How to get into Boston College
How to get into Boston College: Jesuit identity, ED1/ED2, and the school choice
16.4%
Acceptance rate
$70,702
In-state cost
What makes Boston College admissions different
Boston College is a Jesuit, Catholic university that admits to four undergraduate schools (Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences, Carroll School of Management, Connell School of Nursing, Lynch School of Education and Human Development) and they admit separately. BC added Early Decision in 2019 and added ED2 shortly after — the ED bump is now the single biggest admissions lever applicants control. BC's supplement asks you to engage with values and formation, not just career goals, and applications that treat it like any other 'why us' essay underperform.
What an actually competitive application looks like
- 1.
Apply Early Decision I (Nov 1) if BC is your clear top choice — admit rates in the ED rounds run several multiples above RD. ED2 (Jan 1) is a real second shot for applicants who get deferred or whose top-choice list shifts after fall.
- 2.
Pick the right undergraduate school the first time. Carroll (business) and Connell (nursing) are markedly more competitive than Morrissey; internal transfers between schools exist but are not guaranteed.
- 3.
Engage seriously with BC's Jesuit framing in the supplement. The four prompts (you pick one) are about formation, accompaniment, and the examined life — non-Catholic applicants are welcome and routinely admitted, but generic 'I want a community' answers get read as missing the point.
- 4.
Maintain a high GPA in the most rigorous curriculum your school offers and aim for SAT 1450+ / ACT 33+ if submitting. BC has been test-optional and the policy continues; submit only if your scores reinforce the rest of your application.
- 5.
Get teacher recommendations from junior/senior-year core academic teachers who can speak to how you think and how you treat classmates — Jesuit institutions read for character signal more explicitly than most peers.
- 6.
If you're applying to Connell School of Nursing, demonstrate clinical exposure (shadowing, CNA, EMT, hospice volunteer) and explain it specifically. Nursing applicants without any healthcare exposure get filtered out fast.
Common mistakes that hurt applicants here
- ✕
Treating ED1 as cosmetic. BC's ED program is one of the more meaningful binding-ED bumps among top-40 schools — applicants who submit RD when they could have submitted ED1 leave a lot of margin on the table.
- ✕
Ignoring the Jesuit identity in the supplement. Even non-Catholic applicants are expected to engage with the prompts on their own terms — answers that ignore values, formation, or service tend to read as off-prompt.
- ✕
Picking the wrong undergraduate school for the supplement essay. The Carroll supplement reads for management/finance specificity; the Connell supplement reads for clinical/care specificity; the Lynch supplement reads for teaching/learning specificity. A Morrissey-sounding answer in the Carroll pool stands out for the wrong reasons.
- ✕
Applying to Carroll because it 'sounds more prestigious' when your background and essays are pointed at a Morrissey major. Admissions readers can tell when the school choice is strategic rather than authentic, and Morrissey is not a back door into Carroll.
- ✕
Skipping the Gabelli Presidential Scholarship application. It's a separate, time-consuming step with its own November deadline, but it's also one of very few full-tuition merit awards at BC.
The specifics for Boston College
Application deadlines
- Early Decision I2025-11-01Binding. Decision by mid-December 2025. Reply by January 15, 2026.
- Early Decision II2026-01-01Binding. Decision by mid-February 2026.
- Early Action (Nursing only — Connell School of Nursing)2025-11-01Non-binding EA is offered only to Nursing applicants under the Connell EA pathway; verify on BC's site for the current cycle.
- Regular Decision2026-01-01Decision by April 1, 2026. Reply by May 1, 2026.
- Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program2025-11-01Separate application required. Apply by November 1, 2025; semifinalists complete additional materials.
- Financial Aid (ED1)2025-11-15CSS Profile and FAFSA.
- Financial Aid (ED2)2026-01-15CSS Profile and FAFSA.
- Financial Aid (RD)2026-02-01CSS Profile and FAFSA.
Supplemental essay prompts
- Each year at University Convocation, our incoming class engages with a common text as part of a larger conversation about purpose and the BC experience. The Class of 2030 will read "Let Us Dream" by Pope Francis. As we look toward a new year and our shared responsibilities, Pope Francis asks the world, "What do I need to let go of in order to see what really matters?" In what ways do you struggle with this question, and how would you hope to answer it during your time in college?400 words · One of four Boston College–specific prompts. Applicants select ONE prompt to answer (max 400 words). The Convocation text changes annually — the 2025-26 prompt references Pope Francis's 'Let Us Dream'; verify the current text on the BC admissions site before drafting.
- At Boston College, we draw upon the Jesuit tradition of finding worthwhile conversation partners. Some support our viewpoints while others challenge them. Who fulfills this role in your life? Please cite a specific conversation you had where this conversation partner challenged your perspective or you challenged theirs.400 words · BC supplement option (choose one of four).
- In her November 2019 Ted Talk, "The Danger of a Single Story," Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warned viewers against assigning people a 'single story' through assumptions about their nationality, appearance, or background. Discuss your experience with a 'single story' and its effect on you and/or your understanding of others.400 words · BC supplement option (choose one of four).
- Boston College's founding in 1863 was in response to society's call. That call came from an immigrant community in Boston seeking a Jesuit education to foster social mobility. Still today, the University empowers its students to use their education to address society's greatest needs. Which of today's local or global issues is of particular concern to you and how might you use your Boston College education to address it?400 words · BC supplement option (choose one of four).
- Human Centered Engineering at Boston College: One goal of a Jesuit education is to prepare students to serve the Common Good. Human-Centered Engineering at Boston College integrates technical knowledge with the humanities, the natural and social sciences, formative experiences inside and outside the classroom, and a commitment to using one's gifts to support the common good. What societal problems are important to you and how will you use your HCE education to solve them?400 words · REQUIRED for applicants to the Human-Centered Engineering program (replaces the four-option supplement).
What makes this admissions process distinctive
Four undergraduate schools that admit separately ↗
BC admits to Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences, the Carroll School of Management, the Connell School of Nursing, and the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. The supplement and your file are read by the admissions committee for the school you applied to — internal transfers exist but are competitive, especially into Carroll and Connell.
Jesuit, Catholic identity threaded through the supplement
BC's supplemental prompts engage explicitly with Jesuit values, formation, the Common Good, and (in recent years) the writings of Pope Francis. Non-Catholic applicants are welcome and routinely admitted; the prompts are about values and how you live them, not religious affiliation. Generic answers that ignore the framing read as off-prompt.
Added ED in 2019; ED2 followed ↗
Boston College historically used only Regular Decision and Early Action. The shift to binding Early Decision (added for the 2019-20 cycle) and then ED2 fundamentally changed the admissions math — ED admit rates run meaningfully higher than RD, and the binding signal is treated as serious yield signal.
Notable scholarships at Boston College
Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program ↗Full tuition + summer funding for international study and research
BC's premier merit award — ~15-20 scholars selected per year from a separate application due November 1. Selection is based on academic excellence, leadership, and engagement with the Jesuit ideal of formation. Semifinalists complete additional materials and finalists are interviewed.
Boston College Need-Based Aid ↗Up to full demonstrated need
BC commits to meeting 100% of demonstrated need for admitted domestic students; aid is awarded through a combination of grants, work-study, and loans. CSS Profile and FAFSA required.
Heads up — recent changes
- BC remains test-optional for first-year applicants for the 2025-26 cycle.
- The Convocation reading prompt is updated each year — for the Class of 2030, the prompt references Pope Francis's 'Let Us Dream'; verify the current Convocation text on the BC site before drafting.
- Boston College added Human-Centered Engineering as a degree program with its own required supplemental essay.
What graduates actually do
BC graduates cluster in finance (Boston and NYC), consulting, law, medicine, and Catholic-affiliated nonprofits. The Carroll School of Management is a heavy feeder to Fidelity, State Street, JPMorgan, and Big Four accounting. Median early-career earnings run around $65-70k per Scorecard. BC's Jesuit identity drives an unusually high rate of post-grad service (Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Teach for America) before professional careers. The alumni network is particularly dense in the Northeast Catholic professional ecosystem.
Notable alumni
- John Kerry — former Secretary of State (Law School)
- Tip O'Neill — former Speaker of the House
- Doug Flutie — Heisman Trophy winner, NFL quarterback
- Amy Poehler — comedian, actress
- Chris O'Donnell — actor
- Jack Welch — former CEO of GE (attended grad school)
Transfer pathway
30% transfer acceptance rate
BC admits transfers for both fall and spring entry. Applicants need at least one full year (24+ credits) of college coursework with strong academic standing. The application requires Common App transfer form, college report, official transcripts, and the BC supplement. Transfer admit rate runs roughly 25-35%.
Specifics verified 2026-05-18 from the school's own admissions page + Common App (supplements re-verified this pass). Always confirm current-year details directly on the school site before applying.
If you're on the bubble
BC rewards applicants who are clearly above the bar on stats, write authentically about purpose and community, and apply ED1. If your stats are at the 50th-percentile band and you can credibly commit, ED1 to Morrissey is your strongest move — the binding signal genuinely matters here. RD applicants with median stats and a generic 'why BC' supplement should plan as if BC is a reach.
Next steps
Last updated: November 2025. Acceptance rate and cost data refreshed nightly from college reporting.