University

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States

Verified · last verified 2026-09-02

University details

Boston College is a private Jesuit, Catholic research university located at 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467. Founded in Boston's South End in 1863, it was the first institution of higher education to operate in the city of Boston. First-year applicants apply through the Common Application and choose one of three plans: Early Decision I and Early Decision II (both binding) or Regular Decision; Boston College does not offer Early Action or rolling admission. Admission is test-optional, and applicants who submit standardized test scores have their strongest individual section scores considered across administration dates (superscoring). Applicants must complete the Boston College Writing Supplement by responding to one of five prompts with a 400-word limit, with the fifth prompt reserved for Human-Centered Engineering applicants. Boston College awards need-based institutional financial aid, for which the CSS Profile and FAFSA are used.

Institution type: Private, nonprofit
Campus setting: Urban
Application platforms: Common App
Testing policy: Test optional (2025–2026)
In-state tuition: $70,702
Out-of-state tuition: $70,702
Cost of attendance: Not available (2024–2025)
Undergraduate enrollment: 10,085

Website Admissions Financial aid

Common Data Set

Institution-reported facts by reporting cycle. Missing and withheld values are shown explicitly.

2024–2025 · most recent available

First-year admission rate

16.2%

Calculated from applications and admissions reported in CDS C1. This is a factual calculation, not a CollegePath rating.

Enrollment

Undergraduate enrollment (B1): 9,654 students
Full-time undergraduate enrollment (B1): 9,654 students
Part-time undergraduate enrollment (B1): 0 students

First-year admission

Majors

Accounting and Related Services
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
Area Studies
Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology
Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Biology, General
Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Business Administration, Management and Operations
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
Chemistry
Physical Sciences
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology
Psychology

Deadlines

Early decision · 2026–2027
2026-11-01 — First-year deadline listed in the Common App 2026–2027 Requirements Grid, updated 2026-08-14.
https://content.commonapp.org/Files/ReqGrid.pdf
Regular decision · 2026–2027
2027-01-04 — First-year deadline listed in the Common App 2026–2027 Requirements Grid, updated 2026-08-14.
https://content.commonapp.org/Files/ReqGrid.pdf
Early decision II · 2026–2027
2027-01-04 — First-year deadline listed in the Common App 2026–2027 Requirements Grid, updated 2026-08-14.
https://content.commonapp.org/Files/ReqGrid.pdf

View deadlines from earlier years

Supplemental essays

How many responses?

1 response chosen from 4 prompts; HCE applicants answer a separate prompt

Boston College requires one 400-word supplement, with a separate HCE prompt for Human-Centered Engineering applicants.

2026–2027

Required · First-year applicants
Choose one of the first four: Strong communities are sustained by traditions. Tell us about a meaningful tradition in your family or community. Why is it important to you, and how does it bring people together or strengthen bonds? OR Who has been your most meaningful conversation partner, and what profound questions have you considered together? OR Discuss a time when someone defined you by a single story. What challenges did this present and how did you overcome them? OR If you could add a fourth “Be” to Boston College’s Jesuit mission, what would it be and why? How would it support your development and enrich the BC community?
Limit: 400 words — Required choice of one of four prompts.
https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/admission/apply.html
Required · Human-Centered Engineering applicants

Application requirements

2026–2027

Application fee · Required
Value: $85
First-year U.S. application fee listed in the Common App 2026–2027 Requirements Grid, updated 2026-08-28.
https://content.commonapp.org/Files/ReqGrid.pdf
Fee waiver · Optional
Value: U.S. only
Common App fee-waiver availability listed in the 2026–2027 Requirements Grid, updated 2026-08-28.
https://content.commonapp.org/Files/ReqGrid.pdf
Personal essay · Required
The Common App personal essay is marked required in the Common App 2026–2027 Requirements Grid, updated 2026-08-28.
https://content.commonapp.org/Files/ReqGrid.pdf
Supplemental essays · Required

Sources

Direct sources supporting this university’s facts, with retrieval dates.

Official source · supports supplemental_essays:2026–2027
https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/admission/apply.html
Retrieved 2026-09-03 — Official Boston College Supplemental Questions 2026–27.
Secondary source · supports requirements:2026–2027
https://content.commonapp.org/Files/ReqGrid.pdf
Retrieved 2026-09-02 — Common App member-reported first-year fee, waiver, and personal-essay fields; grid updated 2026-08-28.
Common App 2026–2027 Requirements Grid · supports deadlines:2026–2027
https://content.commonapp.org/Files/ReqGrid.pdf
Retrieved 2026-08-20 — Common App member-reported first-year deadlines; grid updated 2026-08-14.
Official source · supports financial_aid_url
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/offices/student-services/financial-aid/undergraduate/applying-for-aid.html

First-year applications (C1)

First-year students admitted (C1)

5,632 students

First-year students enrolled (C1)

2,394 students

High-school GPA distribution (C11)

Not reported by institution

Average high-school GPA (C12)

Not reported by institution

Application requirement · College-preparatory program (C5)

Required

Application requirement · Total academic units (C5)

20 required

Application requirement · Mathematics (C5)

4 units required

What the institution considers

Application consideration · Rigor of secondary school record (C7): Very important
Application consideration · Academic GPA (C7): Very important
Application consideration · Application essay (C7): Important
Application consideration · Volunteer work (C7): Important

Testing

Testing policy (C8): SAT or ACT scores are not required for admission but are considered if submitted for students applying for Fall 2026.
Enrolled students submitting scores · SAT (C9): 30%
Enrolled students submitting scores · ACT (C9): 15%
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing · 25th percentile (C9): 710 score
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing · 75th percentile (C9): 760 score
SAT Math · 25th percentile (C9): 730 score
SAT Math · 75th percentile (C9): 780 score
ACT Composite · 25th percentile (C9): 33 score
ACT Composite · 75th percentile (C9): 35 score

Cost

Tuition (G1): $72,180
Required fees (G1): $1,328
Housing and food (G1): $19,290

Institutional financial aid

Students applying for need-based aid · First-time, full-time first-year students (H2): 1,126 students
Students receiving need-based aid · First-time, full-time first-year students awarded aid (H2): 921 students
Students whose demonstrated need was fully met · First-time, full-time first-year students (H2): 921 students
Average need-based aid package · First-time, full-time first-year students (H2): $62,865
Institutional aid · Need-based institutional scholarships and grants (H1): $170,735,516

Retention and graduation

First-year retention rate · Fall 2023 entering cohort retained in Fall 2024 (B22): 96%
Graduation rate · Six-year graduation rate, Fall 2018 cohort (B27): 91%

Academics and class size

Student-to-faculty ratio (I2): 10:1
Undergraduate class-size distribution · Class sections with 2–9 students (I3): 226 class sections
Undergraduate class-size distribution · Class sections with 10–19 students (I3): 661 class sections
Undergraduate class-size distribution · Class sections with 20–29 students (I3): 412 class sections
Undergraduate class-size distribution · Class sections with 30–39 students (I3): 320 class sections
Undergraduate class-size distribution · Class sections with 40–49 students (I3): 102 class sections
Undergraduate class-size distribution · Class sections with 50–99 students (I3): 68 class sections
Undergraduate class-size distribution · Class sections with 100 or more students (I3): 39 class sections
Degrees conferred by field · Business and marketing (J1): 29%
Degrees conferred by field · Social sciences (J1): 18.8%
Degrees conferred by field · Biological and life sciences (J1): 10.4%
Degrees conferred by field · Psychology (J1): 8.5%
Degrees conferred by field · Computer and information sciences (J1): 6.3%
Degrees conferred by field · Communication and journalism (J1): 5.3%

Source: Boston College Common Data Set 2024-2025 · Retrieved 2026-08-22

Open the official institutional source

Document ID: sha256:42f0948c44eae3641e73583e29608d2a8f932700392c27b30ec83a14f7c93e85 · Import: cds-2026-08-v1

Communication and Media Studies

Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs

Computer Science

Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services

Criminal Justice and Corrections

Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services

Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft

Visual and Performing Arts

Economics

Social Sciences

Education, General

Education

Education, Other

Education

English Language and Literature, General

English Language and Literature/Letters

Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations

Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services

Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies

Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies

Film/Video and Photographic Arts

Visual and Performing Arts

Finance and Financial Management Services

Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services

Fine and Studio Arts

Visual and Performing Arts

Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences

Physical Sciences

Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics

Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics

Information Science/Studies

Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services

International/Globalization Studies

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities

Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services

Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics

Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services

Marketing

Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services

Mathematics

Mathematics and Statistics

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies

Music

Visual and Performing Arts

Natural Resources Conservation and Research

Natural Resources and Conservation

Natural Sciences

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies

Neurobiology and Neurosciences

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Philosophy

Philosophy and Religious Studies

Physics

Physical Sciences

Political Science and Government

Social Sciences

Psychology, General

Psychology

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing

Health Professions and Related Programs

Religion/Religious Studies

Philosophy and Religious Studies

Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics

Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics

Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics

Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics

Social Sciences, General

Social Sciences

Sociology

Social Sciences

Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods

Education

Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas

Education

Theological and Ministerial Studies

Theology and Religious Vocations

2025–2026

Financial aid · 2025–2026
2025-11-01 — Early Decision I financial aid application deadline; award notification in mid-December. Additional financial_aid date(s) for this cycle: 2026-01-03 (Early Decision II financial aid application deadline; award notification in mid-February.); 2026-02-01 (Regular Decision financial aid application deadline for September enrollment; award notification in late March.).
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/offices/student-services/financial-aid/undergraduate/applying-for-aid.html
Early decision · 2025–2026
2025-11-01 — Early Decision I (binding). Applicants notified by December 15.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply/early-decision.html
Regular decision · 2025–2026
2026-01-04 — Regular Decision (non-binding). Applicants notified by April 1. Boston College does not offer Early Action or rolling admission.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply/early-decision.html
Early decision II · 2025–2026
2026-01-04 — Early Decision II (binding). Applicants notified by February 15.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply/early-decision.html

Human-Centered Engineering applicants only: One goal of a Jesuit education is to prepare students to serve the Common Good. Human-Centered Engineering at Boston College integrates technical knowledge, creativity, and a humanistic perspective to address societal challenges and opportunities. What societal problems are important to you and how will you use your HCE education to solve them?

Limit: 400 words — Required instead of prompts 1–4 for HCE applicants.

View supplemental prompts from earlier years

2025–2026

Required · first-year applicants (choose one of prompts 1-4)
In her July 2009 Ted Talk, 'The Danger of a Single Story,' Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warned viewers against assigning people a 'single story' through assumptions about their nationality, appearance, or background. Discuss a time when someone defined you by a single story. What challenges did this present and how did you overcome them?
Limit: 400 words — Boston College Writing Supplement; applicants choose one of the first four prompts. 400-word limit.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html
Required · first-year applicants (choose one of prompts 1-4)
Strong communities are sustained by traditions. Boston College's annual calendar is marked with both long-standing and newer traditions that help shape our community. Tell us about a meaningful tradition in your family or community. Why is it important to you, and how does it bring people together or strengthen the bonds of those who participate?
Limit: 400 words — Boston College Writing Supplement; applicants choose one of the first four prompts. 400-word limit.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html
Required · Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) applicants only
One goal of a Jesuit education is to prepare students to serve the Common Good. Human-Centered Engineering at Boston College integrates technical knowledge, creativity, and a humanistic perspective to address societal challenges and opportunities. What societal problems are important to you and how will you use your HCE education to solve them?
Limit: 400 words — Boston College Writing Supplement; applicants to the Human-Centered Engineering major respond to this prompt instead of prompts 1-4. 400-word limit.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html
Required · first-year applicants (choose one of prompts 1-4)
Boston College's Jesuit mission highlights 'the three Be's': be attentive, be reflective, be loving – core to Jesuit education. If you could add a fourth 'Be,' what would it be and why? How would this new value support your personal development and enrich the BC community?
Limit: 400 words — Boston College Writing Supplement; applicants choose one of the first four prompts. 400-word limit.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html
Required · first-year applicants (choose one of prompts 1-4)
The late BC theology professor, Father Michael Himes, argued that a university is not a place to which you go, but instead, a 'rigorous and sustained conversation about the great questions of human existence, among the widest possible circle of the best possible conversation partners.' Who has been your most meaningful conversation partner, and what profound questions have you considered together?
Limit: 400 words — Boston College Writing Supplement; applicants choose one of the first four prompts. 400-word limit.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html

Value: 1 response chosen from 4 prompts; HCE applicants answer a separate prompt

Boston College requires one 400-word supplement, with a separate HCE prompt for Human-Centered Engineering applicants.

2025–2026

Application fee · Required
Value: 85
$85 application fee.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html
Fee waiver · Optional
Fee waivers are available for eligible U.S. citizens and permanent residents through the Common Application.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html
Teacher evaluations · Required
Value: 2
Two teacher evaluations from core academic subjects.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html
Counselor recommendation · Required
School Report and Counselor Recommendation Form.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html
Supplemental essays · Required
Value: 1 of 5 prompts
Boston College Writing Supplement: respond to one of five prompts with a 400-word limit. Human-Centered Engineering applicants respond to prompt 5.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html
Secondary school report · Required
Official high school transcript and School Report.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html
English proficiency · Required
International applicants must submit an English proficiency exam (TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test).
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html
CSS Profile · Required
CSS Profile is required to be considered for institutional need-based financial aid (Boston College code 3083); available after October 1.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/offices/student-services/financial-aid/undergraduate/applying-for-aid.html
FAFSA · Required
FAFSA is required to be considered for federal, state, and institutional need-based aid.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/offices/student-services/financial-aid/undergraduate/applying-for-aid.html

Retrieved 2026-07-21

Official source · supports application_platforms

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html

Retrieved 2026-07-21

Official source · supports testing_policy

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html

Retrieved 2026-07-21

Official source · supports deadlines

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply/early-decision.html

Retrieved 2026-07-21

Official source · supports essay_prompts

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html

Retrieved 2026-07-21

Official source · supports requirements

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html

Retrieved 2026-07-21

Official source · supports description

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/about.html

Retrieved 2026-07-21

Official source · supports admissions_url

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html

Retrieved 2026-07-21

Official source

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?164924

Retrieved 2026-06-10