I love BC. I know Kenyatta Watson and he loves BC. Like me, he is married to a BC grad. I don't know DiCosmo personally, but I am aware of his activity within the BC Alumni community and it is clear he has a great commitment to his Alma mater. But their connection to BC doesn't mean BC is the right school and the right football program for their children. This is not new. Gallup, Bosa, and Phelan's kids all went to schools other than BC. We've seen plenty of siblings play elsewhere. Football is a tough sport and college is a short and important window into a young athlete's life. He needs to find the right place for him. One where he is feels he can develop as a player and a person.
Beyond fit, sometimes it is best for everyone when a kid takes his own path. When an high-profile Alumni child has a bad experience at BC, it resonates beyond just halls of the football offices. Fans know and other Football alumni definitely know.
Plus, these critical fans tend to be hypocrites on this idea when it plays to our favor. Is everyone glad that AJ Dillon didn't go to Notre Dame? Big things are expected of Tate Haynes. Aren't you glad he didn't follow his dad's path at Arizona State?
I didn't go to my parents' Alma maters. While my kids have been bombarded with BC stuff since they were born and I would love to be a BC parent, I ultimately want what it right for them. So don't take these commitments as some sort of snub of BC. Wish these kids luck because their dads will always be Eagles and would do the same for your kids.
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ReplyDeleteBC considers whether a kid’s parents went to BC when evaluating the kid’s application.
Deletehttp://www.bc.edu/admission/undergrad/process/freshman/faq.html
Yes they do. And it rarely has any impact. Ask around.
DeleteThis is great.
ReplyDeleteOne kid through college admissions process (did not want to go to BC), one coming up on it (their dream school). Both my wife and I are grads, donors, and we have remained actively involved in volunteering with school in a number of capacities since graduation. I have recently met with someone in admissions that I have worked with in the past.
ReplyDeleteFor non-athletes, your kid absolutely needs to be close to their admission standards on their own accord in order to have a shot (grades, test scores, course load, activities). And unless your name is on a building (or has the real potential to be), your legacy and donor status will only really help if your kid is on the fringe -- particularly if they have taken a challenging course load at a reputable high school. If your kid is an average or slightly above average student and you simply write a check for a few thousand dollars a year, it means very little to them. They let less than 30% of all applicants in these days, and for the last two years have taken zero off the waitlist.
Think about it: given those stats and with tuition now close to $70k, they have little incentive to cater to the average old school alum. They want new blood and new money coming in to help raise funds. For every alum who donates $2k a year to get football parking, they can replace you with a family that can afford to pay $300k to send at least one kid for four years and will be willing to donate $20k a year. That's the game.
That all aside, ATL raises an excellent point to consider as your kids get older: BC was/is a great institution, but not for every kid. The academic standards and pressure on campus has increased dramatically as the student population has become more accomplished. Many alums would not get in if we applied today. While I think we all envision our kids criss crossing the Quad going to and from classes, they definitely need to forge their own paths and pursue their own interests. They can be happy making their own memories and creating their own traditions at a great institution that wants to bring them and your family into the fold -- and you'll be happy with the ROI on your tuition investment.
The 70k is unbelievable on many levels. 1) the number of people who actually pay that
ReplyDelete2) the number of people subsidized by the people who actually pay it
3) the interest on the loans for people who don't get shit from the school and cannot pay the 70k each year.
The school has high standards and some of the local Sully and murph types who got in the 70's would not get in today. However, grade inflation and number of kids who cheat now across the board(not just BC) is a good damned travesty. I don't think the actual intelligence of students at BC has risen that much over the last 30 years. One example of why, first Rhodes scholar 5 years ago(I don't care about the Fulbright-some would be surprised who gets those).
If you are talking about certain departments I would say the intelligence of the BC student has improved, Finance/Accting.
The average nurse, teacher or psych student is not intellectually superior the 10, 20 or 30 years ago.
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ReplyDeleteGiven, tuition was half of $70k when I went to BC, but I received zero financial aid, worked as a RA for 2 years, volunteered as a football assistant for 2 years, and was very active on campus... and got denied to the MBA program with a great score on my GMAT.
ReplyDeleteI will forever love BC, but I hope my kids find a school that actually gives a crap about Alumni. You don't register on Boston College, Father Leahy, and the Alumni Association's radar, let alone admissions, unless you're a political or tv figure, or donate millions.
It has never been a secret that once your education is paid off, they could not care less about you. That's pretty obvious the second you get out of school and your Alumni events are put to shame by community colleges and you're asked for a donation to get in the door to events that you need to pay for every cent of.
My current business works with alumni programs from around the world, including BC, and I can honestly say we have the worst, most conniving, cheapest, and frankly, willing to lie to your businesses' face Alumni Association.
We gave them special pricing with an agreement to what to charge fellow Alumni, and the second it was agreed upon and paid, they doubled Alumni ticket prices. We ended up letting anyone in to the party that was a BC alumni whether they paid or not.
BC Alumni Association is an absolute embarrassment not only to BC, but to colleges everywhere.
I have heard many other similar stories about BC from friends that have you shaking your head. My kid went to BC but had such good grades admissions wasn't much of an issue and I paid full price. The only thing that was problematic during her time there was the lousy/pitiful housing situation. I try to ignore a lot of the BC stuff that comes my way as it only has one message - we were great to you - so give me your money. And that gets so old you don't even open the envelopes anymore. A friend of mine is a multimillionaire owner of a highly successful Boston area manufacturing/industrial process software company with offices all over the world who is constantly hiring computer science majors. Through conversations I learned how difficult it was finding enough kids in that field and that he never hired from BC as he didn't even know they had a department. I tried to set up a simple luncheon meeting years back between him and the head of BC's department and after several calls concluded that BC had no interest. It was embarrassing. Maybe something is in the water up there.
ReplyDeleteThe housing situation was pitiful when I was there as an undergrad. They put three 18 year olds in 120 square foot room where one person is in a bunk sleeping half a foot from the ceiling. Then when the get into fights with each other they suspend the kids. We're not one off situations when I was there.
ReplyDelete2 study days before exams start because they want everyone off campus asap. Complete bullshit.
I was at a wedding in upstate New York last summer. A major sports figure with high level ties to the best sports publications in the world flat out told me he wouldn't give money to Boston College because they had enough money. Person was a BC grad.
This all goes back to my comments a few months ago about stagnation at the Executive level of the University.
I am not happy with the University rankings, they have not improved in 10 years. The school and the business school have also declined or become stagnant.
Being back on campus this year after working for over 10 years the housing situation has improved and the seems to have made a concerted effort to communicate with students about what is going on on campus. They have hired several new professors in the Finance department anyway who are human beings interested in facilitating knowledge to other human beings.
It sounds like the school is not maximizing it's fundraising capabilities, is how I would put it to them if they were in front of me right now. Hire some PR employees and fundraising employees dedicated to the middle class of the BC alumni base, assholes. If for no other reason, you can make for money out of it so you can put it on your flipping resume when you quit to go work at USC or Harvard or some other degenerate producing university.
Finally, if your kid doesn't have the grades or the scores he isn't getting in regardless of whether or not you went there. Stop crying.
I remember Tim Russert, one of the most connected people around, saying about his son Luke's acceeptance something to the effect of you need to know more than a few of the Jesuits in Boston to get your kid into BC. Implying, sadly I have to explain this for the CT/Mod crew, that Luke didn't really have the numbers and Tim had to work hard to get the kid accepted.
Take that to heart when you hear stories about some industrial granite salesman, above or the like not getting their kids accepted.
The current alumni association director has made some huge strides moving the organization forward. They're very responsive and very supportive of volunteers in the local chapters. If you haven't worked with the alumni association in a while, check out their web page and you'll see how many new chapters have formed nationally and even across the world, as well as how many events are taking place at any one time. There's been a dramatic improvement in just the last few years.
ReplyDeletehttps://bcalumni.bc.edu/s/1627/index02.aspx?sid=1627&gid=1&pgid=410
Good. They are getting the fucking message.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't an organization by the way.
It is a school.
That is fucking problem.
"Organization" refers to the alumni association, not Boston College generally.
ReplyDeleteI got it when I read it initially.
ReplyDelete