Transferring to Boston College: your chances, deadlines and credits
Transfer acceptance rate: 27.7%
Transfer acceptance rate
Source: Official school data report, section D, 2024-2025
For fall 2024, Boston College admitted 410 of 1,480 transfer applicants (27.7%).
Checked November 9, 2026. Selective
- Fall 2027 deadline
- Mar 15, 2027Source, 2026-2027
- SAT or ACT
- OptionalSource, 2026-2027
- Credits that can transfer
- Up to 60 creditsSource, 2026-2027
- Lowest grade that transfers
- C-Source, 2026-2027
- Recommendation letters
- RequiredSource, 2026-2027
- Interview
- Not offeredSource, undated page
Boston College transfer acceptance rate
Boston College's transfer acceptance rate for fall 2024 was 27.7%. 181 transfer students enrolled. The first-year rate the same year was 16.2%.
Source: Official school data report, section D, 2024-2025
The Common Data Set is the official data report colleges publish each year.
Transfer and first-year applicants are different groups. Use the first-year rate as context only.
This rate covers everyone who applied. Your major can move it a lot, and the report does not split it by major.
The official data report is for fall 2024 entry. It does not split transfer counts by school inside Boston College, so one total covers Morrissey, Carroll and Lynch together.
Source: Boston College Common Data Set, section D, 2024-2025
Boston College says Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences is the largest division and typically has the most transfer openings.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Our read: Your odds depend on which division you pick. The total hides that.
Transfer requirements
Boston College requires an essay, recommendation letters and a minimum number of college credits. It does not require SAT or ACT scores. There is no interview.
Recommendation lettersRequired
One letter of recommendation is required, preferably from an instructor. If you have been out of school for more than a year, it can come from an advisor, supervisor or employer.
Source, 2026-2027SAT or ACT scoresOptional
Boston College is test-optional for transfer applicants. SAT or ACT scores are optional.
Source, 2026-2027Minimum credits before you applyRequired
Applicants need at least nine completed college credits before the deadline for the term they want.
Source, 2026-2027
You need at least nine college credits done before the deadline to count as a transfer. The fee is $85 or a waiver. Pell Grant-eligible applicants are waived automatically.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Official transcripts must come from every college you attended, plus your high school transcript or GED. Faxed transcripts and transcripts handed to you do not count as official.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Boston College is test-optional for transfers. Multiple scores are superscored if you send them. International applicants must submit TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English Test scores.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Connell School of Nursing was not accepting transfer applications when we read the page. Nursing applicants would enter as first-semester sophomores and need six semesters.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Transfer deadlines for fall 2027
For fall 2027 entry, the application deadline is March 15, 2027.
Source: Boston College transfer information, 2026-2027
Fall deadline is March 15, with decisions emailed by May 20. Spring deadline is November 1, with notice by December 15. The page says sophomore and junior transfer candidates are eligible for the January deadline. First-semester college students generally are not, because final grades are not in by November 1.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page; Boston College Common Data Set, section D, 2024-2025
Our read: Spring is a real second door here, but the page names sophomores and juniors. If you are in your first semester of college, plan on fall.
- Application deadlineMarch 15, 2027Source, 2026-2027
What GPA do you need?
It publishes no GPA line for transfers. The data report leaves the minimum college GPA blank.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page; Boston College Common Data Set, section D, 2024-2025
A GPA that matches past admits is not a cutoff, and it does not mean you are in.
What Boston College looks for
Boston College puts the most weight on your college record. Your high school record, essay, recommendation, activities and work experience also count.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Our read: No published cutoff does not mean grades are loose. Treat strong grades in a full-time course load as the baseline, and do not read a missing number as permission.
You pick one of four divisions: Morrissey, Carroll School of Management, Lynch School of Education and Human Development, or Connell School of Nursing. Boston College says changing later is difficult. Carroll says outright that you cannot transfer into it once you are enrolled at Boston College.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Morrissey suggests about three or four courses in your intended major plus liberal arts courses, and it requires intermediate-level proficiency in a foreign language. Lynch is not recommended if you have more than one year of college, because finishing would take at least two to three more years.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
There are no interviews. You need a recommendation, preferably from an instructor, and an Academic and Disciplinary Report from the dean of students at every school you attended full time.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Our read: Ask for the dean's report early. An incomplete one makes the whole application incomplete, and it is the form most students forget to chase.
Transfer essays and supplements
Personal statement, 650 words
Please provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring and why you are choosing to apply to Boston College.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Our read: The prompt has two jobs: why you are leaving, and why Boston College. Spend the second half on your chosen division and on what you would actually take there.
Our read: Name nothing negative about your current school. Say what you need that it cannot give you.
The page tells you to explain any disciplinary mark in a separate statement, not in this essay.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
The essay is where you explain why you are leaving and why this school. Get a free review before you send it.
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Will your credits transfer?
Up to 60 credits can count. Each course needs a C- or better.
Most credits that can transfer
Up to 60 credits
Boston College accepts at most 60 transferable credits.
Source, 2026-2027Lowest grade that transfers
C- or better
Transfer courses must be equal in depth and breadth to Boston College courses and need a C- or better.
Source, 2026-2027What you must finish there
Transfer students must spend at least four semesters at Boston College to earn a degree.
Source, 2026-2027
At most 60 credits transfer. Each course needs a C- or better and must match a Boston College course in depth and breadth. The Office of Transfer Admission does the evaluation.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page; Boston College Common Data Set, section D, 2024-2025
You must be full time and spend at least four semesters at Boston College to earn a degree.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Carroll requires transfers to take a 3-credit Management Ethics course after enrolling. Its upper-level business courses must come from AACSB-accredited schools. Lynch transfers take a 1-credit Professional Development Seminar.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Our read: Four semesters on campus plus a 60-credit cap means a late transfer will not finish early. If you are a junior now, count your semesters before you apply.
If it does not work out
The transfer page has no aid details beyond fee waivers. It sends you to the Financial Aid Office and the undergraduate tuition pages. All transfers get two years of on-campus housing.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
A denied application cannot be reactivated. Boston College recommends waiting one full year to reapply, with all new documents and another fee.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
- University of VirginiaSimilar odds
- University of Southern CaliforniaSimilar odds
- Vanderbilt UniversitySimilar odds
- University of MichiganTakes more transfers
Questions students ask
Can I apply with only one semester of college?
Yes, if you have at least nine credits finished before the deadline.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Do I need the SAT or ACT?
No. Boston College is test-optional for transfers. International applicants must send an English test (TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English Test) instead.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Can I switch into Carroll after I get in?
No. The page says transferring into Carroll once enrolled at Boston College is not allowed.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Is there an interview?
No. Boston College does not interview applicants.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page; Boston College Common Data Set, section D, 2024-2025
Can I apply for spring?
Yes, by November 1. Sophomores and juniors can apply. First-semester college students generally cannot.
Source: Boston College transfer admission, undated page
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Sources
- Official school data report, 2024-2025
- Boston College transfer admission, undated page
Numbers come from official reports, read by our tools and checked. Notes were drafted with AI tools from the official pages linked beside them. A person has not reviewed this guide yet. Admission decisions belong to each college, and no one can promise one.