It is expected that students will spend four years enrolled as fulltime students in order to earn a bachelor's degree. The time spent at another institution combined with the time spent at Boston College must be greater than or equal to four years full time. Summer study can not be used to shorten a student's time toward his/her degree to less than four years.
Students generally may not accelerate the date of graduation stated in the acceptance letter, with the following exception: students who enter Boston College after three or four semesters at a school where the normal academic program is eight courses per year rather than ten, and who experience a loss of one semester in their status as a result. If students have attended only one school prior to Boston College and the loss of status is due solely to differences between academic systems, students will be allowed to make up their status and graduate with their class. Any loss of status incurred by non-transferable courses may not be regained.
A transfer student's date of graduation is determined by the number of courses accepted in transfer and the number of Boston College semesters these courses satisfy. The normal academic load for undergraduates is five courses per semester (four for seniors). Thus, students are expected to have completed ten courses at the end of one year, twenty at the end of two years, etc. In determining a transfer student's date of graduation, leeway of two courses is allowed without loss of status. For example, students completing eight to ten transferable courses are accepted as first semester sophomores.