It’s a lot of money, no two ways about it. The cost of a higher education continues to outpace inflation, putting college out of reach for more and more families. So far, we’ve showed you how our financial investments on campus generate value for our students. But equally critical: making sure that as many bright and ambitious young minds are able to make it to Comm. Ave. in the first place—and stay here. To that end, we offer generous financial aid packages and awarded more than $53M in grants and scholarships to 48.5% of our incoming freshman class, with 58.1% of our domestic students receiving support. A significant portion of our ongoing $1B Campaign for Boston University is devoted to bolstering student assistance even further. And by opening up our professional schools to the entire student body, we’ve sought to put our students in the best position possible to take full advantage of what BU has to offer and to launch their careers upon graduation.
Now
What?
90% of BU graduates have “Landed”
They’re either employed or in grad school, or signed up with Teach For America or the military.
Rate
No school likes to raise the curtain on its student loan-default rates, but we’re pleased that ours is among the lowest in the country.*
*Source: US Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid, Three-year Official Cohort Default Rates
93.1% Freshman Retention Rate
84.3% 6-year Graduation Rate
Paula Silva (SMG’14)
Menino scholar Paula Silva doesn’t mind the cliché: the daughter of immigrant parents, the first in her family to attend college, the fulfillment of a dream. But it was during her undergraduate years, when Silva tutored Chelsea middle school students in English, that she saw the powerful connections behind the familiar story. BU was giving back to its host city through the Thomas M. Menino Scholarship Program for promising Boston high school students. And because of that program, Silva was able to give back to new classes of ambitious young scholars ready to work hard and achieve a bright future. “When I tutored the kids, it was really great because they were like me. I knew what they were going through. And through me, hopefully, they saw that they could go to college and do great things.”
Meet the class of 2018
3,913
Total Freshmen
in Class
in Class
54,191
Applicants for Fall 2014
59%
In Top 10% of their High School Class
1962
Avg. SAT Score for 4-year Colleges
23%
Incoming Class from Abroad
32%
From a minority population
61.7%
receive aid such as grants & work‑study
48.5%
Receiving University financial aid
The Campaign for
Boston University To Date
$697,354,455 (and counting)
Two years into our five-year effort to raise one billion dollars, we are thrilled to be nearer to our goal than expected. In FY2014, we received $165M in new gifts and pledges, boosting our total to $697M with some 33,302 alums, students, parents, friends, corporations, and foundations writing checks, large and small. And 23 big-hearted souls pledged a million dollars-plus, growing that distinguished club to more than 120 members. These funds will further transform the University, supporting everything from new research endeavors to robust financial aid packages to new buildings.
In 2014, U.S. News & World Report placed BU 41st in its annual rankings of colleges and universities.
Paying it forward, upward, sideways & all around
The Campaign for Boston University has already given way to a host of community-wide benefits: a new interdisciplinary global studies school, an innovative social work and health center, a cutting-edge manufacturing space, and a significant expansion and renovation of the Law Tower. Contributions have gone to support Guggenheim scholars and endow professorships filled by the heavy-hitting likes of New York Times media columnist David Carr. And when you combine the power of the campaign with the smart budgeting of our own funds, we’re talking about real impact. But don’t just take our word for it. Buzz has clearly spread beyond Comm. Ave. This year, we received a record 54,191 applications, with an enrollment of 3,913—some 200 more than we expected and putting us at maximum capacity. The average GPA of this year’s entering class clocked in at 3.64. And they’re not just book smart.
One interned at NASA. Another played piano with jazz virtuoso Wynton Marsalis. That sort of experience inspires other students. Our retention rate last year was 93.1%, our graduation rate 84.3%, and our employment rate 90%.
All of those numbers added up in 2014 to a 41st ranking from U.S. News & World Report, up from 57th eight years ago. And that’s the sort of thing more and smarter students take notice of. That’s our receipt for paying it forward.
with a little help from our friends
This past year, we received many amazing donations toward our $1B effort, bringing us to $697M. One anonymous gift of $12.5M will support a new social work and health care center, aimed at solving today’s urban health challenges. Thanks to a big-hearted parent of two BU graduates, the School of Management launched a permanently endowed program—the Harry Susilo Institute for Ethics in a Global Economy—which will focus on cross-cultural business practices. A $25M gift established the new Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. And more than $40M in contributions was earmarked for undergraduate and graduate financial aid. Through gifts large and small, we have reached 70% of our goal just two years after taking our campaign public. We have generous friends who are making a difference.