What type of stats/activities do you need to get into Boston University/BC?

[Anonymous]

Full pay at both BC and BU helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went on a college tour at BU and the AO presenting said the average SAT score was 1500. They also take test optional so I’m assuming the 1500 is for only the ones with high scores. But then Duke is also TO and would think they would also be similar 1500+.

I have one junior who is 1500+, straight As, too many activities and awards to list that I am not worried about for college.

I have another kid who also has good grades, did not take SAT yet, plays 3 sports and an instrument. Does not do many/any other clubs. Can a kid like this get into BU/BC if he has a decent SAT score and mostly As?

GPA is seen in context so it's pretty school dependent. At our DS's school, he had friends with mixed grades and GPAs around 3.6-3.75 get into both BU and BC, both in ED and RD. Some things that seem to help are not needing aid (full pay), less-subscribed major (English, Undecided science, Public policy, History, or something niche). References seem to matter a fair bit.

Also, with BU in particular, their yield is lower than other schools with similar admission rates so playing the long game - waiting for wait list offers - does tend to work out ultimately. They appear to lose out to peer schools like NYU or USC, state flagships, and Tufts, Georgetown, etc so this does mean they prefer ED and also need to go to their waitlist every year.

[Anonymous]

BC definitely has favorite feeder Catholic HS’s. A 3.75 and 1400+ from those schools ED is enough.

[Anonymous]

BC likes to see a good representation of service activities in their applicants.

[Anonymous]

Neither has any wow factor. Better options at lower costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neither has any wow factor. Better options at lower costs.

It may not be Harvard or MIT, but based on my experience, I've seen very solid outcomes from BU compared to many other top schools.

There’s no black and white answer. Individual circumstances should be a key factor when making a decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neither has any wow factor. Better options at lower costs.

I'm not sure that's true, especially considering individual schools. BC's business school has a fantastic success rate for graduates getting jobs in top banks and consulting firms and their nursing school grads get some of the highest paying gigs around. These are just two examples.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RD at BC is hard and they 1000% yield protect. From our school they will take deferred ED kids with a 3.5 and reject the 3.95 kids who end up at HYP.

I actually think this is great---love the kids who love you---but just an FYI!!

Only 711 enrolled freshman submitted an SAT out of 2,394 total. 350 freshman students out of 2,394 have above a 1500 SAT at BC, or only 14%.

1,434 are taken ED. So 60% of the freshman class are taken early decision.

A 1500 SAT scorer applying ED has a very high chance of admission to the point you would call it a safety/target.

350 out of 711 SAT submitter are 1500+, so AO claims AVG 1510 is not far from truth.

[Anonymous]

Sure but a 25% reporting rate is not exactly impressive for a school that positions itself as elite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RD at BC is hard and they 1000% yield protect. From our school they will take deferred ED kids with a 3.5 and reject the 3.95 kids who end up at HYP.

I actually think this is great---love the kids who love you---but just an FYI!!

Only 711 enrolled freshman submitted an SAT out of 2,394 total. 350 freshman students out of 2,394 have above a 1500 SAT at BC, or only 14%.

1,434 are taken ED. So 60% of the freshman class are taken early decision.

A 1500 SAT scorer applying ED has a very high chance of admission to the point you would call it a safety/target.

This is so very misleading. You can't use the total number enrolled as the denominator because not all of those took the SAT. Some took the ACT and some did not submit. 45% of those enrolled submitted test scores (either SAT or ACT). That's not ideal, but when you say only 14% scored 1500 on the SAT using the total enrolled as the denominator, that is just plain stupid. You have to use the number who actually tested (711) as the denominator, and that would make it 49% getting 1500 or more on the SAT.

I can see math isn't your strongpoint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure but a 25% reporting rate is not exactly impressive for a school that positions itself as elite.

What is 25%? Are you the same poster with the fuzzy math? 30% submitted SAT scores and 15% submitted ACT scores, so that equals 45% who submitted scores. I am sure BC would love to get that 45% up to 50%, and if they do, they will likely get back on the Forbes new Ivies list. The only reason they dropped off is because of that number.

[Anonymous]

It always surprises people when they see how (relatively) low SATs are and try to rationalize it.

[Anonymous]

BC likes athletes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BU gets about 80,000 apps a year, which is really high. Overall acceptance rate is about 10 percent. But Regular Decision is about 5 percent.

It's a pretty competitive school these days. Not Duke level, but not an easy admit either. And BU will be mindful of yield. It might be a safety for some, but definitely not most.

Think BU had a 7% acceptance rate for this admissions cycle. Definitely not an easy admit regardless of the purported ED/full pay benefit comments.

[Anonymous]

Anyone know what it takes to get admitted to BU CGS?