<p>We noticed BC appeared to be pretty white upper class too. We did see some Asian kids in the dining hall, but all gathered together, which we didn’t view as a good thing. It has the reputation around here that if you see a black student on campus s/he probably is a student athlete. Also, that BC tends to have a very politically conservative student body.</p>
<p>That said, we toured BC and it is a beautiful campus. The students we saw seemed very friendly, and more attractive and physically fit than at some other campuses we visited. The food was excellent at the dining hall. The stadium was awesome. It would be wonderful to jog around the reservoir. We weren’t allowed to visit a dorm room, or see a classroom, things that we were able to see at all of our other college tours. Rumor has it that the dorm rooms and classrooms have crucifixes on the walls and that BC doesn’t want to show that as part of their tours. I don’t know if that is true. I’m sure this would be a negative for some, a positive for others.</p>
<p>BC was one of the schools on my S’s list, but not his #1. It’s not quite as good a fit for him as some other great schools. Oh well, we’ll all see in a few weeks. He and I are looking forward to this process ending soon. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Per the BC Fact Book, approximately 28% of the undergraduate enrollment is minority. The breakdown is as follows: 9.3% Hispanic/Latino; 5.7% Black/African American; 11.1% Asian and 1.8% 2 or more races.
As the parent of a graduate, I saw plenty of students involved in social service activities, volunteering for many local Boston charities during their spare time. Today, many undergraduates left on their Appalachian service tours (giving up their spring break to assist some of the neediest in our country). Yes, BC has the reputation as a haven for upper middle class white kids, but I continue to be impress with their commitment to community and service - true Jesuit ideals - Catholic ideals and yes - crucifixes are in the classrooms - and probably in dorm common areas as well (not sure though). I tend to think of those ideals as attributes any parent would want their child to possess.</p>
<p>I was told that dorm rooms are not included on the campus tours due to a combination of factors (the sheer volume of visitors, privacy issues, the extra time that would be needed to travel to/from dorms since there aren’t any in the middle campus area where the tours go), and that does seem to make sense to me. Many of the top schools we toured (Northwestern and CMU, to name just two) also did not include dorm rooms on the tours and cited the same reasons. </p>
<p>Students who sign up for the “day visit” at BC do get to see the dorm room of the student they are paired up with.</p>
<p>BC certainly doesn’t hide the fact that it is a Catholic school, and there are crucifixes in the classrooms. However, the school is also tolerant of all religious beliefs (or lack of belief, in the case of atheists) so there are no crosses in the dorm rooms, unless the individual student chooses to put one up.</p>
<p>I’ll second worried_mom’s assessment of the tours. Having helped my two sons and a number of nieces and nephews with their college searches, I would say that 2/3 of schools do not give dorm tours. The reason most often sighted is privacy/security of current residents. Given that tours bring through 20-30 people per group multiple times a day, as a parent I wouldn’t want that many strangers strolling through my kid’s dorm. The second biggest reason given is that dorms are full and there aren’t available rooms to see.</p>
<p>Other schools that your S has considered: Brown is 29% minority; Dartmouth 33%; Tufts 23%. And yes, BC is more conservative than Tufts and Brown, but then so are most other colleges. :)</p>
<p>1) I would venture to say that many schools are likewise. Being a student at BC, I also see a number of Asian students who interact with the general school body. Think about it this way; As an American freshman in an Asian college, would you initially gravitate towards befriending natives or people who are also American? It’s only natural. As for the ideology of the school, it’s pretty moderate, which is a welcomed relief to me. We have many liberal students as well as conservative-- the Republican and Democratic clubs are well represented.</p>
<p>2) As for classrooms, it depends on the room. Some do and some don’t. As for dorms, I can tell you for a fact that none have crucifixes. Whoever told you that must have been a dissenting BU student ;)</p>
<p>Crucifixes?!? On the campus of a Jesuit college!!! I am shocked! Shocked I say! Does the administration know about this?</p>
<p>C’mon people, it’s a Catholic affiliated university, are you really even faintly surprised that there might be a crucifix or two on campus? (Back when I was at BC there was this big old building made out of stone that had a cross on the top and even an altar in it. What was up with that?). Back when I was at BC there were no crucifixes in dorm rooms, unless they were brought in by the residents themselves.</p>
<p>BC is a Catholic college in the Jesuit tradition, of course there are going to be crucifixes on campus. Also, given it’s religious background it’s hardly surprising that it might attract a more conservative clientele than some other colleges. BC along with Georgetown are by far the most secular of the Catholic colleges I have visited, but that doesn’t mean they ignore their background. Belief is not forced down students’ throats, but it also isn’t ignored. If your individual delicacies are offended by any references to a Catholic school being Catholic, then maybe you should look elsewhere.</p>