Boston College SAT Scores and GPA

What are Boston College's average SAT scores and GPA? In this guide, we'll discuss what scores are needed for you to get admitted into Boston College. You'll also get to calculate your own chances with our admissions calculator.

Location: Chestnut Hill, MA

This school is also known as: BC

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Boston College Admissions Statistics

There are three critical numbers when considering your admissions chances: SAT scores, GPA, and acceptance rate. All these combine to tell you what you scores are required to get into Boston College.


Average SAT: 1485

The average SAT score composite at Boston College is a 1485.

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Boston College SAT Score Analysis

The 25th percentile New SAT score is 1450, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1520.

In other words, a 1450 places you below average, while a 1520 will move you up to above average. There's no absolute SAT requirement at Boston College, but they really want to see at least a 1450 to have a chance at being considered.

Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:

SectionAverage25th Percentile75th Percentile
Math755730780
Reading + Writing733705760
Composite148514501520

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Average GPA: 4.08

The average GPA at Boston College is 4.08. This makes Boston College Extremely Competitive for GPAs.

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(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA. This school did not officially report its average GPA, but we've estimated it here using data from over 1,000 schools.)

With a GPA of 4.08, Boston College requires you to be at the top of your class. You'll need nearly straight A's in all your classes to compete with other applicants. You should also have taken plenty of AP or IB classes to show your ability to excel in academic challenge.

If you're a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change from this point on. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 4.08, you'll need a higher SAT score to compensate and show that you're prepared to take on college academics. This will help you compete effectively with other applicants.



Admissions Rate: 16.7%

The acceptance rate at Boston College is 16.7%. In other words, of 100 students who apply, only 17 are admitted.

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This means the school is very selective. Scores are vital to getting past their first round of filters. After that, you will need to impress them beyond just your academic scores.



Final Admissions Verdict

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Because this school is extremely selective, getting a high SAT score and GPA is vital to having a chance at getting in. If you don't pass their SAT and GPA requirements, they'll likely reject you without much consideration.

To be safe, you should aim for the 75th percentile, with a 1520 SAT and a 4.08 GPA or higher to be above average.

This is only part of the challenge - after this, you'll need to impress them beyond your academic scores, with your accomplishments and extracurriculars. But if you apply with a 1485 SAT or below, you unfortunately have a small chance of getting in.


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Admissions Calculator

What are your chances of admission at Boston College?
Chances of admission with these scores:

Here's our custom admissions calculator. Plug in your numbers to see what your chances of getting in are.

Pick your test: SAT ACT

SAT Score
Your GPA

Note: Your admission decision relies not only on your GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but also on your coursework difficulty, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, and personal statements. This tool provides only a simplistic estimate of your chances of admission. Instead of treating this tool as a crystal ball, we recommend you consider the big picture of what your chance means:
  • 80-100%: Safety school: Strong chance of getting in
  • 50-80%: More likely than not getting in
  • 20-50%: Lower but still good chance of getting in
  • 5-20%: Reach school: Unlikely to get in, but still have a shot
  • 0-5%: Hard reach school: Very difficult to get in
We recommend you apply to schools across a range of chances. Applying to some safety schools will guarantee you have a college to go to, while applying to some reach schools will give you a shot at getting into the school at the top of your range.
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Other Schools For You

If you're interested in Boston College, you'll probably be interested in these schools as well. We've divided them into 3 categories depending on how hard they are to get into, relative to Boston College.


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Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into

These schools are have higher average SAT scores than Boston College. If you improve your SAT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Harvard University Cambridge, MA 1550 35
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 1540 35
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 1540 35
Yale University New Haven, CT 1540 34
Stanford University Stanford, CA 1540 35
Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN 1540 35
Rice University Houston, TX 1530 35

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Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into

If you're competitive for Boston College, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Tufts University Medford, MA 1500 34
Dartmouth College Hanover, NH 1500 34
Northeastern University Boston, MA 1500 34
University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 1500 34
Emory University Atlanta, GA 1484 33
Georgetown University Washington, DC 1480 33
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 1470 33

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Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into

If you're currently competitive for Boston College, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If Boston College is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Villanova University Villanova, PA 1440 33
Binghamton University Binghamton, NY 1430 31
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY 1428 32
Boston University Boston, MA 1418 32
University of Washington Seattle, WA 1410 32
Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY 1396 31
University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 1355 29

Data on this page is sourced from Peterson's Databases © 2024 (Peterson's LLC. All rights reserved.) as well as additional publicly available sources.


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