BC vs. Notre Dame

jennaS · 04-03-2007, 01:02 PM

Accepted at both - Honors program at BC. Parents want me to go to ND
What do you think? Is one school clearly better than the other?

xcjimmy1228 · 04-03-2007, 05:22 PM

are you in Arts and Science Honors or CSOM (business) Honors? I am CSOM honors, had the same dilemma last year, but went to BC over ND...and am absolutely thrilled with the choice I made. ND is a good school, but BC is just as good or better in all areas (If you are CSOM honors, BC definitely tops ND). Boston is a HUGE draw, and it's a blast having America's top college town at your doorstep. Of course ND is well known for football, but BC football is intensly popular among the students, basketball is insane, and hockey is in the Final Four (go eagles!).
... In answer to your original post, I would say that the schools are virtually equal academically. (ND is currently ranked higher, but BC recently moved up 6 spots while ND dropped two. Especially considering you got accepted to honors, you're definitely a step up). Visit both campuses, talk to students, spend the night, choose what YOU like better (hopefully BC :-)). If you have any more specific questions (social life, specific academic departments, housing), feel free to add another post and I'll get back to you when I can. Good luck with your decision!

sdmom · 04-03-2007, 06:37 PM

Good to hear, xcjimmy1228. My son was admitted to CSOM at BC, but not to Notre Dame. He's thrilled about going to BC but I think was a bit disappointed about not getting into ND. I'm glad to hear how much you like it. Do you live on Upper or Newton, and which would you recommend? (I know this question has been asked alot but I'd like to hear your opinion.)

ckmets13 · 04-03-2007, 07:57 PM

in all honesty, your parents are right. BC is a good school, but you just cant turn down Notre Dame

FlyLikeAPenguin · 04-03-2007, 08:12 PM

Notre Dame > BC. granted, South Bend sucks, but Notre Dame is the superior school, as sad as that is to say considering that i was rejected... but whatevre.

lovelyrose · 04-04-2007, 01:59 AM

AHHH I'm in the same situation. It's so hard to choose. I'm a city girl so I know for a fact I would LOVE Boston and when I visited ND I definetely felt a little out of place. But ND is such an amazing school with SOOOO many alumni connections. There's going to be a lot of going back and forth during the next month.

jennaS · 04-04-2007, 05:06 AM

lovelyrose - i totally agree! i am drawn towards Boston, i love the idea of having the city so close, but ND offers great academics plus the feeling of community during and after college. Having been to both campuses, I feel there's very little to differentiate the two other than a "feeling" i can't think about anything else lately!
For anyone at BC, how do you feel about the school spirit?

momstl4 · 04-04-2007, 11:18 AM

lovelyrose - I have known several people that went to ND and LOVED it!

xcjimmy1228 · 04-06-2007, 01:53 AM

oh man, I feel like the above posts are just screaming my name!
Like I said, I was in the same situation last year. I just couldn't decide. The rankings (and please, btw, do not make a decision based upon this factor) said ND, my heart said BC. I loved the city, I loved the Jesuits. But I still didn't make that decision. Then one day in mid April, my friend's mom asked me where I was going to school the next year. I told her I didn't know. Since I had already visited both schools and felt the same about both, she asked me how I was going to decide. Again I didn't know. She gave me the best piece of advice: she told me that I knew deep within myself where I wanted to go. I got scared, because she was right. I went home and told my parents I was going to BC. They were thrilled. I was still nervous as to whether I had made the right choice. A year later in retrospect, I can't imagine being anywhere else. Yeah, I felt bad saying no to ND because "It's Notre Dame", but I also realized how much I love BC because "It's Boston College". BC has a huge alumni base (esp. in the Northeast), tremendous school spirit, AMAZING people (it IS my 2nd family), and the city is another huge plus.

Obviously I'm putting my two cents in in favor of BC :-), but I'm also reminding you to go with your gut. If you really feel like you belong at ND, by all means go there (it is a great school), but at the same time, if you're leaning BC but afraid to commit due to rejecting ND, don't let that stand in your way either. I promise you, you will meet great people and have the same opportunities and love whichever school you choose. Good luck, have fun, and don't look back.

Sorry if this was long winded!
...GO EAGLES!!

xcjimmy1228 · 04-06-2007, 02:01 AM

In reply to sdmom's comment of Newton vs. Upper...
I live on Upper, which is what I indicated as my preference. I would choose Upper again if I had to do it all over again. I can't stress how nice it is to wake up at 8:35 for a 9:00am class, having time to shower and grab a cereal bar on my way out. And whenever there are club meetings (usually weekday nights), sporting events, or I want to visit sophomore or upperclass friends, I am within walking distance rather than bus. Newton is well known for its "community" and bonding since only freshman live there, and they are forced to talk and meet each other when taking the bus every day. However, I still feel like we have this community on Upper. I am an officer in my residence hall, and we put on programs every week (movie night, Mario Kart tourneys, Six Flags trip) so that our residents can meet each other. So the community on Upper isn't lacking by any means. One area where Newton wins, flat out: the food. I suppose BC decided to make their Stuart Dining Hall extra good to offset the fact that they are a mile from the rest of BC :-)

sdmom · 04-06-2007, 11:36 AM

Thanks xcjimmy1228 for both of the above posts!

Dogwood · 04-06-2007, 05:47 PM

sdmom - My D is a sophomore at BC and lived on Newton campus freshman year and loved it, for the reasons xcjimmy 1228 stated; the community and the food. She just saw riding the bus as another part of college life and didn't make it an issue. She requested Newton because she is on the quiet side and felt living in a freshman community was more advantageous for her. I live in the area and the Newton-Upper debate has been going on for as long as BC has owned the Newton campus. Wherever your S is assigned, he will make many friends and be happy.

sdmom · 04-06-2007, 06:05 PM

Dogwood, thanks for the info. It does seem to be the general concensus that freshman like the campus where they live, no matter which one it is.

metfan2121 · 04-06-2007, 06:53 PM

xcjimmy1228, do u by any chance run xc for bc or are part of their running club?

xcjimmy1228 · 04-06-2007, 08:46 PM

metfan2121-
I don't run for BC XC (I wouldn't be nearly good enough). I ran XC in high school, so that's why it's part of my screenname... I did sign up for the running club at student activities day in the fall, but just haven't been that active in it. Basically, by signing up for the club, you get put on an email listserv where members can hit "reply all" and indicate when and where they want to run... people in the club become really good friends, and run anything from a 3 miler on a monday night to a 10 or 15 miler on a sunday afternoon. I know a lot of kids also run the boston marathon (which they do for charities or other organizations, and thus don't have to meet a specific qualifying time)