Boston University (BU) in Massachusetts is in the middle of the city. The location of schools is important depending on what you are looking for. I wanted a city, I couldn’t choose a college that didn’t have one close by, thankfully BU was right next to Boston, practically in the city. Access to a city means more job and internship opportunities, another destination for entertainment, public transportation, places to shop and dine outside of campus. For me, a city adds excitement, and I definitely took advantage of the city.
BU boasts hundreds of clubs and rightly so. I personally dedicated 3.5 years of my college career to a student-run fashion and arts publication. It was one of the most impactful parts of my college experience. I recommend joining some sort of club, it allows you to meet others with similar interests.
Making friends in a large college can be daunting. The easiest way is to start with people who value and cherish the same things as you, or can appreciate similar interests as you. Initially, friends tend to be made through living in the same area, that’s how I met my first set of friends. Some I kept in touch with and others (the ones I had less in common with) I let go of. I made the bulk of my friends through other friends, going to clubs, going to school events, and going to classes. Sometimes it can be daunting to make friends, but there are only so many ways to make friends. The companionship of others does not “make” your college experience but it can influence it. There are more creative ways to meet people, but those are the most popular ways.
School events… where to start? There are so many meanings to that, whether it’s open presentations or talks with other groups and organizations, are going to sports games. I purposely tried to attend various events. BU is known for their hockey games, so I went to one. I’m not too interested in sports games, but I had to go to at least one. Boston University had Weeks of Welcome events, every year I went. I watched comedians like Hannibal Buress, Hasan Minhaj, Retta, Colin Jost. I played bingo to win iPads (never won), and went to other little events. Other schools must have similar events, I urge you to go.
My school had a lot of amenities in order to help the students themselves. The health center had a referral coordinator, that could help students find outside doctors, psychiatrists, etc that accept insurance that isn’t the school’s offered insurance. The school did offer insurance, but if you already have it, you don’t have to pay for it. BU has disabilities and accessibility services, and I know many who have benefited from using their service, from extra time on exams, to class recording pens and note takers. No matter what school you are in, if they have a disabilities and accessibility office, definitely go if you need assistance.
Although I didn’t study abroad (something I wish I did), a lot of my friends loved the various programs abroad that they were in. It’s not something that you have to do or is the most important thing in your college experience (you can always travel), but I recommend it if you can do it. Science majors, if you want to study abroad, I advise you to plan ahead so that you know what science classes you can take abroad and which ones you can’t.
My school had tutoring services, and I set up a tutoring session with a person every week. I went to group tutoring sessions. I went office hours for some courses, or scheduled to meet with a professor alone. I tried to make sure that I could really help myself in classes that I was struggling in.
I went to the BU Center for Career Development to get assistance in fixing up my resume.
I even went to the dreaded Pre-Professional Office, where I met with advisors to talk about different jobs in healthcare.
BU has many graduate schools. I had internships at the Boston University Medical School, and I took the BU bus (It runs through every BU campus) to travel there. The graduate schools had events and talks.
I was determined to have experience with as many facets of BU as possible, whether it was my freshman year or my senior year.
You name it, I did it.
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