Boston University

Date: Apr 28 2008
Major: History/Histories (art history/etc.) (This Major's Salary over time)
There's a lot to like about BU. It's a good school with a pretty decent reputation. I don't think there's any employer out there who would scoff at a degree from BU. It's also in Boston, which is known as the hands-down best college town in the country.

However, there's a lot not to like about BU as well. The price of tuition + room and board is astronomical. A year at BU without financial aid is edging near $50,000. You could get the same education for half the price at hundreds of universities, anywhere in the country. BU also has a rather stale social vibe, too. There's no real campus area (the BU beach is a laughable excuse for one), and no real school spirit either. A lot of the dorms have an intensely, even aggressively, antisocial vibe to them. Many of the people in the Bay State brownstones do not talk to anyone else in the building. People in south campus and the Hyatt are virtually isolated from everyone else on the campus (more of a problem for first-year students than anyone else).

All in all, the main problems with BU are that it's too expensive, and there's no real sense of community. It's certainly not impossible to have a great time at BU, but it's very easy to become isolated and lonely, even if you make the effort to get out and meet people. More often than not, BU is socially unrewarding and financially devastating. I know people at BU who are legitimately happy there, and even they testified saying

I don't give a shit about BU. I won't ever be coming back here.

I'd recommend looking elsewhere.