Boston University’s Student Government discussed a new proposal for the admission process and a funding request for BU Veteran Assist on Monday night.
In a presentation, Abraham Budson-McQuilken, a sophomore in the College of General Studies, proposed the Admissions Improvement Act, which aims to increase BU’s student applicant pool.
“I think Boston University could benefit from ensuring a greater quality and breadth of applicants to ensure that our university is able to attract the best and brightest from every strata of the country and around the world,” Budson-McQuilken said.
Budson-McQuilken said BU had 80,495 applicants with a 10.75 percent acceptance rate for the class of 2027, compared to Northeastern University, which had 96,327 applicants with a 5.6 percent rate.
“I think it is clear that admissions are the lifeblood of any university,” Budson-McQuilken said. “It is based on the application pool that the classes are devised and the demographics of our university is created.”
He said that by lowering the application fee, BU may receive applications from a larger pool of candidates citing that the university currently charges an $80 application fee for prospective students.
“Schools in our peer range generally charge more,” Budson-McQuilken said. “So obviously, this would be a big ask.”
Budson-McQuilken also said that 67 percent of applicants did not apply because of the application’s essay section, according to a study by Brown University. Northeastern University does not require a supplemental essay, while BU requires both the Common App essay and a supplemental essay.
“The optional essays are a significant hindrance,” he said.
Additionally, Budson-McQuilken spoke about the significance of going over the BU promotional materials regarding student applications.
“Boston University spends over $10 million on marketing,” Budson-McQuilken said.“I think that material should be analyzed to ensure that it represents the university we are and is most appealing to potential applicants to ensure they give our university real thought.”
In another presentation, Rama Varanasi, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and president of BU Veteran Assist, requested funding to provide care packages for veterans living in unstable housing.
“We need the funds for the items in this care package,” Varanasi said.
The money raised would go toward funding an event where the care packages are made, according to Varanasi.
The presentation included a breakdown of the costs for the care packages with almost one-third of the total budget going toward transportation costs for the veterans center. If the funds are approved, it would pay for several trips during the semester to and from the center.
Varanasi said the club aims to assist veterans who are out of work and continue to serve meals to veterans.
“We’re thinking of starting professional development classes for veterans,” Varanasi said.
BU Student Government approved the motion, providing the club with $745 to cover all costs.
Dhruv Kapadia, a senior in College of Arts and Sciences and the student body president, spoke about the upcoming spring concert, upcoming elections and his meeting with BU Interim President Kenneth Freeman about increasing student storage space.
“They said that they’d be willing to explore some options in making sure that, especially student organizations with culturally significant objects and pieces of property, to hopefully get them some space with dignity and some actual fair space that we just have not seen at this university for so long,” Kapadia said.
