<p>I look at it this way. About 15 years ago BC (its administration and alumni) decided on a plan whereby BC would become a model of academic and cultural excellence </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/top/alumni/connections/connx0108/masterplan_map.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/top/alumni/connections/connx0108/masterplan_map.pdf</a>.
[$1.6</a> billion plan calls for grand expansion at Boston College - The Boston Globe](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2007/12/05/grand_expansion_at_bc/?page=full]$1.6”>http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2007/12/05/grand_expansion_at_bc/?page=full)</p>
<p>They set this in motion through a massive funding campaign [lighttheworld013113[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Part of this plan includes recruiting and maintaining stellar professors [url=<a href=“http://at.bc.edu/freshmanfaculty1012/]@BC”>http://at.bc.edu/freshmanfaculty1012/]@BC</a> » Feature Archive » Freshman faculty](<a href=“http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/publications/chronicle/FeaturesNewsTopstories/2013/top-stories/lighttheworld013113.html]lighttheworld013113[/url”>http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/publications/chronicle/FeaturesNewsTopstories/2013/top-stories/lighttheworld013113.html) </p>
<p>and students through the Presidential Scholarship program [Presidential</a> Scholars Program - Boston College](<a href=“http://www.bc.edu/centers/psp//]Presidential”>Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program - Home - Boston College)</p>
<p>BC practices Jesuit principles (the Chronicle of Higher Education publishes yearly reports of university presidents’ salaries (unfortunately I can’t link to it because I don’t have a current subscription) and shows the salary of the president of Boston College as $0) and it’s hard to compare it to other similar institutions because its goal isn’t the same. It’s philosophically driven and really more about intellectual and artistic pursuits for their intrinsic value. For instance, as part of the Master Plan, an Art Museum will be built on the Brighton campus, and the new construction on the Main campus is carefully done in accordance with a particular architectural style (in the case of Stokes $78 million was spent to achieve this) and the list goes on. </p>
<p>Returning to your point, it fits in perfectly that BC’s supplement now requires an essay. The prompts are not easy ones and a 400-word limit requires soul searching and well, a lot of work. This too, was deliberate. BC was getting too many applications from students taking advantage of an easy application. The addition of this essay is the administration’s way of announcing that BC refuses to be considered a safety school for anyone. Read the essay prompts carefully - BC is revealing a lot about itself and what kind of student it wants. Would you really want to go to a college that is so insecure it has to go after and woo as many applicants as possible (knowing full well that the majority of them are only being used) to bolster their numbers for rankings? No, BC doesn’t play the ranking game. It prefers to be the real thing. So be happy</p>