Hi - so sorry for not replying everyone but i had an overseas business trip and haven’t been checking how active thus thread has been! Thanks so much for all the advice. Its awesome. So at the risk of doxing myself it’s an outdoor sport. Practice outdoor year long v indoor has an appeal for sure but so does east coast. She isn’t sure what she wants to study but she leans humanities. We will def take a trip to both and she is meeting team members.
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Here we have the classic small/medium private U vs. large public flagship matchup.
Does the student need smaller classes all four years, or would they be fine with some large lectures (>100 students) in survey-level courses their first two years?
Both are very good schools at the undergrad level, so there shouldn’t be any worry about the quality of instruction.
As an athlete, the academic support will be greater at UCLA than for the average student… so BC’s advantage in that realm will not be as great as it would usually be.
I think that upon visiting both, most kids will have a pretty clear idea of which they prefer.
So – are class sizes a big deal? And which setting/environment/location is better? What about logistics?
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boom!!
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Agree, but in this case, as a recruited athlete, coach, teammates, and facilities may be more important than overall campus culture fit.
Boston College is not a small school (even though half the size of UCLA). About 10,000 undergraduate students and almost 5,000 graduate students.
Yes and this will happen during visits - assuming teams are there.
Imagine - you are going to UCLA or BC
You win either way !!
Maybe we forget that too !!
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UCLA has 33,000+ undergraduates. BC has 9500+. UCLA is 70+% larger.
Setting academics aside, UCLA represents the highest level of D1 sports overall. It’s a completely different athletic department as compared to BC. While BC is better at some sports here and there, the athletic machine at UCLA is one of the country’s very best. And it will now be competing in one of the top 2 D1 sports conferences in the country.
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Absolutely. This thread reminded me of a road race I ran a few years ago just and happened to sit next to the race winner on the bus on the way back to the start. Just a little small talk, since he was young-ish looking, I asked if he ran in school. He said, he used to run cross country at UC-x, but the Asst coach who recruited him left, and to save money, he was not replaced. Instead, the Head Coach of T&F became Interim HC of X-country, and they did not get along on training. Long story short, he said that he just did the minimum to keep his scholly – since he was OOS and this was prior to the Transfer Portal – until he could graduate and try the professional circuit. Really nice young man, and I felt bad that he got ‘stuck’.
So indeed, D1 coaching and teammates which are significant contirbutions to team culture is key. There are fantastic students at both campuses, but if the team culture is bad…Sure, transfers are now a free-for-all, but why move across country with backup plans to enter the portal?
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As a mathematician, I feel bound to point out that our numbering system uses base 10 for orders of magnitude…
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Thank you. I am clearly not a mathematician, though I raised one.
Edited accordingly.
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Good for them. In the SEC and Big 12, coaches encourage kids to hit the portal in the most competitive sports if they aren’t going to be starting.
Coaches in many conferences do that. Also sometimes when there’s a head coaching change, even some of the starters are told to go in the portal.
Done to get back the scholarship.
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Quarter versus semester system can matter for an athlete in that it can affect how much of the academic year overlaps with the sport season. Quarters or semesters not overlapping with the sport season can allow for higher course loads, more difficult courses, or more schedule flexibility when there is not travel to away games.
@Londonkid2 you do not have to mention the sport here, but you may want to compare the sport season to the academic calendar at each school.
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I would consider what majors she is interested. I’m sure both schools have strong alumni but being from the area close to BC I know their alumni base in insanely strong. Expensive school but the connections and name recognition after graduation definitely help. What are the expectations regarding her sport? Both schools are great options so you might want to hone in on that aspect. What is team chemistry? What will her role likely be? Are there other students in her position/event? I know many a D1 athlete who is used to being a star who experiences a lot of difficultly not getting playing time or the situation not being as promised. It is worth it as a parent to filter through some of that stuff to set realistic expectations for your child and discuss how they will deal with things if they don’t go as promised/ expected. Some sports at BC have had bumps in recent yrs.
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I live where BC is located. The last few winters have been very mild. I only used our snowblower once in 2 yrs. Depending on the sport resources may vary. I’ve heard some complaints about Newton facilities but they seem to have done a lot of work on the Main Campus. They recently acquired a private school campus across from their Newton campus but I’m not sure what their intent is there. Based on recent improvements for certain sports you would think that eventually the Newton facility would see some improvements.
Being a D 1 athlete is like a job so it’s important that your daughter likes her teammates and the culture of the team as she will be spending most of her time with them. Some majors don’t work for D1 athletes particularly ones with lab requirements so it seems like your daughter will be fine with humanities. A good question to ask is what limits the athletic requirements place on scheduling for classes and other academic aspects. For example at another D1 Univ due to soccer practices team members need to be free after 1pm. This limits course choice though often athletes have priority in class selection. That led student I know to have to take one online class and to have to take am exceptionally hard elective.
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This is all so helpful! Thank you! I will let you know what she decides -
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UCLA all the way. BC, imho, has become a bit of country club. I’m from the area, a lot of my friends went there and I spent tons of time there when I was in college. I now live in the Bay Area. We took my daughter (also a recruited athlete) and she was like, this is the most entitled bunch of people I’ve ever met in my life. And I wanted to tell her she was being harsh, but I felt the same way.
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Interim update - Visited campus and - wow- UCLA is v impressive. They do treat athletes like stars- early class reg, special athletes only buildings with dining halls and workout rooms and trainers and academic tutors- special room selection…I was a recruited athlete at an Ivy back in the day and we had none of this support - facilities - perks. The campus is beautiful and the weather good all the time and being next to Beverly Hills and Westwood feels pretty nice too - My D has an outdoor sport so she can be outside all year. - i said I’d cry if she didn’t take this amazing opp and and she got mega mega annoyed with me as she is still favouring BC due to distance (btw i think to boyfriend not parents🙃 ) I do know either school will be super btw
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Also I did check the sport and academic calendar. No need to come to school early or stay late and three weeks off at Christmas for UCLA which seems pretty good - need to check BC
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I will say that I really missed the seasons when at UCLA, but I’m a cold weather person
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