I'm so excited to be back in the city where I spent a whole summer. Boston in March is absolutely adorable, with the clean white snow, bright sunshine, and occasional blasts of wind that remind people of the lingering hints of winter on this very first day of spring. 

   I'm staying at my mom's friend's place outside Boston; it takes a while to drive to the closest T station, which is the most western terminus of the Green line. That makes my schedules tight; I thought I could not go to as many places as I wanted, so I whined about it to my mom last night, but today turned out to be great, that's why I feel absolutely lucky to have been able to tour around the city. 

   I woke up early to catch the train to transfer to another green line. Boston subway is much more complicated than I expected, and since I was sort of sleeping during the entire ride, I missed the transfer stop; I had to keep taking the subway until it was a central transfer station to get on the subway riding to Boston College. I ended up being there several minutes late, but the information session was nothing but bland. 

   BC's information session was different from those of other colleges I had been to; a general admission officer counsellor started the information session by addressing several basic aspects of the college experience, then he invited four current students to talk about their own experiences by answering the questions, usually raised by the parents rather than the prospective students. Then the counsellor concluded the session, following by a campus tour. 

   What I learned about BC from my two hours of touring session is that it is heavily centered on religion. It is a Jesuit Catholic school, which means that religion plays an important part in the school's general administration and students' academic lives. There are 91 Jesuit priests living on campus, who are involved in religious service and teaching, making BC the second largest place for Jesuits gathering: it's only second to the Vatican city. 

   I'm pretty sure I saw Sam from APUSH starting his tour as I was about to finish mine; however since I booked the 2 o'clock information session at BU, I had to take the T and tried to get lunch in between. I ended up getting a cup of hot latte from Barnes&Noble, which was pretty nice on a chilly March afternoon. 

   The information session at BU was much more interesting; it was different from the ones I had before as well. An admission officer introduced some basic aspects of the college, and then he turned the floor to a current BU student, who was involved in the honor's program. I'm mostly interested in the honor's program, because it allows the students to be taught by the first-class professors who might not teach other regular students. They also get more privileges in housing and internships. What I like about the school is the fact that it's located right next to Fenway Park, and it's so close to downtown. It's immersed in the city of Boston, and it enjoys all the buzz that Boston has to offer. The T rides right through the campus, and the transportation within the campus is super convenient too. I also spotted a lot of foodie places that are in my Boston city guide book. I haven't asked about the financial aid questions, but I know it's not a super wealthy school, so there's almost no chance it would provided scholarships to international students. 

   I did not go for an entire tour because the tour guide was simply horrible. I took the T to the prudential center, a place I frequently visited during the summer. I had New England clam chowder at Boston Chowda, and it immediately warmed me up. It was a very nice afternoon, as I finished the hot soup and walked around places that I had always liked. 

   I look forward to tomorrow's visit at MIT.