Boston University received about 20 percent more applicants for the fall 2013 semester than it did the previous year, BU officials said.
BU received a record-breaking 52,532 applications, of which 51,036 were regular decision and 1,496 were early decision, said BU spokesman Colin Riley in an email.
There were 44,006 applicants for the fall 2012 semester, 8,526 fewer than this year. This reflects a 19.3 percent increase from application for fall 2012 admission, Riley Said.
Despite the number of applicants, the incoming Class of 2017 will not be larger than previous years, Riley said.
“Based on a projected incoming class of 3,800, we will be more selective,” he said.
In 2012, BU accepted about 45 percent of applicants.
634 students were offered admission early decision for the Class of 2017.
Riley said the majority of applications were to the College of Arts and Sciences as it is the largest school. While final statistics regarding where applicants are from have not been computed, the majority of applications came from New York, New Jersey, California and Massachusetts.
Riley said more widespread knowledge of BU’s quality contributed to the spike in applications.
“The quality of our programs, our international reputation and the global experience our students receive are factors,” he said. “Our outreach to high schools and our social media efforts contributed as well. Applications from international students increased significantly, and the diversity of our applicant pool grew with notable increases in applications from African American and Hispanic/Latino students.”
Violet Walsh, an applicant from Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, Wash., said she was attracted to the quality of education at BU.
“When I visited, I met with people at the School of Education and I liked the facilities, such as the daycare and the area around SED,” she said. “I like the research going on there and the SED offers great programs.”
Walsh said she learned about BU through relatives that attended the school and by visiting Boston.
“I fell in love with the city so I started looking at east-coast schools and BU always came up,” she said. “If I get into the program and decide I do not want to be a teacher, there are a lot of options and it’s a great school for exploring many things”
The size of BU is also a major factor in drawing in applicants, she said.
“Some of the schools I applied to have smaller campuses, and some of the schools really push the idea of having very individual learning experiences which is funny for me,” Walsh said. “It’s a bigger school and I’ll have a chance to be in big lectures without constantly being in a small environment with the same people.”
Russell Walton, a resident of Carlisle and a Concord-Carlisle Regional High School senior who applied to BU, said the size of BU will help him decide on a career.
Walton said he is interested in biology, and BU offers a number of opportunities that can help him decide on a specialty.
“With a school like BU they don’t just have biology; there is biotechnology, biochemistry, biophysics and all aspects of biology,” Walton said. “It’s a really strong [biology] program so I can to be able to explore something that I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Walton said he hopes to go to a larger university because he attends a small high school.
Christine Tabora, of Miami, who is applying to transfer to BU after graduating from a 2-year program in the Honors College at Miami Dade College, said she is excited by the opportunities presented at BU.
“I chose BU because of its location first of all, and its curriculum,” Tabora said. “Networking as well in Boston is amazing, and there are incredible research opportunities in psychology because there are so many schools in Boston.”
Tabora said she applied to transfer to BU as an incoming junior in the fall.
Acceptance decisions will be sent out April 1, Riley said.
