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2021–2022 GIVING FOR BOSTON COLLEGE:
All alumni who make a contribution to BC have an outsized impact.
Donors
From Gifts of $1,000 or Less
Total Dollars Raised
%
of Donors in the Neenan Society
households are part of the 1863 Society
New Members in the Shaw Society
“I feel like I have really taken advantage of my BC experience, and that is all thanks to me being able to be here in the first place.”
—Linda Jones ’22
Financial Aid in Action
Historic Year for Admissions
This year, admitted students averaged 1510 on the SAT, a milestone for BC, and 34 on the ACT. Sixty-seven percent of admitted students submitted standardized test scores with their applications, even as BC, like many elite colleges and universities, made them optional.
AHANA students represent 42 percent of admitted students in the Class of 2026, which had applicants from all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., three United States territories, and 82 countries. Nine percent are international students, and 11 percent are first-generation students.
The University received 40,477 applications—the most in its history—for the Class of 2026, and admitted just 16 percent of all applicants. The percentage of admitted students at BC is half of what it was only five years ago, when the admit rate for the Class of 2021 (with 28,454 applications) was 32 percent. Just three years ago, the admit rate for the Class of 2023 was 27 percent with 35,500 applications, a record at that time.
Director of Undergraduate Admission Grant Gosselin said two key factors played a role in this historic admissions cycle.
“One is the introduction of BC’s Early Decision program, which was implemented three years ago,” explained Gosselin. “With Early Decision, applicants identify themselves as strong candidates for BC’s distinctive education and commit to enrolling, if admitted. We have attracted extraordinary candidates via Early Decision who comprise approximately half of this incoming class.
Additionally, a test-optional admission plan during the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 cycles “has contributed to an increase in the number of students considering an application to highly competitive universities like Boston College. However, given the increase in the percentage of admitted students submitting scores and the increases in those scores, we have every reason to believe that the degree of academic excellence among our undergraduates will continue to rise,” says Gosselin.
“In the end, BC is getting more ‘best-fit’ students than ever in our applicant pool, who see themselves as aligning with BC expectations and values.”
Financial Aid in Action
Historic Year for Admissions
In a year in which it received a record number of applications for the incoming first-year class, Boston College continued to solidify its status as one of the country’s most selective universities.
This year, admitted students averaged 1510 on the SAT, a milestone for BC, and 34 on the ACT. Sixty-seven percent of admitted students submitted standardized test scores with their applications, even as BC, like many elite colleges and universities, made them optional.
AHANA students represent 42 percent of admitted students in the Class of 2026, which had applicants from all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., three United States territories, and 82 countries. Nine percent are international students, and 11 percent are first-generation students.
The University received 40,477 applications—the most in its history—for the Class of 2026, and admitted just 16 percent of all applicants. The percentage of admitted students at BC is half of what it was only five years ago, when the admit rate for the Class of 2021 (with 28,454 applications) was 32 percent. Just three years ago, the admit rate for the Class of 2023 was 27 percent with 35,500 applications, a record at that time.
Director of Undergraduate Admission Grant Gosselin said two key factors played a role in this historic admissions cycle.
“One is the introduction of BC’s Early Decision program, which was implemented three years ago,” explained Gosselin. “With Early Decision, applicants identify themselves as strong candidates for BC’s distinctive education and commit to enrolling, if admitted. We have attracted extraordinary candidates via Early Decision who comprise approximately half of this incoming class.
Additionally, a test-optional admission plan during the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 cycles “has contributed to an increase in the number of students considering an application to highly competitive universities like Boston College. However, given the increase in the percentage of admitted students submitting scores and the increases in those scores, we have every reason to believe that the degree of academic excellence among our undergraduates will continue to rise,” says Gosselin.
“In the end, BC is getting more ‘best-fit’ students than ever in our applicant pool, who see themselves as aligning with BC expectations and values.”
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Competitive Excellence in Action
Game-Changing Support
“We always talk about finding that extra inch competitively, whether it’s in how we train or how we fuel through specialized nutrition, and the support we receive from the BC community has afforded us that competitive edge.”
—Acacia Walker-Weinstein, Lacrosse head coach
The heartbreak was well documented. For four years in a row, the Boston College lacrosse season ended on a disappointing note. From 2017 to 2019, the Eagles lost in the NCAA national championship match. Then COVID-19 cut short the 2020 campaign after only seven games.
Entering the 2021 season, the squad knew they had a lot to prove. Head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein and her staff added more talent to an already impressive roster, yet some had the team ranked as low as 17th in the national polls. What the doubters didn’t know was that on top of their built-in motivation, the program had received a six-figure boost from BC’s successful Support Your Sport campaign, which wrapped up just days before their season opener.
Over just one week in early February 2021, nearly 350 donors contributed more than $200,000 to lacrosse through Support Your Sport. These crucial funds would help cover equipment, nutrition, recruiting, travel, and other operating needs. “It was a game-changer,” says Walker-Weinstein. “We always talk about finding that extra inch competitively, whether it’s in how we train or how we fuel through specialized nutrition, and the support we receive from the BC community has afforded us that competitive edge.” On May 30, 2021, the Eagles finally reached the summit of their sport, defeating Syracuse University to win the program’s first national title.
This year’s third annual Support Your Sport saw even more commitment from BC alumni, resulting in more than 4,100 gifts and $1.1 million to directly benefit BC’s 31 varsity sports. Head coach since 2012, Walker-Weinstein embraces the role of securing resources for her team.
“Championships are not won over just 60 minutes, they are a grind all year long,” Walker-Weinstein says. “Our victory was a testament to the team’s hard work. To be able to bring the trophy home to BC, and celebrate it with a community that has our back, was a tremendous honor.”
REUNION 2022
Over two fun-filled weekends in June, more than 5,000 Eagles flocked to the Heights to celebrate their 2022 Reunion.
Class of 2017
Class of 2002
Class of 1972
Reunion donors
Raised
Premier Academics in Action
A New Major to Address Critical Human Needs
“Drawing upon our liberal arts offerings and our professional schools will allow us to offer a broad-based, interdisciplinary program of human-centered engineering, which many traditional engineering programs have struggled to develop.”
—Tom Chiles, Vice Provost for Research
In fall 2021, Boston College launched its highly anticipated Human-Centered Engineering program, a major that will integrate BC’s core liberal arts focus and a rigorous engineering curriculum to prepare students to find solutions that address critical human needs.
Guided by the fundamentals of engineering education, the program emphasizes experiential learning and application-based course offerings, giving students opportunities to work in collaborative teams and across disciplines to address critical issues in the areas of the environment, health, and energy.
Human-Centered Engineering is aligned closely with the University’s new Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, creating new avenues for faculty and student research in the applied sciences and responding to the high level of interest in engineering among prospective applicants considering majors in STEM fields.
Graduates will be well positioned to solve complex problems with scientific, technological, human, and societal dimensions that confront the world. The program will integrate the liberal arts focus of BC’s core curriculum with foundations of engineering, design and systems thinking applications, and service-focused capstone experiences.
The creation of the program coincided with the launch of the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, housed within 245 Beacon Street, BC’s state-of-the-art science and engineering center that opened in fall 2021 as the centerpiece of a $300 million investment in the sciences.
“Drawing upon our liberal arts offerings and our professional schools will allow us to offer a broad-based, interdisciplinary program of human-centered engineering, which many traditional engineering programs have struggled to develop.”
Thank You!
For additional information about the impact of your giving, please contact our annual giving team at bcfund@bc.edu.