Let me describe some qualities of the majority of the BC population.
The first thing is that the student body is preppy. There is a large percentage of guys who wear polo shirts (with popped collars), chinos, and leather flip-flops all year round. There are also a great number of girls who dress like something out of an Abercrombie advertisement everyday. While this is very visible, there are still a great number of people who wear sweats and t-shirts 95{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the time, so casual wear is very common. If you are hipster, punk, or anything else outside the box, you will find others like you few and far between. I remember seeing people who dressed funkier their first months slowly dull down their personal styles to fit the general populous.
The second characterization describes the student body as children of upper-middle class who are self-centered. For the most part the students do come from upper-middle and middle class families. This lends itself to children who went to good high schools and who haven’t been through any times of struggle, so it is easy to think that they are all self-centered. Although lots of people you will meet will be somewhat self-involved, they can still be great people. Most of my friends at BC had elements of self-centeredness, but if anyone ever gave me any trouble, they were always the first people to stand up and support me. In return, I would do the same for any of them without hesitation.
With respect to everyone being from the Northeast, I would have to agree. Most people are from New England, New York, and Chicago. Despite this, I had good friends from California, Germany, Japan, Maryland, Missouri, Singapore, and Virginia, so the campus is somewhat geographically diverse.
Also, BC is truly a sporty school. It is ranked one of the fittest campuses in the US and most students are big supporters of BC athletics. The football games are renowned and quite the spectacle (although we nearly never rush the field). Although I liked the sporty environment, I could imagine it would be difficult to enjoy BC if you dislike sports. Saturdays during football season are so focused on the game that everything else is put aside. I remember one girl who didn’t like sports at all and typically went home every home game weekend freshman and sophomore year. Since she never really connected with the environment at BC or too many of the students, she eventually transferred.
The last stereotype of BC is that there isn’t much diversity. Speaking of the ethnic diversity at BC, I think that this statement oversimplifies it. There is a proportionate number of students from Asian and pacific island countries, but blacks and Latinos are underrepresented. These students may feel alienated because of this. BC’s AHANA Students Programs Office helps to support these students. They do a great deal of good work, but it is an ongoing effort. Another underrepresented group at BC are gays. The gay community is very small and excluded from receiving direct funding from the administration. The administration tiptoes around the gay students because supporting them would conflict the religious background of the school. Because of this, I think it unfortunately takes a more self-confident minority student to thrive at BC. Although I believe the school could do more for minority students, I don’t think the administration reflects the student body. Almost everyone is accepting and welcoming of any student regardless of race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.