Loading university evidence…
← University explorer
- World ranking
- #94QS 2027Source
- Tuition · international
- $63,798per year · 2023
- Acceptance rate
- 11.1%2024
About Boston University
Boston University began in 1839 as the Newbury Biblical Institute, a Methodist seminary in Vermont. It moved to Concord, New Hampshire, in 1847 and to Boston in 1867, and it was chartered as Boston University in 1869. Alexander Graham Bell taught there while developing the telephone, and in 1877 Helen Magill White earned the first PhD awarded to a woman by an American university at BU.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1839
- Type
- Private
- Campus
- Urban
Boston, United States42.358, -71.060
Open on mapRankings
- QSQS#94World · 2027Source
- THETHE=76World · 2026Source
- CWURCWUR#101World · 2026United States #48Source
- ARWUARWU101-150World · 2026Source
- NCSES HERDNCSES HERD#48United States and outlying areas · Total R&D expenditures · 2024Source
- URAPURAP#162World · 2025United States #40Source
Admissions & how to apply
- Check the entry requirements for your course and qualifications.
- Apply on the university’s own application page.
- Pay the application fee ($80).
Application fee
- Per application$80Source
Costs & aid
International tuition$63,798per year · 2023
- Fees$1,370
- Room & board2023$18,110
US net price$36,503
What US families pay after grants, by household income. International students usually pay the full price.
SourceProgrammes
…
Campus & media
Outcomes
- Admit rate
- 11.1%
- SAT average
- 1480
- ACT middle
- 33
- Graduate in 4 years
- 81.6%
- Graduate in 6 years
- 89.5%
- Return after year one
- 94.7%
- Pell grant students
- 21.4%
- Students with federal loans
- 29.8%
- Median debt
- $17,500
Median earnings after starting
Student body
US government and university data. Figures describe past students, not your own chances. Source
Guides for applying to United States
- Entering Senior Year: What I Wish I Knew as a First-YearHarvard College · Student Voices
- How To Write A College EssayMIT Admissions
- How Studying Abroad Influenced My Career GoalsHarvard College · Student Voices
- Advice For Crafting Your Supplemental EssayJohns Hopkins Undergraduate Admissions · Hopkins Insider