There are three principal advantages to studying at CGS:

• Our professors
• Our team system
• Our integrated liberal arts core curriculum

These factors make attending CGS like studying in a small, liberal arts college within a major research university.

A major advantage is our excellent faculty. They all have PhDs and are full-time at CGS. They are noted scholars, scientists, poets, historians, biologists, philosophers, musicians, film experts, and professionals in many other fields who are masters at classroom teaching (read some faculty profiles and check out some faculty awards).

Our founders realized that following an obvious and important principle would lead to a successful, fulfilling general education:

Optimize contact between good professors and good students.

Consequently, the College does not employ intermediaries – there are

• no teaching fellows
• no teaching assistants
• no lab assistants
• no graders
• no readers

Virtually all American universities require their students to fill general education requirements, as well as major or concentration requirements. The founding faculty at CGS, like those at the University of Chicago, Harvard College, and Columbia University, decided on the core model rather than the more common divisional or distribution approach in which students pick courses from menu lists.

The core curriculum was strategically designed and has been refined by our professors to fill the general education requirements of a great liberal arts university through a coherent system of courses to maximize their interrelatedness, personal relevance, and impact. You can see how this breaks down by courses and semesters.

The team system was originated at CGS to provide an ideal size for an academic community. In our team system, you work with your professors in discussion groups of about 25, or 12 in the case of writing seminars. (There are also several large (110+) lectures during the week.) Consequently, faculty and students come to know one another personally quite quickly and easily, enhancing the interaction of teaching and learning.

You can apply directly to CGS following the standard application process through undergraduate admissions.

Boston University receives about 38,000 applications for a freshman class of approximately 4,100. There are many more qualified students for our schools and colleges than we can accommodate. The undergraduate admissions office selects a limited number of highly qualified students from the pool of applicants to refer for admission to Boston University through CGS. CGS is another opportunity for highly qualified students to attend Boston University by entering CGS as freshmen, with guaranteed continuation into the undergraduate programs of their choice.

Students who complete CGS with a GPA of 2.0 or 2.3 and appropriate electives simply declare their majors for the junior year. (See the details for continuation.) Students can choose to continue to the college in which they were originally interested, but they are not limited to that program. Continuation to all programs is automatic except for the College of Fine Arts and the School of Education.

Last year there were 38,000 applicants for about 4,100 seats in the freshman class of Boston University. All applicants to BU are considered very carefully by the admissions office. Each application is read attentively; HSGPA, SATS, high school curriculum, counselor recommendations, personal statements, extracurricular activities, and leadership are all appraised. While there are no minimum requirements for admission to CGS, the average students admitted for fall 2008 averaged about a B+ high school GPA (3.3) with average composite SATs of around 1785 (math 595; critical reading 587; writing 603), and were in the top 21 percent of their classes.

Details of CGS entering class credentials:Avg. Class Rank: Top 21% Avg. GPA: 3.3 (predominantly B+) SAT Composite: Middle 50%; 1710–1860 (avg. 1785) Critical Reading: Middle 50%; 550–620 (avg. 587) Math: Middle 50%; 560 – 630 (avg. 595) Writing: Middle 50%;  560–640 (avg. 603) SAT Subject Tests: Middle 50%; 520–630 (avg. 581) ACT: Middle 50%; 24–27 (avg. 26)

Comparison to other BU schools and colleges:Avg. Class Rank: Top 10% Avg. GPA: 3.6 (Predominantly A-) SAT Composite: Middle 50%; 1850–2080 (avg. 1966) Critical Reading: Middle 50%; 600–690 (avg. 645) Math: Middle 50%; 620–710 (avg. = 665) Writing: Middle 50%; 610–700 (avg. = 656) SAT Subject Test: Middle 50%; 600–720 (avg. 656) ACT: Middle 50%; 27–31 (avg. 29)

All BU students are eligible for financial aid, according to the need-based profile and merit criteria set by Financial Assistance.

CGS is entirely a full-time program—full-time students and full-time faculty.

There are approximately 700 first-year students and about 650 sophomores.

The CGS core classes are held in our building at 871 Commonwealth Ave. in the center of the BU Charles River Campus. The building was designed especially for the CGS style of pedagogy and has made major improvements in spaces for study in recent years. CGS students take their elective classes in the buildings of CAS, COM, SMG, SHA, and others.

Another advantage is the coherent, systematic core curriculum that satisfies the general education requirements of the University in a way that adds up to a whole rather than a collection of disparate, perhaps haphazard, courses. The two-year sequence provides what social scientists call a “multiplier” effect. Your general education component serves as a meaningful context for your major, career, and life.

No. You should be clear that entering CGS is a two-year commitment, except in the rare case of transfer to the College of Fine Arts (CFA), which is based on a portfolio review or audition.

For the vast majority of students—continuing to College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), College of Communication (COM), and the School of Management (SMG)—the answer is yes. They can and do. Students seeking degrees in Engineering (ENG), some programs in the College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College (SAR) and some physical science majors in CAS may take longer. Get the details on continuation.

For full-time BU students, CGS tuition is the same as that for other schools and colleges.

Our faculty all have PhDs and are full-time at CGS—there are no adjuncts. They are noted scholars, scientists, poets, historians, biologists, philosophers, musicians, film experts, and professionals in many other fields who are masters at classroom teaching. Another important qualification is that they enjoy teaching their students directly (as discussed above) and have that face-to-face opportunity two or three times a week.

On the first day of classes you will meet with your academic advisor, a full-time professional who will guide you through your educational planning. The advisor is an expert in the resources of BU. CGS has eight advisors, all with a minimum of a master’s degree, and four with PhDs. Each advisor has a minimum of 10 years experience in advising (most at CGS) and some have 20–25 years experience at CGS.

Your advisor works with you one-on-one as many times as you like. Your advisor is an integral part of the faculty team and collaborates with the professors on your team to advise you on academic and career matters.

In fact, the CGS professors and advisor on your team meet weekly to coordinate exams and essays, including joint papers, and most of all, to discuss you. What are you doing well? And, what could you improve? Your team professors see you in small (25) discussion classes twice a week, read your exams and papers, listen to your discussions, meet with you in tutorial/office hours, and then discuss you with their colleagues on the team. This kind of team meeting and combination of perspectives is highly unusual—maybe unique—at any college, let alone a large research university. Read more about advising.

As BU students, CGS students live throughout the campus in the various residence options.

As BU students, CGS students participate in every facet of campus life. They are leaders in college student governments, the campus-wide Student Union, and varsity, club, and intramural sports. They are active in many of the hundreds of student groups.

You will be registered as a CGS student for four semesters.

Yes, you can enroll in any undergraduate program if you meet the continuation requirements; the College of Fine Arts requires a portfolio review or audition.

You will not declare a major until the end of your sophomore year. Your major may be the one you had in mind when you applied to BU, but you are not locked into that major or college. The flexibility you gain by front-loading your general education requirement is one of the advantages of CGS, because it establishes an academic and intellectual foundation upon which to build your major. There is ample space in the junior and senior years to immerse yourself in your major.

Yes—in fact, you are required to take courses in BU’s other colleges as prerequisites for continuation.

Yes. You will take one elective each semester—usually it will be outside of CGS. Often students choose electives that will satisfy requirements for their major.

As a first-year BU student, you will have the opportunity to choose your schedule during summer orientation.

Each semester you may choose one elective in addition to the three core courses. These electives are courses outside of CGS—in CAS, COM, SMG, and so on.

No, you will not graduate nor receive a degree from CGS. You will complete CGS and continue into a degree program from which you will graduate. You will earn a bachelor’s degree from another BU school or college.

Of course, as a BU student, all courses taken at BU will appear on your transcript.

Yes. They are Boston University courses and presuming they are “C” or better, other colleges and universities will normally accept them according to their curricular policies.

Yes—CGS offers summer term courses after the first year and a fall semester in the sophomore year in London. CGS faculty traditionally lead short (10–12 days) trips to China and other countries which can be done for credit. Studying abroad while at CGS does not interfere with study abroad during the junior or senior years, when most BU students who go abroad do so. Read more about studying abroad at CGS.

Yes. Even in the freshman year CGS students can develop directed study projects for credits with CGS faculty. Read more about research opportunities.

Yes: Each semester outstanding students may be honored by achieving Dean’s List or Dean’s Circle status. One freshman can win the award for best first year paper. The sophomores who write the best Capstone papers are honored by the Dean and their professors in a special ceremony. Students who maintain a 3.3 cumulative GPA may take classes beyond the normal course load with no extra tuition. Freshmen and sophomores who have the highest GPAs may be honored with merit awards at the end of the year. At the end of the sophomore year, some students may be awarded academic or service scholarships.

Yes, if your AP scores or college course grades meet University standards. Read more about advanced credit.

At CGS you will receive an excellent education, working closely with BU professors and completing general education requirements. You will continue into the degree program of your choice and be able to earn your BU degree within a total of four years, except in the case of a small number of majors. While at CGS, students plan for their professional careers with the pre-med and pre-law deans at the University and Career Services. CGS students have graduated from every school and college at Boston University. They earn academic and service honors.

CGS was founded in 1952 as a spin-off from its parent, the General College, which was found in 1946. It was part of the birth of the mass higher education movement in post-war United States, which opened top college and university opportunities for GI-Bill veterans and provided the intellectual infrastructure for the post-industrial boom in America’s twentieth century knowledge-based economy.

At CGS, we have an excellent Writing Center in the Katzenberg Center, a peer mentor program providing contact with selected successful CGS sophomores, and content tutoring through the professors. Of course, CGS students are encouraged to use the support services of the campus at large, such as the Educational Resource Center (ERC).