Boston College

Attending postgraduate school at Boston College was one of the worst experiences of my entire life.
The professors were excellent but the administration was incompetent and uncaring. While I was working on my Ph.D. (I had finished 45 credits) and doing research for my dissertation, my parents were hit head-​on by a trailer truck. In addition to working full-​time as a department chair at a state college, I was also their caretaker.
I asked for an extension on the time limit for the dissertation and the college refused, after all my work and all the money I spent.
To make matters more interesting, my advisor, an elderly Jesuit priest, did not know the difference between a state college and a vocational-​technical school! I had to remind him whenever we met!
It gets better…
The college allowed me to take comprehensive exams, on which I did well, and I graduated with high honor. They even named me to Phi Delta Kappa. Then, two weeks before graduation, I got a letter saying I could not graduate because I was never accepted.
Fortunately, I had kept my acceptance letter.
So now, Boston College feels entitled to call me repeatedly and send me requests for donations. My donation was my tuition for my nonexistent Ph.D.
And in my tenure at a state college, I have worked with thousands of students, none of whom I ever sent to Boston College for transfer purposes.
There is justice in life if one is patient.
Go elsewhere!

I got a great education and it’s a beautiful place to be for four years and extra year for Graf school. Go Eagles!!! Unilocal love me

Nice campus.
Nice architectural buildings.
Dorms aren’t too bad. Got assigned a suite with some colleagues. Four rooms with two beds each, but we each had our own rooms. There was a Kitchenette, no oven.
Main Cafeteria had decent food.
Found the gate to the stadium open, so got to check it out a bit.

The school of theology and ministry at Boston College was an awesome experience. Although my connection to BC is as a grad student, it is a community that you really feel a part of even without the full undergraduate experience.

Cops are mean. They rudely interrupted our derp sesh and even stole my roommates lighter. Definitely not stoner friendly.

I’ve been here working for the last several months — sometimes onsite and sometimes remote. The campus is beautiful, large and sprawling and I like the city of Brighton, but in all fairness I’ve been here went the students have been on break. They are moving in this week.
The place is very walk friendly and has a nice combination of old and new buildings. What I’ll take away most are the staff that work here. Out of all the IT projects I’ve worked on, nobody has been this engaging, friendly and respectful. It’s to the point that I almost want to break there system so I can stay. Everyone is so friendly and laid back. They make a point to invite me to staff functions, like the picnic they had last week or give me advice on things to see and do.
I can’t wait for the next phase of the project.

This is one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever visited. The administration has made pains to increase endowment and infrastructure and prestige to this university and it definitely shows.
I had the pleasure of delivering a speech here for Asian American leaders, and man, the student leaders and student body in general were super impressive, friendly, driven, and focused.
I’m looking forward to the future impact this next generation of leaders will bring to the world.

Awesome college! Beautiful campus, rigorous academics and solid values. If it ain’t your thing, that’s okay, but recognize it’s a top-​rate school… and where else do they have a kick-​ass statue of Doug Flutie?
High five…5 stars!

I was visiting my nephew here the other day and the campus was incredibly impressive. My nephew has told me about the quality of teachers he has experienced here and he says they are top grade. I have been to many universities on the East coast and this one is one of the best kept and beautiful. Very pleasant experience and 5 star school — highly recommend.

Personally I have had an incredible experience here for a bunch of reasons. Pros? I would say the size is a pro– its big enough that you’re always meeting new people, but small enough that you’ll run into a dozen people you know any given day. Obviously the education you’ll get is a pro, its an incredible school academically. We have the one of the best business schools in the country. Other great programs are nursing, irish history, and the school of ed. Pretty much any major you choose will be an impressive program. Another pro is location. You’re within 20 – 30 of anything in central Boston you want to see. You’re 40 minutes on the T from TD Garden/​The North End. Unlike a lot of colleges with proximity to a major city, we also have an awesome, enclosed campus. Football games, however small that may seem, are also a major pull. Some of my best experiences here have been the tailgating for football games. A major pro about BC is that there is always something to get involved in no matter what your interests are.
As for cons, these are a little more abstract and subjective. Nightlife at BC can vary drastically. As a freshman its true that you would spend most of your weekends drinking in dorm rooms because you probably won’t know anyone living off campus and the mods aren’t too friendly sometimes when it comes to freshman. BC parties can be VERY concerned with ratios, it sounds ridiculous (because it is) but a freshman/​sophomore boy generally needs to bring at least 3 girls with him if he tries to get into most any party. Personally? I have had a fun time in terms of parties, it’s just a matter of finding a good group, which is pretty easy to do here. Also, the older you get, the better the party situation will get for you as you meet people living off campus and in the mods. When you turn 21, you’ll find BC has to offer some of the best weekends you could find anywhere. Another con would probably be the fact that most people are only guaranteed three years of housing, which means you will probably need to live off campus for a year (but some people also think thats a good thing, I love it) One semi-​con is Newton, but I lived on Newton and it isnt nearly as bad as it sounds. Yes, the bus can get kinda brutal in the dead of winter, but there truly is a sense of community that’s kind of tough to beat. I guess you could say the weather is a con but honestly it’s not so hard to get used to, and it makes it 10x better when spring finally rolls around.
Can’t say i’m not thrilled to go home for vacations, but I have made unbelievable friends here and it makes me biased, GO BC!

Went to the Flynn Recreation Center for basketball. It was a one time deal my league commissioner organized to let us use the facility. I walked in and checked in at the counter. The guy had no information on us using the facility. He sent us inside to another check in area and they had no clue nor did they know why they sent us in there. Can you say passing the buck?
Gym was a sweat box! I would say it was at least 90 degrees easy. Never mind the humidity. Hottest gym I’ve ever been in.
Oh then I had to run out to my car and move it before I got a ticket because no one told us to park in the garage. More buck passing…

BC is not without its issues, but it has generous financial aid (not everyone who attends is as affluent as you might think), and it really takes the idea of Cura Personalis (care for the whole person) to heart. Love this school.

I’ll start by saying I’ve only completed one term and have a few more to go, so my initial rating may change after further exposure to BC. I agree with many of the earlier reviews about BC: The staff/​students are pretty nice, the campus is pretty and it’s on the T. Maybe my expectations were higher because of my excellent previous educational experiences from «lower-​tiered» universities or because of all the bragging this school seems to do about itself. It doesn’t help the situation when you factor in a VERY expensive cost of education with many hidden extra fees they don’t tell you until it’s time to advance. The instructor quality is hit or miss, there’s not many that would fall into a gray spectrum. I’ve only seen one that I would equate on the same level as the better instructors I’ve previously had. The staff are nice and seem to care about student success, but you’re not paying for kindness, you’re paying for an education. Some of my major complaints with BC is the disorganization of the program and insufficient quantity of lab supplies provided that should be available, seeing you pay lab fees in addition to tuition. It’s also a turn-​off when they try to sell you on additional courses or programs the university offers. The main ‘red-​flag’ that has me second-​guessing this university is a class of ~ 50 students scoring a mean of 79% on a comprehensive final that had a minimum pass score of 80%. The highest score being 93%, the lowest ‘A’ possible. Seeing many in the class have master’s and doctorates, this is highly concerning and tells me there is a very high probability that the rationale for the failing average is most likely attributed to the curriculum and instruction and not the participants.

I went to UPenn for my undergraduate studies and I’m finishing up my Master’s at BC.
It’s not a «grad school» university, first and foremost. It’s really more akin to a liberal arts college that happens to have a fairly small, but generally well-​ranked, graduate system. You see that a lot in the administration and how it differentiates BC grad students and undergrads (sans maybe the Law School who tend to get preferiential treatment in some ways).
The professors I’ve had ranged from poor-​to-​really good. I don’t think I’ve had any I would consider superlative but most are decent educators who seem to care for their students. Having gone to Penn undergrad I had access to some of the finest professors in the world and I think that’s lacking, at least on the grad level, at BC (at least in my own experience and having talked to many students in other programs).
The campus is gorgeous, it’s safe, and somewhat dated on the inside.
The best part of BC are the BC alumni. They are fanatical, something that drew me to the school in the first place — try getting a job in this economy without some help! I’ve found that both undergrad and grad alumni are super willing to help with the job search.
I could have gone to a far higher ranked school but I think I made the right decision. The alumni, the down-​to-​earth student body the school attracts on the grad level, the graduate rankings (education, law, business, nursing, and social work all rank in the top 30 – 40 programs in the US) and the city (Boston is probably the third largest finance hub in the US behind NYC and Chicago and ahead of LA) make it a good school if you can come on a discount or need to be in Boston and don’t or can’t attend a ‘better’ school in the area for your needs (Harvard, MIT, Tufts, BU, & Brandeis all have top ranked programs in some areas as well).

Toured the outskirts only by car (as slowly as was possible), as it was raining, and the guard at the gate said absolutely no parking. What a wonderful small private college…
though I’ve heard about BC most of my life, little did I know that it resided between posh and extremely affluent Newton and Brookline… as well, we were in Chestnut Hill, so sure… why not swing by and compare, as we had already just seen Wellesley as well as Babson College just hrs before.
It’s gorgeous, really nice campus. Get a fresh, exhilarating feel here. the vibe is real. Student union is gorgeous… historic buildings are grand and stately. Were I in my teens again, I certainly would not discount this higher learning institution, but the – gulp — tuition of $ 40K/​yr not including room/​board would probably kill me!
Love BC! Gorgeous reservoir for the students to run around and chill out when the stress levels are on overheat!
PS Alma mater of Joe Bastianich, son of the illustrious Lidia!

Five. We Are BC!

If I could give 5 stars to only ONE establishment on Unilocal,I’d have to give it to BC. (Thankfully, I don’t have to limit that rating to one.)
Initially, going to BC was not a well thought-​out decision. I chose to go here because my HS best friend wanted to go here. I applied early action with her and I got in — ironically, she didn’t. I ended up accepting to go there based on my hope that she would get in through the waiting list. She didn’t. I decided to stay with my decision because it was one of the top 5 most popular non-​Ivy schools to go to (but hard to get into) from my high school — right up there with Northwestern, NYU, Berkeley, and Columbia. Regardless of which weighed heavier, I chose it for superficial shallow reasons. But, THANK GOD I DID.
I would not trade my experience at BC for anything. I actually followed up my undergrad experience with an extra year in a master’s program in their grad school. Both my academic careers were completed at the Carroll School (CSOM). The fact that the total student body number is fairly low (statistics show that this is a very selective school) does equate to a stronger relationship between student and faculty. That is one of the greatest things about BC that I have heard is not all too common at other universities.
There are A LOT of extracurriculars students can take part in (aside from the non-​BC-​sponsored activities): clubs, various multi-​cultural associations, student-​body government, leadership programs, etc.
I was actually honored to be accepted into the Emerging Leader Program (ELP) in the summer before my freshman year. I am grateful that my parents made me sit down after my high school graduation to write essays to get into this program. The friends I made from this program (a year-​long program) are still some of my closest friends to this day. I would highly recommend getting involved with ELP, if accepted. Not only do you make great life-​long friends, you will do a lot of interesting public service and volunteer work. You also make great campus connections through it, which assist you with getting involved in other student groups.
The food is actually good at BC. It might be because BC doesn’t work on a meal-​ticket system. You have a BC Student Card which can be used like a debit card. Food is individually priced at dining halls — and you can use the card to make purchases in vending machines and laundry rooms. Every night they have late-​night food — but obviuosly being so close to the city of Boston, there are plenty of places that deliver.
We don’t have Greek life — but we did have senior Mods. It’s the most popular and highly-​desired housing for seniors. The best parties are thrown there. The housing selection process is done by the lottery method. Students live on campus Freshman, Sophomore, and Senior year. People WANT to live on campus during those years. Junior year can go any way because it’s the year a bunch of your friends go away to study abroard. Only a select number of students (Random?) are allowed on-​campus housing Junior year; the rest of us have to either go to another country or find off-​campus housing. Off-​Campus housing is fairly safe because everyone tends to get apartments all around the same areas. OH and the campus you are thrown into your freshman year will be part of your identity as a BC alum for the rest of your life: «Upper» or «Newton» (Upper! WAAAHTTT!?? :D)
The curriculum at CSOM (I only know CSOM as I was a CSOM student) is highly effective as long as you get your work done. This is a work-​hard/​play-​hard school. If you pretty much do what you’re supposed to do — you will have no problem lining up a job for post-​graduation. Most of us got our jobs during our internships — which made senior year a lot less stressful.
Though BC is not located in Boston (nor is it a college — it is in fact a university in Chestnut Hill/​Newton, MA), the city of Boston is very close. In fact, the final stop on the B line (green) on the T is Boston College. Very easy to figure out the T system when you can start out by making sure whatever happens, you end up on the line that carries your school name.
BC has a great athletic program (BC FOOTBALL!) — which is a great way for the entire student body to connect with each other. There’s no choice but to become friends with people while you are tailgating in your superfan shirts. It’s easy to become friends when you have the hate for Notre Dame in common.
I really don’t know what to say except I LOVE BOSTON COLLEGE. I seriously have the biggest space in my heart for this school. Every day I have been away from it, I miss it. My best friends are all friends I met while at BC and I am certain will be my friends for life. Oh, interesting little tidbit, BC kids like to meet and date for the entire time they are in school and end up getting married at St. Ignatius. Through history, this is apparently a common occurrence.

You should go to Boston College just on the merits of its Lower Campus Dining Halls. The Hillside Café and Corcoran Commons should at least bump this school into the U.S. News Top 30.

I went to BC for undergrad in the School of Ed.
What I loved most…
— The campus. It is absolutely beautiful in the spring and fall. The buildings are spread apart and there are so many places where you can just sit and take it in.
— Student life. No, there isn’t any Greek life here, but there are so many student groups that they kind of function as (co-​ed!) sororities and fraternities. I found it really easy to meet new people (I thought it was like this at every school, but when I came to visit my local public university, I found that it wasn’t that way…), and it was surprisingly heterogeneous, even though it seems like 99.99 999% of the student body is white :)
— Sports. I didn’t take advantage of this as much as I could have, but the football and hockey games I went to were some of the funnest times I had in college.
— Housing. Housing generally gets better and better as you go. They’ve been renovating a lot of dorms, so almost anywhere you live, you’ll be in a dorm that’s less than 10 years old. I lived in the Voute townhouses my senior year and I felt like royalty.
— Food. Waffle makers. Yum!
What I didn’t like…
— Being so far from the city. If you’ve got a car (see next bullet), you’re about 10 minutes away from downtown Boston, where the real action is. But if you fall in the 90% of the student body that doesn’t have a car, you’re forced to spend at least 30 – 45 minutes on the T to get there, depending on time of day and your T driver.
— The parking situation. Parking is extremely, extremely limited.
So, if you’re interested in Boston College considering its size, academic possibilities, location, price — go for it. It’s a wonderful school!

i went to Boston College. word to all you high school kids: go to BC. we’ve got a football team and a sick campus! and cute girls.