Outcomes
What it pays
Former students earn a median $83,238 ten years after enrolling, more than at 93% of colleges; 87% graduate within six years. Four years of net price is about 2.7 years of that salary.
Earnings
Earnings climb with time
Staying and finishing
Retention
come back for year two
Graduation
graduate within six years
National median graduation rate: 59%
What graduates owe
$23.3K
According to Boston University's most recent Common Data Set, 34% of its Class of 2024 graduates (3,441 students) borrowed from any source: federal, institutional, state, or private, averaging $36,123 among those who did.
Counts students who started here as first-time students and earned a bachelor's; the federal median counts federal loans only, including students who left without a degree.
Everyone who starts here, 8 years later
Students who entered in fall 2016, including and part-time students. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students and treats a transfer out as not finishing.
86 of 100 students who start here earn a degree or certificate here within 8 years; 9 more are enrolled at another college. (4,912 students)
All entering students, by whether they had a Pell Grant.
80 of 100 finish within 4 years, 86 within 6, and 86 within 8.
| Earned a credential within | 4 yrs | 6 yrs | 8 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| All students | 80% | 86% | 86% |
| Started in college here | 80% | 87% | 87% |
| Transferred in | 79% | 82% | 82% |
Transfer students' clock starts when they arrive here, not when they first started college.
National median: 60% of all entering students earn a credential at the college they started at within 8 years.
Do lower-income students finish?
Of 100 Pell Grant recipients who entered in fall 2018, 82 finished within 4 years and 89 within 6. First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years; entered fall 2018.
- Pell Grant recipients627 students
89% · 82% within 4 years · 1 point above students with neither
- Subsidized loan, no Pell Grant597 students
90% · 85% within 4 years · 1 point above students with neither
- Neither Pell nor subsidized loan2,375 students
88% · 79% within 4 years · comparison group
Within 4 years
By race and ethnicity
First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years, from the College Scorecard's most recent release. Groups under 30 students aren't shown.
- White1,179 students
90% · 1 point above all students
- Asian709 students
91% · 3 points above all students
- Hispanic/Latino410 students
86% · 3 points below all students
- Black134 students
85% · 4 points below all students
- Two or more races166 students
86% · 3 points below all students
- International834 students
87% · 1 point below all students
- American Indian/Alaska Native3 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander5 students
Not shown: under 30 students
Cost vs. earnings
The 300 most-applied-to colleges plus Boston University. Top-left is lower cost and higher earnings.
↑ Median earnings 10 years after entry (higher = more)
Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;Boston University Common Data Set 2024–25, Class of 2024About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)