<p>So, my friend was offered a CONDITIONAL acceptance to BC and the condition is that he needs to complete the OTE program over the summer. He read something about OTE, but reading about it on the BC website and talking to admissions officers still doesn’t clarify about the real goal of the program. He is really confused about this. He knows that he have to live on campus for 6 weeks of summer and upon his success on the program, he will be able to attend BC. That’s all he knows about it. Is there anybody here on CC who know about this program or been through it personally? Please let me know ASAP so that I can inform him about that ! Thanks : )</p>
<p>Dear SRB2006 : This program appears to invite 40-50 students of diverse students who have demonstrated potential and leadership in spite of challenging educational and financial circumstances. The question and answer link follows. Although we had not heard of this program before, this appears to be a college readiness program for selected participants.</p>
<p>[ote</a> faq](<a href=“http://www.bc.edu/offices/ahana/programs/ote/otefaq.html]ote”>http://www.bc.edu/offices/ahana/programs/ote/otefaq.html)</p>
<p>^ Scott, do you think it’s worth doing the program?? It looks like it’s free and if he does it, BC will wave his enrollment fee. Besides, everything is free!!!</p>
<p>Dear SRB2006 : Since you asked for opinion, I will need to make some inferences about the situation. The program seems to offer students with academic potential from a disadvantaged environment the opportunity to immerse themselves in the collegiate experience while going through six weeks of college preparatory work. From your description, acceptance was conditional, so admission is dependent on attending the OTE program. So, is it worth it? How badly does your friend want to attend a top flight school like Boston College? What are the alternatives that might be more appealing?</p>
<p>dear Scottj: He really wants to attend Boston College. The other options he has are: Holy Cross(with a 2 weeks summer program), WPI, Mass College of Health and BU. He is concerned about the fact that his English writing skill is not very good (not up to the level of BC/BU/HC students) and he often thinks that he might not do very well in his English classes in college. So, personally I think the OTE would be a good idea for him. The problem is that he doesn’t want to live on campus b/c he thinks that if he lives on campus for 6 weeks of OTE , he might have to live on campus for the rest of his 4 years of college life. He doesn’t want to do that. </p>
<p>What do you think I should suggest him to do?? Thank you for your opinions so far… Appreciate that.</p>
<p>Dear SRB2006 : Every one of the colleges you mentioned have an SAT critical reading score of 550 or better at the 25th percentile except the Massachusetts College of Health which is at a 490 (let’s say 500 for argument’s sake). This means that on average, three-quarters of the student population at these schools are above the midpoint nationally in reading skills. (Now, if you know the schools, this is not much of a statement I suppose.) So, the question : if your friend is concerned about his writing skills, how did he get into not only one school of this type, but five?</p>
<p>Reading between the lines in the mind of an eighteen year old, this discussion is not about fearing four years of campus housing. This is about have to give up six weeks of his “last summer” with high school friends at home for a “college program” and missing all the fun. If your friend does not want to give up the six weeks, he does not belong at Boston College, because he does not understand what he is getting. (You could also make the same points about the summer program at Holy Cross.) On the surface, this makes BC the absolutely wrong choice for him.</p>
<p>With two colleges in Worchester and three in the Boston area, it is difficult to tell where your friend lives, but at least half of those schools would require him to live on campus for four years just due to commutation issues.</p>
<p>At BU, did your friend get into the general studies program or one of the other schools at the university which might explain why BC and Holy Cross expected the summer programs?</p>
<p>As my mother used to say, “it’s grow up time”. Two weeks, six weeks … they’ll fly by in the end. Your friend needs to start making some mature, adult choices about what his future will be. Second hand advice from a message board will only offer ideas. He needs to look into his own heart, decide if he has the staying power for the four years at one of these institutions, and act accordingly.</p>
<p>Actually, OTE isn’t that bad. It’s 6-weeks but there are plenty of programs that are put on by the preceptors. I believe you also get to go to Cape Cod and/or Six Flags. It’s somewhat strict BUT, you get at least two of your classes out of the way before starting BC. I think it’s worth it.</p>
<p>Dear Scottj: I totally agree with you, but if you look at his reading and writing scores (490,530) it doesn’t make sense how he got into those schools except his math (610). I think the pluses he had were-- He had been in the US for 3 years and in contest to that his scores are better than some US kids who are born here. He takes AP+Hon. classes and have stellar gpa (4.22) and he is a minority.</p>
<p>As I have seen so far, his writing skill is not up to the caliber of the students at those institutions. His vocabulary is limited and although he writes ok, because of his limited vocab, his message doesn’t get through quite well. One thing that bothers me (no offense to my friend) is why great schools like BU and BC accept students like him and reject some great students who have like 700s SAT and outstanding essays.</p>
<p>But I told him about what you said and after giving it some thoughts, now he thinks it is actually not a bad idea to do the OTE program. Thank you very much for your insight. You are an asset to CC community.</p>
<p>^Maybe, they accepted him because they see he is more than test scores. And to you, his voice may not come across that well, but to admissions officers, he’s probably making a clear point. Too many students apply thinking they should write essays using words they’ve never used because they have a thesaurus next to their bed. Just because he doesn’t overload his essays with pretentious verbosity doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be here.</p>
<p>I hope he completes the OTE program. He’ll do well and be an asset to the BC community.</p>
<p>^ Totally agree with you. My parents told me the same thing. I think my friend wrote about his struggles after he came to the US and that touched the ad coms, but I am pretty sure that he is gonna be an asset to the BC community. He is a diligent worker.</p>