How hard is Boston University to get into?
Boston University (BU) acceptance rate is 11.00% for 2023-2024 admission. A total of 80,495 students applied and 8,854 were admitted to the school. Its acceptance rate is low, making it difficult to get into BU.
BU's acceptance rate is the 7th lowest among 66 Massachusetts colleges with competitive admission.
The median SAT score is 1470 and the ACT score is 33 at BU. BU's SAT score ranks 11st out of 42 Massachusetts colleges that consider SAT score for admission.
To apply to BU, recommendations and personal statement (or essay) are required to submit. The SAT and ACT score is not required, but considered for admission. In addition, english proficiency test score is also considered (required).
Admission Statistics
For the academic year 2023-24, BU's acceptance rate is 11.00% and the yield (also known as enrollment rate) is 36.00%. 32,176 men and 48,314 women applied to BU and 3,861 men and 4,831 women students were accepted.
Among them, 1,313 men and 1,836 women were enrolled in BU (Fall 2023).
Data source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) (Last update: July 3, 2024)
Median SAT and ACT Score
In 2024, 892 students (28% of enrolled) have submitted their SAT scores and 311 students (10%) have submitted their ACT scores for seeking degrees at BU.
The median SAT score is 1,470 with 710 SAT EBRW and 760 SAT Math median scores. The 75th percentile SAT score of EBRW (Evidence-Based Reading / Writing) is 740 and the 25th percentile is 680. The SAT Math 75th percentile score is 780 and 25th percentile is 720 .
The median ACT composite score is 33 with 75th percentile score of 34 and 25th percentile score of 32 at BU. The median ACT math score is 31 and the ACT English score is 35.
How competitive is BU's score?
The SAT and ACT scores at Boston University are similar to the average score compared to similar colleges (SAT: 1,492, ACT: 33 - private (not-for-profit) research university with very high research activity).
The institutional SAT code for BU is 3087 and 4-digt code ACT code is 1794.
Data source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) (Last update: July 3, 2024)
Application Requirements
It requires to submit High School GPA, High School Record (or Transcript), Completion of College Preparatory Program, Recommendations, English Proficiency Test, and Personal statement or essay to its applicants.
The SAT and ACT test score is not reqired, but considered in admission process at BU. The english proficiency test is reqired .
The next table summarizes the application requirements to apply Boston University.
For more admission information such as minimum GPA and deadlines, see its online application page .
General Admissions Information
The application fee is $80 for applying undergraduate schools and $95 for for applying graduate schools at Boston University. The following table provides general admission information for applying to BU.