How this school serves students from different economic backgrounds, including Pell students, first-generation pathways, and long-term mobility outcomes.
University of Massachusetts-Boston admits 83.8% of applicants, making it one of the more accessible institutions in the Boston area. Among enrolled undergraduates, 41.5% receive Pell Grants and 43.1% are first-generation college students — figures that reflect the university's deep roots in serving working-class and immigrant communities across Greater Boston. Transfer students make up a meaningful share of enrollment at 34.9%, signaling that University of Massachusetts-Boston functions as a genuine second-chance and step-up institution for students who began their academic paths elsewhere. Azimuth ranks University of Massachusetts-Boston #175 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The freshman retention rate is 70.4%, and the six-year graduation rate is 49.4%, with 50.1% of Pell-eligible students completing within that window. These figures reflect the structural challenges that come with serving a high share of working and commuter students, while also showing that a substantial majority of those students do cross the finish line. Azimuth ranks University of Massachusetts-Boston #136 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Low-income graduates have median earnings of $49,100 on a historical ten-year Scorecard measure, placing this cohort in the 71.7 percentile for low-income graduate earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions. Given that 41.5% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, those earnings represent outcomes for a broad and representative share of the student body — not a narrow slice — which is what gives University of Massachusetts-Boston's access-and-mobility profile its particular significance.
University of Massachusetts-Boston admits 83.8% of applicants, making it one of the more accessible institutions in the Boston area. Among enrolled undergraduates, 41.5% receive Pell Grants and 43.1% are first-generation college students — figures that reflect the university's deep roots in serving working-class and immigrant communities across Greater Boston. Transfer students make up a meaningful share of enrollment at 34.9%, signaling that University of Massachusetts-Boston functions as a genuine second-chance and step-up institution for students who began their academic paths elsewhere. Azimuth ranks University of Massachusetts-Boston #175 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The freshman retention rate is 70.4%, and the six-year graduation rate is 49.4%, with 50.1% of Pell-eligible students completing within that window. These figures reflect the structural challenges that come with serving a high share of working and commuter students, while also showing that a substantial majority of those students do cross the finish line. Azimuth ranks University of Massachusetts-Boston #136 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Low-income graduates have median earnings of $49,100 on a historical ten-year Scorecard measure, placing this cohort in the 71.7 percentile for low-income graduate earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions. Given that 41.5% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, those earnings represent outcomes for a broad and representative share of the student body — not a narrow slice — which is what gives University of Massachusetts-Boston's access-and-mobility profile its particular significance.
University of Massachusetts-Boston admits 83.8% of applicants, making it one of the more accessible institutions in the Boston area. Among enrolled undergraduates, 41.5% receive Pell Grants and 43.1% are first-generation college students — figures that reflect the university's deep roots in serving working-class and immigrant communities across Greater Boston. Transfer students make up a meaningful share of enrollment at 34.9%, signaling that University of Massachusetts-Boston functions as a genuine second-chance and step-up institution for students who began their academic paths elsewhere. Azimuth ranks University of Massachusetts-Boston #175 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The freshman retention rate is 70.4%, and the six-year graduation rate is 49.4%, with 50.1% of Pell-eligible students completing within that window. These figures reflect the structural challenges that come with serving a high share of working and commuter students, while also showing that a substantial majority of those students do cross the finish line. Azimuth ranks University of Massachusetts-Boston #136 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Low-income graduates have median earnings of $49,100 on a historical ten-year Scorecard measure, placing this cohort in the 71.7 percentile for low-income graduate earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions. Given that 41.5% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, those earnings represent outcomes for a broad and representative share of the student body — not a narrow slice — which is what gives University of Massachusetts-Boston's access-and-mobility profile its particular significance.
