Wanting some positives about your child’s record? It is usually best to look at the Common Data Set for the school you are interested in if you want to know what it takes to get into a particular school.
BU has ensembles for non- majors. Non majors are not seated in the ensembles for music majors.
Look for BUMO, Boston university music organizations…for the ensembles open to non-majors.
Not related to BU, however, D1 is a violist and like yours wanted an opportunity to continue playing her instrument without majoring in music. She is playing in her college orchestra (they actually have two) and I will say it’s been good for her. It’s a 2 credit hour class so it helps her GPA, she has received at least 1 scholarship from the school for her role in the orchestra and this past spring break the orchestra went to Spain and played two concerts, one in Madrid and the other in Barcelona. It really requires less time than orchestra did in HS since she is only in one orchestra, no longer taking lessons (she could but she’s an engineering major and time is precious) and she doesn’t need to practice as often. She is co-oping and the town she works in has a small orchestra. She volunteers with them and is the only true violist, the other was a violinist that they talked into playing viola. Violist are in demand.
She is still young so make sure you visit a wide range of schools. Her choices in the spring of sophmore year may not be what she wants in the fall of senior year when the applications go in. Unless her SATs go up dramatically,she will probably not get merit aid as I know a kid with very good grades and SATs over 2100 that did not get any.
My son would have loved to go to BU, but chose the better financial option in a different city. Good luck.
Like the poster’s daughter in post 22, my DD also played in her college orchestra (oboe and English horn) for all four years, and received a small performance scholarship that helped buy books. This school had an orchestra that was open to all majors…and welcomed them. It was a small school with a very small music major department.
If your kiddo wants to play in a college orchestra, the best thing to do is contact each college regarding the potential to do so. There were lots of schools that dropped off of my kid’s list because it was not possible.
Like I said…BU is a large school with a number of ensembles for students who are not music majors.
BU has a School of Music so check out how that might affect a student interested in extracurricular music or in music classes. Sometimes the presence of a conservatory on campus is a plus, and might even mean an accessible grad student teacher. And sometimes it limits opportunities for non-conservatory musicians. BU is big enough so there are probably lots of non-conservatory ensembles, but it is worth looking into.
http://www.bu.edu/staff/entertainment/music-organizations/
Here is a link for the BU music ensembles…both for majors and non-majors.
BU can be very strange. My son got in with the following stats:
SAT 2270 (CR 780, M 770, W 720)
SAT II Biology (M) 710, Math I 740, Math II 800
GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.39 weighted (school does not offer AP classes, but classes can be taken for “honors” adding at 0.5 boost to grades)
Solid, but not earth-shattering, ECs (at least 4-5 years) in theatre, music, and swimming.
However, he was not offered a penny of merit aid despite significant merit awards from Northeastern, WPI, and Brandeis. And yes, he had everything in before December 1 and applied for the Trustee Scholarship.
A good friend with very similar stats (slightly lower SAT test scores, but attends school with AP classes and took at least 6 of them with scores of 4 or 5 on the tests) and was waitlisted.
A kid from his school with slightly lower stats and fewer ECs was accepted.
The valedictorian of last year’s class at my son’s school was rejected (slightly lower SAT scores, nearly identical grades [4.0 UW, 4.5 W], but superior ECs).
I don’t know if it depends on which “school” you apply to or not.
My best guess is that OP’s kid would get in, but merit money is unlikely.
I know someone who got into BU with a “B” average. About 50 unexcused Lates to school junior year and 78 unexcused Lates to school senior year ( showed on transcript), detentions due to the lates,a 1790 on SAT and 26 composite on ACT. Took a few AP courses, but never took the AP tests, and got in. Totally changed my feelings about BU. My son has. 4.3 GPA, all AP courses and 5’s on AP tests, 34 on ACT and 2150 on SAT. it was suggested to us to look at that school. NO !!! It seems like if you are willing to pay the full tuition, they will accept you.oh, but I forget to mention, she didn’t get into Northeastern!!! My son will look at Nirtheastern.
@blueyz That student was most likely admitted to BU College of General Studies which is sort of a 2 year remedial program for students whose applications are weak.
Also, Northeastern isn’t a typical university. It’s a good choice for some students, but not others. Your son should really be sold on the co-op approach to education before seriously considering it. Attending Northeastern is a different experience from a traditional school.
@bluez it’s interesting that you know so many details about an unrelated student’s transcript and test scores. You seem very angry about that student’s admission but I’d be very surprised if you really know as much about his/her application as you seem to think.
I have no feelings about BU one way or the other but it seems silly to reject a respected university because you have such contempt for another student who you believe is so inferior to your son. He will probably have much better results if you can help him focus on his needs and application and ignore what other students may or may not be doing.
I agree with @katliamom about Northeastern. It’s a fine school but certainly not for everyone and a very different college experience from most universities.
Is it true that BU has both an affiliated med school (or only an affiliated hospital?) and an affiliated law school? Are these professional schools at the same location as BU’s college?
Is Tufts close to BU? Is BU more competitive to get in than Tufts ? (I bet Tufts costs more if full pay.) Somehow I have an impression that these two schools are close to each other – even heard a rumor that BU’s hospital and Tufts’s hospital are going to be merged (not sure if it is true – how would I know? I live on the other coast after all.)
Also, are there many restaurants around BU?
I am curious about this only.
BU is in Boston…right in Boston. There are tons of restaurants…tons. Tufts is on the outside of Boston…more suburban. Plenty of restaurants there too.
Both have medical schools.
MCAT, BU’s professional schools (and the undergraduate college) are in buildings which stretch along the Charles River in Boston- a very long “campus” (it’s integrated into the middle of the city). Tufts and BU are not within walking distance of each other (BU is just across the river from MIT for example, or walking distance to Emerson and many of the other Boston colleges/universities). There are tons of restaurants in virtually every neighborhood in the Boston metro area.
@thumper1 and @blossom, Thanks.
It seems BU is just to the west of an area called Back Bay (I think). There is even a bridge called Boston University Bridge. Also, Berkeley College of Music seems to be close-by too. Also, many hospitals seem to be a little bit south of BU: Beth Israel Deacons, Bringham and Women, etc.
OP, Since you are interested in the competitiveness aspect of a school, general speaking, if a school has an affiliated professional school, it is usually the case that its colloge becomes more competitive. At least this is what I have observed (Emory’s med school, SCU’s law school, USC’s law school and med school.) Some people even believe that this is one reason why many universities like to establish professional schools (especially med school and law school.) It is a win-win situation for the university.
This is especially true for an urban school (e.g., BU, USC, Emory in Atlanta, SMU and SCU mentioned in another thread, the latter two for their affiliated law school) – by and large, the kind of activities and life style in a rural college town (e.g., UIUC) usually do not appeal to most post-college students (some of them may even have a BF/GF/SO who prefers to stay innan area where it is easier to find a job, for example.) A few years ago, there was an CCer who was in Civil Engineering at Rice University and then attended UIUC for an MS program in structural engineering. She said she “hated” the living environment at UIUC – it did not help that she needed to separate from her BF (later husband) for two years. (He was still at Rice as a PhD student back then.) For a graduate student who also wants to have a family life, a university (like BU or Rice) beats a university not in a major city any day.
I could also cite a few other examples re: When a college has a affiliated or even just a close-by med school, it would increase a college’s competitiveness. (I mostly use med schools as examples, but it applies to law schools also.)
Brown University, Northwest University and Rice University have their BS-MD combined programs. Actually, a less-known University of Rochester has one such program as well (DS happens to know someone there – it could be tuition free as well so you could tell it is very competitive program to get in as its “medical scholar” – I think it is how it is called.) All such programs are very competitive – I knew a student who got into multiple Ivies and MIT but still failed to get into any of the top 3 BS-MD combined programs!) Their colleges likely become more competitive also. Even when a student could not get into this combined program, s/he is more willing to attend such a college.
UT Dallas itself is not a flagship. But it has some relationship with a well known med school, UTSW. As long as it establishes some “honor program” which seemingly has something to do with med school, there are no lack of competitive students who are willing to go there. I know a students who had been admitted to UPenn but decided yo go there – when he graduated from that honor program (it’s free too), as long as he is decent in his academics, it is almost guaranteed (or at least the odds is great) that he could get into UTSW. I think he attended Chicago med school instead though.
After many decades of trying, UT Austin has finally established its own med school with the help of Dell (it has had its prestigious law school for many years – ha…it even rejected one of our Presidents whose name is better left unnamed here.) Its desirability (for an aspiring premed student) could be increased because of this – in the past, many premed students strongly prefer to go to Rice even when they could not get into Rice-Baylor. Now, they have another good choice: UT-Austin and its in-the-same-city UT-Austin med school.
I am not sure whether there is such a “desirability boost” effect for BU as well. It is commonly mentioned here on CC that most med schools are created equal. So many premed-to-be may consider BU as a stepping stone to get into its affiliated med school (just like many other cases: H, Y, NWU, UCLA, USC, NYU, UMich, Chicago, Emory, Dartmouth, Brown, Penn, and so on.)
@mcat2- Note that downtown Boston is very compact and the streets are not on a grid (they are basically paved over cow paths). This makes the downtown is very walkable and easily navigated - as long as you remember to think like a 17th century cow.
Tufts, the more liberal part of Harvard, and MIT are on the left bank of the Charles River, about 2 miles apart from each other.
Tufts is located on Walnut Hill, partly in Medford and partly in the very densely populated city of Somerville. The liberal part of Harvard and MIT are located in the Peoples Republic of Cambridge, which is also densely populated.
Somerville has the second highest concentration of young people and artists in the country and Cambridge has the third. The Tufts/Harvard/MIT corridor (along the Red Line subway) is full of restaurants and tech companies.
BC, the more conservative part of Harvard, BU and Northeastern are on the right bank of the Charles River a few miles separate these schools as well.
BC is located on Chestnut Hill, partly in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston, and partly in the very wealthy city of Newton. BU is located in the Kenmore neighborhood of Boston. The conservative part of Harvard is in Alston (which is a neighborhood of Boston) and Northeastern is in the Fenway Neighborhood of Boston.
Newton has the second highest concentration of soccer moms and standardized test prep companies in the country. The BC/BU corridor (along the “B” Branch of the Green Line subway) is full of restaurants and connects to the financial district. Northeastern is along the “E” branch of the Green Line and connects to the Museum of Fine Arts and the Longwood Medical Area.
Harvard’s hospital (Mass General) is across the river near the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston - which is closer to MIT than it is to Harvard and closer to Tufts than Tufts’ own Medical Center.
Tufts’ Medical Center is across the river in the Chinatown/Theatre District neighborhood of Boston which is closer to BU than BU’s own Medical Center, which is in the South End neighborhood of Boston. The Tufts and BU medical centers are about a mile apart.
Tufts has recently assumed control of the Museum School at the Museum of Fine Arts (where it had a joint degree program for many decades) and has a partnership and joint degree program with the New England Conservatory, both of which are much closer to Northeastern than Tufts.
Finally, the Harvard Bridge connects MIT to Boston, not Harvard.
If this does not make any sense, then clearly you are not thinking like a 17th century cow.
Here is a map that I created with the various points of interest:
I don’t agree with this…at all. Unless the students are very into urban living. I think having a family in downtown Boston, or NY is not all that terrific. First…lets start with the costs. Too expensive. Then let’s add in schools for families with children (unless one is able to afford private school for,their kids…how many grad students have that kind of money). Housing…very expensive. A yard? In NYC or Boston?
I went to grad school in the middle of corn fields in the Midwest…and I LOVED it. Cost of living was modest enough for my grad stipend to pay. I was easily able to find an affordable house, in a darling small town. My college had many of the same great things…arts, culture, sports,etc. but I didn’t have to deal with the costs or hustle bustle of a big city. On a grad student meager income!
I love BU. My kid got his undergrad degree there. We have friends and relatives all over Boston and the greater Boston area.
You couldn’t pay me to live there.
@mcat2 …you are making sweeping generalizations about a place (Boston) where you admit you have no first hand knowledge. None.
Zobroward, I believe the Harvard business school and the athletic complex are on the right side of the Charles as ou look toward Boston, but I have never seen a reference to liberal Harvard versus conservative Harvard. Where does that come from? And I believe it is the Mass. Ave bridge that goes over to MIT, not the Harvard Bridge.