Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
- Private nonprofit
- City
- 18,248 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 11%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $36,503per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 89%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $89,08710 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
BU meets 100% of demonstrated financial need without loans for first-time, first-year students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Source: Full Tuition Figures | Admissions - Boston University
Admitted first-years from families earning under $200,000 with typical assets pay no more than $20,000 a year toward the cost of attendance.
Source: Full Tuition Figures | Admissions - Boston University
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 11%About 1 in 10 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1420–1530Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 32–34Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Boston University's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2024–25, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
- Early decision admit rate
- 28%1,936 admitted of 6,854. Early decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
- ACT, middle 50%
- 32–34First-years who sent scores
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
Important
- Class rank
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Activities
- Character and personal qualities
Considered
- Test scores
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Where you live
- Living in the state
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
- Showing interest in the school
Not considered
- Interview
- A talent or ability
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Religious affiliation
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Boston University's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Boston University Common Data Set 2024–25; College Scorecard. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $36,503full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $90,106sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $71,372Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 89%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 95%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $89,08710 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $17,500federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 18,248Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 21%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 17%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA — admits 60%
- Syracuse University Syracuse, NY — admits 46%
- Baylor University Waco, TX — admits 51%
- Bentley University Waltham, MA — admits 45%
Also worth a look
- Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA — admits 16%
- Cornell University Ithaca, NY — admits 9%
- Tufts University Medford, MA — admits 11%
- University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA — admits 10%
- New York University New York, NY — admits 9%
- University of Miami Coral Gables, FL — admits 19%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Boston University, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.