Boston University (BU) vs Duke University

Boston University and Duke University, two prestigious private research universities, offer distinct educational experiences. Boston University, located in the heart of Boston, boasts a vibrant urban campus and a diverse student body, while Duke University, situated in Durham, North Carolina, offers a more traditional college town atmosphere and a strong focus on undergraduate education. With acceptance rates of 21% and 8%, respectively, both universities are highly selective, attracting top students from around the world. While Boston University is known for its strengths in business, engineering, and health sciences, Duke University excels in fields such as engineering, public policy, and the humanities. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details about these universities, including their graduation rates, student demographics, and popular majors, to help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Boston University	Duke University
Overview
Location	Boston, Massachusetts	Durham, North Carolina
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	94.0%	98.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	18.6%	5.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $80 Graduate: $95	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $95
SAT range	1360 - 1520	1468 - 1558
ACT range	31 - 34	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	32.0%	47.0%
Students submitting ACT score	13.0%	46.0%
Total number of applicants	75,778	49,703
Total number of admissions given out	14,129	2,927
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,011	1,744
Yield rate	28.4%	59.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$79,606	$79,860
Average net price	$25,852	$27,297
Tuition	$58,560	$58,085
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $10,990 Meal plan: $5,850	Room/dormitory: $9,164 Meal plan: $6,862
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	53.0% Average amount $50,486	46.0% Average amount $50,731
Students receiving federal student loan	24.0% Average amount $4,317	20.0% Average amount $4,537
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $25,248	3.0% Average amount $22,957

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	18,229 Men 42.3% Women 57.7%	6,883 Men 48.4% Women 51.6%
Graduate students	17,875 Men 42.5% Women 57.5%	10,737 Men 45.5% Women 54.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	26.6%	21.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	11,356	5,718
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California New Jersey Connecticut Pennsylvania	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Computer and Information Science Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Business Health Professions Engineering Legal Profession Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	89.4%	95.9%
Dropout rate	10.3%	4.0%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $115,398 Year 2: $125,611 Year 3: $147,490 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $110,318 Year 2: $110,878 Year 3: $142,427 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $80,155 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $117,665 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,383 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $115,901 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $104,027 Year 2: $106,688 Year 3: $113,743 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,380 Year 2: $102,306 Year 3: $111,308 Insurance (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,170 Year 2: $97,959 Year 3: $108,260 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $108,069 Year 2: $92,743 Year 3: $106,517 Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $87,263 Year 2: $96,829 Year 3: $104,284 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $81,137 Year 2: $83,848 Year 3: $99,636	International Business (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $151,472 Year 2: $213,978 Year 3: $201,782 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $155,031 Year 2: $168,098 Year 3: $200,300 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $143,622 Year 2: $148,189 Year 3: $163,560 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $163,977 Year 2: $138,342 Year 3: $159,598 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $115,135 Year 2: $106,898 Year 3: $134,542 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $123,138 Year 2: $116,541 Year 3: $124,406 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $108,817 Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $117,262 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $94,699 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $112,646 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,661 Year 2: $91,078 Year 3: $108,736 Economics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $104,348

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.