Boston College Admission
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The Facts

Boston College is a highly prestigious, moderately sized private college that is affiliated with the Jesuit branch of the Roman Catholic church. The college is home to over 9,000 undergraduate students and approximately 5,000 graduate and part-time students. The college itself is divided up into four smaller undergraduate schools with their own individual admissions procedures; these include the schools of education, nursing, business, and arts and sciences. The college offers a wide range of largely preprofessional majors; some of the most popular choices are communications, English, finance, political science, and psychology.

Admission to Boston College is extremely competitive, and many guidance counselors and students actually complain about how impossible it seems to be admitted. Last year, over 23,000 students applied for admission and only about 7,000 were actually accepted; of those, 2,200 enrolled for the coming Fall semester. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1230 to an impressive 1400, as well as an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 28-33. Furthermore, over 73% of those admitted were ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 3.87.

The school has a manageable student to faculty ratio of 14:1, and students say that in general, their classes are quite small, and they do receive quite a bit of individualized attention from their professors. Most professors are teachers full-time, so their main focus is on the students. They are usually very accessible, and have quite long office hours in order to be there for students who may be experiencing difficulties. Students at BC are also able to cross-register at several other colleges, including Boston University .

The Social Scene

The city of Boston is considered by many to be the ultimate college town, and houses dozens of other colleges and universities. There are myriad bars, clubs, restaurants, museums, cafes, stores, and coffee shops to keep students occupied on the weekends. Luckily, a car isn't really necessary, as Boston has an excellent public transit system.

The student body at BC is notoriously preppy, and most students are wealthy, upper-middle class, white, and politically conservative. If you are looking for diversity, this is probably not the school for you. There are no fraternities or sororities at the school, but students don't seem to mind their absence. They definitely find other ways to party and have fun.

The dating scene isn't particularly exciting, but you can expect your date to have lots and lots of dough.

What’s Good

“The school has a great sense of community. Although it is quite large, the division into smaller schools helps it feel smaller.”

“The academics here are first rate. Many professors are top scholars in their fields.”

“Boston is fantastic, and it's really difficult to be bored here. There's always something going on nearby.”

What’s Bad

“The students here tend to be very snobby, and sometimes it feels like you're still in high school with all the cliques.”

“The academics here are extremely competitive, and the atmosphere can be really overwhelming sometimes.”

“Some of the buildings on campus are not in very good shape. And they certainly aren't the most attractive.”

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