Quad

Head-to-head

U. Notre Dame
Boston

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    U. Notre Dame costs about $16K less per year on average than Boston ($50,602 vs. $66,646, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  2. 2

    U. Notre Dame's yield is 19 pts higher than Boston's

    Yield rate
  3. 3

    U. Notre Dame's grants cover 39% of its full price on average, vs. 26% at Boston

    Aid generosity
  4. 4

    U. Notre Dame graduates 5 pts more of its students than Boston (96% vs. 91%)

    Graduation rate
  5. 5

    Boston grads earn $4K more ten years out than U. Notre Dame's ($103,937 vs. $99,980)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  6. 6

    Boston is more diverse (index 0.64 vs. 0.61)

    Diversity index

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

U. Notre Dame admits 11%, Boston 13%; U. Notre Dame's yield is higher, at 62%.

Acceptance rate
U. Notre Dame11%
Boston13%
Quad's selectivity
  • U. Notre DameUltra selective
  • BostonHighly selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1300–1600
U. Notre Dame
1455–1560
Boston
1440–1540
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • U. Notre DameSchool record and prep program required
  • BostonRigor and GPA very important

Who's on each campus

Boston is a bit larger than U. Notre Dame (10,085 vs. 8,818 undergrads); U. Notre Dame has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
U. Notre Dame8.8K
Boston10.1K
Pell Grant share
U. Notre Dame14%
Boston13%

Majors and faculty

Finance leads at U. Notre Dame, and Econometrics and Quantitative Economics at Boston; U. Notre Dame has 8 students per faculty member to Boston's 10.

Students per faculty member
U. Notre Dame8 to 1
Boston10 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • U. Notre DameFinance, General14%
  • BostonEconometrics and Quantitative Economics13%

What each costs

U. Notre Dame costs about $16K less a year than Boston on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
U. Notre Dame$50.6K
Boston$66.6K
Aid generosity
U. Notre Dame39%
Boston26%

What each pays off

Boston's former students earn more, a median $103.9K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 90% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
U. Notre Dame$100K
Boston$103.9K
Graduation rate
U. Notre Dame96%
Boston91%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • U. Notre DameGrowing+67%
  • BostonGrowing+51%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;Boston College (Fall 2026), Fall 2026;Boston College Common Data Set 2024–25, Fall 2026 applicants;Boston College Common Data Set 2024–25, Fall 2024About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why