That being said, you must be an ambitious student in order to do well and have a good experience at Boston College.  It is a place where you must work hard both socially and academically, lest your experience be marred by poor decisions and an unwelcoming atmosphere.

Let me start with the academics.  The core curriculum can seem like a negative to a lot of students, but in all honesty, if you find the right professors, you can have a blast and learn a lot of interesting things.  Granted, I took a few courses that were boring and seemed unessential to my education, but I wasn?t dissatisfied with the overall quality of these courses.  Unfortunately, if you do not actively seek out the best courses, you?re going to have an awful time with some pretty terrible faculty.

If you want to be successful in your major, you must seek out the opportunities early.  I did not find that the general population at was overly competitive, but the above-average students were downright scary when it came to wanting to get ahead.  Unfortunately, you will be passed by the wayside and favoritism will be showed to students who have been there since the beginning?after all, they have been putting in the most hours, right?  My advice: speak up in class when professors ask questions, and visit office hours!  It?s a much needed skill in life to be able to form a connection to your superiors, AND my letters of recommendation came much easier because my professors knew who I had been in their classes.

This is where academics and social life meet a crossroads.  A lot of information about activities at BC will come through word of mouth.  If you don?t hear about an opportunity right away, most chances are you never will.  And God help you if you want to join an established clique (i.e.  student government, orientation leaders, research within a department, etc.) and didn?t hear about it right away.  Students here can be very resistant to change, almost to the point that they fear the unknown.  Boston College students like to have everything appear perfect (I?ve seen the phrase cookie-cutter used), and when it?s not, they get upset.

When it comes to social life, Boston College has plenty of parties every weekend, as well as other social events.  If you don?t drink, I can?t imagine that you?ll be too comfortable here, but there are subcultures on campus that do other things.  Again, you must work to find them, as they don?t appear readily obvious.  I do believe BC students are open about mingling with others?parties are generally a wide array of social groups, and the beer is usually free (but this is mostly due to the upper-middle-class of the school not caring so much about the price tag).  Students are an affable bunch, though the dress is a little homogenous. 

I loved the social scene and actively took part in it?  I had a few different groups of friends, and I definitely subscribed to the ?work hard, play hard?  mentality of the general population.  People can be generally warm and inviting if you let them be?though sometimes you can feel as though certain relationships are a little superficial.

I never had a problem when it came to race or sexual orientation issues.  I think sometimes students create issues themselves because they are angry about the apathy of the general student body, and more about the attitudes of the administration.  It?s not that there are a lot of racist or homophobic students on campus; instead, most students simply don?t care enough about the issues (hence the reason a lot of student don?t think race here is an issue?  they simply don?t think about it).  Service groups can come across as superficial as well?  ?White guilt?  is an ongoing joke at BC, and a pretty sensitive issue.

There are PLENTY of things to get involved with at BC, whether it be volunteer programs, retreats, work study, academic research, or social clubs?  but again, I stress your experience at Boston College will only be positive if you are a hard working, ambitious individual with a thick skin.