The Typical Question

Whether you're just starting the college application process now or you are nearing the end of your senior year of high school, I'm sure all of you have faced the typical questions: Where are you applying?

How annoying is that question?! Well, for me it wasn't that that particular question was annoying, it was just that literally everyone was asking me the same things. I felt like I needed to provide each person with a unique answer. However, then I just found myself reciting a speech I had come to memorize out of habit. This past summer the question became: Where are you going in the fall? I answered either "BC" or "Boston College," depending on whether I thought the person I was talking to would know the abbreviation. So, when I actually got to BC I was relieved that I wouldn't have to face any of these kinds of questions again, or at least until next summer. It felt like a huge brick had been lifted off my chest (alright, this is definitely an overexaggeration...but trust me, it was a good feeling!)

I enjoyed my first month of college, but then I realized that people were asking a new question. I went home for breaks and everyone asked: How do you like BC?! Everyone was excited, knowing BC is a great college. I would answer the question, saying that I love it here. The persistent adults would ask: What's your major? How are your classes? Easier or harder than high school? How are the sports? Do you get into the city much? Is there a lot to do there? The funny ones would wink after they asked, implying that we had an inside joke about the BC party scene. This was rather comical, especially when I had never talked to the person before and wondered why they assumed all college frosh partied. I just laughed, shrugged it off, and answered their questions.

The reason I choose to write a blog on this topic is that I just had one of these experiences the other day. I was at an A Capella performance last Saturday night and the lady sitting next to me, knowing I was a freshman, went through this entire sequence of questons. Here were my answers:

1. I love BC! It's so much fun here. There's so much to do here all the time and I have met a lot of great people. I'm so glad I came here. 
2. I'm a human development and English double major and I'm minoring in Organizational Studies. 
3. My classes are definitely difficult, but also definitely not anything that someone who was accepted into BC couldn't handle. The amount of work varies depending on the class and the professor...there will always be ones harder than others. Although, I have really enjoyed all of the classes I have taken this year. Sometimes you have a class that is so good that you don't even care that there is a lot of work. Also, work comes in waves. Some weeks you are bombarded with work and others it's smooth sailing. 
4. It's hard to compare high school and college in terms of the difficulty of classes. I think that the work is more challenging this year, like it is any time you move up a level each year, but that everything is manageable if you put in the effort and focus. I mean, you definitely cannot come here thinking it's going to be a cake walk. 
5. The sports are amazing! Go to as many events as you can. I'm so glad I came to a Division 1 school because I can't get enough of the sports here. Being a BC Superfan is probably one of the most memorable things you will ever do at BC. 
6. My friends and I probably get into the city twice a month. BC's campus is a great location, though. It's only about a 20-30 minute T ride and I wouldn't want to be right in the city anyways. 
7. There is SO much to do. You'll be able to find whatever you're interested in while you're here as well as find a bunch of new things you're interested in that you never even knew about. 

People are usually satisfied with my answers. I honestly like when I'm asked about my first year because I absolutely love it here. I can't say enough good things. In fact, I don't really know many people who aren't happy here. So for now I'm actually excited about these questions I'm asked to answer. I can't wait to see what I'm asked when I go home this summer...

Questions or comments about what freshmen year is like here at BC or anything else at all?
Please email me! : cornisab@bc.edu
:) Abby Sue