BC vs. BU - Is there really a difference? Forum

[Katerina]

Okay, let's clear up this location discussion once and for all:

BU is in Boston- in fact, it's less than a mile from Fenway Park.

BC is in Newton (the school moved there from the South End in the 70's)- it's about 6 miles from downtown Boston (if you've ever done the Walk For Hunger in Boston- which starts at Boston Common- you walk right by the school).

Both schools can be reached via the Green Line (though for BC, you take the Green Line to BC's UG campus and take a quick shuttle over to the Law Campus which is only 1.5 miles away- the shuttles run every 10 minutes).

Some fun stats from the latest Princeton Review:
Best Career Prospects:
#6 BU
#7 BC
#8 Harvard (I was surprised too)

Best Professors:
#3 BU (student/faculty ratio 12:1)
#5 BC (student/faculty ration 12:1)

First Time Bar Passage Rate
93% BU
96% BC

All in all- BC and BU are pretty similar. BU has a more competitive atmosphere and BC is more cordial (the Vault has called BC the "Disneyland of law schools") and BC may place slightly better in Boston (due to the strong alumni network and the fact that for many many years, BC was ranked higher than BU) but I doubt there is a huge difference.

[m1stert1m]

BU is definitely in Boston. I lived on campus all 4 years of my undergrad and my address was always Boston. Around Agganis Arena and past that down Comm Ave becomes outside of Boston, but still Allston/Brighton. Anyone who believes otherwise is just wrong. Period.

[antonin]

My 2 cents. Both schools are about the same academically. With closed eyes I would pick BU over the two because Newton is one BORING city. Now of course law students are busy people, and it is good to not have many distractions, but come on, Newton is where rich people go to have kids. Think uber-suburbia.
BU is in a very collegified (yep, making my own words) area so you might deal with plenty of hipsters and parties if you go to the west of the school, but for all you who want the more quiet, just move a little bit towards Brookline and all set (less than 15 minute walk). If you need a cop of coffee and like to walk once in a while at a museum, BU is the choice.

[tram988]

My 2 cents. Both schools are about the same academically. With closed eyes I would pick BU over the two because Newton is one BORING city. Now of course law students are busy people, and it is good to not have many distractions, but come on, Newton is where rich people go to have kids. Think uber-suburbia.
BU is in a very collegified (yep, making my own words) area so you might deal with plenty of hipsters and parties if you go to the west of the school, but for all you who want the more quiet, just move a little bit towards Brookline and all set (less than 15 minute walk). If you need a cop of coffee and like to walk once in a while at a museum, BU is the choice.

Interesting except you dont have to live in Newton! Most BC students live in Allston/Brighton (BU) anyway. Furthermore, Allston is far from perfect in the sense that it isnt what most people equate with the city. Downtown Boston is what most of us associate with Boston (Boston garden, Common, Freedom trail, financial district). Having lived in downtown Boston for many years it would take some adjustment for me to move to Allston-- I may continue to live downtown while attending one of these schools (I'm leaning toward BC at the moment). I think living in Allston/Brighton/downtown and attending a school like BC with a campus will give me the best of both worlds. You really need to visit them both. I have visited BU and BC and I fell in love with BC-- despite its campus. Check it out but dont forget that you dont have to live in suburbia!

[antonin]

Yeah, a lot of BC people live in the city, but I noticed a lot of the discussion was about campus location. I would also not recommend Allston for any law students, since it is really expensive, run down, and noisy. Brookline seems the better bet.

[anomz24]

How is the Boston legal market doing ITE? How did the most recent OCI go at both BC and BU??

I ask because I would assume BU/BC (for jobs in Boston) are better off than say, GW for DC, ND for CHI, and Fordham for NYC simply because they have the Boston market more "to themselves"?

Anyways, I'm just looking for any insight as to how students are faring finding work at both these schools.

[flcath]

People (especially BU/BC students) can always find differences, but I'd wager that these are the two all-around most similar schools in the Tier 1, maybe even the Top 100. Dissent?

[Blindmelon]

Yeah, a lot of BC people live in the city, but I noticed a lot of the discussion was about campus location. I would also not recommend Allston for any law students, since it is really expensive, run down, and noisy. Brookline seems the better bet.

Allston expensive? wah? I pay 650 a month... for a city, thats pretty damn cheap. Brookline is actually more expensive, but it is nicer.

[tram988]

Yeah, a lot of BC people live in the city, but I noticed a lot of the discussion was about campus location. I would also not recommend Allston for any law students, since it is really expensive, run down, and noisy. Brookline seems the better bet.

Allston expensive? wah? I pay 650 a month... for a city, thats pretty damn cheap. Brookline is actually more expensive, but it is nicer.

I was paying 1350 a month for a studio downtown on Tremont St across the Boston Common. I'll take that 650 any day!!

[antonin]

Yeah, a lot of BC people live in the city, but I noticed a lot of the discussion was about campus location. I would also not recommend Allston for any law students, since it is really expensive, run down, and noisy. Brookline seems the better bet.

Allston expensive? wah? I pay 650 a month... for a city, thats pretty damn cheap. Brookline is actually more expensive, but it is nicer.

I was paying 1350 a month for a studio downtown on Tremont St across the Boston Common. I'll take that 650 any day!!

Come on, let's be serious here. Allston is not as expensive as downtown, but nevertheless a studio in Allston will be around 900 (a run-down basement studio that is). Better ones at 1.100 hundred. Blindmelon, I imagine that you share a place with roommates, then yeah, a price of 650 is reasonable to the cheap side. If that's for a single, then you are really lucky, but I know it is not for a single.
Problem with Allston is that everyone knows that 80% of population is students, so landlords never touch a building in terms of repairs since students will not care or are likely to destroy it. Thus, yeah it is about 100 dollars cheaper than Brookline, but it is 10 times more run down.

[Blindmelon]

I completely agree. I live in a shit-hole. But I pay 650 for it and its across the street from the T, so I can't complain. I live with 2 other guys. Honestly, get roommates. Save as much $ as possible. That $ is better either not spent, or used for beer.

[tram988]

Where would you recommend living if attending BC? I dont imagine it would be possible for me to live downtown any longer. I have about 1k a month and want a roommate.

EDIT: I should mention I love the city and want the "city feel."

[tram988]

Any thoughts on this: http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... hbxlogin=1 Under MA

[Bankhead]

Really glad i wasn't accepted at both of these schools. never would have been able to make this decision...

[Sourpunch]

Always pick the one that says "university".

[tram988]

Always pick the one that says "university".

HEH

[84Sunbird2000]

So, is BC's law campus really fairly suburban? To what degree?

I can't deal with the hustle of the city, and Boston is way too hectic for me, but if it's a bit out of the way I might deal with it. I'm not applying to Fordham and likely not BU because of their locations. I'm not trying my hand with a diversity statement at NYU because I could never deal with going there. Heck, I might not even use the Cardozo waiver, even though Greenwich Village is more acceptable to me.

However, BC is right in my wheelhouse (166/3.75), and the purported friendly and non-competitive atmosphere sounds great. So, if it's more suburban, I might have to consider it.

[superflush]

So, is BC's law campus really fairly suburban? To what degree?

To the degree that it is in the suburbs.

I can't deal with the hustle of the city, and Boston is way too hectic for me

I'm not applying to Fordham and likely not BU because of their locations. I'm not trying my hand with a diversity statement (trans) at NYU because I could never deal with going there. Heck, I might not even use the Cardozo waiver, even though Greenwich Village is more acceptable to me.

Both NYU and Cardozo are in the Village.

[iwantT14]

does anyone kno how OCI went this year at BU and BC? at their peak i think both were sending a little over 40% into NLJ250 firms...does anyone know what its at now and how it compares to similarly ranked schools like Fordham, GW and ND? i always figured BU and BC had an advantage against peer schools in OCI because they both pretty much control the entire Boston market, whereas those other schools have to share their primary market with multiple T14 schools.

[84Sunbird2000]

Ahh, it is late and I should not be awake still posting. That was true of my last post in this thread. Haha, you're right about NYU, I think I made the exception BECAUSE of the fee waiver, but my brain didn't process things into sentences well (awake not sleep bad).

Why the question marks? I would go to BU or BC to get work elsewhere in New England, since they place well throughout the region. There's a reason why I only really want Cornell out of the T14, and am applying to schools mainly in more rural or scenic areas. I really can't deal with large cities very well, though I have survived them when I've had to. I should make another exception for Northwestern, but that's just because I could get Cubs season tickets and use them if I went to NW.

Despite the ease of your smart-ass comment, some suburbs are more congested and city-like than others. I wanted to know if this was a quiet, peaceful suburban area or if it was more like an extension of the city. I'm generally unfamiliar with Boston despite having visited it once.

[BenJ]

BC Law is in Newton, as others have said. Newton is the wealthiest of the wealthy Boston suburbs. It is very leafy suburbia filled with upscale housing and older mansions as well as a quaint downtown. Quite beautiful and not at all bustling (although the T, the Boston subway, does run straight from Newton, near the BC Law campus, into the heart of Boston, which really isn't far away even by car).

[superflush]

I wanted to know if this was a quiet, peaceful suburban area or if it was more like an extension of the city. I'm generally unfamiliar with Boston despite having visited it once.

I'd have to pass that to the Boston people.

[84Sunbird2000]

BC Law is in Newton, as others have said. Newton is the wealthiest of the wealthy Boston suburbs. It is very leafy suburbia filled with upscale housing and older mansions as well as a quaint downtown. Quite beautiful and not at all bustling (although the T, the Boston subway, does run straight from Newton, near the BC Law campus, into the heart of Boston, which really isn't far away even by car).

Thanks, that's precisely what I wanted to know. Sounds like BC is a real contender now, even though I don't approve generally of upscale housing for utilitarian reasons. The availability of nearby public transit neutralizes it in this case.

[tram988]

BC Law is in Newton, as others have said. Newton is the wealthiest of the wealthy Boston suburbs. It is very leafy suburbia filled with upscale housing and older mansions as well as a quaint downtown. Quite beautiful and not at all bustling (although the T, the Boston subway, does run straight from Newton, near the BC Law campus, into the heart of Boston, which really isn't far away even by car).

Thanks, that's precisely what I wanted to know. Sounds like BC is a real contender now, even though I don't approve generally of upscale housing for utilitarian reasons. The availability of nearby public transit neutralizes it in this case.

Exactly. I just visited BC law the other day and the T ride into the city is very short. I plan on living near Allston/Brighton so I can have the city feel and the campus.

[tram988]

Can anyone interpret this link: http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... hbxlogin=1 under MA? It seems like BC places better in NLJ 250 firms?