Boston College
OVERVIEW
First established in 1863 by Benedict Joseph Fenwick, S.J., a Jesuit from Maryland, Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The university has over 9,000 undergraduates, nearly 5,000 postgraduates and more than 1,400 academic staffs, among which over 900 are full-time staffs. The university is a member of the 568 Group and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities which enjoys world fame.
The university was was founded in 1863 as a liberal arts college and preparatory school. Its main campus locates, in Chestnut Hill, Boston. With 120 buildings in it, this main campus occupies 175 acres. Combining Gothic Revival architecture with principles of Beaux-Arts planning, the Boston College campus is a seminal example of Collegiate Gothic architecture.
Boston College offers degrees in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate’s programs. It offers combined-degree programs as well, including BA/M.Ed.; BA/MA and so forth. The average freshman retention rate is 96%, which is obviously high and averagely as many as 87% of the students in Boston College finished their four years’ study and managed to graduate with a degree.
The mission of Boston College is:
Boston College commits itself to the highest standards of teaching and research in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and to the pursuit of a just society through its own accomplishments, the work of its faculty and staff, and the achievements of its graduates. It seeks both to advance its place among the nation’s finest universities and to bring to the company of its distinguished peers and to contemporary society the richness of the Catholic intellectual ideal of a mutually illuminating relationship between religious faith and free intellectual inquiry.
ACCREDITATION
Boston College has received accreditation from the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) of the New England Association of School and Colleges (NEASC). It has also been accredited by NEASC since 1935.
ACADEMICS
Boston College has nine schools:
- College of Arts and Sciences
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- Lynch School of Education
- Boston College Law School
- Carroll School of Management
- Connell School of Nursing
- Graduate School of Social Work
- School of Theology and Ministry
- Woods College of Advancing Studies
The most popular majors and course of study for students are as follows:
- Finance
- Speech Communication and Rhetoric
- Economics
- Biology/Biological Sciences
- History
The university is ranked No.31 among all national universities by US News.
With the student-faculty ratio being 14:1 and 47.4% of all classes having less than 20 students, Boston College has enough professors for students so that every one of them can be well instructed.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants for the university are required to provide either their SAT or ACT scores, the deadline of which is January 1. The early action will be due on November 1 and the application fee is USD 70. Working and volunteering experiences usually give applicants extra advantages.
COSTS AND FINANCIAL AID
The tuitions and fees for year 2011-2012 is USD 42,204. The room and board fee is USD 12,324. Students averagely spend USD 1,000 on books and supplies.
Boston College offers both scholarships and financial aids. There are five types of need-based scholarships/grants available including Federal PELL, private scholarships and the like. Non-need-based scholarships/grants are also provided. Boston College offers many types of loans available. About 45% of the students get financial aid and all of their needs are fully met.
