Boston University
PROSPECTIVE STUDENT:
VDB
Theatre Arts, Design, etc.
Looking to transfer from Emerson College to a less focused, vague major.
THE REVIEW:
First Impressions:
Location - 10
The Admissions Office was very easy to find. It was located on Bay State Road, where most of the buildings not on Commonwealth Ave. are located. We were very impressed with the architecture of the building, reminiscent of the style of the Kenmore area. The ivy on the front of the building felt very collegiate. Once entering the building the front desk was very apparent.
Lobby Appearance - 10
The lobby was very formal, but in a good way. We were given literature and an information card to fill out upon entering the building and were told to take a seat in one of the many waiting rooms. The waiting room was filled with comfortable, yet extravagant furniture matching the architecture and style of the space.
Tour Guide:
Ian Blau, rising sophomore Film & Television in the School of Communications and a minor in English in the School of Arts & Sciences, from Burke, Virginia, Fun Fact: He’s in a comedy troupe.
Personality - 6
We did not feel like we were able to get to know Ian as a person or a BU student. He was outgoing and personable; however, it all felt very forced and scripted. His jokes were very generic and seemed to be run-of-the-mill BU tour jokes. While we appreciated his ability to walk backwards, we felt that it hindered his ability to speak naturally as he was too busy concentrating on not walking into anything or anyone. Although he did say hello to everyone we encountered on the tour, it did not seem like he actually knew any of them, which is understandable for a school the size of BU. On several occasions Ian lost control of the tour and people seemed unclear of where to go next, as his directions were often tentative.
Appearance - 9
Ian was dressed very well. He was wearing a blue polo and coral shorts, which we liked. We did not understand why a few of the other tour guides we encountered were wearing the same color combination, which has nothing to do with the school’s colors, red and white. Our theory is that the tour guides were friends, and thought it would be funny to wear matching outfits to work. On the hotness scale, Ian received a 6.
Ability to answer questions - 10
Not many people had questions, but when they did Ian was quick to answer and gave a very detailed response.
Ability to relate - 4
Ian did not do a good job of relating to anybody on the tour. All of the information he gave us was very generic. Additionally, we did not feel that we got a sense of the typical BU student experience. While we were walking at the front of the tour group, Ian did not use downtime to engage with us, or any prospective students for that matter. Vivian made a joke about moving to the side to let another tour group pass and Ian did not enjoy it at all. He also responded to her using his microphone (which all tour guides have, much like the Backstreet Boys) which was completely unnecessary. At several points throughout the tour, Ian’s microphone began emitting feedback: clearly, he needed the assistance of a good sound engineer (we know several qualified candidates and would be willing to get them in touch with BU admissions).
Tour:
Informative (1) vs Entertainment (10) - 5
This tour was neither informative nor entertaining. We did not go inside any buildings, and were simply told where and what they were. There were a few attempts made to entertain us, such as shutting our eyes to listen to cars on Storrow Drive that sounded like the beach, or jumping to make an earthquake outside of the Earth Science lab, or touching a squishy rock. However we were not impressed. Maybe our standards were too high.
Quality/Quantity of free stuff - 7
We were given literature as soon as we entered the admissions office, including a map of the BU campus. We were expecting a little more SWAG from a school of BU’s size.
Quality of literature provided - 10
We are huge fans of the BU literature. It is very trendy and modern, while still containing a lot of useful and easy to read information. There was even an infographic containing fun facts about BU. It was all very well designed. The map was very useful, as it even contained a map of the MBTA.
Length of tour (1=too short, 10=too long) - 7
The tour went over the allotted time by about 10 minutes. We wouldn’t have minded if we were well entertained, we weren’t walking down Comm Ave. in the heat, or if we hadn’t been constantly reminded by our tour guide that we were running over.
Quality of tour content - 4
Although we understand that BU’s campus is not very tour friendly, we would have liked to have learned more about the buildings we were unable to see, which included most of the athletic facilities and any theatre buildings. Considering BU is known largely for sports and their theatre programs, it is strange that neither of these were shown. We learned about student life, academics, and residence communities. We felt as though this tour was better suited for students at orientation, who mostly needed to learn how to navigate the campus: they didn’t really impress us and make us want to attend the school.
Miscellaneous:
Was there Dr. Pepper? 10- We are unsure because we were not taken inside any buildings. UPDATE: We have learned from a current BU student that BU is a Pepsi school, so they have Dr. Pepper. Thanks!
Was there a sitcom TV set in the library? 5- While there was not a sitcom set in the library, the “BU Castle” was used as a filming location for an up-and-coming ABC historical drama.
Font choice/use? 10- effective font mixing and interesting without being difficult to read
Favorite tour member? We have two: The first was Cocktail Mom, who was fully decked in cocktail attire, including the LBD (little black dress), Gucci purse, and copious amounts of jewelry for this 11am tour. (She did wear flip flops in a concession to the amount of walking she would have to do.) Our second member was the family of small children. Who do you belong to? Where is your prospective student? Do you understand that this isn’t a tourist attraction? Why are a bunch of 10 year olds touring BU? Needless to say, we were very confused.
Meal Plan Breakdown:
The meal plan was not addressed by Ian: VDB had to ask him about it at the end of the tour. A BU meal plan consists of dining meals, dining points, and convenience points. Convenience points are on your BU card and are used to buy supplies like shampoo. Dining points are used like a credit card for food at the student union and nearby places like the on-campus Starbucks (they are reloadable). You also get a set number of dining meals to use at the various oncampus dining halls (located in Warren Towers and the new 2-story facility on Bay State Road).
We were incredibly impressed with the admissions office’s exterior!
But not as impressed as we were by Ian’s outfit.
This sample dorm room (in the Towers) was decorated: always a nice touch!
We weren’t sure why this courtyard was filled with small rocks, but we felt that its existence needed to shown to the outside world.
Student organizations have been painting this rock since the 1970s, so it’s soft to the touch. All we could think about was peeling the layers of paint off (we passed this picture on to our friend David, who loves paint-peeling more than anyone else we’ve ever met).
Seriously, who did these kids belong to? They’re obviously bored to death.
Note Cocktail Mom’s tour-appropriate footwear and contrast it to the rest of her outfit.
OVERALL BOSTON UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE - 5
If you want to know actual information about possibly attending Boston University, head over to StudentAdvisor.com to find out if this is the right school for you.
