ICE JAM 2010

Hey - so this post has nothing to do with CSOM, its just about the awesomeness that went down tonight at Conte Forum. They had half of a hockey rink and half of a basketball court, and the event was centered around the four teams at BC that compete in these two sports. Bob Costas hosted, which was sweet, and Vanilla Ice was there because, come on, it's ICE Jam. Also, Doug Flutie was there, even lighting it up in the three point contest. And there was tons of free stuff. This is just another event that shows how sweet BC is, and is definitely worth looking at for all you kids who love sports.

P.S. I'm incredibly biased because I'm on the committee that planned this event.

P.P.S. Did i mention we GAVE AWAY A BMW?

Boston Excursion: From Chestnut Hill to the North End

Hey everyone! In my last post I shared some of the things I love about Boston and being so close to the city. I spoke about how I loved Boston’s many neighborhoods and that because it is relatively small, it’s fairly easy to get around even if you are just walking. To prove my point my friend and I went on a little excursion last Columbus Day weekend and walked all the way from Chestnut Hill (Boston College) to the North End. To get a sense of the neighborhoods in Boston, check out this map.

When you want to get from place to place in Boston, it is usually easy and cheap to take the T, the Boston subway system. But when it is a beautiful day I would recommend walking through some of the neighborhoods yourself. You will notice that things are not to far away from each other and it is easy to get across the city just by strolling along through each neighborhood. On a Saturday afternoon my friend and I began walking down Beacon St., heading towards the center of Boston…

We first arrived at Cleveland Circle, a common destination right down the street from the main campus. Here students will find a variety of eateries such as Roggies and Eagle’s Deli, convenience stores such as CVS, the Reservoir T stop, and even off campus housing. After saying hello to some friends, we continued our way down Beacon St., passing through several beautiful neighborhoods, and then arrived at Coolidge Corner. This Brookline intersection and the streets surrounding it have a quaint and pedestrian-friendly feel, and are home to many small and family-run shops and restaurants (not mention my favorite Jewish deli and brunch location, Zafitgs.) You can also catch a glimpse of the restored art deco Coolidge Corner Theatre. This is a great place nearby to walk, eat, shop, and relax with friends.

We soon reached Commonwealth Ave. and passed the famous Boston Citgo sign (see the photo of me above.) With the top of the Prudential Tower growing in the distance, we crossed over to Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, which was filled with pedestrians. This is a popular destination for anyone visiting or living in Boston. Newbury Street is lined with historic 19^th century brownstones with house an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, and salons, making it a great destination for shopping, dining, or just enjoying a day in the city. The area of Back Bay itself is part of old Boston and one of the city’s most expensive neighborhoods. It is home to many great Boston destinations such as Copley Square, the Boston Public Library, Trinity Church, John Hancock Tower, and also the Berklee College of Music.

After being entertained by a college jazz band playing outside of Starbucks and perusing in and out of boutiques, we exited Newbury Street and entered the Boston Common, one of the oldest city parks in the country. On beautiful days the Common is filled with picnickers, dog walkers, musicians, families, and street vendors. Here you can walk through the public garden, ride the famous swan boats, or enjoy the “Frog Pond.” My friend and I decided to buy a snack from a street vendor and enjoy a small musical performance taking place that afternoon.

The Common is surrounded by the Boston Theatre District, Financial District, and Beacon Hill Area; however we decided to make our way down to Faneuil Hall. This building is a historical Boston market and meeting hall and one of the most frequently visited sites in the US. Inside and around Faneuil Hall you can find lots of great places to eat, shop, and walk around-you might even see some really awesome street performances by various dance and musical groups. Faneuil Hall is also part of the Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile walk marked with red bricks that leads one through 16 historical sites in the city.

My friend and I finally followed the Freedom Trail all the way to the North End, Boston’s “Little Italy,” and one of my favorite areas of Boston. The North End is Boston’s oldest residential communities and home to Paul Revere’s House and the Old North Church. Its quaint streets are filled with Italian restaurants, pastry shops, cafes, and markets. It’s almost impossible to leave with out a box of cannoli or having eaten some gelato or pizza. We ate at a tiny restaurant off of Prince Street and ended our day with some delicious homemade pasta and gnocchi. As you can see, Boston is fairly easy to navigate and accommodates a wide variety of interests. This is something every Boston College student should take advantage of.

Hope you enjoyed this post, if you have any questions feel free to send me an email! papastam@bc.edu

Thanks for reading!

Sofia Papastamelos

(Another) Introduction

Hey everybody! Just figured I'd follow suit and give you guys a bit of an introduction as well. My name is Eddie Jonny; I'm a sophomore with a Marketing concentration in CSOM and just like Dan and Christina, this is also my first post on the blog.

I'm originally from Long Island, New York but even though I'm familiar with the northeast I had never really looked into BC during my college search. I drove through campus on a whim during a trip to some other New England schools and before I even reached the end of Campanella Way I could tell I wanted to go to school here - something just clicked. From that point on BC became my main focus and fortunately everything went according to plan.

On campus I'm involved in SAP, working online and doing high school visits. On top of that, you can find me in the office on Thursdays from 12-1. I'm also involved in the Marketing Academy as well as BCVC, our Venture Competition here at Boston College. I'm also a huge music junkie; I interned at a record label in New York this past summer, so for any of you with the same obsession, feel free to reach out if you're looking for someone to talk music with.

I hope this post didn't get too verbose for you guys, I just wanted to give you a bit of information on who I am and the type of things I'd be more than happy to talk to you about.

Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions on anything I talked about (or even on things I may have left out). I'm addicted to my Crackberry so you'll more than likely hear back from me within minutes.

-EJ

jonny@bc.edu

An Introduction

Hello all! Since this is my first post (like Dan, below) I also wanted to give you a little information about myself. My name is Christina Quinn, and I am a sophomore in the Carroll School of Management. I'm attempting to concentrate in Marketing and Information Systems with a Minor in the Lynch School in Human Development. Quite the mouthful, but I'm really excited about all three. (Also in the photo I am on the right, my suitemate and coincidentally a fellow blogger, Dara, is on the left.)

I'm from Portsmouth, Rhode Island (about 1.5 hours from Chestnut Hill) so I'm a New Englander, born and raised. I could not be happier to go to BC for so many reasons, ranging from the gorgeous campus to the excellent business program to the amazing people who I live and learn with.

On campus I'm involved in several ways, primarily through my position as the Online Editor for The Heights (our independent student newspaper on campus). I also greet for SAP -- meaning if you decide to stop by the admissions office every other Tuesday at 1 PM I'll be there to say hello to you and answer any questions! Finally, I am a volunteer in the 4Boston program, which allows me to commit four hours a week of community service to my placement, the Pine Street Inn.

Expect to hear more from me in the future, and feel free to e-mail me with any questions, comments, or just for information about BC!

-CMQ

quinncq@bc.edu

Meet and Greet with a little Homecoming

Hey Guys,

This is my first blog so I thought I'd take a little time to introduce myself. I'm Dan Rimm, a sophomore in the Carroll School of Management. BC actually wasn't my first choice, or even really on my radar until I got in. I only visited once I was accepted and trying to make my final decision but once I got on campus and took the tour I knew that this was where I wanted to go. That's basically how I got here and I can honestly say now that I'm here I haven't regretted my decision for a minute.

I've always loved sports and music and I've found that BC is great for these. There's been nothing quite like the feeling of Saturday afternoon football games when you're surrounded by a sea of gold or watching your school's hockey team win the national championship. These are things at BC that I'll never forget.

As for me the biggest thing I'm involved in on campus is UGBC or the Undergraduate Government of Boston College. I'm part of the campus entertainment part of UGBC and we are the group who puts on the concerts, pep rallies and dances at BC. For me this has been a great part of college. I have met artists such as The Fray and seen how a concert is put together, from the building of the stage to the actual performance. It is absolutely an experience I could not imagine having anywhere else.

This leads to the last part of my post which is Homecoming which was this weekend. UGBC ran homecoming this year so after going over the logistics of loading students onto buses and other basic things I loaded onto a bus and headed out for homecoming. This year homecoming was held at Boston's House of Blues and featured the artist White Panda. It was great to see so many of my classmates all dressed up and having a great time dancing and just socializing with friends. I loved it and will definitely be going next year.

Anyways sorry for the long first post but I just thought I would let you know a little about me. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions and look out for more posts soon!

-Dan

rimmd@bc.edu

A Guide to Midterm Madness

It's Midterm Madness at BC and while I am done with any formal testing until next month, I know a number of student who are smack dab in the middle of the storm. How does one deal with the stresses of BC Midterm Week? By realizing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Whether you are a prospective BC student or a current BC student, there are methods to the madness:

1. Get your priorities straight, and ahead of time. I've taken on well-known but seldomly applied strategy of one of my roommates with impeccable studying habits: simply plan at least a week ahead of time a plan of attack for each subject. Planning ahead of time also means starting to study ahead of time so when it comes to....
2. Attending office hours (or review sessions)...you have time to develop questions to be answered by professors and/or TAs. Office hours are a great way to get more help on concepts. Every professor I've had held multiple office hours or review sessions in preparation for midterms. I've never walked out of a review session feeling more confused than when I walked into one.
3. Logging in library/studying time. If you know you can't study in the common room with the very likely possibility of being distracted, don't hesitate to make the however undesirable a trip it is to the library. Bapst Library is silent 24/7, not to mention open 24/7. O'Neill has comfortable chairs, natural lighting, and relaxing views of the city. Brighton Library is rather obscure and therefore less crowded. Clear a few hours everyday for studying wherever you study best.
4. Focus on practice problems. Often times, professors give out certain review problems to focus on, or topics that are "very important." Remember them. Most of the time, test questions come straight from the review problems or the "focus" areas that he/she makes a point to distinguish.
5. Don't forget to eat....or sleep for that matter. Your mood, stress level, and retention of knowledge significantly increases with an active digestion system and an well-functioning brain.
6. Keep calm. Easier said than done, yes. However, if you have a studying plan all set (see #1), there is no reason to overly stress about a single midterm. Take a break, walk outside, go to the Plex, grab fro-yo from Lower, play some basketball with friends. A personal favorite study break of mine are wide variety of yoga classes at the Plex. I give yoga credit for all the times I gotten a "Why are you so calm?" accusation from friends.

Whether or not you go to BC, there are ways for dealing with any stressful situation you may come across--from testing to that stressful applying for college/taking AP classes/balancing my extra-involved student life with school period that was junior to senior year.

Good luck with college searches!!
Any questions, please feel free to email me at fangda@bc.edu

'Til next time...

-Dara (CSOM '13)

8 Great Things About Living Near Boston

When searching for colleges, a great way to narrow down your choices is to take into account the location and setting of the university. Are you looking for a large rural school on the west coast? Or perhaps a small urban college in an east coast city? The location may very well shape the culture of the school and the experiences you create while you are there.

Personally, I was looking for a school that was in or close to a city, which is one of the reasons I was intrigued by Boston College. What’s great about BC is that the students here are able to enjoy all of the benefits of a traditional (and beautiful!) college campus while still having quick and easy access to the city of Boston and all of its resources. Students here love living so close to the city. We have convenient access to two T stops that can transport anyone into Boston fairly quickly. Because of this, there are so many things to do on the weekends for fun -so if you don’t feel like taking part in the numerous activities occurring on campus, you can easily get away and do your own thing in the city whenever you please.

Here are some other great things about Boston and being so close:

1. Just like in any city, Boston has a huge array of restaurants, shopping, art, historical sites, shows/concerts, and great nightlife. For great ideas or examples of fun Boston activities, I would recommend visiting this Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/365ThingsBoston?ref=ts or simply check out this awesome site: http://mysecretboston.com/ 
2. Boston is a college town! There are more than 100 colleges and universities located in the Great Boston area, so there are tons of college students and other young adults all over the city. Many businesses in the area take advantage of this, offering products, activities, and services that are specifically targeted to college students. 
3. BC sponsors or partners with other events that are going on in the city such as the Museum of Fine Arts College Night, tickets to sports events and Broadway shows, and homecoming at the House of Blues, so you have a VIP access to some of Boston’s greatest attractions!
4. Boston has great sporting events! For all you sports enthusiasts it is easy and fun to get tickets to Boston Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics games. Did I mention Fenway is only five T stops away…
5. Boston doesn’t have to be expensive! The T is very inexpensive to ride and there are plenty of cheap things to do in the city such as walking around, exploring, picnicking in the commons, and going to the MFA (art museum) just to name a few. Check out the photo above of me enjoying a beautiful day in the Boston Commons. 
6. Boston is also a great place for service and club activities. Many BC classes and service clubs such as PULSE and 4Boston have volunteer placements in the city that students visit each week. In addition, BC performance groups such as the Voices of Imani perform at Boston events/charity benefits and the CSOM business academies visit businesses and conferences in the Greater Boston area. There are just a few examples of how Boston College clubs and organizations take advantage of being so close to the city!
7. Boston offers great job and internship opportunities! Whether you are a nursing student looking to train at a local hospital or a CSOM student seeking an accounting internship, the city has a myriad of resources. 
8. Lastly, what I love about Boston is its wonderful historical aura and the fact that it is such a walkable city. Because of its relatively small size, it is pretty easy to find your way through each of its small and unique neighborhoods, making exploring a favorite pastime. To prove my point, I decided spend a Columbus weekend afternoon walking all the way from BC to the North End! To hear more about this excursion, visit my next post. 

Please feel free to email me with any comments or questions: papastam@bc.edu

Thanks for Reading!!

Sofia Papastamelos

BC Sports Culture

Hey everyone! I just wanted to take some time to talk a little about sports at BC. My whole life I have never been such a sport enthusiast until I came to BC as a freshman last year. Sports were not really of much interest to me and did not play a part in my college decision-making. However, when I first visited BC I could definitely tell that Boston College students have an extraordinary amount of school spirit. Athletics, although they are not the only source of this school pride, definitely play a big part.

All of this intrigued me during the college selection process, but I did not really feel the full effect until I was handed my superfan shirt at my freshman orientation and began to attend football games in the fall semester. There is nothing like celebrating a touchdown in a sea of gold while screaming the BC Fight song at the top of your lungs. In addition to football, there are many other popular sports to attend at BC such as Ice Hockey and Basketball. Sports games are a ton of fun and truly become a big social event that you can share with your friends and fellow superfans. It definitely creates a large sense of unity and camaraderie that I was looking for in a school, whether it comes from sports or from academics (and for BC it is both!)

Another exciting aspect of the athletics here at BC is our rivalries, one of which is with our fellow Bostonians at Boston University. BC and BU usually duke it out in the rink with our Men’s Ice Hockey Teams (did I mention we are the national champs?) and also during the Beanpot -an exciting 4 game tournament between BC, BU, Harvard, and Northeastern (winner gets a year’s worth of bragging rights.) In addition to our rivalry with BU, there is also the “Holy War” between BC and Notre Dame. To the excitement of the superfans, this annual game took place on the heights this year where hundreds of us gathered to cheer on the eagles! (Take a look at the photo above of my roommates and I at a BC family tailgate.) Although we lost, we know there is always next year and we still love our Eagles. Once a superfan, always a superfan.

Not big on sports? Not to worry, there are tons of student at Boston College who feel the same way. Luckily there are many other great aspects of the BC culture to indulge in!
Questions? Email me at papastam@bc.edu

Thanks for reading!

Sofia Papastamelos

Welcome to my blog!

Hey everyone! This is my first post, so I would like to introduce myself properly. My name is Sofia Papastamelos and I am a Boston College sophomore in the Carroll School of Management and plan to major in Marketing and Information Systems. I am from a town called Galloway in Southern New Jersey and absolutely love living so close to Boston during my time here at BC. I come from a big Greek family and therefore am very outgoing and talkative and love to eat, sing, and dance :)

I am involved in many activities and clubs around campus, including the Student Admissions Program, Voices of Imani Gospel Choir, Hellenic Society, Orthodox Christian Fellowship, and Appalachia Volunteers. I look forward to blogging about many of my experiences in these groups as well as general info and personal observations about Boston College. Please feel free to contact me any time if you have questions at: papastam@bc.edu.

Thanks for reading!

Sofia Papastamelos

The 10 biggest freshman adjustments

Hey, my name is Jeff Martin and I'm a freshman in CSOM. It's been a crazy first month. This post is just gonna tell you about some of the biggest differences (good and bad) between high school and college. If you have any questions feel free to email me at martaau@bc.edu. Here goes:

1. Living with someone else- I've always had my own room until now. Living in a tiny space with another person takes a lot of compromise. Keeping the room neat can be hard, and music choice is definitely an issue in my room. But your roommate will become one of your best friends hopefully. Just hope you don't get a forced triple. Those suck.
2. The down time- High school gives you six hours a day of classes in a row. That doesn't happen in college. You will have more free time then you know what to do with, and managing that time is essential to doing well. And on that note...
3. The Work- Its more than you've ever had before. I don't care how many AP's you took in high school, its nothing compared to college. Its not impossible to get done, but you will have to spend more time working then you would want to.
4. Parties- As a freshman boy, I can personally tell you that you better have the right girl to boy ratio to get in to a party here. At home usually you're partying with your friends, here you'll know maybe five people there. It's a big change, but you get used to it quick.
5. Drinking- Yeah this is different then partying. Noon football games mean pregaming starts at 10. That's early. And if you're used to classy drinks, good luck. No college kid is shelling out any money for anything nice.
6. The hours- Days are a lot longer at college. Rarely people go to bed before one, even if they have an 8 am in the morning. Sleep is at a premium here, so naps are extremely common. You really have to force yourself to get out of bed in the morning, which my roommate sucks at.
7. The unfamiliarity- You show up here knowing nobody, or where buildings are, or pretty much anything else. Good news though, all the other freshman are in the same boat. So its okay because you're not alone.
8. The Teachers- They're smart. they're better for the most part than the teachers you've had before, especially if you're coming from a public school like me. They also expect a lot out of you. Everyone here is smart, and they expect to see that. Participation plays a big part in grades for most classes.
9. Everyone is smart- This was one of the things that immediately struck me. In high school I was in the top 5% and got a 34 on ACTs. That is the norm here. You have to raise your thinking to a whole different level here, which is great. One of my favorite things is when vocab words pop up in a group of kids inane conversations. You don't expect it, and its another reminder of the talent that is around you. (I used inane there to help make my point. You never know when they'll pop up.)
10. Living on your own- biggest difference hands down. You miss your family and home cooked meals and your bed. Definitely your bed. But you adjust. You learn how to budget your time and how neat you like your stuff and all those other little nuances. Its just weird not having mom and dad and the dog around anymore.

Some of these seem a little scary, but I love BC. Its a great place to be that I would recommend to anyone. You have to come see how beautiful the campus is and the people are just as good. College is different, but definitely in a good way. Go Eagles. Peace

Things I Love about CSOM

I'll be honest. Boston College wasn't my first choice, but it may as well have been. Had I known then what I know now, I would have saved myself a lot of anguish and disappointment, however short-lived it was. The more I think about it, the more I realized I was a CSOM student at heart and I belonged at BC [Not paid to advertise, not that the school needs it anyways...I swear.]

Why?

1. At last check, CSOM is at #9 for Best B-Schools in America, making it better than NYU Stern anyways.
2. We have our own library located at the heart of Fulton Hall. Such knowledge, emanating right out the aesthetic wooden doors
3. Grad students frequent the stately building that is Fulton. Usually they are attending classes right before/directly after work so the fact that you have the typically outfitted undergrad occasionally intermixing with the grads in their oxford shirts, heels, and pressed khakis or slacks makes walking into class feel so much more important
4. You throw around the powerful business jargon from your homework like it's your job: Asset turnover ratio? Subject matter jurisdiction? Debits/credits? Predetermined overhead rate?...and no one understands you. Common room study sessions are always an interesting time in that sense.
5. As if Fulton wasn't good enough just being aesthetically pleasing, it is themed! Tour guides, despite the school they identify with, are more than proud to tell you that the atrium of Fulton Hall is inspired by The Wizard of Oz, from the tiled floors to the sparkling Tin-Man-hat-chandelier
6. Portico--an all-encompassing business school/ethics overview and the required core "fun class" of freshman year.
7. So many CSOM clubs and organizations....so little time. And since we love networking, most events include a presentation or meeting with important people.
8. To date, CSOM is the only school at BC that makes full use of tent cards on which students are to write their names so professors can learn names. Simple origami with paper, perhaps, and they only need to last a month, tops. But given the physical shape of most Fulton classrooms, propping your tent card in front of you before every class is akin to the feeling of being at a conference with other high-powered industry figures. Always thinking in futuristic times, CSOM.
9. We love social media. We are all about the endless possibilities on Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn and other innovative forms of technology.
10. Most events come with a dress code...business-casual obviously. Just getting ready for the real world.

Given the option, would I transfer out of Boston College? Definitely not. But it has more to do with a general love for the school than a reluctance to leave what's comfortable.

What about you? What attracts you to BC?

-Dara