Boston University

Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · 18,248 undergrads (large, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$80 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$9,500
$30,000 – $48,000	$9,342
$48,000 – $75,000	$11,778
$75,000 – $110,000	$22,517
Over $110,000	$47,504
All incomes (average)	$24,402

Sticker tuition and fees: $68,102 in-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Boston University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$19,970
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$19,970
Books and supplies	$1,000
Other expenses, on campus	$2,085
Other expenses, off campus	$2,085

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (3,634 of them) in 2022–23; 55% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	50%	$55,080
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	19%	$5,668
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	49%	$52,523
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	19%	$4,064

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 11%
Average SAT: 1480
Median ACT: 33
Students with Pell grants: 19%
Graduation rate (6yr): 89%
Freshman retention: 95%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $83,238
Median debt at graduation: $23,250
International undergrads: 4,057 (21.7%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $80
Students per faculty member: 10 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 70%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 690–750
SAT Math: 730–780
ACT composite: 32–34

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Required
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 80,495
Admitted: 8,733
Enrolled: 3,145

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business16%

Communications & Media14%

Social Sciences14%

Biology & Life Sciences11%

Computer Science10%

Engineering9%

Psychology5%

Health & Nursing5%

Visual & Performing Arts4%

Mathematics & Statistics2%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (48)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	713	$77,263	$108,412national $68,257	$18,500
Computer Science	351	$98,587	$136,667national $107,009	$17,500
Psychology, General	348	$45,716	$63,838national $50,706	$19,000
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	301	$55,505	—national $63,560	$17,375
Economics	264	$63,688	$96,723national $82,686	$18,500
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	174	$42,398	$55,804national $50,497	$19,000
Biology, General	173	$41,472	$61,610national $57,214	$19,000
International Relations and National Security Studies	156	$54,505	$66,661national $66,596	$18,125
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	138	$44,969	$78,431national $61,296	$18,520
Mechanical Engineering	132	$80,780	$95,757national $92,135	$19,500
Neurobiology and Neurosciences	131	$46,291	$68,888national $62,451	$19,000
Political Science and Government	131	$49,871	$66,373national $63,293	$18,500
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	129	$46,727	$64,112national $65,466	$19,250
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	121	$73,080	$99,024national $93,451	$20,500
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences	109	$36,588	$62,342national $62,172	$19,000
Mathematics	97	$63,944	$84,784national $69,562	$21,500
Journalism	90	$46,107	$65,617national $56,278	$15,500
Computer Engineering	72	$105,408	$135,394national $109,015	$20,500
Philosophy	67	$43,896	$68,026national $54,455	$16,750
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	58	$37,373	$39,322national $39,775	$20,468
Hospitality Administration/Management	55	$59,073	$82,302national $56,726	$19,500
Communication and Media Studies	51	$54,804	$80,306national $56,359	$17,750
English Language and Literature, General	45	$40,909	$58,564national $48,590	$20,232
Sociology	45	$48,548	$63,791national $52,657	$17,250
History	44	$44,977	$59,986national $50,680	$15,375
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	43	$36,518	$57,967national $48,842	$19,000
Fine and Studio Arts	37	$36,370	$49,538national $41,367	$18,750
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	36	$44,945	$72,566national $55,792	$17,110
Social Sciences, Other	33	$57,147	—national $56,812	$19,333
Music	33	$49,329	$39,426national $42,892	$23,985
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	32	$43,972	—national $55,012	$18,250
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	30	$78,163	$98,953national $100,647	$19,500
Education, General	28	—	$56,556national $49,808	—
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other	27	—	$83,413national $68,245	$19,000
Chemistry	25	$55,024	—national $65,120	$20,500
Design and Applied Arts	24	$40,940	$72,809national $51,490	$17,500
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	23	—	—national $49,984	$23,500
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	22	$102,611	$110,622national $55,693	—
Physics	22	—	—national $76,786	$20,500
Anthropology	17	$44,140	$53,722national $46,676	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	15	$52,685	$54,766national $47,382	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	12	$53,380	$59,858national $51,389	—
Special Education and Teaching	7	—	$57,294national $50,499	—
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	3	$87,287	—national $75,975	—
Social Work	1	—	$63,594national $51,790	—
Education, Other	0	—	$54,883national $49,113	—
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	0	—	$54,044national $53,072	—
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	0	—	$51,086national $50,523	—

Master's degrees (51)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	1,244	$118,075	$147,178national $103,485	$34,167
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	368	$106,639	$118,168national $124,807	$39,910
Social Work	344	$63,669	$72,136national $65,123	$54,413
Computer Science	284	$131,725	$153,937national $145,571	—
Public Health	265	$70,983	$88,820national $82,751	$65,921
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies	220	$107,660	$156,087national $101,000	$73,861
Data Processing	201	$121,418	—national $156,135	$26,028
Information Science/Studies	198	$119,179	$136,425national $112,705	$35,197
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	195	$71,849	$96,565national $82,527	$66,000
Marketing	195	$85,259	$103,316national $79,106	—
Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other	169	$49,609	$87,544national $77,545	$86,464
Computer Software and Media Applications	133	$113,179	$140,032national $120,083	$31,149
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	128	$60,365	$71,972national $75,972	$62,275
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	119	$63,306	$68,388national $63,707	$31,202
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	110	$121,650	—national $133,654	$60,654
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	99	$69,990	$90,212national $80,125	$40,006
Criminal Justice and Corrections	99	$66,668	$79,216national $66,714	$35,500
Finance and Financial Management Services	95	$87,435	$117,293national $110,694	$39,970
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology	93	$94,361	$104,263national $110,121	$41,750
Educational Administration and Supervision	84	$66,992	$74,836national $71,685	$20,415
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	82	$86,455	$113,482national $106,375	$63,500
Curriculum and Instruction	76	$66,640	$78,782national $63,399	—
Music	66	$30,881	$43,249national $48,285	$41,000
Health and Medical Administrative Services	65	$139,612	$150,827national $89,981	$41,000
Mechanical Engineering	58	$90,458	$117,154national $115,974	$60,500
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	53	$61,318	$70,842national $65,184	$111,961
Nutrition Sciences	48	$69,184	$84,870national $67,126	$63,442
Hospitality Administration/Management	48	$68,056	—national $74,856	—
International Relations and National Security Studies	47	$54,515	$81,518national $95,627	$75,541
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management	43	$57,775	$64,819national $59,685	—
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	42	$54,954	$69,238national $60,111	$41,000
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	42	$66,510	$77,864national $67,030	$68,471
Fine and Studio Arts	37	$37,786	—national $49,079	$55,808
Psychology, General	35	$51,377	—national $64,711	$65,250
Special Education and Teaching	31	$66,654	$66,364national $64,397	—
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other	25	$128,119	$138,128national $81,651	$161,006
Communication and Media Studies	20	$46,487	$59,519national $71,953	$53,327
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	19	—	$80,594national $79,665	—
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences	19	$65,144	—national $67,681	—
Security Science and Technology	19	$56,314	$77,554national $82,399	$75,583
Journalism	18	$53,780	$82,549national $69,034	$41,000
Culinary Arts and Related Services	17	—	$51,558national $49,390	—
Anthropology	16	—	—national $61,276	$129,966
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	10	$52,919	$62,027national $59,916	—
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	9	$53,401	$60,848national $58,524	—
Insurance	7	—	$177,642national $114,663	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	1	$74,869	$71,420national $127,347	—
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other	1	$68,242	$101,267national $96,656	—
Education, General	0	—	$66,882national $65,824	—
Public Administration	0	—	$106,292national $81,408	—
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	0	—	$80,080national $71,416	—

First professional degrees (4)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Law	296	$151,628	$194,750national $107,773	$102,650
Dentistry	214	$137,454	$180,633national $170,812	$279,829
Medicine	154	$71,154	$102,530national $112,460	$182,792
Theological and Ministerial Studies	47	$49,264	$65,938national $63,395	$33,502

Doctoral degrees (4)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	153	$79,525	$86,687national $82,893	$63,686
Music	31	—	$60,156national $59,592	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	28	$89,768	—national $85,168	$37,515
Theological and Ministerial Studies	25	—	$91,158national $71,982	—

Graduate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences	61	—	$263,486national $207,164	$283,690

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 242 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: One Silber Way, Boston, MA 02215
Phone: (617) 353-2000
Institutional accreditor: New England Commission on Higher Education

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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