<p>My D was accepted to BC and waiting to hear from Notre Dame in April. She loves both schools and and I like them both as well. However, as a mom, I would like to have her closer to home, so ND for me. I would just like to hear pros/cons about urban vs. rural. I hear the stories about the heavy drinking at colleges where there’s nothing to do. I know there’s drinking everywhere, but seeing as BC is soooooo far, I was hoping I could find a flaw there. Thanks</p>
<p>I know a fair amount about both schools. I’m a big ND fan, but my hometown is closer to BC, so I know a lot of students there. Notre Dame is obviously secluded, so the campus itself is more active. I don’t know how the drinking levels compare; I know students who drink and abstain at BC. Boston, of course, is one of the best known college cities in the country and has lots of colleges in the area. Notre Dame tends to be more socially conservative, whether you take that as a pro or con. I respect Notre Dame’s academics a lot, and I know a lot of wonderful ND grads who have done really great things in all sectors of life. I think that Notre Dame is an amazing institution; I considered attending even though it would be a poor fit for me. Notre Dame has a lot of name recognition because of its football team; BC tends to be more regional, though it has become much better known in the last few years, as it deserves. I think that your daughter would find a smaller regional spread at BC, and if that matters to her, it could worsen any homesickness. It’s also a great experience for her to live in another part of the country, of course (I’m from New England and go to school in Chicago). Notre Dame has more school spirit, probably because of its sports and location. That not only adds to quality of life while attending the school, but it also does remarkable things for graduates who all really consider themselves to be a family and feel very connected to each other. I would choose Notre Dame over Boston College in a heartbeat, but to each his own.</p>
<p>Have you visited BC? Although it’s not rural, I’m not sure I would call it urban. It’s definitely suburban and from what I hear, students rarely go into Boston. It’s not like some of the other Bosotn-area schools (Tufts, BU, Harvard, MIT) in terms of location. There is definitely a lot going on at the BC campus (including drinking).</p>
<p>Actually, Tufts is in the suburbs, too - further than BC.</p>
<p>Drinking occurs at both schools. There are people who will, and people who won’t. Your D will not be pressured into drinking more or less at either campus.</p>
<p>I assume she’s done overnights at these schools. If not, she really should. Also, from your other posts I assume finances will come into play (as well they should). I would warn against pressuring her one way or the other - oftentimes, kids pick up on the parental pressure and look into the other school more as a result (not necessarily as rebellion, but because they feel like they want to make sure all schools are “equally represented,” so to speak). Besides, she’s gotta live there the next 4 years!</p>
<p>Drinking aside.</p>
<p>Her travel may be more expensive to and from Boston, but you may find that her total travel time is not much different between driving to South Bend and flying to Boston, especially since you are in a major city.</p>
<p>MiC, I wouldn’t think of BC as “soooooo” far; my D is in the same general area and we’re in SoCal. Her experience has been great and as far as missing them (our respective D’s), once they’re up to their eyebrows in classes, papers, extracurriculars, socializing, etc. it doesn’t matter whether they’re a hundred miles away or fifteen hundred. </p>
<p>Your D would still be home for all the holidays…O’Hare would be the destination, not the transfer point, LOL. My only “rule” when D was applying was “no school within 200 miles.” There is a value, imo, in our students attending a school where there parents can’t bail them out from one inconvenience or another and it avoids any temptations to just run home for the weekend. (One of D’s roommates went home virtually every weekend, shortchanging herself with respect to the full college experience, imo…she lived about the same distance as Chicago-ND.) Do I miss D very much? Certainly, but it gets better with time and is absolutely compensated for by knowing that she’s in the best place <em>for her</em>, if not <em>for us</em>.</p>
<p>Boston is a great college town…there are so many college students, from a very large number of colleges (I forget how many) that it seems like everybody is under 25. There is a ton of extracurricular and cultural stuff to divert one if one takes the time; in my brief visits I’ve climbed to the top of the obelisk on Bunker Hill, taken the tour on the USS Constitution, visted an exquisite science museum, and buried myself in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts not once but thrice…in very limited numbers of visits.</p>
<p>As an old Chicago kid myself, I would say that Boston is sufficiently “different” to be intrinsically life broadening in the sense of “a different part of the country.”</p>
<p>Best way I know of to evaluate drinking, besides reading the college papers carefully, is to schedule Thursday overnights while school is in session.</p>
<p>
Actually, there is a difference in time, too. The flight from Chicago to Boston is about two and a half to three hours, depending on the direction you’re going, plus time spent at the airport and traveling to the airport (which, with city traffic, can add up). The drive from South Bend to Chicago, in my experience, is about an hour and a half or close to two hours.</p>