Boston College Alternatives (Just Got Deferred . . . )

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Hello! I just got my EA deferred letter from Boston College Admissions today. I’m quite upset, because BC has the perfect combination of everything I want in a school - great academics, athletics (school spirit!), and of course, its amazing location. Does anyone know of other schools that are comparable to BC, but maybe a bit less selective/with better financial aid? I’ve also applied to Vanderbilt, Emory, and Northeastern.</p>

<p>My Stats
SAT: 770 math, 700 cr, 710 writing
SAT IIs: 700 math two, 640 spanish
GPA: 3.8 UW, 4.4 W
Rank: 46/435
APs: 3 classes, 4s on all tests
Classes: All honors and AP
Essays: Pretty good
Recs: Great
ECs: Gay Straight Alliance co-pres, Spanish Club pres, Governor’s Page, Summer Camp Counselor, Youth Performing Arts Conservatory, Photography, Teen Court Attorney
Awards: Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Conference Delegate, Project CA.F.E. Award (Calling All Future Educators, Language), Spanish National Honors Society, AP Scholar, National Merit Semi-Finalist, The Volunteer Center of Durham’s Mayor’s Award (for community service), Featured in Chapel Hill News’ Your Best Shot
Other: Would have taken more than 3 APs but didn’t have a senior year due to gap year; graduated at 15 and am now traveling and working</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Out of the choices you listed, Vanderbilt is very similiar to BC. If you want athletics/school spirit, I’d reconsider Emory.</p>

<p>Some Other Schools I’d Check Out: Georgetown, Lehigh, USC, Wake Forest, UDelaware, and U. of Miami.</p>

3

<p>Wow, I’m sorry to have heard that with those stats because your an incredible candidate My suggestion: Holy Cross. Its in backyard of Worcester, but its a premier Jesuit college that definetly offers similar oppurtunities to Boston College and has a fabulous reputation. Worcester loves its Jesuit School and it has incredible transportation oppurtunities that allow students to go to Providence or Boston(1 hour away). Great pre-med school. Something like 86% get accepted to med-school. I might sound like I work at this college, but I’m a high school studet who values HC’s education reputation and its beautiful campus. Others; Fordam, William and Mary, Tufts, UVA and a lot more. Good luck, and dont worry about BC, there are similar schools with just as good reps and education.</p>

4

<p>Yeah, I know OC – I am a little worried about Emory for that reason.
Thanks to both of you for these great suggestions! I would love to hear more, but I also want to let you know: I just found out that I got into Northeastern’s Honor’s Program with a Dean’s Scholarship, so it’s possible that I won’t apply anywhere else. College admissions is such a stressful process, and I don’t necessarily want to apply to more schools if I don’t have to – I’m very happy to be admitted to NE, and I think I will be happy there as a student. Yay! :)</p>

5

<p>Congrats NE is an awesome school with an awesome campus and rep in general. Boston is a great city and I’m sure it will be a perfect fit.</p>

6

<p>Sorry to hear that. I’m very surprised. You have excellent stats and you will end up at a great school. Check out Davidson, Richmond, Wisconsin and Michigan. I just saw that you were accepted at Northeastern. Congrats, its a great school. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>also add wake forest, providence, penn state, villanova</p>

8

<p>Although it would be a reach, you should think about giving Notre Dame a try. I’m really surprised BC deferred you.</p>

9

<p>Definitely look into Notre Dame. They are pretty much exactly what you are looking for.</p>

<p>How about the university of michigan?</p>

10

<p>People are suggesting other Catholic colleges. Was that a factor in BC being your top choice? You did not mention it, and your other choices were not religious. </p>

<p>Your activity with the Gay Straight Alliance gives me pause. The Catholic church is not that supportive. It was only a few years ago, after over a decade of negotiations, that BC approved a Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community at Boston College (LGBC). I can’t help wondering whether that factored into your deferral. </p>

<p>You may want to consider secular colleges. Since the BC location was important to you, an obvious alternative is BU, which is even more in the heart of Boston. You might get merit aid.</p>

11

<p>I think that a lot of the suggestions by other posters have been really good…I just wanted to say that by looking at your stats, I’m surprised that you got deferred.</p>

12

<p>A lot people are suggesting schools that are more difficult to gain entry to than BC (ND, Georgetown, etc.). I think if you’re looking to stay Jesuit, Holy Cross is a good one. In addition Fordham is very nice as well. I would say Marquette, but their deadline has passed for applications.</p>

13

<p>Agree, Holy Cross offers a great academic/athletic combination with one of the better alumni networks in the country.</p>

14

<p>It doesn’t have the financial aid, but I would definitely apply to Penn State University Park. Surprisingly, my roommate freshman year actually was in the same boat. He decided to come to Penn State when he got deferred from BC. He says he loves it here and is glad that BC deferred him.</p>

15

<p>northWESTern is a lot like BC in the ways you listed</p>

<p>also schools people have listed that i agree with are nd, georgetown, umiami, and USC. also try SMU</p>

<p>and i am also surprised at your BC deferral… maybe it’s because you’re just outside of the top 10 percent of your class</p>

16

<p>IMO, Boston College is one of the most underrated schools in the country and certainly here on CC. As a Catholic institution, BC is unlikely to see much change in its prospective USNWR ranking as academics historically have not given any of these colleges much respect. But that has not kept strong high school students from applying and having a superb experience at this college. The BC student body quality is very good and constantly improving. It is a tough place to get into and so we shouldn’t be exceptionally surprised when someone with the OP’s stats get deferred (the OP may still gain acceptance in the RD round).</p>

<p>In terms of selectivity and student body strength, the following is a listing of colleges (ranked as national universities) that are statistical peers. I would place BC at the high end of this group for student quality and the undergraduate experience offered by that college.</p>

<p>Average SAT , College , Freshman Retention Rate , 6-year Grad Rate , % of classes under 20 , % of classes over 50 , Student/Faculty Ratio , SAT 25 , SAT 75 , Top 10% , Acceptance Rate , Alumni Giving</p>

<p>1370 , USC , 95% , 84% , 62% , 12% , 10/1 , 1280 - 1460 , 86% , 25% , 35%
1340 , W&M , 95% , 92% , 47% , 7% , 11/1 , 1240 - 1440 , 80% , 32% , 25%</p>

<p>1335 , BOSTON COLLEGE , 95% , 91% , 39% , 9% , 13/1 , 1250 - 1420 , 80% , 29% , 24%</p>

<p>1323 , Tulane , 87% , 71% , 57% , 7% , 9/1 , 1220 - 1425 , 51% , 38% , 26%
1320 , Wake Forest , 94% , 88% , 57% , 2% , 10/1 , 1240 - 1400 , 63% , 43% , 33%
1315 , U Michigan , 96% , 87% , 45% , 17% , 15/1 , 1220 - 1410 , 90% , 47% , 17%
1315 , Georgia Tech , 92% , 77% , 42% , 20% , 14/1 , 1230 - 1400 , 66% , 69% , 31%
1310 , Lehigh , 94% , 86% , 66% , 4% , 9/1 , 1220 - 1400 , 90% , 39% , 36%
1310 , NYU , 92% , 84% , 59% , 12% , 11/1 , 1210 - 1410 , 67% , 36% , 10%
1285 , George Washington , 92% , 79% , 56% , 12% , 13/1 , 1190 - 1380 , 65% , 38% , 11%
1280 , U Maryland , 93% , 79% , 35% , 15% , 18/1 , 1170 - 1390 , 62% , 44% , 14%
1270 , U Miami , 88% , 73% , 48% , 7% , 13/1 , 1180 - 1360 , 67% , 40% , 18%
1240 , Pepperdine , 89% , 79% , 69% , 4% , 12/1 , 1130 - 1350 , 45% , 28% , 16%</p>

17

<p>Relax…you will get into Vandy and Emory with those stats, trust me! If that is where you want to go, then you have nothing to worry about. But if you want to add a few more schools there are plenty above that have been mentioned and would love to see your application. It all depends on YOU and what YOU want to do.</p>

<p>Sometimes people are deferred for the most capricious and arbitrary reasons…sometimes because too many kids from your high school applied…it happens all the time. Sometimes because they think you will dump them if admitted to a higher ranked school…and they are trying to improve their yield. All sorts of quirky reasons having NOTHING to do with you. </p>

<p>so toss in one or two more applications if you are feeling nervous…but frankly, I see you easily getting into Vandy and Emory with those stats. I know LOTS of people there with lower stats. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

18

<p>Swansong,
I suspect that many would have projected the OP’s chances as high to very high at BC or other highly ranked colleges (like Northwestern, Emory, Vanderbilt, etc.)-this shows how difficult it sometimes is to predict acceptances to highly selective colleges which receive a great number of highly qualified applicants.</p>

<p>Based on SAT data alone, a SAT score of 1470 will put the OP in range for every college in the country. For a Math score of 770, only one college (MIT at 790) has a higher average Math score. For a CR score of 700, only 14 colleges a have higher average. BC is a popular college choice and is a tough place to get in. </p>

<p>My listing above was in response to the OP’s request for less selective colleges with good financial aid. I think that this is a pretty good listing of schools that fit this description and are probably the most comparable to BC in terms of their enrolled student body quality and the nature/quality of the undergraduate experience. Good luck with your applications, but I suggest that you expand to some others in this group as well.</p>