Source: Flickr user masstransit.
Interested in attending Boston College? You’re not alone! BC receives over 23,000 applications a year from students all over the globe. Of these applicants, about 34 percent are accepted.
Boston College requires an ACT (with writing) or an SAT score before considering your application complete. If you take SAT subject tests, BC will consider those with your application as well, but they’re not required. So what kind of test score does it take to make the cut?
In general, you can estimate what kind of scores you’ll need by looking at a school’s 25th percentile to 75th percentile score range. This range is useful because it tells you how the middle 50 percent of students accepted at that college scored. If your scores fall in that range, you may be right on target.
Boston College ACT
Generally speaking, students admitted to BC performed slightly better on the ACT English section than on the math section. Among admitted students, the 25th-75th percentile range for English is around 30-34 and 28-33 for math.
While the ACT has four multiple-choice sections, English and math are used most often for comparison. However, the composite score is an average of all four multiple choice sections. The middle 50 percent of acceptees to BC have ACT composite scores between about 30 and 33.
Boston College SAT
Since the SAT was recently overhauled, scoring has changed somewhat. This may mean past score averages will be slightly different than those going forward. However, comparing numbers may still be useful to gain a rough estimate. Traditionally, for Boston College admits who submit SAT scores, the 25th-75th percentile range for math is around 640-740. Similarly, the verbal score range is between 630 and 720.
The SAT combined score used to include not only the verbal and math sections, but also the writing section. This is why you may see scores on a 2400-point scale rather than a 1600-point one. With the new SAT, combined scores are now considered to be just verbal + math. This is what you should use for making combined score comparisons. The middle 50 percent of students accepted to Boston College generally have combined scores between 1270 and 1460.
How Boston College acceptees stacks up
For the sake of comparison, the average composite ACT score of all students tested nationally is around 21.0. For English and math, it’s 20.4 and 20.8 respectively. That means to maximize your chances of getting into Boston College, you’ll want to score quite a bit above average on your standardized tests. Based on the middle 50 percent ranges given above, most students admitted to BC fall in the 95th-99th percentile of all test takers.
Obviously, though, Boston College—like all selective colleges—is looking for more than just a test score. You can’t ensure you’ll be admitted just because you score highly on any test. Moreover, scoring below the target range doesn’t mean you don’t have a shot. When you decide where to apply and, ultimately, attend college, make sure you considers other aspects of fit as well, including: financial fit, cultural fit, and location.
