Laura's Update from Boston College
"At Boston College, I have academics that challenge me and prepare me for a future in nursing, and a good social scene."
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Laura, a student at Boston College, discusses life on campus, her studies in nursing and public health, and how she fills the gaps in her financial aid by working part time and being careful with her budget.
Was it hard to adjust to college life?
What surprised me the most was how much time I needed for studying. My studies were much more difficult than I was used to in high school. I was used to doing homework but not used to sitting down and studying for several hours. My nursing classes require a lot of memorization. Sometimes I would spend almost an entire day studying just to understand certain topics or to prepare for an exam.
How do you like living on the Boston College campus?
Boston College has more than 30 residence halls. Fortunately, the freshman dorms are about two minutes from each other, which makes it easy to see friends and participate in activities. However, the dorms don’t have air conditioning – which was uncomfortable during August and September. The biggest downside is that the freshman dorms are about a 15-minute walk from the upper-classmen dorms, the gym, and the train, which discourages people from trying to go anywhere – especially during the coldest times of the year.
How easy is it to get around and off campus?
BC actually isn’t in the city of Boston. It’s located in a town called Chestnut Hill which is about six miles from downtown Boston. While there are plenty of shops and restaurants in Chestnut Hill, there isn’t much to do around the school, unless you take the train into Boston, which takes about 40 minutes.
Tell us about the Boston College Nursing Program
Although nursing students can take non-nursing classes, there isn’t a lot of freedom to choose classes. You begin taking core classes as a freshman, and it's recommended you finish the core before taking other classes for fun. We get more freedom to choose classes as juniors and seniors.
Sophomore year was my most difficult year academically as I was taking pathophysiology, microbiology, and health assessment. There was a lot more content covered in every class, and I had to adjust my study habits and study schedule to accommodate the workload. Some classes were graded solely on exams without any homework or other buffers to improve your grade.
Fortunately, students in the Boston College Nursing Program are very supportive and most of the professors are helpful. The other nursing students would rather help each other and bring each other up instead of making everything a competition. Most people form study groups and work together, especially in the most difficult classes.
I like the fact that students get to do clinical rotations in hospitals and clinics as early as sophomore year. This experience confirmed that I love working closely with patients and learning about different diseases. After experiencing some understaffed and underfunded clinics in the Boston area, I decided to pursue a minor in Global Public Health, so that I can help people in low-income communities and advocate for improvements in the field.
What do you do when you aren’t studying?
I work six hours a week as a personal care assistant (PCA), which I love. In addition, I am part of El Centro, which is the Central American club on campus that organizes cultural events. I go to a lot of on-campus student events too. BC hosts a big dance competition called Showdown. Another event is Mudstock, which is held on the last day of classes. Students play volleyball in the mud, and afterwards the school brings someone in to perform. Last year, the school invited Swae Lee, and it was extremely fun.
Is it hard to balance a social life with academics?
It’s easy in the sense that nobody judges you for saying “no” to a social event, as everyone understands the academics at the school are difficult. I have found it challenging to balance clubs and my job with school because I need to devote most of my free time to studying.
Has it been challenging managing your money in college?
I definitely need to budget my money. My financial aid package covers a lot of my college costs, but without financial support from my parents, there’s still a gap. I often worry that I won’t have enough money to pay for my next semester. I feel like if I did not work, I would not have enough money for school. I took out federal student loans for my freshman and sophomore years, but I hope I won’t need to take out more loans.
I usually use a Google Sheet to budget my money for the year based on how much financial aid I receive and how much I expect to earn from work, and then I budget for different social activities. Over the summer, I worked at a summer camp in New York City, which helped cover some costs. I also received slightly more financial aid sophomore year because of the upgrade in housing I got.
What advice do you have for succeeding in college?
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Prepare yourself for a faster academic pace. I was surprised by how fast-paced my classes were. My first year wasn’t difficult, but sophomore year, I felt that I wasn’t given even a moment to adjust to the new semester. I wanted to take time to catch up with friends and go out, but I just couldn’t because I needed to study.
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It’s okay to admit when you are struggling and to ask for help. If I had gone to my teacher's office hours sooner, I would not have done as badly as I did on my first few exams. Use the support given by your professors and counselors. Find someone to speak to when things get difficult.
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Experiment with different study habits – sooner rather than later. I spent a lot of time just trying to figure out which study habits worked best for me from one semester to the next. You might need to use different study approaches and schedules depending on the content you are given.
Are you happy with your college choice?
Yes! At Boston College, I have academics that challenge me and prepare me for a future in nursing, and a good social scene. I love the community and group of friends I’ve made here and all the ways to get involved on campus.
How did CollegeData help you on your road to college?
When I was applying to college, I used CollegeData’s College Profiles to learn about different schools and compare them to one another. The information helped me see what different colleges had to offer and which programs may be best suited for me.
