Student Profile
multi
- Class:
- Major: Other
- Gender: F
- High School:
- Transfer Student:
Big Picture
Best thing about BU is its size in the sense that you can really try out anything. I would do a complete overhaul of the classes that are designed to grade more on the format of an answer rather than the content. Certain classes are run where they clearly don't know how to utilize your time, or they don't really test you on material (they'll ask really stupid, trivial questions instead). The problem is they aren't isolated to one department. They're scattered and can even only be part of an otherwise decent class. I was expecting BU to feel too large, but it's actually not because of all the subdivisions within the entire massive community. People were more impressed than I was when I said I go to BU. I feel proud to attend BU, and people definitely respect the international relations and premedicine programs. If I'm on campus, I'm either in my dorm studying and relaxing or in class. Crunch times I go to Mugar Library, which instantly makes me buckle down and study like a demon. Boston is a college town because there are college students everywhere, but when you go into the city,it also doesn't feel like one because despite the kids your age, there are even more people who aren't and who are just going on with daily life. Charles River campus feels a lot more like a campus than a lot of people say, just because the majority of buildings are BU buildings and nobody else has business walking down those sidewalks besides BU students. It's technically open, but the sidewalks still fill with BU students going to class every half hour. I would change the way the administration is run. A lot of times it feels despite the ridiculous tuition that very little of the money comes back to the students (ex. my physiology lab required us to buy latex gloves for dissection days, which feels like giving your little brother a $20 to go get you ice cream and him coming back with 10 Pokemon cards and saying the $20 wasn't enough). That said, despite being bulky and slow and bureaucratic, stuff does get done. Eventually. We recently had a change in guest policy, which made the rules for having even other BU students over somewhat less psychotic compared to the guest policies of pretty much anywhere else. Biggest recent controversy probably was the change in guest policy. It was a big change, and it relaxed a lot of things. The students were more than overjoyed, but there were a couple instances of people being assaulted in dorms. Whether it was actually more frequent this year since the change went into effect, I doubt it. School pride depends on your social group. A lot are completely apathetic, some take pride in what they do through BU, others are fanatics, and these people tend to paint themselves red and go to hockey games. Our guest policy is still unusual. Our "campus" is unusual. The frat parties out in West I guess you could say are unusually crowded and sketchy and "dry up" quickly. Most frequent student complaints are usually to get more money to come back to the students. And because of the guest policy, there is a tangible air of distrust and hostility between a lot of students and the administration.
Academic Life
Some professors know my name, others don't. I've interacted a lot with professors in smaller classes, but otherwise I'm not one of the ones who goes out of her way to introduce herself. But the professors have always been approachable, so whoever wants to know them well, can. My favorite class has been organic chemistry. It's not terrifying and impossible to learn, and my professor is ridiculous. His 8am lectures always fill up quickly so I still have to get there 15 minutes early. His lectures are hilarious and fast-paced and he's backed this year by a TA who is very, very capable on her own in helping students more closely in discussion (some TAs don't make discussion worth it. She does). Least favorite are definitely any intro classes. You don't want to be there, the professors don't want to be there, and these are usually the classes that ask the trivial questions. Also, I took some unnecessary intro classes. BU doesn't really outline for you what is required and what's not. You have to be careful and can pretty much just hope you meet a few good upperclassmen who have figured it out and are willing to share. I have friends I haven't seen for a semester because they've been locked up studying, and I have friends who I've never seen study. It depends on how challenging your coursework is and how much you want to rock it. I hate class participation. It's somewhat common in the small classes. I think most people find friends who have similar interests and who can talk about intellectual stuff outside of class. Of course, there are also a lot of idiots. Competitiveness depends on the student and the program. Premed is definitely very competitive. People chase the professor, ask questions in class, and actually go to office hours. But I haven't had to worry about it reaching the level of sabotage or being cutthroat. Just a lot of people running very, very hard. Most unique class I've taken so far would either be Sympathy for the Devil and my Peoples and Cultures of Africa classes. Sympathy for the Devil is a WR150 course, the professor is funny and British, the works aren't so forbidden or evil, but it gets you a look into a lot of important classic literature, and you read Master & Margarita, one of my new favorite books plus other modern stuff. People and Cultures of Africa, the professor is amazing. We've referred to him as Mufasa. He's a passionate, humorous, approachable professor who is very informed (he wrote one of the books in the class, and it was my favorite out of about a dozen we read). Careful: the final assignment is a 30 page paper, which isn't so bad either. I was previously in international relations. I didn't like the intro course, but the upper division ones are definitely all amazing. Biochemistry & molecular biology (BMB) is a very difficult major, but it's put me with a group of students that are at a higher caliber of science-geared students than I've ever worked with. Premedical program here is known for being tough. It's competitive, the classes are very hard, but the premed students are definitely not as smart as the BMB students and can be frustrating to work with. French, I've only taken one class so far, but I loved the professor, and I've only heard good things about the others, so I'm excited to finish my minor. I wouldn't spend time with my professors outside of class, but I have run into them or ended up chatting with them before or after class, and I know a lot of people can relate to them as peers and have fun. Academic requirements are typical of a liberal arts education, luckily they took all my APs. They are manageable. Just the writing requirement a lot of people think is stupid. Depends on the department. My science classes, I feel like I'm just trying to get into med school, but the other ones have felt more like they really just educate me on the topic. You decide what job you want and what courses will apply, they'll make sure the course provides a lot of good information on the subject.
Student Body
Someone who wasn't a go-getter or shy would be out of place. Someone who had at least somewhat established who they were and had an open mind would do great. I've met people from every race, religion, orientation, socioeconomic background and my group of friends is definitely a big mix. The only thing we have in common is we work hard but still want to make time every once in a while to just slow down and relax and have fun. You'll see almost semiformal outfits to pajamas. We don't look down on any of it. Unless you haven't showered. All types of students interact. The largest social division is probably between East and West campus. West is almost all CFA and CGS. They party more, but people in the other colleges are a little snobby about not being in their college. We joke about how much we'll earn. We've decided if we're still friends that the failing ones will have to live in cardboard boxes, but that the successful ones will allow them to live in their cardboard boxes in their mansions.
