Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates — a notably small equity gap.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 309 Title IV programs, 89 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 219 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing89 · 28.8%
- No Data219 · 70.9%
- Failing1 · 0.3%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Near the line (±5%)
Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
New England Commission of Higher Education
Programmatic accreditations · 32
Action history · 60
- Dec 2025Renewal of AccreditationCommission on English Language Program Accreditation · English Language
- Aug 2025Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary WithdrawalAmerican Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery - Fellowship
- Apr 2025Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · Professional Psychology (IPSY) - Predoctoral internship programs
- Sep 2024Renewal of AccreditationCommission on English Language Program Accreditation · English Language
- Jul 2023Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology · Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) - Graduate degree programs
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 4,498 students received $29.2M in Pell grants, alongside $230.6M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 5,329 borrowers who entered repayment, 31 (0.5%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Boston
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 11
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus70
- Public property23
Includes 18 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
- Race1
- Religion1
- Sexual orientation1
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
- 94 Bay State Rd1 fireCookingDamage $100-$999
- Towers1 fireOtherDamage $100-$999
- 806-820 Beacon St1 fireOtherDamage $100-$999
- 834 Beacon St1 fireHeating equipmentDamage $1,000-$9,999
- 55 Buswell St1 fireCookingDamage $100-$999
- 580 Commonwealth Ave1 fireCookingDamage $100-$999
- Warren Towers3 firesCookingDamage $100-$999
- Warren Towers3 firesCookingDamage $100-$999
- Warren Towers3 firesOtherDamage $100-$999
- 722 Commonwealth Ave1 fireCookingDamage $100-$999
- Student Village II1 fireOpen flamesDamage $100-$999
- 96 Mountfort St1 fireCookingDamage $100-$999
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Boston vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Boston selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectBoston University | 89% | — | 37,737 | $26,996 | R1 Research |
| 91% | 5.2% | 32,553 | $32,116 | R1 Research | |
| 98% | 3.6% | 30,259 | $16,816 | R1 Research | |
| 91% | 16.4% | 15,432 | $39,866 | R1 Research | |
| 94% | 11.5% | 13,599 | $35,435 | R1 Research | |
| 96% | 4.5% | 11,886 | $19,813 | R1 Research | |
| Peer group median | 93% | 5.2% | 22,846 | $29,556 |
Institutions like Boston
Explore the federal data for institutions in Boston's comparison group.
- R1 ResearchMassachusetts
Northeastern University
Grad rate91%Admit rate5.2%Enrollment32,553Net price$32,116View data - R1 ResearchMassachusetts
Harvard University
Grad rate98%Admit rate3.6%Enrollment30,259Net price$16,816View data - R1 ResearchMassachusetts
Boston College
Grad rate91%Admit rate16.4%Enrollment15,432Net price$39,866View data - R1 ResearchMassachusetts
Tufts University
Grad rate94%Admit rate11.5%Enrollment13,599Net price$35,435View data - R1 ResearchMassachusetts
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Grad rate96%Admit rate4.5%Enrollment11,886Net price$19,813View data
Boston Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
AS&IR provides information, reporting, analytical, and consulting resources to enable access to and strategic use of Boston University’s data resources.
Visit IR office page- Linette DecarieAssistant Vice President, Analytical Services & Institutional Research
- Thomas PouncyDirector, Data Analytics
- Saumil DhariaSr. Data Analytics Developer
- Adam OstrowskiAssistant Director, Analytical Services
- Mike PolitoResearch Analyst, Student Success
- Nouran HashimiData Governance Program Manager
- Liz CampbellDirector, Institutional Research
- Angela Carlson-BancroftInstitutional Research Analyst
- Diane MendezInstitutional Research Manager
- Chen ShenSr. Institutional Research Analyst
- Binbin ZhuInstitutional Research Analyst
Common Data Set
Boston's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Selectivity & Admissions
Admissions funnel
C178,769 applied → 8,749 admitted (11.1%) → 3,268 enrolled.
Selectivity
C1Highly selective — 11.1% acceptance rate.
Admit rate by gender
C1Admit rates are similar across genders (Women 11.1%, Men 11.5%).
SAT range (middle 50%)
C9Middle 50% SAT 1430–1510 (median 1470).
ACT range (middle 50%)
C9Middle 50% ACT 32–34 (median 33).
High-school class rank
C10Share of enrolled first-years by HS class-rank band.
Waitlist outcome
C215,339 offered a waitlist spot, 8,996 accepted it, 18 admitted (0.2% of those who stayed on).
What matters in admission
C7Relative importance of each admission factor.
Affordability & Value
Cost of attendance
GTotal sticker cost of attendance is $91,207 (2024-2025).
Sticker vs. net price
G+HSticker $91,207 → about $27,032 net for aided students after the average need-based grant ($64,175); 97% of demonstrated need is met.
Where grant aid comes from
H192% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.
Graduate debt
H4/H534% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $36,123 on average.
Outcomes & Equity
Graduation & retention
B6-year graduation rate 89%; first-year retention 95%.
Equity: Pell graduation gap
B4Pell-grant recipients graduate 0 pts above the overall rate (89% vs 89%).
Academic Experience
Class-size distribution
I359% of classes have under 20 students; 13% have 50+.
Faculty profile
IKey faculty indicators.
Degrees by discipline
JSTEM-dominant: ~32% of bachelor's degrees are in computing, engineering, math & sciences.
Student Body & Diversity
Undergraduate race/ethnicity
B2Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.
Undergrad vs graduate
B118,805 undergraduates and 18,932 graduate students.
Transfer Path
Transfer admissions
D16,729 transfer applicants → 2,328 admitted (34.6%) → 915 enrolled
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about Boston University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Boston.
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