<p>BC is definitely respected both within the New England region (where it’s generally seen on an even par with Tufts - or so I’ve been told by interviewers, and usually seen as a little more rigorous than BU/NEU)</p>
<p>But BC also has a good national reputation, I know many seniors with great jobs nationwide (Seattle, San Fran, Chicago, Miami). Our student body is intelligent, and although for many BC wasn’t their first choice, I know very few students who are unhappy here.</p>
<p>I would not say that “many” view Tufts and Brandeis as being better than BC at all. If anything, I would say they are all on par academically.</p>
<p>My daughter accepted BC and will start this fall. She will be moving from South Florida. As a mother I’m having cold feet with her move. I’m also left to wonder if it will be worthwhile for her. I can’t help but worry about the distance. </p>
<p>Are all these great posts about the school from students living nearby BC? or Are some of the posts from students living in a different area?</p>
<p>Is such a big change worth it for the school’s reputation?</p>
<p>Helicoptermon:</p>
<p>Time to shut down the propellers. It doesn’t matter if YOU are getting cold feet, as long as your daughter isn’t.</p>
<p>Helicopter Mom:
<p>2) I’m a current student and from MA, so my post reflects mostly New England attitudes towards the school. But my roommates this year have been from all over the country, and they all chose BC over comparable schools in their home region because of BC’s “national” reach. </p>
<p>3) I’m a huge fan of the idea that going a far distance away to college will only be beneficial to a student’s personal growth. It prevents parents from being “helicopter parents”, and allows students to develop independence. </p>
<p>NRG21B said “I would not say that “many” view Tufts and Brandeis as being better than BC at all. If anything, I would say they are all on par academically.”</p>
<p>I agree with this, I’ve never heard of Brandeis as being better than BC, and Tufts isn’t quite comparable because of it’s small size (while Tufts may be a bit more reputable, BC’s size allows it to offer resources Tufts can’t)</p>
<p>i definitely agree that Brandeis is definitely not better than BC and Tufts would be about equal.</p>
<p>By the way Helicoptermom, my future roomate is going to be from Texas so the national reach of BC is quite astounding and your daughter will not be the only one from an extensive distance away and she might be able to bond with other people because of that.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! And yes, she’s certainly looking for diversity in friends.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While approx. half of the students at BC live within a four hour drive, with 100+ students per class, California is the 4th most represented state; Florida sends 60+ students/class. Obviously, BC is doing something right to keep those kids coming. Moreover, the thing that struck me (as a parent) was how welcoming BC is, particularly in contrast to many other colleges that I have visited. Attend Orientation if you can, and you’ll understand what I mean.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.bc.edu/publications/factbook/meta-elements/pdf/08-09/08-09_fact_book.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bc.edu/publications/factbook/meta-elements/pdf/08-09/08-09_fact_book.pdf</a></p>
<p>Dear helicoptermom24 : Let me offer you some words of advice as a parent who has seen our only two children both head to Boston College and subsequently flourish in the environment. </p>
<p>First, you absolutely must attend orientation with your child. Despite the travel, cost, and extra effort on your part, it will be very worth your effort. Not only will you get the chance to meet other parents in the same boat, but the parent’s track at orientation will help you explore the separation anxiety.</p>
<p>Let me share with you the following link from the orientation track for the Sesquicentennial Class of 2013 : </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.bc.edu/offices/fye/meta-elements/pdf/psi34902_BC_parent_b.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bc.edu/offices/fye/meta-elements/pdf/psi34902_BC_parent_b.pdf</a></p>
<p>The two sessions to which I call your attention are the “Challenge of Transition” and “Now that we raised you, how dare you grow up?” Yes, the parent forums and all the other sessions, including “Meet the People and Ideas that Make BC Special”, will be valuable; however, it sounds like you will laugh, cry (outwardly), and ultimately be a proud parent following the other two sessions. You will still struggle with the on-going concerns, but ultimately, these sessions will help you realize that you, dear mom, have spent your entire parenting life getting your child ready for this adventure. This BC Acceptance is the product of the excellent support system that you and your family have provided to your child. Although somewhat counter-intuitive, your successes in parenting, coupled with your child’s personal ambition and success, is what combined to produce this new “anxiety”. In some ways, congratulations … you’ve earned it (if you know what I mean).</p>
<p>Truth be told, helicoptermom24, I was an emotion wreck for my oldest’s first month at Boston College (we are from New York). When our oldest returned in the Spring semester, another two weeks in the emotional straight-jacket. As time has gone on, more and more from the orientation sessions has become all the more real for our family. Now as the oldest prepares for his senior year and the younger enters her sophomore season, it all seems as natural as High School did four years back. So, too, will be your experience undoubtedly.</p>
<p>If you would prefer, please feel free to private message me. I am here and I am listening to you.</p>
<p>scottj: Thanks for your inspiring words. I’m sure after orientation it will be easier for me. Nevertheless, it’s nice to know that there’s a support group of parents out there willing to sacrifice there time in reassuring and helping others. Once again thanks and for sure I will send you a private message if there’s anything on my mind. :)</p>
<p>Dear helicoptermom24:
I can only echo what scottj and bluebayou have written. We live an hour away from BC and our son has just completed his second year. To say he is flourishing at BC and loves it there almost feels like an understatement. </p>
<p>I hope you do get to the orientation. My wife and I did, without realizing how valuable it would be. At the end of orientation when we were reunited with our son, I don’t know who was more excited - him or us.</p>
<p>scottj: THANK YOU! Your last post was so thoughtful and eloquent! My eyes were filling up as I read it. </p>
<p>helicoptermom: My D (our oldest) just finished her freshman year at BC. She can’t wait to get back in September! Although we only live an hour from campus, we still dealt with the anxiety of sending her off on her own, wondering if she was ready; when, in fact, it was her father and I that weren’t quite ready. OK…it was mostly me, I’ll be honest. Anyway…we attended orientation, participated in the parent sessions, and talked with other parents, only to find that we were all feeling the same the same way. After listening to the various presentations and seeing how quickly she made connections with other students at orientation, we went home feeling very secure in the fact that she would be well taken care of here, and that, as scary as it seemed, it was OK to let go.</p>
<p>Helicoptermom24, scottj and bluebayou have given you some great insights, let me offer some practical mechanical solace. Currently we live in Ann Arbor Michigan, son1 attended (and recently graduated from the University of Miami) and son2 is deep into his college search. Both of our boys had the ABH-attitude (Anywhere But Here). This was particularly frustrating since we have a perfectly functional (and cheaper) elite university right here in town, but I digress.</p>
<p>While many of S1’s friends stayed in Ann Arbor, others opted for small LACs from Minnesota to Pennsylvania. More than a few of those parents would walk up and say to me “How can let him go so far away?” or “It’ll take the so long to get home”. It never once seemed to cross their minds that a parent’s job is to get them ready for just this moment, (but I digress again). Here’s the thing, my son could fall out of bed in Miami at 9AM, have a friend drive him to the airport and be walking through the door at home by 2PM. For some of his friends in remote small towns, an 8-hour car ride or a two plane 12-hour plane flight were the only options. He could get home far faster than a number of classmates who were physically closer to home. </p>
<p>HCopter, you don’t say where in South Florida you are but it’s a 3 1/2 flight Boston to Miami and less Boston - Orlando. That’s faster than driving from Miami to Gainesville or Tallahassee. On a personal note, the kids who went away to school seemed to mature faster and come back with a more worldly attitude than the ones who stayed in town. They all eventually got to the same place, but it was just too easy for the “locals” to keep their “towny” attitudes a little longer.</p>
<p>I graduated from BC many moons ago, it’s high on S2’s list and I’ll be happy if he gets in and decides to attend. I’ll tell him what I told his older brother: You’re about to start a great adventure, being far from home is only part of it. Make sure and enjoy all the trip has to offer. BC is a great school and I’m confident your daughter will enjoy her experiences there. Cheer up, think of it as one day closer to grandkids. ;)</p>
<p>Swimrat & Helicoptermom,</p>
<p>We had concerns very similar to both of yours. Daughter was admitted to 2 College Confidential “Top Colleges and Universities” with supposedly better “reputations” than BC. But she had 4 things she was looking for in selecting a college: excellent academics, good DI sports teams to watch, school spirit, in or near a big and interesting city. While there are colleges out there probably better than BC in any one of those 4 things, there seem to be very, very few colleges other than BC that have ALL of those things.</p>
<p>BC is very far away from us too (VERY few from our state attend) - the other 2 “top” schools where she was admitted are much closer and drivable so that combined with turning down higher ranked schools made for a very difficult decision. Although there are some students attending BC as a backup, I bet there are also many very smart kids like my daughter that choose BC because they want more out of college than just a super intellectual experience and have interests beyond studying 24/7.</p>
<p>In the end she decided that the opportunity to live in Boston plus get a great education was too attractive to pass up. So what started out as her backup school became her first choice.</p>
<p>Like Helicopter, I am also a bit worried about the distance but I am also very proud of her courage to take this chance. If you want to worry together, PM me. Maybe we’ll meet at Orientation 7 for the far away people!</p>
<p>THANK YOU all who posted on this thread. Just when I came to terms with my daughter being away at school, I’m now faced with my son leaving home for college this fall. For whatever reason, it is hitting me harder than when my daughter left home.</p>
<p>I wish I had attended BC’s parent orientation back when D was beginning her freshman year. Absent that, reading everybody’s posts and knowing I’m not alone is so helpful.</p>
<p>If it helps, my niece turned down Northwestern University for BC. She is top 3-4% of a failry large senior class. She was just notified of a Notre Dame acceptance but may still plan to attend BC. I have lived all over the US and Brandeis is unknown to some. BC and Tufts are academically of similar caliber and reputation to me with BC students considered more well-rounded and congenial. Even in South Carolina-and by now everyone nows how backward our state is-- most folks I spoke to know Boston College and consider it a good school (let’s face it we live in a bubble down here where Brandeis would be considered someone’s first name). You picked a great school.</p>
<p>i think people on CC underrate Boston College. particulary in the search and selection forum, i notice a lot of threads bashing BC. i’ve always thought of it as an elite school that belongs in the top 30. there’s just some WASP anti-Catholic sentiment holding it back in the rankings.</p>
<p>“excellent academics, good DI sports teams to watch, school spirit, in or near a big and interesting city. While there are colleges out there probably better than BC in any one of those 4 things, there seem to be very, very few colleges other than BC that have ALL of those things.”</p>
<p>This is the key to BC’s appeal (you could also add beautiful and safe campus)…BC might not be #1 in any one attribute, but it scores amazingly well across the board. BC’s only competition in combining academics, bigtime sports, beautiful campus, social life, and access to an interesting big city are places like Stanford, Northwestern, USC, U of Washington, Texas, UCLA, and UC Berkeley. Stanford is quite a drive from San Francisco, Northwestern isn’t very pretty, USC’s neighborhood isn’t great. Berkeley, Texas, UCLA, and Washington are great deals if you pay in-state tuition, but aren’t that great a deal if you pay out-of-state fees.</p>
<p>Swimrat7: </p>
<p>At BC, we know how to study, we know how to party with or without stimulants – your choice, we know our reputation is built on who we are today, not who we were 50 or 100 years ago, and we know that most of our classmates don’t view this as simply a stepping stone on to some other place or level, but that the actual 4 years here are worth savoring. We know that everything this school and its professors and its administration do is geared toward we the students. Oh, and that’s *the undergrad students<a href=“try%20finding%20that%20focus%20on%20undergrads%20at%20any%20ivy%20besides%20%5BI%5Dmaybe%20%5B/I%5D%20Brown”>/I</a>. My roommate was his class salutatorian. I was #3 of > 400 in mine. If IQ quotients are really your concern, I can attest that there are a lot of serious brains walking around this campus, and most of them have an actual LIFE outside of the library and the labs. Lots of scholar/athlete/band geek types. Lots of joiners and school spirit types. But I have to warn you. If you want deep academics at the expense of a life and a social scene, then you won’t like BC. If you want a school that makes you fend for yourself and makes getting through its byzantine processes a trial-by-fire, then you won’t like BC. If you were hoping for a school comprised of mouldering old buildings that are quaintly in need of some serious paint and repairs, then you won’t like BC. If you prefer a school that students trash on weekends then you won’t like BC. If you could not care less if your school has spirit and a sense of self and a deep – almost bragging – pride, then you won’t like BC. BUT if you are ok with a school that balances academics with joy, and that challenges you academically while challenging you to not make academics your sole reason for survival, and that is so beautiful in the Spring that you will find yourself taking pictures of it on your cell and sending them to your friends and family, then I have a feeling you’re going to do just fine here. So, take a deep breath and dive in here at BC. You will not regret it.</p>
<p>^^Not so fast…Dartmouth is typically considered the most undergrad-focused Ivy, since it has few grad programs in Arts and Sciences, and zero in its stronger departments.</p>