Boston University Top Questions

Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

Kevin

The student body at BU is too diverse to even try and put a stereotype to it. There are students from all 50 states, all US territories and over 50 countries. So if there is a stereotype out there, then no it is not accurate.

Amanda

Absolutely not. BU consists of an incredibly large diversity of people.

Lisa

I think the main stereotypes of BU students would be snobby rich girls, self-centered frat boys, and those that got rejected from BC. Neither of which I see as accurate. Some people that attend BU are richer than others, but there are not a lot of them who consistently brag about it. You will always have the few that see it as the most important thing to them so they talk about it a little too much. Boys, well yeah some are self-centered, but I must say most that I have run into are great! Everyone is looking to meet new people and see what someone else's life is like. Finally, not everyone that attends BU got rejected from BC, I know people who got into both and chose BU over BC and personally I didn't even apply to BC because I didn't like it so that stereotype is completely false !

Lisa

I think the main stereotypes of BU students would be snobby rich girls, self-centered frat boys, and those that got rejected from BC. Neither of which I see as accurate. Some people that attend BU are richer than others, but there are not a lot of them who consistently brag about it. You will always have the few that see it as the most important thing to them so they talk about it a little too much. Boys, well yeah some are self-centered, but I must say most that I have run into are great! Everyone is looking to meet new people and see what someone else's life is like. Finally, not everyone that attends BU got rejected from BC, I know people who got into both and chose BU over BC and personally I didn't even apply to BC because I didn't like it so that stereotype is completely false !

Lisa

I think the main stereotypes of BU students would be snobby rich girls, self-centered frat boys, and those that got rejected from BC. Neither of which I see as accurate. Some people that attend BU are richer than others, but there are not a lot of them who consistently brag about it. You will always have the few that see it as the most important thing to them so they talk about it a little too much. Boys, well yeah some are self-centered, but I must say most that I have run into are great! Everyone is looking to meet new people and see what someone else's life is like. Finally, not everyone that attends BU got rejected from BC, I know people who got into both and chose BU over BC and personally I didn't even apply to BC because I didn't like it so that stereotype is completely false !

Lisa

I think the main stereotypes of BU students would be snobby rich girls, self-centered frat boys, and those that got rejected from BC. Neither of which I see as accurate. Some people that attend BU are richer than others, but there are not a lot of them who consistently brag about it. You will always have the few that see it as the most important thing to them so they talk about it a little too much. Boys, well yeah some are self-centered, but I must say most that I have run into are great! Everyone is looking to meet new people and see what someone else's life is like. Finally, not everyone that attends BU got rejected from BC, I know people who got into both and chose BU over BC and personally I didn't even apply to BC because I didn't like it so that stereotype is completely false !

Hannah

From my understanding BU students are often stereotyped as rich, materialistic girls. While BU does have its fair share of these girls they are by no means the majority of the student body. There are just too many different students at BU to make any one stereotype.

Brian

I'd say sometimes. There's definitely the BU Female Uniform (north face, Uggs, Burberry). Academically, it depends on your major and the involvement you have. You can get as much out of the experience as you want. BU has more resources than just about any school in the area, with world-renown faculty... or you can just stay home and skate by by playing the system, it's really up to you. Not too many folks are actually invested in their education here, which is a bummer.

Alex

Some. About 60/40 girls to guys, and most of those ladies are cookie cutter. Rather unfortunate.

Harper

Yes.

Alex

Another BU student discusses stereotypes about the student body.

Jessie

Some are some aren't. There are always those special cases where they are true and they are false.

Rachel

To some extent, certainly there are a great many people who can attend BU and pay for the $40,000+ tuition without the aid of student loans, grants, or scholarships. However, I knew a lot of people who worked their way through BU, received scholarships and grants, and came from households similar to my own.

Ryan

They are all false, except there isn't too much financial aid and there is a decent amount of school spirit and campus life (you just have to elect to get involved).

Xavier

I feel like there is a campus, and that each college is what you make it. Certainly, BC has a lovely campus, but they are neither a college, nor are they in Boston. At BU we have the opportunity to truly live in the city, which comes with myriad experiences. That way we learn as much from the city and culture around us as we do from the classroom.

Becca

Mostly yes.

Tristan

I think most people are well off, but with 16000 undergrads, definitely not everyone is wealthy. BU does great with financial aid, so not everyone comes from families with the means to pay almost $50000/year. As far as back-up ivy, I'd say that's fairly accurate. Definitely over 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of people came to BU because their first choice school, usually and Ivy, rejected them (or BU gave them considerably more money).

Jason

Not at all. I was really surprised to hear that about the girls here, because relatively few of them fit that stereotype. That's not to say that there are no parties, there definitely are, but people know how to balance their social life and their academics--and the students generally have a good head on their shoulders.

Ryan

BU students really are nerds, but because the student body is so large and diverse the nerdiness only becomes noticeable after a few months at the school, when one day you walk through the CAS building pulling a small suitcase full of books, and no one even gives you a funny look

Erica

Pretty much. I was shocked by how accurate the stereotypes were. And I felt very alone when I didn't fit in.

Greg

To a certain degree. BU is preppier than a lot of universities but it has some people whose parents probably aren't millionaires, somewhere.

Andrea

In the College of General Studies, YES - that's the only reason why they're here

Ricky

For the most part they are I would think those there are obvious exceptions to all of these.

rachel

As far as stereotypes can be accurate, yes.

Sarah

Sometimes. But don't worry ladies, I've met lots of cool guys.

Gene

Sure, there are a lot of kids from the New York suburbs, and yes - they'll be, for the most part, well-off. However, Boston University touts themselves as the 'second-most diverse school' in the nation, as long as one ignores the fact that there's so few African-American students. BU is a safety school in the same way that BC is an exciting school - one's not harder to get into than the other, it's just that you'll have a lot more fun at BU. Sure, there's no green pasture that students can call a 'quad' - unless you call the BU Beach anything but a sad patch of grass - but a city campus is just as easy to navigate and congregate on as a big state school. I mean, everything's pretty much all on Commonwealth Avenue, so it's pretty tough to get lost or overwhelmed.

Chris

To a certain extent yes I suppose they are. There are people who get dolled up for class like they're going to a club, and many of these same people drive their Beemers to class. I once heard it said that you know you go to BU when half of the class is on 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} financial aid while the other half could buy their own island country. This is probably a stretch--I'd say less than 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of BU students are capable of purchasing an island. As with anything, it's all in who you chose to associate yourself with. You can hang out with the real, interesting people that go here, or you can surround yourself with douchebags.

KC

This one is false. We have so much diversity on our campus and you don't necessarily have to lookd behind the door in order to see it.

Regina

not at all. the people here work really hard and all wanted to be here. while the school is really expensive and most of the people here are able to afford it, there is a hugely diverse group of people here from all different backgrounds.

Reese

Only some are snobbish, but the vast majority are clique-y. My recommendation for beating that, live in Warren freshman year and talk to as many other freshman as you can when you get here. Once social groups settle, the only way to make new friends is slowly through friends (of friends of friends...) BU girls are still known for partying, but academics have also gotten more serious at BU. The stereotype is also that it's mostly the CFA/CGS girls who bring the party, if you will.

Ryan

No. There are a lot of wealthy people since BU is rather expensive, but BU is huge and insanely diverse. The largest club on campus is actually the BU India Club.

Casey

yuuuup!

Brittany

Some of them are!