The first official photo of the Class of 2020, taken on August 27, 2016 at Alumni Stadium. (Lee Pellegrini)
(Note: Statistics cited are as of August 1, 2016)
Boston College has enrolled an impressive class of first-year students, with 2,319 highly accomplished freshmen from an applicant pool of 28,956 entering BC from 46 states and 41 countries.
Nanci Tessier, vice provost for enrollment management, described the Class of 2020 as an incredibly gifted and diverse group that includes class presidents, yearbook editors, budding scientists and students who have made a deep commitment to helping others through community service.
Among the incoming class, she noted, is a student who has done biomedical research at a biomaterials lab in France; a Mexican immigrant who founded an organization that provides tutoring for bilingual elementary school pupils; an archaeology assistant at Earthwatch Institute who has excavated third century Roman ruins in Populonia, Italy; and a musician who appeared alongside Bruno Mars, Guns N’ Roses and other notable performers this summer at Lollapalooza in Chicago and Milwaukee’s Summerfest.
“When I think about this incoming class, I imagine what it is like for a student from a rural American town to sit in a classroom next to a student from Shanghai,” said Tessier. “It’s an incredible opportunity for growth because of the way in which BC faculty will involve these talented students in intellectually engaging conversations and bring multiple points of view into a lively discussion. This will happen not only in the classroom, but in residence halls and in numerous conversations in The Chocolate Bar and other gathering spots on campus. It’s a time of great excitement to have this exceptional quality of student on our campus.”
Overall, 32 percent of the class is composed of AHANA students and international students of color; 54 percent are female, 46 percent male; and one in nine is a first generation college student. They come from a total of 1,334 high schools, with 53 percent having attended public schools, 27 percent Catholic schools and 20 percent independent schools.
Geographically, the top five states represented in the Class of 2020 are Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, California and Connecticut. International students, who comprise seven percent of the class, come from 41 countries that include China, Ireland, Costa Rica, Singapore, Finland, Republic of Korea, Canada, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, Honduras, Spain, Madagascar and Trinidad and Tobago, among others.
Approximately, 60 percent of the class will receive financial aid, with an average financial aid grant of $38,930. In total, Boston College is providing $35.7 million in financial aid to the Class of 2020, out of its overall 2016-2017 undergraduate financial aid budget of $140 million. BC remains one of only 19 private universities that is need- blind in admission and meets the full demonstrated need of all accepted students.
Citing BC’s selectivity in admitting students, Tessier noted that the SAT range from the 25th to the 75th percentile was 1910-2150 for the incoming class, which compares to 1240-1720 nationally. The cross-application institutions with which BC competes for students include Notre Dame, Georgetown, University of Virginia, New York University, University of Michigan, UCLA, University of Pennsylvania, Tufts, Cornell, Brown, USC, Harvard and Princeton.
Of the 2,319 first-year students, 67 percent are enrolled in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences; 23 percent in the Carroll School of Management and five percent in both the Connell School of Nursing and the Lynch School of Education.
In addition to the robust class of incoming freshmen, Tessier said that 141 transfer students joined Boston College from 24 states and territories and four countries. Seventeen percent are AHANA, 10 percent are international citizens and 11 percent are first-generation students.
“It takes an entire campus community to enroll such a gifted group of students,” said Tessier. “I am grateful for the good work of my colleagues in Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid for bringing such talent to the University. I also thank those across the campus – from the maintenance and physical plant crew who ensure that the Heights looks beautiful for the thousands of visitors who grace our campus, to the staff and faculty who welcome prospective and admitted students to their classrooms and offices. We appreciate all that is done to support our student recruitment efforts.”
—Jack Dunn | News & Public Affairs