Nightmarerec0n

I am a rising junior, but here is what I have.

GPA:Between 3.0 and 3.2(REALLY screwed up freshmen year with a D and a C....but there is an upward trend)
Classes:All Honors or AP classes my school offers
SAT:SAT: CR:690 M:700 W:675(AS A SOPHOMORE)
Rank:Top 25%
ECs: Lead Member of Award Winning Marching,Concert, and Jazz Bands
Head Attorney in Mock Trial
Selected in John Hopkins Talent Search
Active Member of Mensa
1st and 3rd medals in junior division of state science and engineering fair
100 hours of community service
Cured Cancer(JKJKJK)
I am applying for RSI next year.

I am going for either CompSci, Physic or Engineering. As far as I know none of those are competitive.
I mean I liked MIT,Harvard and Boston College went I visited Boston(I am from Rhode Island) and while BU lacks a campus(well so does Harvard and Brown)..It looks nice.

I am concerned about 2 things.
1)Grade Deflation
2)I hear there are a lot airhead like people that get in because they have lots of money...Is this true?

OhNoItsHeather

You got a 675 on SAT writing? How unique.

Nightmarerec0n

Why is it unique?

RealM

I am not too sure about this..but you're GPA needs a little improvement in order to get into BU. However, BU isn't a selective school as it should be considering it's a private school.

greennblue

Heather means, a 675 SAT score is impossible because they always end in -0. Or so I thought.

momnipotent

Probably depends on which college you are applying to. CGS tends to have lower admission requirements.

Particle_Man

It's impossible to get a 675. 670 or 680, but not 675.

Nightmarerec0n

I would apply to either College of Engineering or College of Art and Sciences

Do you apply to each college,not the university as a whole?
I read the SAT wrong, It is a 670

astor

GPA is a bit low...how is 3.0-3.2 around the top 25%?

Your SAT's are strong, and so you would probably stand a better chance at CAS than ENG. I'd suggest applying to CAS, and transferring into ENG if you are interested later on. ENG has higher standards and that GPA is a bit on the low side. Maximize your chances and go to the route of least resistance in terms of schools you're interested in (CAS vs. ENG). I wouldn't recommend CGS or SEP for your SAT score.

OhNoItsHeather

I don't recommend applying to CAS if you think you're going to want to be in ENG. Even if you don't end up getting into ENG, I think you're better off in SEP than trying to switch from CAS to ENG.

Nightmarerec0n

What is SEP?

Also can you declare a major your Freshmen or Sophomore Year?

astor

SEP (Science and Engineering Program: through the MET college of BU) is equivalent to CGS, but for ENG/CAS Sciences. I would still suggest applying to CAS as even if you want ENG, you'll have much greater flexibility than in SEP. In SEP, they put you in special classes where you keep the same professor for a few courses (kind of like isolating you from the programs that did not admit you); this is good if you are fit for SEP, but your SAT scores say otherwise.

If you go into CAS, and wish to be in ENG, you can still sign up for all the ENG classes and take them while in CAS; after you take all the pre-reqs, you can fill out a form for transfer and you'll be in ENG. The good thing is that in ENG, the first two years are mostly all CAS classes (Chem, Calc, Physics, Writing) with the exception of the intro EK classes which you can get in even as a CAS student.

All in all, if you want to go the ENG route and maximize your chances of getting into ENG, apply CAS, and once you get in, just follow the ENG curriculum and transfer in. If you go into SEP, you will be limited much more to the classes you can take, and you will be stuck with the same group of students/professors, which can be bad if you don't get along with them well initially; if i recall correctly, i don't think you can AP out of as many classes in SEP compared to going CAS, receiving AP credit, following ENG curriculum, and then transferring into ENG.

You can declare your major anytime, although you have until the end of sophomore year to declare a major. Even then, you are allowed to change majors after end of sophomore year, but it will increase the chances that you will not finish the new major in time to graduate with your class.

astor

Also, to answer your two questions:

Grade Deflation: not sure if there is any real documented evidence regarding grade deflation except for students complaining of such. In order to prove grade deflation, you have to prove that assuming the quality of students remains the same, the average course grades get lower. The opposite is true for grade inflation, and as far as I know, there hasn't been any published statistical data to support any claims. You can google GeorgeTech's presentation on grade deflation and inflation where they actually provide statistical analysis of data to back up claims, but in BU, there isn't one that I am aware of.

However, that is not to say that getting high grades is an easy task. A lot of the classes you take freshman and sophomore year will be relatively large classes, and consequently, will result in less personal tutorials from the professor. Also, the intro classes, especially sciences, tend to be taught by tenured professors who are there for RESEARCH. They could care less about their quality of teaching since they're required to output research to keep their post. As a result, the quality of teaching might make it difficult to comprehend the material to the level that would warrant an A, but rather you will be more focused on beating the curve. My advise is to use ratemyprofessor.com to scope out potential professors and avoid the ones with bad comments.


Airheads: Yes, there are airheads here, but you can find them on any campus. I would venture a guess to say that many of them will be on West Campus and a good amount will be in the CGS program (which is why they stay on West Campus). This statement is probably a very controversial one, but if you're referring to students who are here because their family has the money, than CGS is the answer. It's essentially a junior college within BU, so you are paying the BU tuition for 2 years in which you are mostly limited to CGS courses as opposed to getting right into BU's degree courses; this implicates wealthier families who can afford such as opposed to going straight into a university's full college and entering as a degree-candidate of that college. (CGS doesn't grant degrees, you serve 2 years, and move into the other colleges of BU)

Nightmarerec0n

can you give me percentage?
I really really want to go to college in Boston and BU seems to be my best shot.

Lergnom

I now refuse to talk about the "grade deflation" crap and suggest that 5 minutes searching the forum should provide more than enough of an answer. Puh-leeze. Stop already.

As for airheads, you've got to be kidding. Seriously. You have got to be kidding. A percentage of airheads? Yeah, it's just like the movie "Accepted."