Washington University in St Louis (WashU) vs Boston College

Washington University in St Louis and Boston College, two prestigious private research universities, offer distinct educational experiences. Washington University, located in the vibrant city of St. Louis, Missouri, boasts a lower acceptance rate (14%) compared to Boston College's (26%). Both universities excel in various academic disciplines, with popular majors such as Economics, Biology, and Computer Science at Washington University and Economics, Finance, and Psychology at Boston College. While Washington University has a slightly larger student body, Boston College fosters a more diverse community. With graduation rates hovering around 90% for both institutions, students can expect excellent academic support and preparation for their future careers. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Boston College	Washington University in St Louis
Overview
Location	Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	Saint Louis, Missouri
Campus setting	City: Small	Suburb: 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	95.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation	Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	19.0%	13.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $80 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $45
SAT range	1420 - 1530	1490 - 1570
ACT range	33 - 34	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	30.0%	25.0%
Students submitting ACT score	20.0%	41.0%
Total number of applicants	39,846	33,634
Total number of admissions given out	7,587	4,373
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,516	1,980
Yield rate	33.2%	45.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,606	$81,620
Average net price	$30,159	$28,298
Tuition	$60,530	$57,750
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,780 Meal plan: $5,822	Room/dormitory: $12,350 Meal plan: $5,550
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	39.0% Average amount $48,693	44.0% Average amount $51,288
Students receiving federal student loan	33.0% Average amount $3,579	14.0% Average amount $4,790
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $2,200	2.0% Average amount $25,095

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,955 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	8,034 Men 46.4% Women 53.6%
Graduate students	5,622 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%	8,939 Men 47.6% Women 52.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	88.2%
International students	12.4%	26.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	7,602	6,826
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	California Missouri New York Illinois Florida

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Public Administration and Social Service Legal Profession	Business Legal Profession Engineering Health Professions Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	7:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	90.8%	93.1%
Dropout rate	2.5%	6.5%
Transferred out	6.4%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,012 Year 2: $117,572 Year 3: $142,311 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,514 Year 2: $115,060 Year 3: $137,599 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $114,055 Year 2: $111,435 Year 3: $126,491 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $89,485 Year 2: $93,588 Year 3: $114,789 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,426 Year 2: $100,439 Year 3: $112,343 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $89,714 Year 2: $84,100 Year 3: $105,872 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,320 Year 2: $75,518 Year 3: $94,626 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,748 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $90,750 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,899 Year 2: $69,937 Year 3: $82,416 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,785 Year 2: $69,069 Year 3: $77,978	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $89,930 Year 2: $99,517 Year 3: $149,178 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,627 Year 2: $112,270 Year 3: $125,369 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,311 Year 2: $91,744 Year 3: $123,261 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $90,605 Year 2: $80,755 Year 3: $115,101 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,604 Year 2: $85,538 Year 3: $96,865 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,886 Year 2: $67,995 Year 3: $82,126 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $57,989 Year 2: $58,334 Year 3: $73,030 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $65,467 Year 2: $64,379 Year 3: $68,070 Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,193 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $66,777 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $67,699 Year 2: $63,997 Year 3: $66,289

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.

Boston College

Samuel Merritt University