Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to BU in the early 2000s and it was competitive, meaning above 3.0 gpa from a good school and 1300 sat. Now it seems impossible and highly competitive with the sat needing to be above 1500 if you’re coming from a top dmv public. It’s changed!!!

Also BU has some slightly easier “back doors”

College of general studies - do two years of gen Ed and then can transfer to Arts and sciences, communications, education or management

Education then transfer college within bu

Anonymous wrote:I went to BU in the early 2000s and it was competitive, meaning above 3.0 gpa from a good school and 1300 sat. Now it seems impossible and highly competitive with the sat needing to be above 1500 if you’re coming from a top dmv public. It’s changed!!!

Anonymous wrote:I know several kids who attend BU and they love it. They've made great friends at the school and since Boston is a college town, they've made friends at several of the other universities in Boston. Academically, it's challenging and there isn't grade deflation as another poster mentioned, but they have maintained the same rigorous grading structure that most universities had 30 years ago (i.e., other national universities have grade inflation). I feel this helps students realize their actual standing relative to others and better prepares them for the realities of the workforce. Most employers hiring from BU understand the grading structure so we haven't noticed it impacting future employment.

Its a very selective school to get into and the bar is high (average 1430 SAT average / 32 ACT) but it's not the most selective. I know we need to take university rankings with a grain a salt, but it is a top 50 nationally ranked school and has been for years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know several kids who attend BU and they love it. They've made great friends at the school and since Boston is a college town, they've made friends at several of the other universities in Boston. Academically, it's challenging and there isn't grade deflation as another poster mentioned, but they have maintained the same rigorous grading structure that most universities had 30 years ago (i.e., other national universities have grade inflation). I feel this helps students realize their actual standing relative to others and better prepares them for the realities of the workforce. Most employers hiring from BU understand the grading structure so we haven't noticed it impacting future employment.

Its a very selective school to get into and the bar is high (average 1430 SAT average / 32 ACT) but it's not the most selective. I know we need to take university rankings with a grain a salt, but it is a top 50 nationally ranked school and has been for years.

It's incredibly expensive for what it is though, and they are sheepish on merit unless you're a super stat kid or have something else unique to offer.

It's a campus located right outside of downtown Boston in the middle of a great place for students to live. That alone makes it attractive

Anonymous wrote:I graduated HS in 1990. BU, NYU and GW were considered good but not difficult to gain admittance colleges then. They were targets for college oriented but middle of the road students from my public HS (and I don’t think admissions was as “holistic” back then - your gpa/sat were pretty determinative of where you were admitted). Now NYU is extremely competitive, BU is very competitive and on the rise, and GW doesn’t seem to have changed much. Not sure why but this interests me (like the eay certain SLACs have becoke much more competitive since that same time period, and others that at the time were similar have become less so).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did it get so competitive? I honestly didn’t think it had a great reputation, either academically if for the experience, and thought it was sort of equivalent to GWU, decent school for kids really wanting a full city experience but apparently it has gotten more competitive?

My DS and I were using collegevine and BU is coming up as a reach with less than 20 percent chance of admission, equivalent to a lot of schools in the 10-20 range. It just surprised me.

DS is finishing 10th grade and I can tell this whole experience is going to be a PITA.

BU has always had great faculty. And it’s in Boston, the Athens of America, has extensive undergrad and graduate schools, has its own med school and law school. I don’t see any valid comparison with GW.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know several kids who attend BU and they love it. They've made great friends at the school and since Boston is a college town, they've made friends at several of the other universities in Boston. Academically, it's challenging and there isn't grade deflation as another poster mentioned, but they have maintained the same rigorous grading structure that most universities had 30 years ago (i.e., other national universities have grade inflation). I feel this helps students realize their actual standing relative to others and better prepares them for the realities of the workforce. Most employers hiring from BU understand the grading structure so we haven't noticed it impacting future employment.

Its a very selective school to get into and the bar is high (average 1430 SAT average / 32 ACT) but it's not the most selective. I know we need to take university rankings with a grain a salt, but it is a top 50 nationally ranked school and has been for years.

It's incredibly expensive for what it is though, and they are sheepish on merit unless you're a super stat kid or have something else unique to offer.

Anonymous wrote:BU had around 18,000 applicants this year for the freshman class. The huge increase in applications at many schools is reflected in the decreased acceptance rate. (My own kid was waitlisted at BU this year.) My advice: don’t let your kid fall head over heels with any one school. Even if applying ED! Be optimistic but realistic. And apply to lots of true matches and true safeties.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did it get so competitive? I honestly didn’t think it had a great reputation, either academically if for the experience, and thought it was sort of equivalent to GWU, decent school for kids really wanting a full city experience but apparently it has gotten more competitive?

My DS and I were using collegevine and BU is coming up as a reach with less than 20 percent chance of admission, equivalent to a lot of schools in the 10-20 range. It just surprised me.

DS is finishing 10th grade and I can tell this whole experience is going to be a PITA.

BU has always had great faculty. And it’s in Boston, the Athens of America, has extensive undergrad and graduate schools, has its own med school and law school. I don’t see any valid comparison with GW.

Anonymous wrote:When did it get so competitive? I honestly didn’t think it had a great reputation, either academically if for the experience, and thought it was sort of equivalent to GWU, decent school for kids really wanting a full city experience but apparently it has gotten more competitive?

My DS and I were using collegevine and BU is coming up as a reach with less than 20 percent chance of admission, equivalent to a lot of schools in the 10-20 range. It just surprised me.

DS is finishing 10th grade and I can tell this whole experience is going to be a PITA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BU had around 18,000 applicants this year for the freshman class. The huge increase in applications at many schools is reflected in the decreased acceptance rate. (My own kid was waitlisted at BU this year.) My advice: don’t let your kid fall head over heels with any one school. Even if applying ED! Be optimistic but realistic. And apply to lots of true matches and true safeties.

For the class of 2026 over 80,000 applications resulting in an acceptance rate of 14%

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know several kids who attend BU and they love it. They've made great friends at the school and since Boston is a college town, they've made friends at several of the other universities in Boston. Academically, it's challenging and there isn't grade deflation as another poster mentioned, but they have maintained the same rigorous grading structure that most universities had 30 years ago (i.e., other national universities have grade inflation). I feel this helps students realize their actual standing relative to others and better prepares them for the realities of the workforce. Most employers hiring from BU understand the grading structure so we haven't noticed it impacting future employment.

Its a very selective school to get into and the bar is high (average 1430 SAT average / 32 ACT) but it's not the most selective. I know we need to take university rankings with a grain a salt, but it is a top 50 nationally ranked school and has been for years.

It's incredibly expensive for what it is though, and they are sheepish on merit unless you're a super stat kid or have something else unique to offer.