Boston University welcomed 3,461 first-year students to campus this fall after admitting 12.83% of nearly 77,000 applicants to the class of 2029, according to BU Today. 

Early decision application made up 59% of the class of 2029, a 3% increase from last year’s 56%. 

Of the over 3,000 new students, 20% hold Pell Grants. Additionally, there are 52 Community Service Award recipients and 23 Menino Scholars, according to BU Today. 

The academic profile of the incoming class generally remained steady, with a few dips from the class of 2028.

The average grade point average dropped from 4.0 for the class of 2028 to 3.87 for the class of 2029. The average ACT score also decreased by one point — from 33 to 32 — and the average SAT lowered by 31 points. 

President Melissa Gilliam said students “come to BU from all over the world,” at this year’s matriculation ceremony Aug. 29,

“The Class of 2029 represents 47 states and 86 countries worldwide,” Gilliam said.  

The geographic representation this year falls short to the Class of 2028, which drew students from all 50 states and 122 countries. 

William Bishop, a sophomore from London, said diversity in a college environment is vital. 

“You need to get opinions from people from all over the world, not just from the same place,” Bishop said. 

Selina Dai, a sophomore from Taiwan, said she values a diverse campus because it allows her to find a group of people who share “the same cultural background” as her. 

Similar to BU, Boston College admitted 12.6% out of 39,681 applicants to the class of 2029, according to BC News. 

Northeastern University had a record number of 105,092 applications this year, and its acceptance rate increased to 5.6% from 5.2% for the fall semester — the first time it went up “since fall 2020, when it was 20.5%,” according to The Huntington News.

Angeline Bastone, a second-year transfer student, said a school’s admission numbers played a factor in her application. 

For a “competitive” school like BU, Bastone chose not to submit her test scores because she “wasn’t confident” in them. 

Dai said acceptance rate is an important factor for a university’s prestige. 

“The [acceptance] rate is equal to the school’s rank,” she said.