuit priests who were politicians and all that I remember were democrats and very liberal. All of these schools have a broad appeal, but Notre Dame will feel the most religiously Catholic and the most conservative. BC links its Catholic mission with service. That said, feeder schools are Catholic high schools and they will have a higher percentage of kids from Catholic families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BC is Catholic and they don’t try to hide it. You will see signs, sounds and activities of Catholicism. There is a large Catholic student population there. In no way do students need to be Catholic and you don’t have to participate in anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Agree with PP- less noticeable than ND, more so than Georgetown.

BC and Georgetown are Jesuit schools, Notre Dame is not. The Jesuit brand of Catholicism is different, has always been different. A couple of decades ago there were Jesuit priests who were politicians and all that I remember were democrats and very liberal. All of these schools have a broad appeal, but Notre Dame will feel the most religiously Catholic and the most conservative. BC links its Catholic mission with service. That said, feeder schools are Catholic high schools and they will have a higher percentage of kids from Catholic families.

Linking your Catholic mission with service is still Catholicism, albeit more appealing a variety than traditionalism.

Agree that the Jesus are not trads. However, even within the Jesuit congregation, newer recruits are appreciably more conservative than they were in congressman Bob Drinan's day. All new priests are more conservative. They're Jesuits, not Holy Cross Fathers, but they're still more conservative than the ones who came in in the 70s.

How much will this affect a Jewish or atheist kid on campus? Not very much? You don't have to go to chapel. But the vibe has shifted since they fired Mary Daley.

[Anonymous]

Both great schools but for different kids. Tour and your kid will figure out which one fits them better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BC and BU have such different styles that I wonder if many students even apply to both at the same time.

My daughter only applied to BU but due to the uncertainty of financial aid, she applied RD. She was one of the top in her class and completed the IBDP. She is attending BU since she received great financial aid.

We have a very positive impression of the school so far. Unlike when we first applied, this experience has made us reconsider not only the academic excellence of schools but also how important the regional characteristics are.

What does this mean?

NP I believe the PP is referring to how white BC and that corner of the Boston metroplex is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Boston - there is a HUGE difference in bc and bu students and their “brand” in the city

BC kids are tapped into a way stronger network with better and more interesting jobs

BU is willing to take a lot more BPS kids tho which is nice but BC kids as a whole are more polished, attractive, etc

This is true.

Also From my Boston days BU attracted more Jewish kids if that matters to the OP. I believe it still does.

BC definitely has the stronger alum network and regardless of current acceptance rates and test scores I think BC still has the stronger more prestigious brand in New England.

"BC kids are "more polished, attractive"? Who says this kind of thing? And of course BU has more Jewish students...BC is a Catholic college. This is among the dumbest post I've seen in a long time.

And if BC is not "willing to take" BPS kids, shame on BC.

It's more than the fact that BC is Catholic. BU has something like 30% Jewish population, way more than for example Northeastern. It's always had strong Jewish representation.
BC is preppier, more vineyard vines and khakis largely bc of the NE and Mid Atlantic Catholic Schools communities that it pulls from. I can see why the PP would call it 'more polished'

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BU feels like Pitt. BC feels like University of Richmond with Jesuits.

Not really. BU is Northeastern. NYU but the students not as good. Drexel. A little GWU.

BC is Duke, Wake Forest.

Drexel is two levels below BU.
GWU is a level below..

Duke is two levels above BC.

BU is like GWU, but a little bit higher, city campus, larger school
BC is like Georgetown, a little bit lower, mid sized school, enclosed campus adjacent to the city