Boston University
MA · Private · Northeast · National university · Top 50 tier · 17,628 undergraduates (large)
Admission rates
Latest admit rates
How much of the class comes from ED
~63% of enrolled freshmen were admitted through Early Decision.
This is a share of the freshman class, not an admit rate.
† Regular round (est.) = (all admitted students − Early Decision admits) ÷ (all applicants − Early Decision applicants).
Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
Admission rates
ED share of the enrolled freshman class (% of first-years admitted ED, not an admit rate)
Early plans
Fall 2027 applicants
Testing
Testing policy
Superscoring
What this means:
- SAT
- Superscores
- ACT
- Superscores
Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026
Recommends including all scores; Score Choice allowed. Test-optional through fall 2028.
How to send scores
Self-report accepted; official scores only after admission/enrollment
Send all scores? Score Choice allowed (all encouraged)
School’s words: “Please note: If you submit self-reported standardized test scores, an official score report from the testing agency will be required before enrolling at Boston University. ... If you've taken the SAT more than once, you can select which results you want to send to us using Score Choice . ... To take advantage of superscoring, we recommend including all your test scores if you take more than one test or take a test multiple times.”
Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026
Students submitting scores
‡ Est. % submitting scores adds the share of enrolled first-years who submitted the SAT to the share who submitted the ACT.
Score ranges (middle 50%)
Enrolled first-years who submitted scores, Fall 2025. A quarter scored below the range and a quarter above.
Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
Share of enrolled students submitting scores
SAT composite, middle 50%
ACT composite, middle 50%
Year-by-year data, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
| CDS year | Admitted | Admit rate | ED rate | ED share of class | Est. % submitting | % SAT | % ACT | SAT mid-50 | ACT mid-50 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 ↗ | 11,786 | 18.9% | 30% | Not reported | 100% | 73% | 32% | 1360-1480 | 30-34 | |
| 2020-21 ↗ | 12,254 | 20.1% | 33.1% | Not reported | 100% | 70% | 33% | 1340-1460 | 30-34 | |
| 2021-22 ↗ | 14,129 | 18.6% | 32.2% | Not reported | 45% | 32% | 13% | 1390-1490 | 31-34 | |
| 2022-23 ↗ | 11,607 | 14.4% | 25.3% | Not reported | 35% | 23% | 12% | 1370-1480 | 31-34 | |
| 2023-24 ↗ | 8,733 | 10.8% | 26.1% | Not reported | 40% | 30% | 10% | 1410-1500 | 32-34 | |
| 2024-25 ↗ | 8,749 | 11.1% | 28.2% | 59% | 43% | 33% | 10% | 1430-1510 | 32-34 | |
| 2025-26 ↗ | 9,853 | 12.8% | 31.3% | 63% | 46% | 36% | 10% | 1420-1510 | 33-34 |
Waitlist admit rate
Share of students who stayed on the waitlist and were later admitted, by entering class.
Test policy in each Common Data Set
History only. The current policy is under Testing above.
- Fall 2027 Test-optional2025-26 CDS
- Fall 2026 Not reported2024-25 CDS
- Fall 2025 Not reported2023-24 CDS
- Fall 2024 Not reported2022-23 CDS
- Fall 2023 Not reported2021-22 CDS
- Fall 2022 Not reported2020-21 CDS
- Fall 2021 Required for some2019-20 CDS
From the school's website
Figures from the school’s own pages that add to its Common Data Set. Each links its source.
BU reports that 59% of the Class of 2029 enrolled through Early Decision (6,909 Early Decision applicants).
Source: BU class profile ↗ · BU Today: Class of 2029 by the numbers ↗
BU reports that 44% of applicants submitted test scores.
Source: BU class profile ↗ · BU Today: Class of 2029 by the numbers ↗