Boston College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts · Private nonprofit · Highly selective · CDS 2024-2025
Boston College is a private nonprofit university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts that admits about 16% of applicants, making it a highly selective school. The average family pays about $39,866 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Economics, Finance and Financial Management Services and Communication and Media Studies, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 91% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 1.6 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Boston College is a private institution located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and one of the highly selective schools in the country. For the most recent reporting cycle, Boston College admits roughly one in four applicants, with an overall admission rate of 16%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1501 and an ACT composite around 34. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $39,866 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Boston College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What parents should know about Boston College right now
Boston College, founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, is a private Catholic Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, with more than 15,000 total students. BC's identity blends a strong liberal-arts core grounded in the Jesuit tradition of formation and reflection with nationally recognized professional schools, including the Carroll School of Management, one of the most respected undergraduate business schools in the country, the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, and the Connell School of Nursing. The Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences anchors the undergraduate experience, with required Core curriculum courses in philosophy, theology, and the arts that distinguish BC from secular peers. For parents, several recent developments are noteworthy. BC remains test-optional for first-year applicants and uses both binding Early Decision I and II rounds plus a Restrictive Early Action option, giving families multiple strategic timing choices. The Pine Manor Institute for Student Success, launched after BC's 2020 acquisition of Pine Manor College, has continued to expand support programs for first-generation and underrepresented students, and the university has steadily increased its financial aid budget, with admit-deny aid policies that emphasize meeting demonstrated need for admitted domestic students. Recent campus news of family interest includes ongoing construction in the Heights and continued ACC athletics programming.
What GPA does my child need for Boston College?
Most admitted students at Boston College present unweighted GPAs in the 3.85–4.0 range with five or more AP or honors courses across high school. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does Boston College weight in admissions?
Boston College reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2024-2025). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Academic GPA
- • Class rank
- • Standardized test scores
- • Application essay
- • Recommendations
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Talent/ability
- • Character/personal qualities
- • Volunteer work
- • First generation status
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Geographical residence
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
- • Work experience
- • State residency
- • Level of applicant's interest
SAT and ACT scores Boston College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 720–780, with an EBRW midpoint near 725. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 33–34. Scores below the 25th-percentile mark are accepted occasionally, but the realistic submission target for most families is the school's middle-50 floor or higher.
| 25th percentile | 1460 |
| 50th percentile | 1500 |
| 75th percentile | 1520 |
| % submitting SAT | 30% |
| 25th percentile | 33 |
| 50th percentile | 34 |
| 75th percentile | 35 |
| % submitting ACT | 15% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Considered if submitted
Where admitted students ranked in their high school class
Class rank distribution gives parents a clear sense of how academically dominant a typical admitted student was within their own high school cohort — often a more meaningful signal than absolute GPA.
| Top 10% of class | 90% |
| Top 25% of class | 96.9% |
| Top 50% of class | 99.1% |
| % submitting class rank | 26.6% |
How much does Boston College actually cost?
Published tuition is $67,680 for in-state students and $67,680 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $18,475 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $39,866 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 13% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $72,180 |
| Room and board | $19,290 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $39,866 |
| Application fee | — (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Boston College
| Regular deadline | 1/2 |
| Notification date | 1-Apr |
| Reply deadline | 5/1/25 |
| Offers Early Decision | Yes |
| ED deadline | 11/1/25 |
| ED acceptance rate | 33% |
Will my child graduate from Boston College?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Most popular majors at Boston College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Boston College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Economics, Finance and Financial Management Services and Communication and Media Studies. Across all programs, Boston College confers roughly 1,580 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Economics program report a median income of about $112,774 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Economics | 354 | $112,774 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 325 | $135,373 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 191 | $81,317 |
| Biology, General | 182 | $80,290 |
| Political Science and Government | 142 | $90,434 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology | 138 | $68,755 |
| Computer Science | 125 | $155,305 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 123 | $122,243 |
Is Boston College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Boston College disclosed 16 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 1.6 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 1 violent offenses and 13 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
What is campus life like at Boston College?
About 80% of undergraduates at Boston College live in campus housing, making it a largely residential campus. Residential rate and Greek participation shape day-to-day social life and are worth weighing alongside academics and cost.
Other colleges in Massachusetts parents ask about
- Harvard University3% acceptance
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology5% acceptance
- Boston University11% acceptance
- Tufts University10% acceptance
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst85% acceptance
- University of Massachusetts-Boston58% acceptance
- Northeastern University6% acceptance
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute59% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Boston College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Boston College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Boston College
What GPA do I need for Boston College?
Most admitted students at Boston College present unweighted GPAs in the 3.85–4.0 range with five or more AP or honors courses across high school.
What SAT or ACT score does Boston College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 720–780, with an EBRW midpoint near 725. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 33–34.
How much does Boston College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Boston College after grants and scholarships is $39,866 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Boston College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Boston College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Boston College?
Boston College accepts about 16% of applicants out of roughly 34,779 who apply each year. That makes it a highly selective school.
Is Boston College test-optional?
Yes. Boston College is test-optional, so SAT and ACT scores are not required, but strong scores can still be submitted and will be considered.
What is the graduation rate at Boston College?
About 91% of students at Boston College graduate within six years. 96% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
Does applying Early Decision improve my chances at Boston College?
Boston College's Early Decision acceptance rate is about 33%, compared with its overall rate of 16%. Applying ED can meaningfully improve admission odds, but it is a binding commitment to enroll if accepted.
What does Boston College look for in applicants?
Boston College rates course rigor and GPA as "very important" in its Common Data Set. These are the factors the admissions committee weighs most heavily when reviewing an application.
Is Boston College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Boston College is a private nonprofit institution located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
What are the most popular majors at Boston College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Boston College by annual graduates are Economics, Finance and Financial Management Services and Communication and Media Studies. The school awards about 1,580 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Boston College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Boston College reported 16 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 1.6 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
What is campus life like at Boston College?
At Boston College, 80% of undergraduates live on campus, according to its most recent Common Data Set.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Boston College, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.