It’s Great to BU

A view from within Boston University’s Duan Family Center for Computing and Data Science

There’s cold, and then there’s wicked cold. That’s the only kind of cold on an early December morning while standing outside a locked door at Boston University’s modern, glassy, Leventhal Center, 45 minutes early for a 9:30 information session. They wouldn’t let us in. Why wouldn’t they let us in? We could see them inside, nice and warm. 

Oh, well. Maybe we could find a Starbucks or something. We pivoted and took a right, finding ourselves facing this amazing, gravity-defying architectural wonder that looked like the world's tallest game of Jenga. How else to describe it? Chunky clusters of the edifice were stacked and staggered – two, three, and four floors at a time – as it reached for the sky. 

Its doors were open, and it turned out to be the Duan Family Center for Computing and Data Science. Even if STEM is not your thing, this building would be reason enough to apply to BU. We never advanced beyond the soaring atrium of the ground level, but were instantly mesmerized by the kaleidoscopic staircase rising above, and impressed with the energy of its denizens, grabbing coffee, waiting for elevators, and catching up with one another, palpably eager for the day ahead. 

The day before, we had walked the main part of the Harvard campus. It’s always awe-inspiring and also a bit intimidating to be there; you can almost feel your IQ melting in the intellectual ooze within earshot. We didn’t enter any buildings, but couldn’t help but notice how old and fusty it looked. Sure, it may be state-of-the-art inside, but the Yard projected a storied past more than a tantalizing future. 

It was now 9:00, so we headed back to the Leventhal Center at BU, where the doors swung open wide, and the warmth was evident in more than just the room temperature. A sophomore named Nick greeted us with a giant smile as he checked us in on his iPad. 

He said he was from Georgia, and when we asked him what he liked about BU, he didn’t miss a beat. He said it was BU Hub, the university’s clever way of combining ostensibly disconnected subject areas, like philosophy and biology, for example. Even more important, it enables you to amortize your general education requirements across all four years. This mattered to Nick because it meant he could dive right into his public relations major as opposed to dispensing with all of his mandatory subjects first.  

We later learned that BU Hub is composed of hundreds of courses organized along various themes: Scientific & Social Inquiry, Communication, Diversity, Civic Engagement, and Global Citizenship. The overall approach is creative, such that if you are not a math type, you can fulfill your requirement by taking a philosophy course called “Puzzles and Paradoxes,” which focuses on critical thinking, logic, and life's big questions through analyzing absurd conclusions from basic beliefs (e.g., everyone is bald).

Nick also mentioned that he appreciated BU’s flexibility, which enabled him to switch his major easily from journalism to public relations, where the job market is stronger. This was echoed during our information session, during which Sofia, a junior, described her circuitous journey to become an English, Spanish, and Pre-Law major. BU prides itself on enabling students to switch majors as often as they like and still graduate within four years. 

The info session, by the way, was among the very best we’ve seen (and we’ve attended scores of them). It wasn’t the usual PowerPoint data dump that’s numbingly reminiscent of every other college, but rather an honest-to-goodness dialogue between Maddy, an admissions counselor, and Sofia, a student. The two of them sat before a jumbo screen displaying hero shots of the campus from every imaginable angle as they spoke extemporaneously to each other and to us.

It was outstanding – possibly the GOAT - and very different from the last time we had attended a BU information session, several years ago. Back then, we were jammed into a basement space, with an admissions counselor droning on behind a podium, with no visuals of any kind. At the time, the BU admissions rate was about 36%, compared to about 11% today. We’re not suggesting correlation or causation, but times certainly have changed at BU as they have at many other schools (Harvard excepted, perhaps :).

Another thing that really stood out: BU offers study abroad programs that guarantee an internship as part of the experience. Also, BU covers 100% of tuition for households earning less than $200K, and about 20% of each class are first-generation students. Fifty-nine percent of accepted students applied for early decision. If you submit your application by December 1st, you are automatically considered for financial aid. 

As we left the Leventhal, it was still brutally cold outside, but hey, that’s Boston in the wintertime, and it’s worth wearing a few extra layers for the vibe alone. There are college towns, and there are college towns … and then there is Boston, arguably the best of them all. Greater Boston is home to upwards of 75 colleges and perhaps as many as a quarter million undergraduates. BU or otherwise, it’s hard to imagine a more exhilarating college community than that.

It's a thing of BU-tee.

Indiana Rocks!

One of many limestone towers at Indiana University in Bloomington

Massive yet graceful limestone structures lined the boulevard to our right as we made our way to the admissions office at Indiana University. “Majestic” is a good word to begin describing the beautiful Bloomington campus, but only a beginning. “Rock solid” is another, and as it happens, this university is not only built of limestone but also on a bed of it. 

Spanning some 2,000 acres and having evolved over two centuries, the IU flagship today is home to almost 40,000 undergraduates, who are pursuing any combination of more than 200 majors. Indiana is one of the most popular choices among our students when deciding where to apply, in no small measure because of the elite Kelley School of Business.

That Bloomington is considered one of America’s best college towns certainly is a factor, too. Then there’s that Hoosier spirit: everybody was buzzing about the football team's 55-10 win over Maryland a few days earlier, bringing its record to 7-0. The team remained undefeated, finishing the season at a historic 13-0 overall, 9-0 in Big Ten play, ultimately winning the conference championship and its first-ever #1 ranking.  

We entered via the southwest, historic part of campus known as Old Crescent, which dates back to the school’s founding in the early 1800s. It’s all gothic, wooded, and relatively quiet. It’s pretty much everything one might hope to find on an archetypal college campus. It’s just the first of the five or six “neighborhoods” that make IU less overwhelming than three square miles of world-class academia has any right to be. 

As we headed north, we found the science and engineering buildings and the Kelley School. Toward the center is the Arboretum District, featuring open spaces, the Eskenazi Museum of Art, and two libraries. Then there’s the Riverwalk District, the Athletics Corridor, and the East and South Residential neighborhoods, essentially 'hoods within a 'hood. The dorms in the northwest are where freshmen cluster and can find their peeps. 

So, in other words, Indiana takes what could be an oppressive environment and breaks it down into a series of navigable pathways. When we met up with one of our former students, she said the “neighborhood” vibe made all the difference for her at IU, a kind of enzyme of assimilation. Another attraction was the ability to mix and match majors and minors across all 12 schools at Indiana, which she was exploring. She also said she loved the sculpture of a giant brain outside the psychology department, especially when it was illuminated at night. 

We had already heard the phrase “mix and match” at least a few times during the information session. Rafael, a senior admissions director, shared that 63% of undergrads double-majored. When he said that an accelerated Master's degree in some majors could be earned in five years, we thought we heard the packed room of prospective students and their parents shift in their seats. 

When he told us about the opportunity, for example, to cut your own path by combining studies in the Center for Underwater Science, which offers instruction in underwater science diving, with courses in anthropology, archeology, and marine science, we could almost feel the room change. Students are free to pitch any ideas they may have for combining and recombining fields of study. How cool is that?

Rafael did advise that if it’s the Kelley School of Business you want, you should apply for direct admission, where previously an acceptance was likely if you met certain GPA and other requirements, but now involves a more holistic review.  It is possible to be accepted post-admission, but it is by no means a sure thing. It is also an option to pursue business studies outside of Kelley in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Hodge Hall, the building in which Kelley is primarily located, bursts with the energy of thousands of budding entrepreneurs. Many of them were dressed up in dark business suits, although we were told it was because they were having their pictures taken. They looked like an impressive bunch, the future of American enterprise without a doubt. 

For all of its forward-leaning intensity, IU also cherishes its traditions, perhaps none more than the chimes that emanate from its Bell Tower, which dates back to 1942 and is intended to link the school’s 19th-century origins to its present and its future.

Short bell sequences ring between classes, much like a clock tower at an older European university. On certain occasions, the bells might play “Indiana, Our Indiana,” or the national anthem. In many ways, they are meant to create a sense of belonging while on campus, and an indelible memory beyond that.

We left Indiana University as we found it, past those imposing yet inviting limestone towers, now to our left. Limestone, as you probably already know, is formed from marine life and carries with it the history of ancient seas. The Great Pyramid of Giza and medieval cathedrals were built of limestone.

You might say limestone is essential to modern civilization, and it is deeply intertwined with Earth’s climate and history. As foundations go, it’s pretty solid, metaphorically and otherwise. 

It is the kind of stone that builds.

St. Andrews: Centuries of Scholarly Excellence in a Modern World

“Good afternoon! My name is Isabella. You can call me Izzy or Bella or Isabella, or whatever your heart desires!” She smiled broadly, extended her hand, and nearly curtsied. Her long blonde hair cascaded over a woolly, heavy scarlet-red robe. As she stepped out from behind her desk, we couldn’t help but notice her very stylish knee-high, brown-leather boots. 

We had been in Scotland for a few days and were still adjusting to the amazing warmth and occasional eccentricities of its denizens, but Izzy, Bella, or Isabella, was something else again. She was certainly unlike any other tour guide we had encountered on our many college campus visits. Her attire was particularly puzzling, given that it was hot and summery outside. 

St. Andrews University, located in its incredibly historic and picturesque, eponymous seaside village, is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world. The most ancient would be Oxford (c. 1096) and Cambridge (c. 1209). St. Andrews came along in 1413. The town’s famous golf course also dates back about 600 years. 

The village itself is small, quaint, and bustling. The total town population is about 22,000, of which approximately 10,000 are students. With its mix of shops, pubs, and other intriguing eateries, it is everything a college town should be.

We were joined by about a dozen prospective students and their parents, a mix of Americans and Europeans. We were there because of a palpable increase in interest among our students recently. It’s easy to imagine why any young person – especially a generation raised on Harry Potter – would find St. Andrews nothing short of entrancing. 

We saw the school’s buildings only from the outside, but their cut-stone, antique-gothic style is a vibe that other universities (we’re looking at you, Yale) could only achieve by acid-washing and even scorching their building materials. The one exception is the St. Andrews library, which dates back only to 1976 and features a blocky, brutalist design that was popular in that era. 

You may have heard that St. Andrews is where Prince William, England’s future King, met Kate Middleton, now known as Catherine, Princess of Wales. They began as “just friends,” and legend has it that Kate didn’t quite catch William’s eye until a student fashion fundraiser when she catwalked in a sheer black lace dress. So much for red, woolen robes.

As we stood outside St. Salvator’s residence hall, where the royal couple initially encountered one another as first-years, Isabella noted the extra-glossy, bulletproof window panes where William once lived. 

We passed through a magnificent stone archway and stood on a cobblestone sidewalk with the initials “PH” embedded near the curb. Lots of colleges have a legend of a spot on which you must never set foot, or else you will fail your exams and not graduate. At St. Andrews, this is that spot.

On February 29, 1528, a 24-year-old Protestant theology student named Patrick Hamilton was burned at the stake here because of his outspoken criticism of the Catholic Church. The execution took hours because of wet wood: about as grim as it gets. Even though the curse didn’t apply to us, we proceeded with care.

Unlike most American universities, where students typically don’t choose a major until the end of their second year, students applying to St. Andrews must select their field of study when they apply. Instead of a “bachelor of arts” degree, graduates are awarded a “master of arts and social sciences.”

This sure sounds like an upgrade, even though it isn’t. It’s just a tradition that dates back to the school’s medieval origins, and St. Andrews doesn't want to change it. Science students earn a “bachelor of science” degree. 

St. Andrews routinely ranks among the top universities in the UK, even surpassing Oxford and Cambridge in student satisfaction according to some surveys. The most popular majors include international relations, philosophy, history, divinity, and the sciences (especially physics, mathematics, and biology). It is known for a strong research culture, particularly in the liberal arts. 

As of 2025-2026, annual tuition for non-UK students is £31,670 ($40,190 USD at this writing). It is £9,535 for English, Welsh, and Northern Ireland students and £1,820 for those from Scotland. Scholarships are available via an application that is due at the end of January. 

College is a long way from home, both figuratively and, where St. Andrews is concerned, literally – at least for American students. All told, about 42% of the school’s students are from outside the United Kingdom. This reality leads directly to one of the university’s most cherished and distinctive traditions: the “academic family.” 

To help assimilate, newly arrived first-years are “adopted” by their more seasoned classmates as their “children.” Each “family” usually consists of one or two “parents” (who may or may not be an actual couple) and several children. Then comes “Raisin Weekend” in October, where parents and their children exchange raisin-related gifts and have a big shaving-cream fight on the Lower College Lawn. “It’s lots of good fun,” Izzy told us.

Isabella also explained that she was wearing a heavy woolen robe on a bright, sunny day because it’s yet another St. Andrews tradition. During formal events, first-years (known as Bejants) wear the robe squarely around their shoulders. Second-years (semi-Bejants) slip the robe off their right shoulder, and third-years (Tertians) drop it off the right side. Fourth-years (Magistrands) let it go off both shoulders.

This display is meant as a metaphor for increasing confidence along one’s academic journey. 

Bella’s boots, apparently, were just made for walking.