Boston College admitted 12.6 percent of applicants to the Class of 2029, according to a University release—BC’s most selective class to date and a 2.1 percent decline from last year’s acceptance rate of 14.7 percent.
“Not only have these students distinguished themselves in the classroom, but they’ve given us great confidence in their ability to use their Boston College education to improve the lives of those around them, while also fulfilling their personal goals,” Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Grant Gosselin said in the release.
Jessica Avalon, CSON ’29, had a gut feeling she would hear back from BC on the day she received her acceptance letter but still couldn’t believe the news once it had arrived.
“I’m in my car in the parking lot, and [my friend] is on the phone with me, and I just told myself ‘Yeah, well it’s not going to happen,’” Avalon said. “I was so convinced I wasn’t getting in. Then I got it, and it was just a lot of screaming for a long time. I was completely shocked.”
Avalon, a current senior from Manchester, N.H., said she is looking forward to the community and student engagement at BC.
“I come from a really small school—there’s like 60 people in my graduating class,” Avalon said. “Everyone is so attentive at games, I’m just so excited to be able to go to those and have fun with people who want to have fun.”
In line with last year, BC did not immediately release the percentage of admitted students who identify as AHANA+. Prior to the Supreme Court banning affirmative action, data on the racial and ethnic makeup of newly admitted classes was released at the same time as other admissions data.
In September, the University announced that the Class of 2028 comprised 37 percent AHANA students, though the statistic only included students who had self-reported their racial information.
According to the University, 12 percent of this year’s admitted students are first-generation college attendees, down from 14 percent for the Class of 2028. The University did not release the number of students who are QuestBridge scholars or Pell Grant recipients.
Nine percent of admitted students are international, hailing from 77 different countries, and all 50 states and five U.S. territories are represented, according to the release.
Although the acceptance rate dropped this year, the number of applications rose to 39,681, up from 35,475 in 2024. The University offered admission to approximately 5,000 students, the release stated.
The record high for number of applications remains at 40,477 for the Class of 2026.
Ninety-five percent of accepted students ranked within the top 10 percent of their graduating class, according to the release. The average SAT and ACT scores were 1503 and 34, respectively. The average ACT score remained the same for the fifth year in a row, though the average SAT score dropped from 1511 to 1503.
According to the release, 74 percent of students submitted test scores, despite the University’s test-optional policy, which has been in place since the Class of 2025’s admissions cycle.
Since then, only 50 percent of enrolled students submitted test scores for the Class of 2025, 52 percent of enrolled students for the Class of 2026, and 44 percent of enrolled students for the Class of 2027. The University has not yet released the Common Data Set for the class of 2028.
Aiming to have 2,400 students matriculate in the fall, the University hopes to achieve a roughly 48 percent yield, the release states.
Despite nationwide concerns over federal funding, the University also announced it will award $190 million in need-based financial aid, marking a 7.5 percent increase over the current academic year.
“I am grateful for the exceptional work of our Admission and Financial Aid staffs and University colleagues, and for the contributions so many other campus partners will make in the weeks to come,” Gosselin said. “We look forward to welcoming the Class of 2029 to Boston College when classes begin on August 25.”
Maya Learner, a senior from Stratham, N.H., and MCAS ’29, said finding out she was accepted into BC felt “like a dream come true.”
“The email got sent out while I was driving, and I was all in my head about it,” Learner said. “I made it to my house, and I was just too nervous to open it, and then I finally opened it, and it was one of those things where I wish I had a recording because it was just so happy. It made me tear up.”
BC’s Jesuit values and emphasis on reflection were what made the University stand out to Learner and her family, she said.
“When I toured BC, it was immediate,” Learner said. “Every other school I toured after that, I was comparing it to how much it was like BC. It stuck out to me and my parents so much. All the talk about interacting with the community and reflecting on it, that was just something that I really value and want when I go off to college.”
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