More selective than 87% of Massachusetts colleges we cover.
College Scorecard, Fall 2024 entering class
Average after grants for all families receiving federal aid. Pick your income above.
Sticker price $89,493. College Scorecard.
Higher than 86% of Massachusetts colleges we cover and 96% of colleges nationwide. U.S. median 54%.
Within 6 years · College Scorecard
Higher than 93% of Massachusetts colleges we cover and 99% of colleges nationwide. U.S. median $53,263.
Median, 10 years after starting · College Scorecard
Boston College acceptance rate & admissions
Of 36,069 applicants, Boston College admitted 5,645 and 2,335 enrolled (IPEDS, Fall 2023 entering class). The middle half of enrolled first-year students scored 1440–1540 on the SAT or 33–35 on the ACT.
IPEDS Admissions, Fall 2023 entering class
Test scores: College Scorecard, Fall 2024. Other figures: College Scorecard; IPEDS
Boston College tuition, cost & net price
What families actually pay per year, by income
Average net price after grants and scholarships for students who receive federal aid. Tap your income band.
College Scorecard, latest reported year (federal aid recipients)
Sticker price (before aid)
IPEDS 2023-24 cost items; total from College Scorecard
College Scorecard; Urban Institute Education Data Portal
What Boston College costs to finish, and how fast it pays back
Graduates of Boston College took 4.0 years on average to finish, so the yearly price adds up to the total below. Payback compares former students' earnings with what high school graduates earn in Massachusetts. The figures follow your residency and income choices above.
| Family income | Net price / yr | Cost to finish | Years to pay back |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0–30k | $4,284 | $17,265 | under 1 year |
| $30–48k | $7,304 | $29,435 | under 1 year |
| $48–75k | $13,112 | $52,841 | under 1 year |
| $75–110k | $19,999 | $80,596 | 1.3 years |
| $110k+ | $60,308 | $243,041 | 3.8 years |
Cost to finish = yearly price × 4.0 years, the average time graduates took (88% finished in 4 years; students who entered fall 2017, IPEDS). Years to pay back = cost to finish ÷ the earnings gain: median earnings of former students 10 years after starting ($103,937) minus $39,880 for high school graduates ages 25-34 in MA (Census ACS 2020-2024), a gain of $64,057 a year. Before taxes, loan interest and earnings given up while in school. Method
College Scorecard (net price, earnings); IPEDS Graduation Rates (time to finish); U.S. Census Bureau ACS (high school earnings). Calculated by EducationGuide.
Boston College majors, earnings & careers
Boston College offers 49 bachelor's majors across 9 areas. Earnings below are for this school's graduates of each major, four years after finishing.
- Humanities & Languages · 15
- Science & Math · 9
- Business & Finance · 7
- Social Sciences & Public Service · 6
- Arts & Design · 4
- Education · 4
- Technology & Computing · 2
- Communications & Media · 1
- Health & Medicine · 1
Highest-earning majors at Boston College
| Major | Earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|
| Finance | $147,746 | $18,000 |
| Computer Science | $143,204 | $19,000 |
| Entrepreneurship | $132,903 | $19,000 |
| Information Science / Studies | $131,090 | $17,500 |
| Management Science / Analytics | $126,475 | $18,582 |
| Accounting | $126,461 | $18,000 |
| Business Administration | $123,144 | $17,873 |
| Economics | $121,337 | $18,000 |
Quick list of all 49 majors
- Accounting$126,461
- Area Studies—
- Biochemistry$75,274
- Biology$83,614
- Business Administration$123,144
- Chemistry—
- Classics—
- Communications$83,586
- Computer Science$143,204
- Criminal Justice—
- Economics$121,337
- Education—
- Education (Elementary / Secondary)$61,719
- Education (Subject Teaching)—
- Education, Other—
- English$70,141
- Entrepreneurship$132,903
- Environmental Science / Conservation$82,861
- Ethnic / Gender Studies—
- Film and Photography—
- Finance$147,746
- Geology / Earth Science—
- German—
- History$80,073
- Information Science / Studies$131,090
- International / Global Studies$91,874
- Liberal Arts / General Studies—
- Linguistics—
- Management Science / Analytics$126,475
- Marketing$106,353
- Mathematics$111,072
- Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies, Other—
- Music—
- Natural Sciences—
- Neuroscience—
- Nursing$94,867
- Philosophy$97,519
- Physics—
- Political Science$86,537
- Psychology$70,033
- Psychology (Clinical / Counseling)$76,328
- Religious Studies—
- Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics—
- Social Sciences—
- Sociology$70,121
- Spanish / French / Romance Languages—
- Studio Art—
- Theatre—
- Theology / Ministry—
— means too few graduates to report earnings.
College Scorecard field of study, latest release
All majors by area with earnings 1 and 4 years out, and debt →Finance → Financial analyst
Median annual wage for all workers in this job, not only new graduates. U.S. jobs projected to grow 7.2% from 2025 to 2035.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35
Communications → Public relations specialist
Median annual wage for all workers in this job, not only new graduates. U.S. jobs projected to grow 1.8% from 2025 to 2035.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35
Living in Boston
Overall prices in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area.
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
2 bedrooms $2,383. Housing costs 48% above the U.S. average.
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027
January and July average highs. 49 inches of rain a year, 49 inches of snow.
NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020
Highest: hurricane (relatively high); river flooding (relatively high).
FEMA National Risk Index, Middlesex County
Campus & students
IPEDS fall enrollment; Carnegie Classification; EADA via Urban Institute
Middlesex County at a glance
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year 2024
Compare Boston College with similar schools
Similar private colleges in Massachusetts by selectivity, graduation rate and size. Tap “Why?” to see where the price difference comes from.
| School | Acceptance | You'd pay | Graduation | Earnings, 10 yrs | Price gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | 16% | $41,704 | 91% | $103,937 | This school |
| Tufts University | 11% | $39,998 | 94% | $83,214 | |
| Harvard University | 4% | $19,066 | 98% | $101,817 | |
| Babson College | 17% | $40,514 | 93% | $123,938 | |
| College of the Holy Cross | 18% | $38,782 | 87% | $90,543 |
College Scorecard, latest reported year. “You'd pay” follows your residency and income choices above.
Why the price is different
Boston College would cost you $1,706 more per year than Tufts University, on average.
- Higher sticker price at Boston College, mostly from higher housing & meal costs (+$815).
- Tufts University gives aided families $513 more in grants, on average.
| Per year, Massachusetts resident | Boston College | Tufts University | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition & fees | $70,702 | $70,704 | −$2 |
| Books & supplies | $1,250 | $1,000 | +$250 |
| Housing & meals | $18,475 | $17,660 | +$815 |
| Personal & travel | $2,200 | $1,796 | +$404 |
| Living-at-home adjustment | −$3,134 | −$2,860 | −$274 |
| Sticker price | $89,493 | $88,300 | +$1,193 |
| Average grants | −$47,789 | −$48,302 | +$513 |
| You pay | $41,704 | $39,998 | +$1,706 |
“+” means Boston College costs more; “−” means it costs less. Grants are the sticker price minus the net price. Cost items: IPEDS, on-campus budget. Sticker and net price: College Scorecard, latest reported year; the adjustment reconciles the two. Net price is an average for first-time, full-time students receiving federal aid, not a quote.
Common questions about Boston College
What is the Boston College acceptance rate?
Boston College accepts 16% of applicants (College Scorecard). In the latest IPEDS admissions year, 5,645 of 36,069 applicants were admitted. The middle half of enrolled first-year students scored 1440–1540 on the SAT or 33–35 on the ACT.
How much does Boston College cost per year?
The sticker price (cost of attendance) is $89,493 a year. After grants and scholarships, students receiving federal aid pay $41,704 a year on average; families earning $0–30k pay $4,284 and families earning $110k+ pay $60,308.
How much do Boston College graduates earn?
Former Boston College students earn a median $103,937 ten years after starting college, compared with a U.S. median of $53,263 across the colleges we cover.
What is the Boston College graduation rate?
91% of first-time, full-time students graduate within six years, and 96% return for their second year.
How long does a Boston College degree take to pay off?
For a family earning $48–75k, finishing at Boston College costs about $52,841 after grants ($13,112 a year for 4.0 years, the average time graduates took). Former students earn a median $103,937 ten years after starting, $64,057 more than high school graduates in Massachusetts ($39,880), so the cost is repaid in under 1 year of that gain, before taxes and interest (EducationGuide calculation).
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Sources on this page: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS; U.S. Census Bureau (ACS); Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections); Bureau of Economic Analysis; HUD; NOAA; FEMA; Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By); Wikidata. “Colleges we cover” means colleges awarding bachelor's degrees to at least 100 undergraduates. Averages are not quotes; confirm costs with the school. How we score
Data: download this school's data (JSON) · Markdown · all datasets
Cite this: “Boston College: cost, admissions and outcomes,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/colleges/boston-college (College Scorecard and IPEDS data).