Admissions & selectivity
University of Massachusetts-Boston Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at University of Massachusetts-Boston?
University of Massachusetts-Boston’s reported acceptance rate is 83.8%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 83.8%
Source: College Scorecard · Fall 2024 admissions. Acceptance rates can change from year to year; this figure does not predict the current or next admission cycle.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
University of Massachusetts-Boston admitted 83.8% of applicants, a rate above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
What SAT and ACT scores do University of Massachusetts-Boston students report?
The middle half of enrolled students who submitted SAT scores fell between 1,070 and 1,290. For ACT submitters, the corresponding range was 22 to 29.
These ranges describe the twenty-fifth through seventy-fifth percentiles of recent score submitters, not every enrolled student or a minimum for admission. They offer a snapshot of the academic profile of students who chose to include test scores in their applications.
Applicants can use the university's own ranges as a point of comparison, keeping in mind that the figures reflect enrolled submitters rather than an admissions cutoff.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at University of Massachusetts-Boston. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
- Approximate lower endpoint
- 1070
- Approximate upper endpoint
- 1290
Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.
- 25th percentile
- 22
- 75th percentile
- 29
Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Figures cover fall 2024.
Who enrolls at University of Massachusetts-Boston?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 41.5%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 34.9%
- First-year retention
- 70.4%
Retention source: College Scorecard; full-time first-year retention.
About these student measures
The entering-student group includes part-time entrants as well as other attendance patterns.
With 11,512 undergraduates, University of Massachusetts-Boston serves a sizable undergraduate population shaped by Pell Grant participation and transfer entry. 41.5% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a financial-access measure, and an estimated 34.9% enter after beginning college elsewhere.
The figures describe a campus where undergraduates arrive through different financial and educational routes, rather than solely directly from high school. Pell-eligible applicants and prospective transfers should seek aid and credit-planning information early, since both groups form a visible part of the undergraduate population.
That composition matters when considering how the university’s entering class is assembled.
Retention and completion sit below the peer medians for comparable institutions. The first-year retention rate is 70.4%, below the peer median of 83.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 49.4%, also below its peer median of 65.0%. Pell recipients in that cohort complete within six years at 50.1%, above the overall rate by 0.7 percentage points.
Enrolled students can expect first-year return and six-year completion rates below those at comparable institutions. The overall persistence picture trails peer medians, even though Pell completion is above the institution’s overall rate.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Admission rates describe past applicants, not an individual’s chance of admission; confirm requirements and deadlines with the institution.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.