The honest college tour you wish you got

When I ask you about the social scene, you know I’m not just asking about all the clubs I can join.

We all know the college application and decision process entirely too well. You went to countless information sessions, tours and open houses. You were full of questions and needed answers fast because choosing your college may just be one of the most important decisions you’ll have to make.

Here are all the real answers to questions you wish you asked on college tours during the decision process as told by an honest admissions ambassador.

What’s the social scene like? 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, academics are great, but a huge part of college is the social scene. Will I be forced to do my homework all weekend and sit in my room while watching Netflix or will there actually be stuff going on?

What the tour guide says: There are so many student-run clubs you can get involved in and Boston is literally at your finger tips so you’ll never run out of things to do.

What the tour guide is thinking: So you can either go to the BU Allston frats, Harvard, MIT, or if you’re really desperate, Northeastern. Be prepared to never know what’s going on as a freshman until the very last minute.

Is winter in Boston really that bad? Will I freeze to death?

We all know winter in Boston can be the worst ever, but will I be able to survive it?

What your tour guide says: Buy a really warm coat and some gloves and you’ll be totally fine! If you live in East campus, your classes are all so close so you won’t even be outside for that long.

What the tour guide is thinking: But of course, you’re going to try and live in West in which case you have to walk fifteen minutes to class everyday so on a weekly basis, you might be blown into the street because the entirety of Commonwealth is a wind tunnel.

Do most students do well in class?

I was the top of my class in high school…can I expect to do equally as well at BU?

What the tour guide says: If you work really hard and build a great relationship with your professor, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t do great in classes. Not to mention, our library is open basically 24/7.

What the tour guide is thinking: No matter how hard you try, you’ll never do as well as you expect because Boston University likes crushing your hopes and dreams with all its grade deflation.

Statistics from CBS News

How is the food? Is it edible?

What the tour guide says: I’ve been to other colleges while visiting my friends and our food is exponentially better! We have three different dining halls and the GSU offers so much diversity.

What the tour guide is thinking: Can West stop serving this thing they call stir fry every single freaking night? It doesn’t matter whether your campus food is good or bad, you’re going to get sick of it real fast. Next thing you know, you’ll ditch your meal plan and max out your debit card instead.

Food is everything. You’ll be eating what BU dining has to offer for the next four years, so being a little concerned about it is completely normal. Wouldn’t it be nice if the tour guides actually took you into the dining hall and let you look at all the food.

What’s it like sharing a bathroom with twenty other people?

I have my own bathroom at home, is it going to be a big adjustment?

What the tour guide says: Oh it’s really not that big of an adjustment. Everybody is on different schedules, so it’s not like you’ll be in the bathroom with everybody else all the time.

What the tour guide is thinking: It’s horrible. People don’t understand good hygiene. People will forget to wash their hands and flush the toilet, dispose of their personal hygiene products incorrectly, and will leave hair all over the shower walls.

Can we visit West Campus?

Ok, what’s the deal with not being shown West Campus on the tour? Are we just going to completely forget about CGS, SHA, CFA, Fitrec, Agganis Arena and all the other dorms? We need to experience whether or not we can handle the walk from west to east everyday.

What the tour guide says: Unfortunately we don’t have enough time to visit West campus so I can briefly talk about what’s over there now.

What the tour guide is thinking: Clearly, West Campus is the best part of BU and it’s corrupt that we don’t get to tour it. Regardless, I’ll get fired and miss my next tour if I take you there.

What kind of transportation do you have on campus?

If I don’t want to walk to class, will it still be easy to get around?

What the tour guide says: Most students will take the T or the BUS to class which is super easy. There are apps for both so it’s so easy to plan when you need to leave for class because you know exactly when the next T or shuttle is coming. The shuttle is free and the T isn’t that expensive!

What the tour guide is thinking: If you call the atrocity that is the BUS “transportation” then sure it’s “easy” to get around. The app is unreliable and I never really know what route it’s going to take. It’s probably just easier to take the L of walking to class in a literal blizzard. Otherwise, you could try taking the T if you want to spend all your money on an unlimited pass for the semester.

Even though there were definitely some unanswered questions and lacking information on all our college tours, we still ended up at good old BU, and had the pleasure to figure out some things for ourselves.

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