Boston University vs Carnegie Mellon University

Boston, MA · Pittsburgh, PA · largest Scorecard gap: median earnings (6 yr)

Scorecard match plate

Pair MA:PA

PRIVATE-NP-PAIR · CROSS-STATE · ACCEPT-TIGHT · NET-SPLIT · EARN-SPLIT · DEBT-PAR · COMPLETE-HIGH · GAP-EARN

  • PRIVATE-NP-PAIR Private nonprofit pair
  • CROSS-STATE MA × PA
  • ACCEPT-TIGHT Tight admission
  • NET-SPLIT Net-price split
  • EARN-SPLIT Earnings split
  • DEBT-PAR Debt near-par
  • COMPLETE-HIGH High completion
  • GAP-EARN Largest gap · Median Earnings (6 yr)

Instrument codes from this pair's College Scorecard ownership, geography, acceptance, net price, earnings, debt, and completion, plus the ENROLL-RACE · single · 2013–2023 decade-path stamp below, not a ranking or recommendation.

Decade path · College Scorecard

Both enrollments grew, different paces

ENROLL-RACE · single · 2013–2023

Undergraduate headcount rose at both Boston University and Carnegie Mellon University across 2013–2023 on similar paces, while acceptance rates tightened on both sides, a growth-under-squeeze pattern rather than a pure size race.

  • Carnegie Mellon University: enrollment grew +23.2% over 2013–2023; fitted +137 students/yr fitted, r² 0.97.
  • Boston University: enrollment grew +8.4% over 2013–2023; fitted +135 students/yr fitted, r² 0.66.
  • Boston University: acceptance rate tightened -76.2% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.92).
  • Carnegie Mellon University: acceptance rate tightened -55.3% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.95).

College Scorecard institution series; dollars are nominal. Direction claims require r² ≥ 0.40 on the fitted annual slope, otherwise the page reports the observed range. Descriptive history, not a recommendation.

Scorecard metrics

Cards ordered by relative gap on this pair. Teal = better side.

Largest gaps: Boston University vs Carnegie Mellon University

  1. MEDIAN-EARNINGS-(6 Carnegie Mellon University leads on median earnings (6 yr) ($105,360 vs $65,655 at Boston University)
  2. MEDIAN-EARNINGS-(1 Carnegie Mellon University leads on median earnings (10 yr) ($114,862 vs $83,238 at Boston University)
  3. AVG-NET-PRICE Boston University leads on avg net price ($24,402 vs $31,944 at Carnegie Mellon University)

Boston University profile · Carnegie Mellon University profile · Compare other colleges

Also on the Scorecard board

Median Earnings (6 yr) and other Scorecard questions

On median earnings (6 yr), who leads between Boston University and Carnegie Mellon University?
Carnegie Mellon University leads on median earnings (6 yr) at $105,360 versus $65,655 at Boston University. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On median earnings (10 yr), who leads between Boston University and Carnegie Mellon University?
Carnegie Mellon University leads on median earnings (10 yr) at $114,862 versus $83,238 at Boston University. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On avg net price, who leads between Boston University and Carnegie Mellon University?
Boston University leads on avg net price at $24,402 versus $31,944 at Carnegie Mellon University. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard College Scorecard institution outcomes (earnings, completion, debt); median earnings (6 yr) focus for this pair · 2025