Boston University Top Questions

The best thing about BU is that it is in Boston. The school is too big, even though it has a good reputation. I spend most of my time in the library, or in my room. There is absolutely no college town, or sense of community at all.

There is always something to do in Boston. BU is a 5 minute walk from Fenway, and only a 15 minute ride or less by train to the middle of the city. Copley Square (where all the sports partying goes on) is a 5-10 minute walk, and every year the atmosphere for all the sports teams is amazing. There is a lot of pride for our hockey team. Most people attend at least a few games a year and you can get into every single sporting event by paying a one time $90 fee at the beginning of the year. Classes are usually no bigger than 150 people (depending on what your major is). BU may be one of the most expensive schools in the country, but they give a lot of financial aid and scholarships to help out. Whatever you pay is worth the experience of living on your own in one of the greatest cities in the country.

BU is a college whose "campus" is spread along Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. For me, it was the perfect mix of a college experience, and a city-integrated university. Having come from a smaller town, Boston was a great place to attend school. As a city, Boston is a comfortably sized, moderately populated, entertaining city that was fun and exciting to explore during my four years there. With the newly built Agganis Arena, many huge music acts as well as sports team land on the BU campus during their tours through the country, making it a great place spend a Friday night for BU students and Bostonians alike. The on- campus housing is impressively beautiful, particularly if one stays on campus until their junior or senior years, when one becomes eligible to live in the new high-rise of 10 Buick Street. I lived in 10 Buick for a year and still have yet to find another apartment that rivals it in terms of comfort and it's unmatched view of Boston along the Charles river. The largest complaint overall is the price of tuition. At $40,000 and rising, it can be an added burden that sometimes can raise question marks when places such as the Fine Arts Building or the College of General Studies suffer from long-overdue ned of renovation. However, that voice is being heard to some extent - on a recent trip back to BU, I saw changes being made not only within those colleges, but across campus. It is definitely a college for people wanting a more city-integrated experience within a large university.

What's the best thing about BU? Being right in the middle of Boston Name one thing you'd change. The non-major course requirements. Is your school too large, too small, or just right? Just right How do people react when you tell them you go to BU? No big reaction, positive or negative Where do you spend most of your time on campus? School of Management and the BU Pub College town, or "what college town?" College town! What's your opinion of BU's administration? They're pretty cool What was the biggest recent controversy on campus? Losing the Beanpot. Is there a lot of school pride? Not a ton, but enough Is there anything unusual about BU? They film MIT movies here because we're just that good. What's one experience you'll always remember? the 2004 world series, obviously What are the most frequent student complaints? housing rules and financial aid

I love being in the city. I would change the mascot, and perhaps the 'brothel rule', as I see that as unfair. Plus, I know that from where I come from (southern states) it's a blast to have fraternity and sorority houses co-mingling. People always seem to find BU to be quite prestigious when I tell them I go there, but at the same time, they find it strange that I didn't get into the University of Florida. This is the epitome of a college town, with far more of the city geared toward the college crowd than any other major city I can think of. BU's administration seems to be solid, and I certainly am no expert by any means, but the cost to benefit ratio seems astronomical. There is a $90 fee hidden in the meal plan to account for stolen food items? Who can steal $90 worth of food? There is a decent amount of school pride, but with no football program to speak of, and teams that receive a lot of money but don't put out many wins, it's hard to get a campus motivated. In a small town with a big campus, such as George Mason, BC, FSU, UF, etc. it's easy to get the campus to go to games, because there isn't much else. But Boston has so much to offer that there sports games aren't always the top priority of the student body.

Excellent faculty. Boston is an incredible city for students. Dean Elmore is a great Dean of students, President Brown is a figure head (with a mansion). Lots of red tape, EVERYTHING costs money. BU is more concerned with money (and hockey) than students. Best housing is the brownstones (specialty residences or otherwise). Recent controversies include girls being assaulted at night and kids signing in people they didn't know into large residences resulting in assault.

Best thing about BU is the campus -- once the beautification project is done, it will be arguably the best urban campus in the US. The campus is what makes BU unusual. Worst thing is that we don't have football, so when the ice hockey team sucks (like it does this year), there's nothing to root for. BU's administration has taken great steps in recent years to be more in-tune with the student body -- they've added cable to dorms, added nice housing, built a fantastic gym, and revised the guest policy for dorms. Definitely on the up-swing.

Boston is (I'm not the first to say this) the perfect college town! That having been said, BU might be a bit too big--both in the size of the campus and the number of students that go here. The campus has 3 T stops (BU East, Central, and West), but the actually campus spreads out even farther. As an English major, as for most majors, almost all of my classes are in one building, so going from class to class is not really an issue. What it does mean, however, is that students in different programs are pretty much entirely cut off from each other. I'm in an a cappella group, so I have rehearsals in the College of Fine Arts building on occasion. If I didn't, though, I would never see much of West Campus at all.

The best thing about BU is that almost every single good thing you will read about in the recruiting materials is true The one thing I would change is the level of outrageous unresponsiveness the administration often displays. The BU beurocracy is probably the one major reason why some people decide to transfer BU is probably one of the largest schools I have seen, but I find that really exciting. Having lived in big cities my whole life I probably would not want to be spending long winter months in a small, quiet village-like place. Besides, there are some dorms/part of campus that feel very cosy even in spite of BU's enourmous size. I think most people react very positively when I tell them I go to BU. In my experience, BU has a very good academic reputation, and my parents rarely miss an opportunity to mention that I go to Boston University. I think all students spend most of their time in the dorms, which is quite natural considering that's where you and your friends live. This is also a reason why choosing a good dorm is really crucial. Boston is definitely a college town, no doubt about it. One thing I will miss about it when I graduate is getting on the T filled 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} by people under 25. On the flip side of that, however, the fact that BU's campus is almost a "college town" in itself may mean that sometimes you have to make the effort to get out and explore other parts of the city. BU's administration is considered by many to be the most unpleasant aspect of the whole BU experience. Some shortcomings of the administration are due to the large size of the school, and one can only sympathize with them on that. But there is also a lot of neglect and what I think is a lack of true, genuine devotion to the BU community that is clear in many administrative policies. Hopefully, president Brown will be willing and able to change some of that, but so far we are still waiting. The biggest recent controversy on campus was probably the draconian guest policy, which was successfully modified to a much more sympathetic one last year. School pride at BU is somewhat hampered by the fact that hockey is the only really "big" sport on campus. I think there is a general consensus that more emphasis on developing good sports teams would elevate the school pride significantly. It is hard to pin point something that is unusual about BU for someone who is so much a part of this community - a true outsider would only be able to do that. BU is 'usual' to me, so I guess everything about it is. The only thing that is kind of strange to me is the art gallery at 800 Commonwealth that always has new art displays, but I do not know anyone who has ever seen any people within the actual gallery.

I personally love everything about BU except the price tag. I love living in Boston, the chance to live in ancient brownstones, being right on the Charles, all that. There's so many classes and activities to choose from, everyone can find a niche. Some people complain that there's no football team (no football is one reason I came to BU, I wanted a hockey school!) but no one went to the games when there was a football team, anyway. There's free stuff going on every weekend, and Boston has so much culture it's hard to be bored.