Boston College

For Fall 2025, 39,686 first-year students applied to BC, 5,497 were admitted and 2,479 enrolled: an acceptance rate of 13.9%.

Source: Boston College First-Year Admission Profile, Class of 2029 (opens in a new tab), First-Year Admission Profile, Class of 2029 (2025 annual census data). BC's newest Common Data Set (2024-2025) reports the Fall 2024 class, so the residency table below is that class. Read Oct 11, 2026.

By residency, first-year applicants, Fall 2024

Source: Boston College Common Data Set 2024-2025 (opens in a new tab), section C1, residency table (21 applicants of unknown residency, 2 admitted, are not shown). Read Oct 1, 2026.

By school or major. BC's Common Data Set reports one first-year acceptance rate for the whole university, with no rate by school or major. BC has not yet posted a 2025-2026 Common Data Set, so these figures are for the class that entered in fall 2024.

Source: Boston College Common Data Set 2024-2025 (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

Early decision. Counts for Early Decision I and II together. BC has no early action plan.

Early decision, Fall 2024

Source: Boston College Common Data Set 2024-2025 (opens in a new tab), sections C21 and C22. Read Oct 1, 2026.

For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027

You apply to one of BC's four undergraduate schools: the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, the Carroll School of Management, the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, or the Connell School of Nursing. A few programs work differently:

• Nursing. Apply directly to the Connell School of Nursing. Nursing and Human-Centered Engineering first-years cannot start in the spring.

  Source: Boston College Admission, Apply (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

• Studio Art, theater and music. Optional: Studio Art majors can send a portfolio through SlideRoom, and so can students with a theater or music background, whatever their major. SlideRoom materials are due November 1 for Early Decision I and January 4 for Early Decision II and Regular Decision.

  Source: Boston College Admission, Apply (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

Source: Boston College Admission, Apply (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

54 majors across 4 schools. Every undergraduate major on Boston College Admission's official Majors and Minors page, grouped by the school you apply to, with the degree where the page names one. Minors, co-concentrations and the associate degree at Messina College are left out.

For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027

Regular Decision applicants reply by May 1. If you applied Regular Decision and BC becomes your first choice, you can switch to Early Decision II by emailing the signed Early Decision agreement by January 8. The application fee is $85, and U.S. citizens and permanent residents can ask for a waiver through the Common App.

Source: Boston College Admission, Compare Early Decision and Regular Decision (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

Both Early Decision plans are binding: if admitted, you withdraw your other applications, enroll at BC and pay the enrollment confirmation fee within 10 days. While applying Early Decision you may not apply to another binding early decision plan, but you may apply to non-restrictive early action plans elsewhere.

Source: Boston College Admission, Compare Early Decision and Regular Decision (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027

BC is test-optional: if you do not send scores you get full consideration. If you send SAT or ACT scores, BC superscores them, and you can self-report them; enrolled students then send official reports.

Source: Boston College Admission, Test-Optional Policy (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

The 2024-2025 Common Data Set also marks the SAT or ACT as considered if submitted, not required, for the fall 2026 applicants it describes.

Source: Boston College Common Data Set 2024-2025 (opens in a new tab), section C8. Read Oct 1, 2026.

For students applying in fall 2027, entering fall 2028

Not announced yet. When we checked BC's admission pages on October 1, 2026, we found no announced changes for fall 2028 entry. The deadlines and rules above are for fall 2027 entry.

Source: Boston College Admission, Test-Optional Policy (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

The published cost of a year at BC, 2026-2027:

For an entering student living on campus. Travel varies from $150 to $1,800 by where you live, so it is not in the $100,365 total. Massachusetts requires health coverage; BC's plan is $4,723 for 2026-27 unless you waive it with comparable coverage.

Source: Boston College Undergraduate Financial Aid, How Aid Works (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

Average net price per year, by family income, 2023-24:

What first-year, full-time students who received federal aid paid after grants and scholarships, by family income, in 2023-24, the latest year the Department of Education publishes. Your own price comes from BC's aid offer.

Source: College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

Chosen for how close each is to Boston College on acceptance rate, public or private, location and majors offered.

• Wellesley CollegeWellesley, MA · Private14.8% admitted$25,496 average net price
• Middlebury CollegeMiddlebury, VT · Private12.8% admitted$31,483 average net price
• Bates CollegeLewiston, ME · Private14.8% admitted$29,351 average net price
• Boston UniversityBoston, MA · Private12.8% admitted$24,402 average net price
• Tulane UniversityNew Orleans, LA · Private14.5% admitted$39,949 average net price

Admitted: each school's latest first-year acceptance rate, so the year can differ from school to school; each school's page names its year and source. Average net price: what federal aid recipients paid per year after grants, 2023-24, and the in-state figure for a public university.