Boston University is a school that embraces transfers — over 700 each year. Transfer students are able to start in either the fall or spring semester, and benefit from a robust community specifically geared towards supporting the unique needs of transfer students.
For the fall of 2024, BU received 6,729 applications for transfer admission. They accepted 2,328 students, or just over one-third (34%) of applicants. That is an extreme difference from the first-year acceptance rate that same year, of only 11%, and illustrates how transferring can be a back-door into some top-tier schools. At BU, this is definitely the case. You may not have been a competitive BU applicant as a high school senior, but with a year of exceptional grades under your belt and further development of your extracurriculars, BU truly can be an option. The average GPA of an accepted transfer student is 3.8.
The application is also test-optional, but any student who wants to be a truly compelling applicant should plan to submit scores. If your scores from high school weren’t scene stealing, it’s worth trying again only if you commit to investing time and effort into proper preparation.
Most importantly, though, you need to make a compelling narrative pitch that augments your impressive grades and scores. That’s what we’re going to break down below.
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When you apply to Boston University as a transfer, they ask you if you plan to live on campus or off-campus. Please keep in mind that requesting to live in campus housing as a transfer may reduce your chances of acceptance. If you are able to live with family or independently, that will make it easier for them to say yes to you, as they won’t need to find a bed in addition to a desk. However, don’t say that you can live independently without actually verifying that before pressing submit. Boston is expensive, so verify what your options are first.
When you apply, you are also required to select a college and a major within the college you select. You cannot apply to transfer to BU as “undecided.” You must have a clear path that you can effectively communicate.
Most prospective transfers apply to the College of Arts & Sciences. Regardless of what college you select, the questions are the same.
THE TRANSFER ESSAYS
Boston University welcomes hundreds of transfer students to campus each year. We want to learn more about you and your reasons for transferring, in particular what you hope to accomplish at Boston University. (600 word maximum)
BU wants to know why you want to transfer, but even more than that they want to know what you hope to accomplish by transferring. In this essay, you have room to do both through a narrative storytelling format. First, you’ll tackle the why. Not why you want to transfer, but a deeper why: the what drives you why.
Start your response to this prompt, then, with what you want to do beyond BU. Where do you see yourself in the future? What drives you to reach for more?
Then, you need to tell the story of why where you are right now won’t work to get you to your dream. This should be super specific, and academically oriented. They do not want nor do they need to hear about culture-fit drama or personal complaints. Instead, take a purely academic approach. Your current school doesn’t offer something that you absolutely need in order to get where you want to go — and BU does. If you don’t know what this thing is yet, find it before you start drafting.
Don’t spend a lot of time pinpointing problems. Instead, pivot quickly to why BU is a solution. What major do you plan to pursue if accepted? What courses and professors are you most excited about? With the professors, share what it is about them that is most interesting to you, and how it aligns perfectly with your prospective path.
Finally, once you’ve set up all of the academic reasons for why BU is the best option for you, you can talk culture and community. Include two clubs, student groups, or organizations that you would both benefit from and contribute to as part of the BU community.
Additional Information (optional): Please use this space if you have additional information, materials, or writing samples you would like us to consider. (up to 5,000 characters)
The additional information section is a bit tricky. You don’t have to put anything here, but you should put something. However, they give you a lot of space — way too much, actually. There is no world where you should be using all 5,000 characters, as they don’t even have time when reviewing your application to thoroughly read such a length additional information response. Instead, aim for under 300 words. What should be in those 300 words depends on who you are and what you want to study. Perhaps it’s a research abstract, an excerpt from an article you’ve published with a link to the full piece, or a performance resume.
What matters most in all of this is that BU gets a full picture of you as a student with a clear vision for your future, and how BU will play a crucial role in getting you there. Do not include an additional info that muddies the messaging of your application, even if you think what you want to include is interesting or cool. As we’ve learned helped students transfer to their dream schools for over a decade, more is not more.
If you are hoping to apply to the Questrom School of Business, please remember that applicants must have completed a college-level calculus course or an AP/IB calculus course in high school. Questrom also requires a minimum 3.5 GPA and only accepts transfers to enroll in the fall semester. And, if you were previously rejected from BU, you need to have a full year of college coursework under your belt before applying.
Transferring into a dream school is possible, Contact us to learn how.