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[collegekidsmom]

I have close and current connection to both schools.  It is absolutely true what Kay says-that BU is a different place under its current president. It has some truly excellent programs, faculty and administrators. It is a school of choice these days for many talented students who could go anywhere. The comparison to NYU is a good one I think. BC is a rival to BU especially in hockey, but really is a very different kind of institution, not only in terms of the social justice focus but really in terms of the makeup of the student body, the suburban self-contained campus and many other factors.
Boston is one great place to be a college student or a young professional. It is such a different place, and BU and BC are so different now than they were just ten years ago that some of the information contained in this thread is out of date. Boston as a city does not resemble the place it was- say, in the 70s.
BU has not football team at all;: BC is big football. BU is downtown urban; BC is suburban (but with its own stop on the "T"), both have some beautiful facilities, and excellent faculty. Each of these schools would appeal to a different type of student, so it is a little hard to do a direct comparison of them. Since they are both represented in top national rankings, it is easy to compare them on the usual charts of grant funding, SAT scores, whatever you have in mind.

[spork]

I'll chime in to say that Boston doesn't even resemble what it was in the 1980s or 1990s.

K16 is right about BC traditionally being part of the local old boys network.

Some BU engineering programs have experienced grade deflation.  Yes, that's deflation.

[ruralguy]

I think the description of BU as "urban" can be slightly misleading. Its in the city limits of Boston, and quite close to the comotion of Kenmore Square and Fenway Park, but its also around the corner from Brookline (a nice suburb). Its definitely not downtown. That would be about 2 miles from there, but it kind of depends what you want to call "downtown", I suppose.

Also, though sprawling, it has a centralized campus with "reaonable" if not wonderfully stunning architecture that makes it looks like a real school :-)

And, yes, I have a connection to the place, but I'll  leave the specifics out of it.

[totoro]

BU is a research university. It is the second biggest private uni in the US (after NYU, at least used to be). I both studied and taught there. BC is a Catholic college which has grad programs in some areas and probably has grown in research standing over time. I know their econ program is good for example. I used to sometimes use the library there as I lived within walking distance.

[the_honey_badger]

Just in case there are any "recruiters" for faculty reading:  I'm willing to go to *either* BU or BC.  I can be there by the end of the week.
Thanks for your consideration,
Prof. Radar

[adjunctatlas]

I think the description of BU as "urban" can be slightly misleading. Its in the city limits of Boston, and quite close to the comotion of Kenmore Square and Fenway Park, but its also around the corner from Brookline (a nice suburb). Its definitely not downtown. That would be about 2 miles from there, but it kind of depends what you want to call "downtown", I suppose.

I lived in Boston for quite a while, and have connections to BU, and it's strange to hear BC called "suburban"--it's on the Green Line, the same line as BU (they're about twenty minutes apart on the "T"), and it's still within the city limits, though bordering Newton.    It's also strange to hear BU described as running along the Charles River--the river is certainly behind the heart of the campus (where the chapel is), but most people think of it as running up and down Comm Ave--Commonwealth Avenue; the same long and snaking street passes in front of BC's campus.  At any rate, BU isn't anywhere near the city limits, so it's misleading to say that it's within them, and it certainly isn't necessary for someplace to be downtown to be called "urban."  Brookline isn't a suburb, but an independent township that juts into Boston, so that Harvard Street, for example, moves through Boston then without turning, through Brookline, then back into Boston, as do several other streets.

I only go on about this because I loved Boston, or at least loved my part of Boston, and loved Cambridge, loved the snow, the river, the dozen streets named Washington, the odd possibility of addressing letters to neighborhoods, loved the cafés and the cosmopolitan population.  So this is less an attempt to correct you, RG, than to convince the universe of my fidelity.  Do you hear me, Universe? 

[scampster]

I think the description of BU as "urban" can be slightly misleading. Its in the city limits of Boston, and quite close to the comotion of Kenmore Square and Fenway Park, but its also around the corner from Brookline (a nice suburb). Its definitely not downtown. That would be about 2 miles from there, but it kind of depends what you want to call "downtown", I suppose.

I lived in Boston for quite a while, and have connections to BU, and it's strange to hear BC called "suburban"--it's on the Green Line, the same line as BU (they're about twenty minutes apart on the "T"), and it's still within the city limits, though bordering Newton.

Actually, I believe the main part of campus is technically in the Newton portion of Chestnut Hill and Newton is about as suburban as you can get. I would also call Brookline a suburb of Boston, but that just might be semantics. Just because all these cities flow seamlessly into Boston, doesn't mean they aren't suburbs.

But I agree that I would call BU an urban campus.

[collegekidsmom]

The campuses are different. BU is called an urban campus because, although it has incredibly good facilities and campus buildings and dorms, it isn't set apart on some piece of land dedicated to the campus. It is really part of that part of the city. Comm Ave runs down the center with the T stops in the middle. Even many of the university owned housing buildings are on the many side streets and consist of many old "triple decker" type buildings. Most students live in university housing for all four years but the housing can be on local streets in these old brownstone type buildings. It does have an urban feel, Fenway Park is in the neighborhood- or even a little further to Copley Square. You can walk across the MIT Bridge from one end of the campus. I think it has an urban feel, and that is either good or bad for many students looking at colleges.

Boston College has a self-contained beautiful campus with most buildings on one of the two pieces of land (with expansion to another area soon). It has a decidedly more suburban feel, although on the Green Line for the slowish ride to downtown. You can walk to Coolidge Corner and all, but the neighborhoods around BC for the most part are more tree-lined and don't include high traffic areas and high rises. Many students live in apartments in Coolidge Corner. Going away from BC in the other direction is very suburban Newton.

Both areas are safe and full of students, even at night.

[bluezebracat]

So BC is more of a school that emphasizes teaching and BU emphasizes research?  Are the classes about the same size at both?  Huge undergrad surveys, smaller 30-20 in the third/fourth year?

[spork]

They are both very good schools and many people would love to work at either one.

[tee_bee]

I didn't attend either, but I always think of BC's personality being similar to Notre Dame, with BU's being more analogous to NYU. Just in terms of school personality (not in terms of reputation or academics).

I'm familiar with both institutions.  To the extent that can be explained in one sentence, this assessment does the job accurately.  Both schools have strong reputations.  Both schools have their share of snowflake students.  BC is Catholic and Jesuit.  BU is Methodist, but in name only.  BC is suburban.  BU is urban.  BC has prominent athletics.  BU not so much.

I'm sure their hockey team would beg to differ :-) (And really, all the other sports don't matter anyway!)

Oh, yes. When I saw the original claim, I thought of the Beanpot. At some of these schools, PhD means Play Hockey Daily. Which I wholeheartedly support.

[the_honey_badger]

I didn't attend either, but I always think of BC's personality being similar to Notre Dame, with BU's being more analogous to NYU. Just in terms of school personality (not in terms of reputation or academics).

I'm familiar with both institutions.  To the extent that can be explained in one sentence, this assessment does the job accurately.  Both schools have strong reputations.  Both schools have their share of snowflake students.  BC is Catholic and Jesuit.  BU is Methodist, but in name only.  BC is suburban.  BU is urban.  BC has prominent athletics.  BU not so much.

I'm sure their hockey team would beg to differ :-) (And really, all the other sports don't matter anyway!)

Oh, yes. When I saw the original claim, I thought of the Beanpot. At some of these schools, PhD means Play Hockey Daily. Which I wholeheartedly support.

Me too. I'd give anything to see a decent live hockey game again.

[august_leo]

I have some sort of BU connection.

Are the classes about the same size at both?  Huge undergrad surveys, smaller 30-20 in the third/fourth year?

There are the big weed-out 101/110 courses in several majors (esp. chemistry), but upper-level classes can have between 5 and 30 students, depending on the department. Many of the students are very good and very hard-working (compared to other schools with which I have experience).