Greg
The best thing about BU is broomball, hands down. I would change the school by admitting fewer snobby kids and by increasing the quality of the academics. When I tell people I go to BU they tend to chuckle, act impressed, or both. I spend most of my time on campus in or near Kenmore square or in my dormitory. Boston is bascially the best college town ever and is probably one of the only reasons to attend BU. It doesn't feel like a huge party town but you're so isolated from people who are younger or older than you that makes it feel very safe and comfortable. I haven't had a lot of contact with BU's administration but I certainly hate their administrative offices. Good luck getting transferred to the right place... The last huge controversy on campus was when the city of Boston thought a light bright was a bomb and spent a ridiculous amount of money calling in the bomb squad to de-activate it. There isn't that much school pride because BU is where you go if you didn't get into your preferred ivy league. For most students BU is a second choice. BU is not that unusual - I've heard the BU, NYU, and Georgetown are all remarkably similar schools in very different cities. The one experience I will always remember is the BU bum. I loved that guy. He had the best flame-adorned Converse ever. The most frequent student complaints are that BU isn't the ivy league they wanted to get into and that BU is so large the social scene can be awkward.
Andrea
Not a college town, its a city.
One of the Best Things has been Stage Troupe, amazingly large group, amazing people.
Ricky
Academics. If there was just one thing I would like to change I would name it, but there are too many: bureaucracy, in bed with corporations, don't care what students do or think, more condoms on campus. There are thousands of things. Probably it is too large, but it is fine for me. They don't react. I spend most of my time in the library. Allston is a college town. BU's administration would be best suited to resign and have anyone else take over. Biggest controversy is the terrible administration. What is school pride. Is there anything usual about anywhere. I remember everything. Most students hate the administration.
rachel
Best thing about BU is the diversity of the student body, but the worst part is how segregated it is. It is legitmately difficult to spend time meeting people when academics are supposed to be top priority. Also, getting anything done at BU requires murking through so much red tape that it often isn't worth doing.
I spend most of my time on campus at Espresso Royale or at my house, the Co-op on Bay State Road, which was the best way I found a diverse and caring community within BU's campus.
Sarah
Boston is one the best things about BU. It is such an amazing city to be a student in. Also, BU is such a huge school that there is always stuff going on and there all a million and a half things to do. Because it is so big, though, there tends to be a lot of paperwork and beaurocratic drag. Things take a while to get through the system. I would deffinitly have less red tape, though I understand why it's there. On the flip side, BU does a great job of making such a big school seem small and personable. My advisor is awesome, and Dean Elmore is basically great all the time (case and point he just tap-danced in dinner theater). Hockey is where all the school pride is; Boston is a great college hockey town. Also, a lot of pride goes to Boston sports in general. Even if you're from California you'll probably get sucked into Red Sox fever.
Gene
The best thing about BU is definitely the people.
I'd probably change the cost of school - $45K gets to be a bit much for the pockets.
BU felt small for me, but I'm in a serious minority on that. Adding more students would cause chaos in Boston, not just for housing, but for the lines at the student union.
When I say I went to BU, people gasp in excitement, and say, "Oh wow, that's so cool!" That is, until I say, "Yea, it was alright."
I spent most of my time on campus at the GSU, and not in class.
I guess Boston IS a 'college town' because I didn't see anybody over the age of 25 anywhere...
I think BU's administration wastes money like it's their job - because it IS their job. Look no further than the Daniel Goldin debacle. I also think that they're behind the times.
The biggest recent controversy (when I was there) was the Daniel Goldin thing, I think. That was after John Silber dismissed gays as a subspecies.
A lot of school pride? Not really - because there's nothing to really rally behind. So, there's no collective school pride amongst students, but there is a personal feeling of "Wow, I go to BU."
It's unusual that - for a school so diverse - there are so few Black students.
Chris
One thing I will never forget about BU happened last year during finals time. During finals, the Mugar Library is open 24/7, and many students take advantage of this time to get some actual studying done. For me, I can't study at home, especially now that I live off campus and I'm 21--far too many distractions. I was here until the early hours of the morning several times, and I started to notice a certain girl who was always in the same spot on the second floor. She always looked disheveled and nervous, flipping through notes frantically, making flashcards, highlighting textbooks, etc. It was on about my third night in the library during finals period that I noticed the smell. There was a cloud of odor around this poor girl that was like gym socks and wet hamster. As I left at around 2 that morning, I saw some purple fabric poking out from underneath the table where the smelly girl had formerly been sitting--she brought a sleeping bag, and spent literally 24 hours a day during study periods in the library! It wasn't like she had chosen a particularly inconspicuous spot, either; she was right in the middle of the main hallway!
I understand trying to get some studying done, but is it really necessary to camp out in the library? BU is really not THAT academically challenging. At least she could've bathed...
KC
The best thing about BU is the campus. Of course, its big and its located right in Boston but its a great college town! My school is not so big at least not for me but just the right size. When I do tell people back home that I go to BU, they are often impressed and frankly I don't disagree. Boston University is a great university with divers majors and so many other opportunities.
I love the BU administration here. I feel since I more involved in my school I know more administrators all of which have such a passion towards the students here. If you're walking down the street, they'll greet you and even though they might not know your name, those two seconds they take out of their day to say "hello" makes you feel good.
Concerning school pride, I don't think we have a lot of it. We do brag about our hockey team but not that many or even the majority of BU students attend the games.
Regina
I'd say the best thing about being at BU is really just being in Boston and being surrounded by people who are your age and with your same lifestyle all the time. Mostly I'd just change some aspects of dorm life like the fact that we have to sign in guests and that you can't go into a building other than your own after 2am. I understand it's for safety, but it's really inconvenient. And with all the money coming into the school, it's amazing how little of it is coming into the living conditions and is pouring straight into new facilities. There is one really good dining hall on campus which has pretty good options, and there is a nice student central where a lot of people go to meet and spend time between classes. One thing I really like is being able to walk around campus and see a new face every day. There are something like 40,000 students at this school, and yet somehow, surrounded by all these complete strangers, I feel like I know everyone. The school really does shrink as soon as you settle in and meet people and get into the swing of things. I spend most of my time in my dorm in West Campus, which is like its own little community. I'm sure it's not the most proud school, but I really love seeing people really happy to be here and showing pride at sporting events and functions. Thus far, the things I'll remember most are the goofy things I've done with friends.
Reese
Best thing about BU is its size in the sense that you can really try out anything.
I would do a complete overhaul of the classes that are designed to grade more on the format of an answer rather than the content. Certain classes are run where they clearly don't know how to utilize your time, or they don't really test you on material (they'll ask really stupid, trivial questions instead). The problem is they aren't isolated to one department. They're scattered and can even only be part of an otherwise decent class.
I was expecting BU to feel too large, but it's actually not because of all the subdivisions within the entire massive community.
People were more impressed than I was when I said I go to BU. I feel proud to attend BU, and people definitely respect the international relations and premedicine programs.
If I'm on campus, I'm either in my dorm studying and relaxing or in class. Crunch times I go to Mugar Library, which instantly makes me buckle down and study like a demon.
Boston is a college town because there are college students everywhere, but when you go into the city,it also doesn't feel like one because despite the kids your age, there are even more people who aren't and who are just going on with daily life. Charles River campus feels a lot more like a campus than a lot of people say, just because the majority of buildings are BU buildings and nobody else has business walking down those sidewalks besides BU students. It's technically open, but the sidewalks still fill with BU students going to class every half hour.
I would change the way the administration is run. A lot of times it feels despite the ridiculous tuition that very little of the money comes back to the students (ex. my physiology lab required us to buy latex gloves for dissection days, which feels like giving your little brother a $20 to go get you ice cream and him coming back with 10 Pokemon cards and saying the $20 wasn't enough). That said, despite being bulky and slow and bureaucratic, stuff does get done. Eventually. We recently had a change in guest policy, which made the rules for having even other BU students over somewhat less psychotic compared to the guest policies of pretty much anywhere else.
Biggest recent controversy probably was the change in guest policy. It was a big change, and it relaxed a lot of things. The students were more than overjoyed, but there were a couple instances of people being assaulted in dorms. Whether it was actually more frequent this year since the change went into effect, I doubt it.
School pride depends on your social group. A lot are completely apathetic, some take pride in what they do through BU, others are fanatics, and these people tend to paint themselves red and go to hockey games.
Our guest policy is still unusual. Our "campus" is unusual. The frat parties out in West I guess you could say are unusually crowded and sketchy and "dry up" quickly.
Most frequent student complaints are usually to get more money to come back to the students. And because of the guest policy, there is a tangible air of distrust and hostility between a lot of students and the administration.