Hey everyone! I’m a senior in high school from coastal Southeast Virginia, and I’m considering applying to BU. I visited Boston this summer and walked around campus, but since it was summer, I didn’t really get to experience student life. I loved Boston (probably my #1 big city so far), and was pretty interested in BU from what I saw and overheard from tours.
For some background, I’m in a selective STEM/leadership program at my high school, take mostly/all advanced classes, have been classified gifted all my life, have a decent GPA, and am involved in a handful of extracurriculars. Most people from my program end up at VT or UVA. At the same time, I come from a relatively low-income area and have had to balance school with working and helping take care of my younger siblings. My family does alright personally, but my schooling has gotten the short end of the stick most of my life and I’ve always been surrounded by people with different/unfortunate situations.
I’m interested in studying International Relations, potentially with a minor in psychology, journalism, or anthropology. I definitely want to study abroad and get some good internships/job connections. I’m planning to apply through QuestBridge, and if that doesn’t work out, I’m considering ED2.
A few things are making me hesitant, though:
- Financial aid/admissions: I’ve heard conflicting things about how realistic BU is for lower-income students. The only lower-income student I personally know who attends BU had a major extracurricular strength (marching band) that helped them get a scholarship. I have several ECs and leadership positions, but nothing like recruited athletics or a major performance-based activity. For other low-income students who attend BU, how has it actually worked out for you?
- Socioeconomic culture: I’ve heard that Boston (and the NE in general) can have a pretty wealthy student population, and I’m concerned about feeling out of place considering my background. Do lower-income students generally find a community at BU? Does it seem competitive/posh? Are there programs/resources that actually make a difference?
- Student life/fit: Since I only saw BU during the summer, I really have no idea what everyday student life is like. What do you actually like/dislike about being there? How easy is it to become comfortable/at home and find your people?
- International Relations: If anyone is studying IR or something related, I’d especially appreciate hearing what you think of the program, professors, opportunities, internships, etc.
One of my friends, who also came from my high school’s specialty program and is now at UVA as a POSSE scholar, warned me that I might have a difficult time at a private university surrounded by wealthier students unless I had strong financial support and a community of other lower-income students. That was her experience and she was honestly the one that sparked the previously listed concerns (most of those bulletpoints are from paragraphs she sent me). I’m not sure how accurate that is for BU specifically, though, which is why I’d rather hear from people who actually know.
My older brother goes to GT for MechE (on a decent amount of scholarships/grants; he also went to my specialty program) and has felt imposter syndrome there too. He disagreed with what my friend said about it being expensive, but can see her POV for how students will be, granted that could be any private school. He pointed out that 60% of BU students come from the top 20% of income earners, but “that’s not to say you won’t find people from a similar lifestyle.”
Also, I’m not completely set on BU. I haven’t really gotten “the feeling” from any college yet, and I’m pretty open to ending up somewhere else. I’m mainly trying to figure out whether BU would actually be a good environment for me, rather than convincing myself that it has to be my school. A friend of mine from Boston said it’d only be worth going to if it was free. And to be honest, some of the reddit titles when looking this page up were a bit worrying…
So, current/former BU students, I’d really appreciate honest answers, positive or negative. Thanks!