May 1st is coming up!....

The deadline to decide on a college is coming up and to help you all decide if BC is right for you, I've compiled a list of Q&As that I have gotten frequently from friends from home and people I met at Admitted Eagle Day...

Question: "I keep hearing that BC is very Caucasian and preppy. Do you feel like you fit in just fine? Is the student body diverse enough? Also, do you know if there are any Southeast Asian/Indian clubs/dance groups and such? A Capella groups?"

Answer: BC is definitely NOT all Caucasian and preppy. Of course you have preppy students but that is a rumor stemming from the fact that BC back in the day was a very white-dominant school. Today, we have a very diverse population of both Caucasian and AHANA (African, Hispanic, Asian, Native American) students. There are a great variety of culture groups and dance groups. I am a member of UGBC this year and my mentor is the Director of UNITY, which is a liaison between UGBC and the AHANA Leadership Council and we plan a lot of diversity events. One event in particular featured three cultural dance groups on campus. Furthermore, next year's president and vice president have a lot of AHANA initiatives on their platform. The culture groups that you talk of are very widespread on campus.

Question: Do you like your classes/professors?

Answer: I love my classes and professors. I love my CSOM classes and I have such dedicated professors who do whatever they can to help you through the course, and through the four years of college. Professors are also very accessible. I frequently meet with professors to not only get extra help but even life-chat. Even though I am in CSOM, I still have to take a bunch of Arts and Sciences classes such as Philosophy and Theology. I have had two Jesuits as professors and they are amazing at what they do and you also have them as mentors as well, they aren't just professors.

Question: Why did you choose BC?

Answer: I'll admit it wasn't my first choice and I didn't think I would end up here, but now that I am here, I can't imagine going anywhere else. It was a really great fit for me. A couple of my favorite things about BC besides what I've already mentioned are:

1. beauty (love the churches and Fulton Hall, the home of CSOM)
2. proximity to Boston (we have our own T stop and we have a shuttle that goes to another quicker line. The trip takes about 10 minutes)
3. great social life and school spirit, particularly during football season
4. MARATHON MONDAY which was so much fun and inspirational. BC is such a crucial spot during the race and so a lot of people gather on the streets to cheer on runners.
5. such amazing people that you get to see, befriend, work with, and talk to every day

Question: Where do you currently live and do you recommend Upper Campus or Newton Campus?

Answer: I currently live in Fitzpatrick on Upper Campus. Regarding Upper vs. Newton, it really depends on the kind of person you are because there is no difference between the two, save the bus transportation necessary for students who live on the Newton Campus. I am not a bus-person at all. I need to be able to walk back to room whenever I need to because I tend to forget books, laptop, homework, etc. in my room....and I can't run on any other schedule beside my own.

Question: How do the housing/roommate situations work?

Answer: You can choose your roommates through the ResLife portal which you get access to once you decide you want to come here. Your freshman year roommate is usually randomly chosen based on a housing profile you fill out about how neat you are and whether you want to use the room to study, socialize or relax. You can also choose a roommate if you've met someone at Freshman Orientation that you want to live with: generally people do get who they request. Freshmen housing assignments don't come out until August. After freshman year, there is a lottery you enter with your friends based on the number of people you want in your room.

Hope this helps you make this important decision! If you have any more questions about CSOM, BC, or anything about college, shoot me an email (fangda@bc.edu)!

Good luck! Hope to see you on campus next year!

Marathon Monday

Here's BC in all of its Marathon Monday glory! I had the fortune of watching runners from all over the world and even our own BC runners take on this 26.2 aerobic miracle! So much spirit, energy, and support came from the crowds, especially around BC! Such a fun experience for my first Marathon Monday!

Study Abroad & Course Registration

Hey all!

I've got some downtime before I head to Eagle's Nest to help prepare for the MLP dance: Glowfest!
So here's an update on my life thus far:

Recently, I have been in a very futuristic mode: attending study abroad sessions, getting ready for course registration, 4-yr schedule planning, figuring out my major/minor. The thing about CSOM is the schedule tends to be very tight, especially if you are planning on studying abroad AND majoring in accounting . It's important to figure out your 4-year plan to make sure everything fits and you can actually TAKE the courses you want to take abroad. I am currently an accounting major so I need to think about the 150-credit hour rule for the CPA exam and fitting in my accounting major/CSOM core courses. I also want to study abroad in Parma, Italy in the spring of my junior year so I have to think about taking some Italian classes (something tells me "Arrivederci! Ciao, bella!!" is not going to cut it).

I'm thankful for the barrage of CSOM Study Abroad information sessions. Each session features a different study-abroad country and a panel of students who were recently abroad in that area. I learned a lot about study abroad through them such as academics, social life, traveling tips, good food etc.

Another helpful resource is your academic advisor (who is also your Portico professor). My advisor has helped me a lot with planning my schedule in terms of my intended major (accounting), a possible minor (international studies), and studying abroad (Elementary Italian I and II next year!). He was also very helpful in giving me advice on when I should take what classes and professors I should take.

I also should take advantage of the PEPs resource provided on the UGBC website. It is essentially a review of all the professors, organized by department/course. Very useful information!

Here's what I'm thinking so far for :
Elementary Italian I
Modern History I
Managerial Accounting
Math for Management
Intro to Law

...mmm gotta love CSOM core. Italian should be pretty fun though! We'll see what I can get!

Until next time!
Dara

Springtime at BC

Hey all!

It's the first day of classes after Easter break and I am sitting at a table in the Chocolate Bar, sipping my iced soy chai (the best!), getting ready for my Macroeconomics class at 10:30!

I've had a really relaxing break. The weather in MA has been absolutely GORGEOUS, so I spent most of my break outside, roaming around Shrewsbury (any Shrewsburians out there?)

With only 6 weeks left of school, freshman year is coming to an end. Suddenly, my daily schedule is filled with events like "Admitted Eagles Day," "Course Registration," "Course Registration Meeting with Dean Keeley," "Final Exams" (ooo, ominous). Luckily, my academic advisor (Dean Keeley) is very helpful with matters such as course registration and study abroad planning. Furthermore, Women-in-Business holds an advising workshop a week before registration starts to discuss schedules, professors to take, classes to take depending on the major.

On other note, schoolwork is going well! Before break, my main stress came from the Google Online Marketing Challenge for Computers in Management. Basically, we had Mike's Pastries (a great pastry shop in the North End of Boston) up until the last minute when they told us they weren't interested in helping out with our project anymore (I mean, it's not much work, and you get free advertising). Our group was scrambling to find another company (and our report was due that night). We called around and finally talked to the VP of Finale Desserts, who was very helpful and agreed to participate in the challenge. Our group pulled together and delivered a solid presentation on Wednesday before break.

Anyways, I'm heading off to my only class of the day! Stay tuned for more CSOM news and my experience with course registration!

-Dara