A Parent’s Complete Guide to Boston University (2026-2027)

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Jump to

• What is the one thing every Boston University parent needs to know before move-in?
• Quick Facts for Boston University Families
• A Note on Go BU Terriers
• How do parents get to Boston University? Travel guide from Logan International Airport
• What do parents need to know about Boston University move-in day 2026?
• The Residence Halls: Where Your Student Might Live
• How much does Boston University cost? Tuition, financial aid, and scholarships for 2026-27
• Boston: What Parents Need to Know
• When is Boston University Family Weekend 2026 and how do parents plan for it?
• How can parents support their Boston University student’s mental health?
• Who do Boston University parents contact? Essential numbers and websites for families
• BU’s Academic Strengths
• What is Boston University’s graduation rate?
• Academic Calendar
• What to Pack for Boston University

What is the one thing every Boston University parent needs to know before move-in?

Boston University’s physical campus is one of the most distinctive in American higher education, and understanding it before drop-off will make every conversation you have with your student over the next four years make more sense.

Rather than a traditional bounded campus with gates and quads and grassy common areas, BU stretches for about a mile along Commonwealth Avenue in Boston’s Allston-Brighton neighborhood, with academic buildings, residence halls, dining halls, and athletic facilities lining both sides of the street. The MBTA Green Line B Branch runs directly through the middle of it all, along Commonwealth Avenue, making BU students some of the most transit-connected college students in the country. This is not a campus that sits next to a city. This campus is a city, and that distinction matters enormously for parents trying to understand what daily life at BU actually looks like.

The practical implications of this layout ripple through everything. Walking from Warren Towers at the east end of campus near Kenmore Square to the West Campus Towers at the far west end takes a solid 20 to 25 minutes on foot, and most students learn to treat the Green Line B Branch as their primary way of crossing campus rather than walking the full length. The B Branch is a legitimate city trolley, shared with residents and commuters throughout Allston and Brighton, and it is famously slow. BU students have a running joke that the B Branch runs on its own schedule, which is more aspiration than timetable. Your student will spend a non-trivial amount of their college life waiting for the trolley. This is worth knowing.

The upside of this arrangement is considerable. Logan International Airport is roughly 30 minutes from campus by transit (free on the MBTA Silver Line from the airport to South Station, then the Green Line to BU), or about $25 to $35 by Uber or taxi. Downtown Boston, including the Financial District, the Seaport, and the North End, is roughly 20 minutes by subway. Fenway Park is one block from the east end of campus and is legitimately walkable for Red Sox games. The Museum of Fine Arts is a 10-minute walk. The entire cultural, professional, and culinary ecosystem of a major American city is threaded into BU student life in a way that no suburban campus can replicate. Your student is not going to college and then occasionally visiting Boston. They are living in Boston, with student ID access, student pricing, and the complete understanding that the city is part of the educational experience.

There is no campus bubble at BU, and that is the trade-off parents need to understand clearly. A student who struggles with an unstructured urban environment, or who needs the containment and community of a more traditional residential campus to feel grounded, may find BU’s openness to the city disorienting rather than liberating. A student who is energized by access, independence, and the texture of city life will likely thrive. Most BU students fall somewhere in the middle: they find their footing in the first semester, settle into a rhythm that mixes campus community with city exploration, and eventually come to regard the Commonwealth Avenue corridor and everything attached to it as home in a way that is specific to BU and not quite like anything else.

The Beanpot Tournament deserves its own mention even in a general introduction, because it is a defining cultural event that parents should know about from the start. The Beanpot is a four-team college hockey invitational played on two consecutive Monday nights in February at TD Garden, pitting BU against Boston College, Harvard, and Northeastern. It has been played since 1952 and it determines, in the eyes of most Bostonians, which school owns the city for the year. BU has won the Beanpot more than any other school. Attending the Beanpot is a rite of passage for BU students, and if you have any interest in visiting your student in February, planning that visit around Beanpot Monday is one of the best things you can do. TD Garden is accessible by Green Line and Orange Line, and the energy in the arena during a BU versus BC matchup is unlike anything you will find at a suburban campus on a Tuesday night.

Quick Facts for Boston University Families

A Note on Go BU Terriers

The BU Terrier is one of the more distinctive mascots in college athletics, and once you know the story, it sticks.

Rhett, the Boston Terrier who serves as BU’s live mascot, is named after Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind, a choice that says something about the university’s affection for a certain kind of irreverent charm. Boston Terriers are a breed associated with the city of Boston, compact and energetic and with a stubbornness that most BU students would recognize as a virtue. The scarlet and white colors appear everywhere on Commonwealth Avenue on game days, and by the end of freshman fall, most students have acquired enough BU gear to field a small parade. Becoming a Terrier is a real identity, not just a marketing phrase, and parents who invest a little in understanding what that identity means will find it easier to connect with their student over the next four years.

The BU men’s hockey program is one of the elite programs in college hockey, full stop. The Terriers have won multiple national championships, have produced a remarkable number of NHL players, and compete in Hockey East against programs like Boston College, Northeastern, and Providence College. Agganis Arena, the on-campus arena that seats about 6,200, is where home games are played, and attending a BU hockey game is genuinely one of the best things a parent can do on a fall or winter visit. The student section is loud and committed, the arena is well-appointed, and the hockey is often excellent. If your student played hockey in high school or follows the sport at all, this will be central to their BU experience. If your student did not follow hockey before arriving at BU, there is a reasonable chance they will by the end of sophomore year, because the hockey culture is that embedded in BU identity.

The Beanpot Tournament, as mentioned above, is the high point of that hockey culture. Two consecutive Monday nights in February at TD Garden, four Boston schools, and decades of accumulated rivalry. BU students wake up on Beanpot Monday the way students at other schools might feel about homecoming or a rivalry football game, with the added dimension that the tournament is played at a professional arena in the middle of the city, which gives it a scale and energy that most college athletic events do not have. Beanpot tickets sell out, and students typically acquire them through the BU ticketing office well in advance. If you are planning a February visit, coordinate around the Beanpot.

Marsh Chapel sits at the geographic and spiritual center of BU’s campus on Commonwealth Avenue, and it is worth knowing about even if your family is not particularly religious. The chapel is an interdenominational community open to all students regardless of faith tradition, and it hosts everything from Sunday services to meditation evenings to conversations about ethics and meaning that draw students from across the university. The late Howard Thurman, one of the great theologians and civil rights figures of the twentieth century, served as dean of Marsh Chapel from 1953 to 1965, and his legacy permeates the chapel’s programming and ethos. For students who are working through questions of faith, identity, or meaning in a large urban research university, Marsh Chapel can be a genuinely stabilizing place. Parents who are curious about spiritual support resources at BU should know it exists and know its history.

How do parents get to Boston University? Travel guide from Logan International Airport

Logan International Airport (BOS) is approximately five miles from the BU campus, and the transit connection is one of the better airport-to-campus links in American higher education.

The MBTA Silver Line runs free of charge from the airport to South Station, where passengers can transfer to the Red Line toward Park Street and then the Green Line B Branch toward Boston University. The full transit trip takes approximately 45 to 60 minutes depending on connections. Taxi and rideshare from Logan to campus costs approximately $25 to $35 under normal traffic conditions, and the trip takes 20 to 30 minutes when traffic is clear, which is less often than you would hope. Boston traffic is genuinely challenging, and Logan’s ground access is among the more congested in the country during peak travel times. If you are flying in for Family Weekend or move-in and have any flexibility in your arrival time, a late morning or early afternoon arrival on a weekday will typically be smoother than a Friday afternoon or a rush-hour window.

Driving to Boston from New York City takes approximately four hours on I-95 and I-90 under reasonable conditions, though the approach into Boston from the south and west can add 30 to 60 minutes during peak periods. Providence is roughly one hour away. Hartford is about 90 minutes. Families driving from the Midwest or South typically find it easiest to plan for two days of driving and overnight somewhere in Connecticut or Rhode Island rather than attempting the full distance in a single day. The Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) enters Boston from the west and connects directly to the Allston/Brighton area adjacent to BU’s west campus, which makes the approach relatively logical for families arriving from that direction.

Parking is where the reality of Boston’s urban density asserts itself most forcefully. Parking on and around the BU campus is extremely limited and expensive, and families who drive to Boston for move-in, Family Weekend, or graduation should have a parking plan before they arrive rather than hoping to find something on the street. The university’s website lists parking garages and surface lots near campus. A car is a genuine liability for most BU students during the academic year: it costs money to park, it is rarely needed given the quality of transit access, and it creates more logistical complexity than it solves. Parents are strongly advised not to drive to campus visits unless there is a specific reason that requires a car.

What do parents need to know about Boston University move-in day 2026?

BU’s move-in process typically takes place in late August or early September, and the late August Boston weather is generally favorable: warm and sometimes humid, with temperatures typically in the mid-70s to low 80s Fahrenheit, and the occasional late-summer thunderstorm.

It is not the brutal heat of some Southern campuses in August, but it is warm enough that carrying boxes up multiple flights of stairs will be sweaty work. Dress accordingly, wear comfortable shoes, and bring water.

The logistics of move-in at BU are shaped entirely by the linear campus structure, and this is where parents need to pay close attention to the specific instructions from their student’s residence hall rather than making assumptions based on experience at other schools. Because BU’s campus runs along Commonwealth Avenue, different residence halls have different loading zones, different time windows for unloading, and different traffic patterns. A family moving into Warren Towers at 700 Commonwealth Avenue is dealing with a completely different situation than a family moving into the West Campus Towers or one of the Brownstone halls along the Commonwealth Avenue strip. The university assigns move-in time slots, and following the assigned slot matters because the loading zones are shared, traffic on Commonwealth Avenue does not stop for move-in, and families who show up outside their assigned window create significant problems for the families around them.

The BU Orientation program, called Terrier Days, begins immediately after move-in and runs through the first week of classes. It is well-organized and genuinely useful, mixing required programming for new students with optional events, tours, and social activities. There is a strong volunteer presence from current BU students (called Orientation Leaders) who help new students sort out the logistics and begin making connections. Parents are encouraged to attend the sessions designed for families during move-in weekend and then, when the time comes, to say goodbye and let the orientation process do its work. Students who stay oriented toward their parents during the first week of Terrier Days tend to have a harder time building the peer connections that make the first semester go well.

Practical move-in tips for BU families:

• Read the residence hall-specific move-in instructions on bu.edu/housing well before departure day, because procedures differ meaningfully by hall
• Arrive within your assigned time slot and have your confirmation ready
• Bring a cart or hand truck if possible; many halls have them available but supply is limited on move-in day
• Park your vehicle in your assigned loading zone, unload quickly, move the car to a garage or lot immediately, and then return to help organize the room
• Bring cash for parking, as some lots near campus are cash-only
• Plan for the process to take longer than you expect, particularly in Warren Towers, where elevator waits can be significant on move-in day
• The BU campus bookstore and nearby shops will be crowded in the days after move-in; order what you can in advance

The Residence Halls: Where Your Student Might Live

BU guarantees housing for freshmen and sophomores, which means most students spend their first two years in the university’s residential system before transitioning to off-campus apartments in the neighborhoods surrounding campus. The halls themselves vary considerably in character, and understanding the differences will help you understand your student’s living situation.

Warren Towers is the largest residence hall at BU and arguably one of the largest single residential buildings at any American university. The three connected towers sit at 700 Commonwealth Avenue near Kenmore Square at the east end of campus, housing several thousand students across hundreds of rooms. Warren is heavily freshman-populated, very social, and very loud, particularly in the first weeks of each semester. It is connected directly to a large dining hall, which makes the logistics of eating simple for students who live there, and its proximity to Kenmore Square and Fenway Park puts it in the thick of Boston’s entertainment district. Students assigned to Warren will not struggle to find people to hang out with. They may struggle to find quiet.

West Campus comprises three connected towers at the far west end of campus: Claflin Hall, Sleeper Hall, and Rich Hall. These buildings are newer in feel than Warren and somewhat quieter, connected to each other by walkways and to the West Campus dining hall. The west campus location puts students farther from Kenmore Square but closer to the residential neighborhoods of Brighton and farther from the academic center of campus, which means a regular commute on the Green Line B Branch. Students who value a slightly more residential feel and a bit more separation from the intense social density of Warren often end up preferring West Campus.

Myles Standish Hall, a traditional residence hall near Kenmore Square, is connected to what many BU students consider the best dining hall on campus. The building itself has a classic collegiate feel that differs from the tower aesthetic of Warren and West Campus. Shelton Hall is a mid-campus traditional hall with a somewhat quieter reputation. Both offer a more conventional residence hall experience than the large towers.

The Commonwealth Avenue Brownstones (including halls such as Ashford Street and Granby Street) are smaller residential buildings along the main campus strip that offer a more intimate feel than the large towers. Students in the Brownstones often describe the experience as closer to living in an apartment than in a traditional dormitory, with fewer residents per floor and a somewhat quieter social environment. These halls tend to be popular with students who find the density of Warren overwhelming.

South Campus (including Stuvi2 and the Bay State Road area) sits south of Commonwealth Avenue and offers some apartment-style upperclassman housing, with a slightly removed feel from the main campus traffic. Students who live here often describe it as quieter and more neighborhood-like, which some students value and others find isolating during their first year.

After sophomore year, a substantial portion of BU students move off campus into the surrounding neighborhoods. Allston (just west of campus and directly adjacent to the BU athletic facilities) is the primary off-campus neighborhood for BU students, with affordable-by-Boston-standards apartments, a dense restaurant and bar scene along Brighton Avenue and Harvard Avenue, and a student population large enough that moving there feels less like leaving BU than like extending the campus westward. Brighton and Coolidge Corner in Brookline are also popular. The transition to off-campus living is a normal part of the BU experience, and parents should expect it after sophomore year rather than treating it as a departure from the BU community.

How much does Boston University cost? Tuition, financial aid, and scholarships for 2026-27

BU’s sticker price is among the highest of any private university in the country, and the figure above warrants an immediate follow-up point: the sticker price is not what most students pay.

BU’s sticker price is among the highest of any private university in the country, and the figure above warrants an immediate follow-up point: the sticker price is not what most students pay. Boston University has committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted students, which is a significant institutional commitment and one that many universities its size do not make. Families who complete the FAFSA and the CSS Profile and demonstrate significant financial need may find that BU’s actual net cost is dramatically lower than the sticker price suggests. This is one of the most important things to understand about BU’s financial model: comparing net prices, not sticker prices, is the only way to make a meaningful cost comparison between BU and schools that appear less expensive on paper.

The university also offers a set of merit scholarships that are distinct from need-based aid. The Trustee Scholarship is BU’s premier merit award, covering full tuition, and it is highly competitive (verify current terms at bu.edu). The Presidential Scholarship and Dean’s Scholarship offer significant partial merit awards to students with strong academic records. These merit awards are separate from need-based aid, and students who receive merit scholarships may also be eligible for additional need-based aid depending on family financial circumstances. The financial aid office at bu.edu/finaid is the authoritative source for current scholarship criteria and award sizes, and families should not rely on outdated information from unofficial sources.

The practical implication for families evaluating BU is this: do not remove BU from consideration based on sticker price alone. Complete the FAFSA and CSS Profile as early as possible (both open in October for the following academic year), submit all required documents promptly, and then evaluate the actual financial aid award BU offers before making comparisons to other schools. The university’s net price calculator at bu.edu/finaid can provide an early estimate, though the actual award letter will reflect the complete family financial picture in a way that the calculator cannot fully capture.

FAFSA guide for BU families

Full college cost planning guide

Boston: What Parents Need to Know

Boston is one of the great American college cities, a place that was quite literally built around universities and where being a student is entirely normalized.

The infrastructure, the culture, the transit system, and the economy of Boston all accommodate academic life in a way that is different from cities where universities are embedded but not central. There are approximately 250,000 college students in the greater Boston area at any given time, and that concentration shapes the city’s character profoundly. Student pricing is available at museums, theaters, and transit. The city’s neighborhoods are extensively mapped by which school’s students tend to live where. Being a BU student in Boston is not a niche identity. It is a major category.

The neighborhoods immediately surrounding BU are worth understanding in some detail. Allston-Brighton sits just west of the BU campus and functions as the primary social and residential neighborhood for BU students beyond freshman year. Brighton Avenue and Harvard Avenue are lined with restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and the kind of lived-in neighborhood texture that students who have spent time in Boston inevitably come to love. The rents are affordable by Boston standards (though not cheap by any national comparison), and the density of BU students in the area means that moving to Allston feels like an extension of BU’s campus rather than a departure from it. Kenmore Square, at the east end of campus, is where BU’s campus meets the city most visibly. Fenway Park is one block away. The restaurants and bars around Kenmore attract a mixed crowd of students, fans, and neighborhood residents, and the energy on game nights when the Red Sox are home is a genuine urban experience that most students value.

The Fenway neighborhood stretching south and east from Kenmore Square is home to some of Boston’s best cultural institutions. The Museum of Fine Arts Boston is approximately a 10-minute walk from the center of BU’s campus and offers free admission with a BU student ID. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a short distance from the MFA. The Fenway Victory Gardens are the oldest remaining World War II victory gardens in the country and are a pleasant outdoor space close to campus. These resources are available to BU students at minimal or no cost throughout the year, and students who take advantage of them often reflect later that the access to world-class art and culture was one of the underappreciated benefits of their BU years.

Restaurant recommendations for parent visits: Eastern Standard Kitchen in Kenmore Square offers excellent cocktails and well-executed New American food in a lively setting one block from campus. Island Creek Oyster Bar, also in Kenmore Square, is consistently one of Boston’s best restaurants and is a reliable choice for a special dinner. Legal Harborside, the waterfront flagship of Legal Sea Foods, is the right choice for a classic Boston seafood dinner with a view of the harbor, accessible by Green Line and a short walk or Uber. Flour Bakery, with multiple locations around Boston (including one in the Back Bay), is the right choice for breakfast or a mid-morning coffee on the day of a parent visit.

If you have not been to Boston before, or if your student has not, the Freedom Trail is genuinely worth doing on a first visit. It is a two-mile walking route through downtown Boston connecting 16 historically significant sites, marked with a red brick or painted line in the sidewalk, and it passes through the North End (Boston’s Italian neighborhood, where you should stop for a cannoli at Mike’s Pastry or Modern Pastry), Faneuil Hall, the Old North Church, and the Bunker Hill Monument. The trail takes two to three hours at a reasonable pace and provides more context for the city than any amount of reading. From BU, take the Green Line to Park Street and start there. Boston winters require genuine preparation. From November through March, the city is cold, often snowy, and frequently windy, particularly in exposed areas near the Charles River and along the waterfront. Layers are essential. A good coat, waterproof boots, and the expectation that some days will be grey and inhospitable will serve both you and your student well.

When is Boston University Family Weekend 2026 and how do parents plan for it?

BU’s Family Weekend is typically held in October, coordinated through the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground and Student Activities. It includes programming specifically designed for families: campus tours, faculty presentations, dining events, and opportunities to see parts of campus that are not accessible during a casual visit.

The timing in October is generally favorable weather-wise for Boston: foliage in the surrounding area is often near peak, the city is alive with activity before winter settles in, and the campus looks its best along the Charles River parkway. Family Weekend sells out in terms of university programming slots, so register early through the BU parents portal at bu.edu/parents when registration opens.

Hockey season at Agganis Arena begins in November, and attending a home game is one of the genuinely excellent things to do on a fall or winter visit. Agganis is a well-run modern arena with good sight lines, accessible food and drink, and a student section that generates real noise. The BU men’s hockey program competes in Hockey East against Boston College, Northeastern, Providence College, UMass Amherst, and others, and the rivalry games against BC and Northeastern in particular draw large, committed crowds. Women’s hockey at BU is also strong and worth attending. If your student is at all interested in hockey culture, getting tickets to a game on a fall or winter visit is a priority worth planning around.

The Beanpot Tournament in February is, as noted earlier, the pinnacle of the BU hockey calendar and one of the best college sports experiences available anywhere in the country. Two Monday nights at TD Garden, four Boston schools, and a level of civic investment in the outcome that is essentially unique to Boston. Planning a February visit around a Beanpot Monday requires advance planning for tickets and hotel rooms, both of which are in high demand, but the experience is worth the logistical effort. If your student’s team wins the Beanpot, which BU historically does more than any other school in the field, the celebration on Commonwealth Avenue the night of the game is a legitimate campus tradition.

The BU Commencement ceremony is held on the BU Beach, the parkland that runs along the Charles River between the BU campus and Storrow Drive. On a sunny May morning, with the Charles River as backdrop and the Boston skyline visible across the water, BU’s graduation ceremony is genuinely beautiful. The “BU Beach” is a mild misnomer (it is a grassy and paved riverbank rather than a sandy beach), but the setting makes up for the name. Plan hotel accommodations for Commencement weekend well in advance, as every hotel in Boston is in high demand that weekend and prices reflect it.

Hotel strategy for all visits: Boston has extensive hotel inventory, but prices are high and availability is constrained around major university events. The Hotel Commonwealth, located directly on Commonwealth Avenue adjacent to the BU campus, is the most convenient option for BU visits, steps from the Green Line and within walking distance of both Warren Towers and Kenmore Square. It is expensive but the location is unmatched. The Marriott Copley Place and Sheraton Boston in Back Bay are approximately 20 minutes’ walk or two Green Line stops from campus, with multiple dining options and easier parking for families who drive. Book as early as possible for Family Weekend, Beanpot Monday, and Commencement.

How can parents support their Boston University student’s mental health?

BU Student Health Services includes Behavioral Medicine (the university’s counseling center, commonly referred to as CAPS), primary care, and a range of wellness programs under the BU Well umbrella. CAPS provides individual counseling, group therapy, psychiatric services, and crisis support for enrolled students.

The university has expanded its mental health staffing in recent years in response to growing demand, which is a common dynamic at large research universities with highly competitive academic cultures. Families should familiarize themselves with bu.edu/studenthealth before their student starts classes, and students should be encouraged to make an initial appointment early in the fall rather than waiting until they are in crisis.

Boston winters and the urban density of BU’s campus create a specific mental health context that parents should understand. Boston winters are long and grey, running from November through March with cold temperatures, limited daylight, and frequent periods of snow and overcast skies. Seasonal mood effects are real and common in New England, and students who have never lived through a full northern winter are sometimes surprised by how much the weather affects their energy and outlook by February. The urban density of campus also creates a paradox that many BU students experience: it is entirely possible to feel isolated and anonymous in a city of 600,000 people in a way that is less common in a more contained residential campus. Community at BU is built through deliberate connection, through student organizations, through hockey culture, through the residence hall floor, and through the city’s neighborhoods. It does not arise automatically from proximity the way it can at a smaller school.

BU attracts highly ambitious students across all its schools and programs, and the academic culture is competitive and demanding. The pre-med culture in particular is intense, with students in competitive MCAT preparation communities and research programs by their sophomore year. Imposter syndrome is extremely common at BU. Students who were high achievers in high school arrive and find themselves surrounded by other high achievers, and the adjustment to being average (or even below average) in a room full of excellent students is genuinely difficult for many. This is not a BU-specific problem. It is a feature of every selective university. But the scale and competitive intensity of BU’s academic environment make it worth naming directly and worth talking about with your student in the first semester.

Mental health resources for BU families:

• CAPS / Student Health Services: contact via bu.edu/studenthealth
• BU Well: contact via bu.edu/wellness
• Crisis Line: call or text 988
• BU Police (non-emergency): contact via bu.edu/police

Who do Boston University parents contact? Essential numbers and websites for families

Verify all phone numbers and URLs at bu.edu before using, as contact information is subject to change.

• Parent and Family Programs: contact via bu.edu/parents
• Dean of Students: contact via bu.edu/dos
• Residence Life: contact via bu.edu/housing
• Financial Aid: contact via bu.edu/finaid
• Student Health Services (CAPS): contact via bu.edu/studenthealth
• University Police (non-emergency): contact via bu.edu/police
• Registrar: contact via bu.edu/reg
• Emergency: 911

BU’s Academic Strengths

The Questrom School of Business is one of the best private university business schools in New England, with strong programs in finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship and deep connections to Boston’s financial services industry and the broader New York employer market.

Questrom students benefit from BU’s location in a city with a substantial concentration of financial services, healthcare, and technology employers, and the school’s career development resources reflect those connections. The program is competitive and produces graduates who are well-positioned in the regional and national job market.

The College of Engineering has built a particularly strong reputation in biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer engineering, and BU’s engineering programs are deeply embedded in the Boston-Cambridge life sciences and biotech ecosystem. The Kendall Square area in Cambridge, roughly 20 minutes from BU by transit, is home to one of the highest concentrations of biotech and pharmaceutical companies in the world, and BU engineering students have meaningful access to internships, research partnerships, and entry-level positions in that industry. For students interested in the intersection of engineering and medicine, BU’s engineering school and medical school affiliation with Boston Medical Center create a distinctive set of opportunities that few universities can match.

The School of Law at BU is one of the top law schools in New England, with strong programs in intellectual property, international law, and health law. The School of Medicine and its affiliation with Boston Medical Center (the primary teaching hospital of the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine) are directly relevant to pre-med students and health science majors, who benefit from clinical exposure opportunities that most undergraduate pre-med programs cannot offer. The College of Communication has strong programs in journalism, film and television, and public relations, with Boston and New York media industry connections that support graduate placement. The College of Arts and Sciences houses strong programs in political science, psychology, biology, and the physical sciences, as well as one of the strongest classics programs in New England.

The BU alumni network is substantial and active, particularly in Boston, New York, and the national biotech, finance, and media industries. BU Terrier alumni tend to identify strongly with their school, and the network in Boston specifically benefits from the city’s concentration of BU graduates in major industries. For students who plan to stay in Boston after graduation (and many BU graduates do), the alumni connection is a genuine professional asset from the first year of job searching.

You Are a Terrier Family Now

There is something particular about becoming a BU family that takes a few months to fully arrive. The first time you see your student navigate the Green Line without hesitation, or hear them talk about Agganis Arena with the easy familiarity of someone who has been going to games all their life, or watch them give directions to a tourist on Commonwealth Avenue and realize they actually know the street numbers, something has shifted. They have become a Terrier, and you have become a Terrier family, and the city of Boston has become part of your family’s geography in a way that it will remain long after graduation.

The Beanpot will come around every February for as long as your student is at BU, and there is no better ritual marker of the college year. Commonwealth Avenue in February, with the snow packed along the curb and the Green Line sliding past and the Agganis Arena sign visible from the street, is a very specific place to be a BU student. We hope your family visits it often. We hope your student wins the Beanpot at least once (odds are reasonable). We hope the four years go well, and that Boston becomes a place you return to long after your student has the degree in hand.

Go Terriers.

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Last updated: May 2026. Tuition, dates, and policies subject to change. Verify all time-sensitive information at bu.edu and bu.edu/parents.