The Top 5 Schools in the ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is all about athletic prowess, but only a handful of students that attend these colleges and universities participate in Division I athletics. Most have no aspirations to pursue athletics as a career, so what is it that attracts students to these schools for their college educations? America Unravelled has investigated which schools fall into the top 5 ranking, using campus attractiveness, student life, total cost, percent acceptance, student debt at graduation and average salary at graduation rather than their athletic programs, as criteria.
5. Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit Catholic research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill just 6 miles west of Boston. The student population consists of 9,100 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students. The campus sprawls on 338 acres, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The tuition cost for an undergraduate student is $65,644. In the 2015 -2016 academic year, BC awarded over $120 million in need- based scholarships. The average need-based scholarship/grant was $34,729. The average debt upon graduation is $18,036. The average starting salary upon graduation is $47,000. The percent acceptance to BC is 29%. (vhost4.bc.edu)
Academics are the foundation of BC. The college has nine schools including the higher ranked Lynch School of Education, Boston College Law School and the Carroll School of Management. BC is ranked #31 in “National Universities”, #41 in “Best Value Schools, and #28 in “High School Counselor Rankings”. The student-faculty ratio is 12:1 and 49% of the classes have less than 20 students. The most popular majors at BC are Finance, Biology/Biological Sciences, General Studies, Economics, and Psychology. The average freshman retention rate is 95%. The 4-year graduation rate is 89%.(colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com).
Student life at BC is shaped around living on a suburban campus known as the “Heights” and being 6 miles away from downtown Boston. Mass transit is easily accessible and allows students to enjoy all that Boston has to offer; from museums, theater, sports, shopping, restaurants, boutiques and for those of age, some of the finest pubs in the country.
Almost 85% of undergraduate students live on campus. There are all kinds of student organizations that are student led which provide many and various opportunities for students to get involved on campus and the wider community. The Student Involvement Fair is how students are welcomed to BC. It is held each fall at the beginning of the first semester and over 200 organizations and programs participate.
Recreational opportunities abound at Boston College. The Flynn Recreation Complex offers students a wide variety of programs and activities to stay in shape and to burn off some of those freshman calories. There are many club sports offered to the entire student body. These teams are student-run and are competitive. Some of the sports are baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, crew, cycling, equestrian, field hockey, figure skating, golf men’s and women’s hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s squash and more.
There is also a very active and popular intramurals sports program. If you enjoy being outdoors there are outdoor adventure programs as well. The BC Eagles are a Division 1 school in the ACC, with the exception of ice hockey where they participate in the Division 1 Hockey East League.
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