Alan & Sherry Leventhal Center. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi

Admissions

Six Takeaways So Far from This Year’s Admissions Season

Record number applied early decision to join the Class of 2027, with certain schools and colleges seeing a surge in applications

Nate Nadow grew up in nearby Chelsea, Mass., and for as long as he can remember, he has wanted to attend BU. He believes his public school education benefited from BU’s 20-year management of the Chelsea school system, and he remembers visiting campus as a child and checking out the sailing pavilion. 

This fall, he applied to BU and recently learned he’d been accepted via early decision to the Class of 2027. “It’s a big sigh of relief,” Nadow says. “All of my friends have been pretty stressed these last three months, and I can relax a little. It’s nice being able to be there for people and not worry about yourself.”

Nadow was one of the more than 6,800 students who applied to BU for early decision—a record—an 8.8 percent increase over last year. Overall, applications stayed flat compared to last year (less than half a percent decrease), with 80,485 submissions to the Class of 2027, according to Kelly Walter (Wheelock’81), dean of admissions and associate vice president for enrollment.

This year’s admissions season marked something of a return to normal after two years that were shaped by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, when admissions counselors had to meet with students virtually, and many schools became test-optional, resulting in a “significant increase” in applications, Walter says. “I see things beginning to slow down, to plateau. Our applications were flat this year, and I am seeing a similar trend at other highly selective universities.”

This admissions season, hopeful students had the option of visiting BU’s campus in person, and the admissions team returned to visiting high schools across the globe.

With the application deadline for fall 2023 now closed and this year’s early decision students notified of their status, the admissions team is focused on reading the remaining applications, with a targeted total class size of 3,100. Applicants will be notified by late March whether or not they have a spot in the new class.

Some things to know about this year’s admissions season:

Record number of early decision applicants

Early decision applications total 6,866, an 8.8 percent increase over last year, which includes both rounds (BU has two rounds, which this year were November 1 and January 4). 

“Students that apply early decision are saying to us that ‘Boston University is my first choice, I really want to be there,’” Walter says. “This is good for admissions, and good for the University, because these are students that are often very engaged, which leads to a high level of student satisfaction and graduation rates.”

BU remains test-optional

For the third year in a row, BU made the SAT and ACT standardized tests optional for those applying for the fall 2023 and spring 2024 semesters. Only 41 percent of applicants to the Class of 2027 have indicated they want their standardized test scores considered this year. 

Walter says one benefit of this test-optional policy is that BU has seen more applications from students from underrepresented groups, as well as from those who are the first generation in their family applying to college. While these increases can be attributed in part to the country’s shifting demographics, she believes that the test-optional policy has opened doors to more students. 

Admissions has recently announced they will extend the test-optional policy through fall 2025 and spring 2026. 

The Class of 2027 is a bunch of smarty-pants 

The average SAT score submitted is 1441, and the average ACT score is 32, both the same as last year’s average scores. And the average high school GPA for those applying for admission next year is 3.8 (compared to last year’s 3.79). “The academic strength of the applicant pool is outstanding,” according to Walter.

Applicants are racially diverse and come from around the world

Domestically, applicants came from all 50 US states, with the majority from New York, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Texas. 

International applications increased slightly, by 1.1 percent, and there are 182 countries represented in the applicant pool. The top five countries and regions outside of the United States represented by the prospective applicants are China, India, South Korea, Canada, and Turkey. New countries represented this year that haven’t been seen in recently include Samoa, the Kingdom of Tonga, and Luxembourg.

More than 16,000 underrepresented minority students (African American, Black, Hispanic, and Latinx) applied, making up 21 percent of the applicant pool. And 19,929 are first-generation college students. 

Professional schools saw a big jump in applications, in part because of world events and the economy 

Even though applications to the Class of 2027 held steady, many of BU’s schools and colleges saw increased interest. Among them are the College of Engineering (a 13 percent increase in applications), Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences (11.5 percent), and the College of Fine Arts (10.6 percent). And according to Walter, applicants seeking enrollment in the new Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences increased by 49 percent.

She attributes much of this growth to what is happening in the world at large. “Think about what COVID did—it put healthcare front and center on our TVs and our social feeds. And now we have students pursuing programs in Sargent in record numbers,” she says. The concern about the global economy and Big Tech layoffs has “definitely impacted what students are planning to study.”

The application essay has changed 

Looking back at her 40-year career in admissions, Walter says, students are increasingly honest and open in their personal essays. While they used to write only about their accomplishments, today’s essays increasingly reflect applicants’ values and priorities. “I love seeing this new degree of personalization and honesty,” she says. “You get a deeper sense of who people are as individuals, not just as accomplished students, and it’s very powerful.”