Boston University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Boston University

Boston University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Boston, Massachusetts (city: large), with a total reported enrollment of 18,248 students of which 22,856 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Boston University is categorized as “15” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 11.1%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,480 and an ACT midpoint of 33. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $24,402, with published in-state tuition of $68,102 and a Pell grant recipient share of 19.1%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $23,250, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 89.3%, and the first-year retention rate is 94.7%. Graduates earn a median of $83,238 ten years after enrolling, compared with $65,655 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 471400.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 80.7% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.