What SAT or ACT score do you need for Boston College?

As of November 2026: For the current application cycle, Boston College is test-optional, and the middle half of enrolled first-years who sent an SAT scored 1430 to 1540 (fall 2023 class). The middle half of those who sent an ACT scored 33 to 34.

Boston College is test-optional. Here is what the score bands mean, who sends a score, how hard it is to get in, and what your family can do this month.

By Nick Standlea, Test Prep Gurus. Figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

Boston College is test-optional, and its SAT band runs from 1430 to 1540 For the current application cycle, Boston College reads a score if your child sends one and gives full consideration to students who do not. The middle half of enrolled first-years who sent an SAT scored 1430 to 1540, and the middle half who sent an ACT scored 33 to 34.

Only some first-years sent a score In the fall 2023 class, 28 percent of enrolled first-years sent an SAT and 16 percent sent an ACT. The bands rest on those students, not on the whole class.

Getting in is hard, and early decision had a higher rate Boston College admitted 15.7 percent of its applicants for fall 2023. For fall 2024 entrants, early decision applicants were admitted at 33.45 percent, while the overall rate was 16.19 percent.

Does Boston College require the SAT or ACT?

The testing policy as Boston College states it on its own admissions page.

College	Policy	Applies to	In the college's words	Source
Boston College	optional	current application cycle	Boston College offers a test-optional admission policy. Students who choose not to submit test scores will receive full consideration in our selection process.	Source

Optional means the college reads a score if one is sent. Required means a score must be sent. Blind means scores are not read at all.

Boston College: score bands, who sends a score, how many get in, what it costs

Score bands, score-sending shares, applicants and admits are for the fall 2023 class. Prices come from the College Scorecard.

Measure	Value
applicants, fall 2023	36069
admits, fall 2023	5663
admit rate, percent	15.7
SAT 25th percentile, enrolled submitters	1430
SAT 75th percentile, enrolled submitters	1540
ACT 25th percentile, enrolled submitters	33
ACT 75th percentile, enrolled submitters	34
share of enrolled first-years who sent an SAT, percent	28
share who sent an ACT, percent	16
application fee, dollars	80
full price of a year, dollars	89493
average net price after aid, dollars	41704

The bands describe enrolled first-years who sent that test, not every applicant and not every admitted student.

Boston College: early decision versus the overall rate

Early decision and overall admission for students who entered in fall 2024, from Boston College's Common Data Set.

ED applicants	ED admits	ED admit rate, percent	All applicants	All admits	Overall admit rate, percent	Source
4,288	1,434	33.45	34,779	5,632	16.19	Source

Early decision is a binding commitment. The students who choose it are a self-selected group.

Does Boston College require the SAT or ACT?

Boston College is test-optional for the current application cycle. That means the college will read a score if your child sends one. A student who sends no score is still a full applicant.

The college's own admissions page says it plainly: "Boston College offers a test-optional admission policy. Students who choose not to submit test scores will receive full consideration in our selection process." We take that at its word. The choice to send or hold back a score belongs to your family.

Test-optional is not the same as test-blind. At a test-blind college, scores are not read at all. At Boston College, a score you choose to send becomes part of your child's application, so it should be a score you are glad to show.

What SAT score do Boston College first-years have?

The middle half of enrolled first-years who sent an SAT scored between 1430 and 1540. These are students in the fall 2023 class, the latest federal count.

That band is not a cutoff. Some enrolled students who sent an SAT scored below 1430, and some scored above 1540. The band also leaves out every student who chose not to send a score at all.

Here is a plain way to read it. A score of 1430 puts your child at the low edge of the middle half of submitters. A score of 1540 puts your child at the top edge. Our students use these numbers as a target to aim for, not as a gate that opens or shuts.

What ACT score do Boston College first-years have?

The middle half of Boston College first-years who sent an ACT scored 33 or 34. That is a narrow band near the top of the ACT scale.

Like the SAT band, it describes enrolled first-years in the fall 2023 class who chose to send an ACT. It does not describe every student who applied or every student who got in.

Some students do better on the ACT, and some do better on the SAT. You cannot tell which from a guess. A full-length practice test of each, taken under real timing, is the clearest way to see which test fits your child.

How many Boston College first-years send a score?

In the fall 2023 class, 28 percent of enrolled first-years sent an SAT and 16 percent sent an ACT. So the bands rest on the students who chose to send a test, not on the whole class. At a selective test-optional college like this one, we tell families it is nearly always good to have a score: a strong one bolsters the odds of getting in, and most merit scholarships are keyed to a score.

That matters for how you read the bands. Students who sent a score chose to send it. A student with a lower score may have held it back. Because of that, the bands may sit higher than the scores of the class as a whole.

For your family, the takeaway is calm and simple. Many enrolled students at Boston College did not send that test. Sending a score is a choice, and it should be a choice you make on purpose.

Should my child send a score to Boston College?

If your child's score sits inside or above the 1430 to 1540 SAT band, or the 33 to 34 ACT band, send it to Boston College. A score in that range matches the middle half of enrolled first-years who sent a score.

If the score sits below the band, think hard before you send it. The college says students who do not submit scores still receive full consideration. In our view, a score below the band is one to weigh carefully against the rest of your child's application.

There is also a third path. If time allows before your child's deadline, your child can prep and test again to move the score into the band. That is the path we see many families choose, and it often gives them a score they feel good about sending.

How hard is it to get into Boston College?

Boston College admitted 15.7 percent of its applicants for fall 2023. That year it had 36,069 applicants and 5,663 admits.

For students who entered in fall 2024, the college's Common Data Set reports 34,779 applicants and 5,632 admits, for an overall rate of 16.19 percent. Early decision applicants that year were admitted at a rate of 33.45 percent, with 1,434 admits from 4,288 applications.

We would not read that difference as a shortcut. Early decision is a binding promise to attend if admitted, and the students who choose it are a self-selected group. Apply early decision only if Boston College is your child's clear top choice and your family is ready for that commitment.

What does it cost to apply to and attend Boston College?

The application fee at Boston College is $80. The full price of a year is $89,493, and the average net price after aid is $41,704.

The average net price is just that, an average. Your family's own price may land above or below it. It depends on your income, your savings and the aid your child is offered.

Before your child applies, sit down together and run the net price calculator on the college's website with your own tax numbers. That gives your family a far better guess than any average, and it helps you plan with clear eyes.

What should we do this month?

This month, have your child take a free full-length mock SAT and a free full-length mock ACT at Test Prep Gurus. Then compare each score with the Boston College bands: 1430 to 1540 on the SAT and 33 to 34 on the ACT.

If your child is a high school senior in the 2026-27 school year, who starts college in fall 2027, look at the test dates left before the deadlines your child plans to meet. If your child is younger, you have more room to plan. Either way, plan 6 to 12 weeks of prep before a test date that counts.

Prepare for the whole test every sitting. Do not plan around fixing a single section and hoping the rest holds steady. Call us at 949.229.5359, or book a free mock SAT and free mock ACT at https://www.prepgurus.com/take-the-next-step. We will help your child see where the score stands and what it will take to reach the band.

Questions parents ask

Does Boston College require SAT or ACT scores?
Boston College is test-optional for the current application cycle.

What SAT score do Boston College students have?
The middle half of enrolled first-years who sent an SAT scored between 1430 and 1540.

What ACT score do Boston College students have?
The middle half of Boston College first-years who sent an ACT scored 33 or 34.

Should we send a score that is below the band?
If the score sits below the band, think hard before you send it.

What is the Boston College acceptance rate?
Boston College admitted 15.7 percent of its applicants for fall 2023.

How much does Boston College cost?
The full price of a year is $89,493, and the average net price after aid is $41,704.

Ready to plan the next test date? Free mock SAT and free mock ACT at Test Prep Gurus, then a plan built on the result: prepgurus.com/take-the-next-step or 949.229.5359.

Method and sources: The testing policy is Boston College's own statement on its admissions page, and it applies to the current application cycle. The SAT and ACT bands describe the middle half of enrolled first-years who sent that test in the fall 2023 class, the latest federal count, so they do not describe every applicant or every admitted student; applicant and admit totals are for the same class. Early decision figures come from the college's Common Data Set for students who entered in fall 2024. Prices come from the federal College Scorecard.