Good and bad things about boston university

zain.dhanani · 07-09-2008, 07:29 PM

Hey every one, I just wanted to know what you all would say are the best and worst aspects of Boston University.

Looking forward to hearing every ones opinions.

Particle_Man · 07-09-2008, 07:41 PM

Best:
Lack of campus
Size
Boston

Worst:
Lack of campus
Size
Cost

Boston is amazing. Some people love the lack of campus, some hate it, and others (like myself) are somewhere in the middle. It's an extremely large school which means you have a lot of academical opportunites, but it's also very impersonal. The financial aid isn't amazing, and it's one of the more expensive schools in the country.

zain.dhanani · 07-09-2008, 09:21 PM

yea, I've heard a lot of criticism about the lack of campus and how you get the "one out of a million" feel in such a big city. Do you think Boston's lack of campus makes it harder to meet people?

Keep the lists coming!

DJglover16 · 07-09-2008, 09:39 PM

Good:
Education
Size (subjective)
Location
Name (somewhat prestigious)
Research
The city
Professors (arguable and definitely just some)

Bad:
Cost
Financial Aid
Drug policy
Residences (although not terrible by any means)
Transportation (recently got rid of a few things)
Drug policy
Grade deflation
Preppy airheads
Fine print costs
Length of breaks (while beneficial in other ways)
Drug policy

zain.dhanani · 07-09-2008, 10:15 PM

hey DJglover16---

Could you elaborate on the drug policy, residence, and transportation issues?

Also, if I'm not mistakes you've replied to a lot of my posts and threads..you've been a great help and wealth of knowledge..thanks.

bitesizeemma · 07-10-2008, 12:08 AM

i beg to differ on the lack of campus. i know when i'm on campus and i know when i'm not. i personally love the way it's setup, but i love big cities so idk.

Aztec09 · 07-10-2008, 02:30 AM

I love the campus. If you think we lack a campus, go to NY and try finding schools.

Pros
Academics
Active student body
lots of money spent on student activities
bay state
food
ease of transportation
fenway location
internship/study abroad program
tough CORE courses
small school feel
SMG

Cons
cost
CAS
city construction
greek life is weak
no major sports

Devilsrule · 07-10-2008, 08:28 AM

There are already a million threads on this topic. Just go back and search for them because they will help you out alot more.

Aztec09 · 07-10-2008, 07:30 PM

or instead you can list what you think here...

Particle_Man · 07-10-2008, 07:40 PM

Boston University does indeed lack a campus. Have you ever visited any other schools? Even Northeastern has more of a campus. Yes, BU might be slightly better than NYU, but that's about it.

zain.dhanani · 07-10-2008, 08:14 PM

Well would u say that, having no campus makes you lose the college experience?

lostandfound5 · 07-10-2008, 09:24 PM

I agree that bu DOES have a campus. I've argued this many times. I guess it's all a matter of perception. Just visit and you'll be able to decide for yourself

spinscratch · 07-10-2008, 09:24 PM

I think BU's "lack of campus" just depends on what you expect from the campus. If you want a really traditional campus, you'll probably have some issues with BU. Personally, I love BU's campus (then again, I really like cities). That whole stretch of Comm. Ave. is almost entirely BU buildings, populated almost entirely by BU people. Yeah, we don't have a huge, grassy quad, but you definitely know when you're on campus and when you're not. In any case, I certainly don't think I'm missing "the college experience."

Pros:
Academics (though this depends on what field you're going into, I guess)
Location (I love being in the city)
Relative diversity of the student body (I feel like a tool for saying that, but when you come from the Midwest it's something to consider)
Professors (I haven't had any really bad ones, and have had some very good ones)
Location (It's important enough to put it twice. There's a lot to do, and there's so much that extends beyond the school itself...like I said, I love being in the city)
Transportation (the T kind of sucks, but overall it's pretty convenient)

Cons:
Cost of living/cost of going to BU
Transportation (the T stops running at like 12:45 am...ridiculous).
The people who live up to BU's negative stereotypes (see DJGlover's "preppy airheads")

More minor things: I'm picky and get sick of dorm food, I don't like being cold a lot, and while I understand the reasons for strict security while living in a city, I agree with DJGlover that the drug/alcohol policies are kind of extreme: if you get caught twice with alcohol/once with drugs, you get kicked out of housing. However, I count this as minor because you'll quickly learn what you can and can't get away with. Generally, as long as you're reasonably intelligent and discreet about it, you won't have any problems doing what you want.

ud2006 · 07-11-2008, 06:58 AM

I also disagree that BU has a lack of campus... When I first went to look at the school I thought it was the one in a million thing but once I started attending its completely different. That part of Comm Ave IS BU's campus adn while yes you will have other people walking around on it, i still feel like i'm ona campus. If you want green grass and quads all over the place then I would suggest another school becuase you probably won't like BU. But if you are a city person then BU is great. NYU and BU also greatly differ because NYU is set ALL over the city, just random buildings, while we are concentrated into a campus down comm ave.

Aztec09 · 07-11-2008, 04:32 PM

I originally went to a big campus school in CA, hence my user name, and now i am at BU. Spinscratch is dead on...if you arre looking for a "traditional campus", then boston college and big state schools like Penn State, Ohio State, UCLA have what you are looking for.

BU is very unique because most schools that are located in a large city have 0 campus. NYU, Pace, Suffolk, New School, cuny baruch, emerson. If you see these schools there really is no central campus.

BU has a well defined campus. The B-line is BU's campus, unless you live in Allston- there really isnt much reason to go on the B-line other than BU. Once you pass the Kenmore station you have 5 to 6 stops of Boston University. During the day time the t is packed with students. Comm Ave is clutterted with students. Sure there is traffic, and there are businesses and office buildings...but you can sit in front of Agganis Arena (plesant street), the gym (st paul street) CFA (BU west) the GSU (bu central) warren/CAS(bu east) or smg (blandford) and you will really only see students.

Further, if you skip Comm Ave and use bay state, you get a total campus feel. The brownstones are all students, the casual walkers are all students, the BU beach is a popular day time hang out, marsh plaza is filled with students.

Overall the people that say BU has no campus are not justified. They are comparing schools in the suburbs or in their own town to a city school like BU. I ask you to find one other University that is in the heart of the city like BU that has just as big of a defined campus.