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Boston University

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Boston University Overview

Boston University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Boston, Massachusetts. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life.

What Is Boston University Known For?

5,402 Undergraduate Awards
$59,796 Avg Cost After Aid
14% Acceptance Rate
  • The highest award offered at Boston U is the doctor's degree.
  • In 2021-2022, 70% of the faculty were full-time.
  • A student who earns a bachelor's degree from Boston U makes roughly $80,582 a year. This is 98% more than their peers from other colleges and universities.
  • The average Boston U student graduates in 4.1 years. That's better than the national average of 4.4 years.

Where Is Boston University?

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Contact details for Boston U are given below.

Contact Details
Address: One Silber Way, Boston, MA 02215
Phone: 617-353-2000
Website: www.bu.edu

How Do I Get Into Boston U?

You can apply to Boston U online at: www.bu.edu/admissions/apply

Admission Requirements for Boston U

Submission Required?
High School GPA 1
High School Rank 5
High School Transcript 1
College Prep Program 1
Recommendations 1
SAT or ACT Scores 5
TOEFL 1

How Hard Is It To Get Into Boston U?

14% Acceptance Rate
56% Of Accepted Are Women
23% Submit SAT Scores
If you plan to apply to Boston U, make sure you don't wait until the last minute to fill out your application. The school is one of the most selective in the United States and has a low acceptance rate of 14%. If you are admitted, that's something to brag about!

Approximately 44% of accepted students are men and 56% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 16%, and the acceptance rate for women is 13%.

Average Test Scores

About 23% of students accepted to Boston U submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 660 and 730. Math scores were between 690 and 770.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Boston University  ( 660 to 730 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for Boston University  ( 690 to 770 )
200
800
Boston U received ACT scores from 12% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 32 and 35. Math scores were between 28 and 0. Composite scores were between 31 and 34.

ACT English Scores for Boston University  ( 32 to 35 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for Boston University  ( 31 to 34 )
1
36

Can I Afford Boston University?

$59,796 Net Price
26% Take Out Loans
The overall average net price of Boston U is $59,796. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Boston U, approximately 26% of students took out student loans averaging $9,475 a year. That adds up to $37,900 over four years for those students.

Boston University Undergraduate Student Diversity

17,460 Full-Time Undergraduates
58% Women
39% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 18,229 undergraduate students at Boston U, with 17,460 being full-time and 769 being part-time.

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There are also 17,875 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 17,460 full-time undergraduates at Boston U, 42% are male and 58% are female.

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Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Boston University students is as follows.

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 3,392
Black or African American 688
Hispanic or Latino 1,854
White 5,921
International Students 4,022
Other Races/Ethnicities 1,583

Geographic Diversity

Massachusetts students aren't the only ones who study at Boston University. At this time, 49 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 138 countries are represented at Boston U. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and South Korea.

Online Learning at Boston University

4,044 Took All Classes Online
5,257 Took At Least One Class Online
In 2022-2023, 5,257 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at Boston U has changed over the last few years.

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Boston University Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major Basic Certificate Undergraduate Certificate Bachelor’s Graduate Certificate Master’s Doctor’s TOTAL
Business Administration & Management 3 33 678 0 504 0 1,218
Economics 0 0 305 0 129 34 468
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 23 9 0 0 413 0 445
Computer Science 0 0 294 0 126 14 434
Public Relations & Advertising 1 0 276 0 127 0 404
General Psychology 0 0 276 0 58 7 341
Public Health 7 0 0 0 316 3 326
Social Work 0 4 4 0 303 3 314
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 0 0 203 0 74 2 279
Legal Research 0 0 0 0 279 0 279
International Relations & National Security 0 0 233 0 46 0 279
Teacher Education Subject Specific 0 4 26 6 178 21 235
Law 0 0 0 0 0 229 229
Finance & Financial Management 0 11 0 0 216 0 227
Information Science 0 0 0 0 225 0 225
Mechanical Engineering 0 0 149 0 57 16 222
Biomedical Engineering 0 0 126 0 60 24 210
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 0 0 26 0 170 13 209
Dentistry 0 0 0 0 0 194 194
Communication & Media Studies 0 0 134 0 58 0 192
Health Sciences & Services 0 0 179 0 0 0 179
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other) 0 2 0 0 168 0 170
Political Science & Government 0 0 156 0 10 3 169
Medicine 0 0 0 0 0 164 164
General Biology 0 0 118 0 35 10 163
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 0 0 147 0 0 16 163
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 0 0 33 0 0 128 161
Criminal Justice & Corrections 0 24 6 0 128 0 158
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 0 0 151 0 0 3 154
Mathematics 0 0 135 0 10 7 152
Marketing 0 14 0 0 137 0 151
Electrical Engineering 0 0 50 0 81 20 151
Journalism 0 0 110 0 38 0 148
Hospitality Management 0 0 72 0 68 0 140
Computer Engineering 0 2 122 0 5 7 136
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 0 0 109 0 20 1 130
Computer Software & Applications 0 15 0 0 114 0 129
Music 0 0 40 11 56 19 126
Data Processing 0 0 0 0 105 0 105
Applied Mathematics 0 0 13 0 86 6 105
Other Social Sciences 0 75 28 0 0 0 103
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences 0 0 0 61 25 16 102
Curriculum & Instruction 0 0 0 0 94 6 100
Other Business, Management & Marketing 0 30 0 0 50 12 92
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics 0 0 0 0 80 11 91
Theological & Ministerial Studies 0 4 0 0 68 18 90
General English Literature 0 0 62 0 12 5 79
Health & Medical Administrative Services 0 0 0 0 76 1 77
Other Health Professions 0 5 41 0 30 0 76
Drama & Theater Arts 0 0 59 2 15 0 76
Fine & Studio Arts 0 0 35 0 32 5 72
Health/Medical Prep Programs 0 1 32 0 38 0 71
Educational Administration 0 0 0 2 65 2 69
Communication Sciences 0 0 14 0 50 3 67
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 0 7 60 0 0 0 67
Chemistry 0 0 33 0 13 20 66
Philosophy 0 0 56 0 1 4 61
Statistics 0 0 0 0 55 5 60
Nutrition Science 0 0 24 0 36 0 60
Computer Information Systems 0 27 0 0 30 0 57
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 0 0 1 0 52 2 55
Linguistics & Comparative Literature 0 1 32 0 20 0 53
History 0 0 47 0 3 3 53
Special Education 0 0 11 0 31 2 44
Sociology 0 0 38 0 0 5 43
Mathematical Economics 0 0 42 0 0 0 42
Physics 0 0 22 0 12 8 42
Design & Applied Arts 0 0 25 0 17 0 42
Teacher Education Grade Specific 0 0 21 0 19 0 40
Writing Studies 0 23 0 0 17 0 40
Materials Engineering 0 0 0 0 32 7 39
Systems Theory 0 0 0 0 38 0 38
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 0 0 0 0 13 21 34
Anthropology 0 0 19 0 10 4 33
Arts & Media Management 0 3 0 0 30 0 33
Security Science and Technology 0 0 0 0 26 0 26
Area Studies 0 6 12 0 1 6 25
Natural Resources Conservation 0 0 25 0 0 0 25
Teaching English or French 0 2 0 0 20 0 22
Systems Engineering 0 0 0 0 17 5 22
Student Counseling 0 0 0 0 21 0 21
Romance Languages 0 0 14 0 4 3 21
Biotechnology 0 0 0 0 18 0 18
Robotics Engineering 0 0 0 0 18 0 18
Human Development & Family Studies 0 0 0 0 18 0 18
Allied Health Professions 0 0 0 0 18 0 18
Architectural History 0 0 17 0 0 0 17
Insurance 0 0 0 0 16 0 16
Legal Professions (Other) 16 0 0 0 0 0 16
Culinary Arts 0 1 0 0 14 0 15
Archeology 0 0 10 0 5 0 15
Entrepreneurial Studies 0 14 0 0 0 0 14
East Asian Languages 0 0 14 0 0 0 14
Manufacturing Engineering 0 0 0 0 13 0 13
Astronomy & Astrophysics 0 0 5 0 5 3 13
Other Public Administration 0 0 0 0 4 9 13
Other Visual Art 7 5 0 0 0 0 12
Urban & Regional Planning 0 0 0 0 11 0 11
Information Technology 0 11 0 0 0 0 11
Mental & Social Health Services 0 0 0 0 11 0 11
Urban Studies 0 0 1 0 10 0 11
Religious Studies 0 0 3 0 2 4 9
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 0 1 5 0 0 0 6
Classical & Ancient Studies 0 0 6 0 0 0 6
Theology & Religious Vocations (Other) 0 6 0 0 0 0 6
English Literature (Other) 0 0 0 0 0 5 5
Geological & Earth Sciences 0 0 0 0 1 4 5
Pharmacology & Toxicology 0 0 0 0 0 4 4
Medical Illustration & Informatics 0 4 0 0 0 0 4
Public Policy 0 0 0 0 4 0 4
Multilingual Education 0 0 3 0 0 0 3
Historic Preservation 0 0 0 0 3 0 3
Classical Languages & Literature 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
Middle Eastern Semitic Languages 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
Medical Science 0 0 0 0 2 0 2
Geography & Cartography 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Sacred Music 0 0 0 0 2 0 2
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Taxation 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
Other Computer & Information Sciences 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
General Education 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Computer Engineering Technology 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Engineering Physics 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Ethnic Studies 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
Other Statistics 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
General Visual & Performing Arts 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Genetics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Molecular Medicine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Human Resource Management 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Computer Systems Networking 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Educational Assessment 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Instructional Media Design 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other Education 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
General Engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other Engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Germanic Languages 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Child Development & Psychology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
General Social Sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Public Administration 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Biblical Studies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 57 347 4,998 82 5,731 1,151 12,366

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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