BU vs. NYU vs. Northeastern vs. Carnegie Mellon

Boston University vs. New York University vs. Northeastern University vs. Carnegie Mellon University comparison

	Boston University	New York University	Northeastern University	Carnegie Mellon University
	Remove	Remove	Remove	Remove
Overview	BU	NYU	Northeastern	Carnegie Mellon
Location	Boston, MA	New York, NY	Boston, MA	Pittsburgh, PA
Setting	Large City	Large City	Large City	Large City
Enrollment	36,624	57,335	31,159	15,596
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#77	#39	#132	#43
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	bu.edu	nyu.edu	northeastern.edu	cmu.edu
Team Colors

Costs	BU	NYU	Northeastern	Carnegie Mellon
Tuition (In State)	$63,798	$60,438	$62,000	$62,260
Tuition (Out of State)	$63,798	$60,438	$62,000	$62,260
Room & Board	$18,110	$22,786	$18,790	$17,468
Avg Net Price	$27,551	$30,730	$34,770	$32,964
Avg Grant Aid	$55,080	$48,269	$46,558	$47,550
% Receiving Grant Aid	50%	41%	73%	49%

Admission	BU	NYU	Northeastern	Carnegie Mellon
Applied	80,495	113,578	96,631	33,707
Admitted	8,733	10,693	5,459	3,843
Acceptance Rate	10.8%	9.4%	5.6%	4%
Enrolled %	36%	54.4%	50.3%	31.3%
Avg High School GPA	3.79	3.79	3.91	3.89
Typical High School Grades	A-	A-	A-	A-
Admissions Standards	Exceptional	Elite	Elite	Elite
Applicant Competition	Very High	Extreme	Extreme	Very High
ACT Range	32/34	33/35	33/35	34/35
SAT Range	1400/1520	1480/1570	1460/1550	1500/1570
Submit Test Scores	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline	Jan 4, 2026		Jan 1, 2026	Jan 1, 2026

Academics	BU	NYU	Northeastern	Carnegie Mellon
Student to Faculty Ratio	10:1	8:1	16:1	5:1
Popular Majors	Business (21%) Social Sciences (16%) Communication (15%) Health Professions (8%) Engineering (7%)	Business (19%) Visual and Performing Arts (18%) Social Sciences (14%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (10%) Communication (9%)	Business (25%) Engineering (11%) Health Professions (11%) Social Sciences (9%) Communication (6%)	Engineering (11%) Computer and Information Sciences (6%) Visual and Performing Arts (4%) Business (4%) General Studies (3%)
Outcomes	BU	NYU	Northeastern	Carnegie Mellon
Graduation Rate	85%	86%	77%	87%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$72,000	$76,000	$69,500	$102,700
Making Student Loan Payments	82%	77%	79%	91%
Median Student Loan Debt	$27,000	$23,250	$27,875	$26,250
Median Loan Payment	$279	$240	$288	$271

Diversity	BU	NYU	Northeastern	Carnegie Mellon
% Men	21%	20%	26%	32%
% Women	28%	28%	23%	21%
Racial Diversity	Very High	Very High	Very High	Very High
HBCU	No	No	No	No
% White	43%	34%	48%	32%
% Black	4%	5%	4%	5%
% Hispanic	11%	12%	7%	8%
% Native American	0%	0%	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	4%	4%	4%	4%
% International	20%	17%	20%	18%
% Unknown Race	5%	8%	6%	5%

Students	BU	NYU	Northeastern	Carnegie Mellon
% In-State	14%	23%	21%	9%
% Out-of-State	61%	50%	66%	71%
Campus	BU	NYU	Northeastern	Carnegie Mellon
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No	No	Yes
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Daycare Facility	No	No	Yes	No
Learn More	Details	Details	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• New York University is larger than than BU based on total student enrollment (57,335 students vs. 36,624 students)

BU vs. NYU Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, BU or NYU?

• Boston University is 5.6% more expensive to attend than NYU for in-state tuition ($63,798.00 vs. $60,438.00)
• Out of state tuition is 5.6% higher at BU than New York University ($63,798.00 vs. $60,438.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Boston University than NYU ($27,551 vs. $30,730)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Boston University are 25.8% lower than costs at New York University ($18,110 vs. $22,786)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Boston University than New York University (50% vs. 41%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Boston University students is 14.1% larger than aid received New York University ($55,080 vs. $48,269)

BU vs. NYU Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, BU or NYU? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between NYU or BU .

• The average SAT score at New York University (1360) is 57 points higher than at BU (1303)
• Incoming NYU students have a 2 point higher average ACT score (31) than students at BU (29)
• Accepted freshman BU students have at the same average high school GPA (3.79) as students at NYU (3.79)
• BU has a higher acceptance rate (10.8%) than NYU (9.4%)

BU vs. NYU Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, BU or NYU? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between NYU and BU.

• The graduation rate at NYU is higher than Boston University (86% vs. 85%)
• Graduates from New York University earn on average $4,000 more per year than BU graduates after ten years. ($76,000 vs. $72,000)
• New York University students graduate with a $3,750 lower median federal student loan debt than BU graduates. ($23,250 vs. $27,000)
• NYU graduates are paying $39 less per month on federal student loans than BU graduates. ($240 vs. $279)
• More BU graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former NYU students, three years after graduation. (82% vs. 77%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/