Boston University

I really love BU. A lot of people are afraid of a large, city university with virtually no campus and thousands of students. I know; a year ago today I was one of them. You could fit the entire student body of almost any other college I applied to in Warren Towers (occupancy: 1800!!). But nonetheless, due to BU's extremely generous financial aid office, here I am in Boston. And I could NOT be happier about it.

Is BU the perfect school? Far from it. Yes, I do have some large lectures. But some of my friends at small liberal arts colleges have larger ones. Are the dorms wonderful? Nope. But then again, I compare the size of my room to the size of my friends' rooms at surrounding colleges and it gives me a new appreciation for my humble home. And I've decided that little space + lots of stuff = the college experience. How's the food? Hey, it's college. Don't come in expecting gourmet. But it is pretty good; West and Myles being my two favorite places to eat (the white pizza in West- fantastic!). And Late Nite makes for a sinful indulgence and late night Ben & Jerry's runs are made far more than is good for my jeans (mmm mmm Cherry Garcia. Good stuff.). But then there's an advantage to a spread out campus... you walk it off all the time! And the BU beach is awesome when you're feeling the need for a little "college quad" type feel. Take homework, take the newspaper (many of which, both regular papers such as the Boston Globe and Herald, and student-run papers such as the Daily Free Press, are available free in many places around campus. Free newspapers-- that's never going to happen again! Take 'em while you can!), take a book, take a discman. Just sit and look out to the Charles and watch the sailboats and crew teams from BU and Harvard and dozens of other schools. Or find a tree and take a nap or read. Relax. Just watch out for the frisbee maniacs who play both on the beach and Marsh Plaza, no matter the weather. Comm Ave is quieted and seems far away.

Truthfully, everything can start to feel far away sometimes. BU stretches oh, maybe 8 or so T stops, not to mention the C line going to South Campus. And those walks across the St. Mary's Bridge or through that horrible little alley thing by Photonics can be bone-chilling in the winter wind. But that's why you invest in a nice warm winter jacket along with a scarf and gloves, perhaps even a hat. And if you're still cold, silk undies fix that like nobody's business. Besides, enjoy the cold. Go ice skating on the Common- it's quintessential Boston.

Yes, BU is large. But your floor/house starts to feel like a family. Call me corny, I know you're dying to. But it's true. At least it has been in my case. I live with some awesome, incredibly intelligent people who always make life interesting. It's a little community in a big school.

Also, get involved on campus. I really believe that how much you get out of your college years is directly proportional to how much you put in. There's so many opportunities all over campus; it really is insane. Take advantage of a few.Take advantage of what BU has to offer you and take the good of the university along with the bad. Because both exist at any and every college, regardless of what anyone tells you. I'm so glad I ended up here; it's a choice I'd make again in a heartbeat.

1st Year Female -- Class 2006

Education Quality: A+, Campus Aesthetics: B

While everyone has complaints about his or her respective university, on the whole, my experience has been very positive. I am currently a junior Advertising major and I absolutely love my classes. The thing that is great about BU (and especially COM) is that you get a good balance of liberal arts and courses specific to your major. Even though most of us complain as freshman about having to take so many liberal arts courses, we realize after we have finished them that they were enjoyable and taught us a lot.

My favorite courses, though, have been in COM. COM is highly respected worldwide, and from the classes I have taken it is not hard to see why. They focus on projects and assignments that combine real world problems and tasks with theory. The professors are also extremely helpful when it comes to helping you improve your writing, advising you on how to find an internship, or just giving you any other advice you may need. Almost every professor in COM once worked or still continues to work in his or her field, so they stay on top of what is going on in the industry.

COM also offers clubs and classes that give you real world experience, such as AdLab, the first and largest student run ad agency in the US, which does work for non-profit and small profit clients.

Sometimes you will get a bad professor, but that is the nature of any college. Luckily, BU offers The Source Guide, an publication that rates professors and also allows students to give comments. This publication along with ratemyprofessor.com really helps you to avoid most of the bad professors and take classes with the amazing ones.

Another great thing about BU is that because of its size it offers almost every club and organization imaginable. One I am personally a part of is the Greek system on campus. Yes, BU does not allow fraternities and sororities on campus, however this in my opinion has not detracted from my experience being in a sorority. Joining a sorority has giving BU a greater community feel for me and has allowed me to meet so many amazing people. It's a much smaller community than most schools, but in my opinion this is better because people join because they genuinely want to be a part of the organization and not because everybody is joining.Of course, BU does have a few negatives. Among them, grade deflation. The grading scale here is very difficult and I will admit it's a bit depressing to talk about my GPA, however I have learned so much and have had no trouble finding internships thus far. Some of the dorms are run down, which is kind of expected considering much of BU's housing is old. However, despite the problems I have still had a wonderful experience here at BU and can not imagine spending my undergrad years anywhere else.

2nd Year Female -- Class 2005

Education Quality: A+, University Resource Use/ spending: F

Boston University is a top caliber school, and, having transferred from one of the "best" schools in order to come to BU, I can say with confidence that BU is one of the best schools in the country.

Professors are more than willing to assist students with their academic needs if students are just willing to make the effort and actually go to the professor's office hours. In fact, professors are thrilled with students do show up and want to talk about course material and not bitch about a grade. Professors and instructors are some of the top minds in their fields, and it shows from the in-depth, quality instruction they give; and, because they are researchers themselves, the professors emphasize current research and problems in the field, which helps make the course material seem alive.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2004

Education Quality: A+, Faculty Accessibility: F