Meet the Class of 2029
continued success in meeting its recruitment goals
Boston College continues to demonstrate success in recruiting and enrolling some of the nation’s most academically talented students, as evidenced by the current first-year class, according to senior administrators.
Ninety-three percent of the 2,479-member Class of 2029 ranked in the top 10 of their high school class, among the largest such figures in University history. BC admitted only 14 percent of the 39,686 applicants and yielded a total of 45 percent; both figures are believed to be records for the University.
Enrolled first-year students at BC averaged 1471 on SATs and 34 on ACT—another testament to the class’s academic strength—while the percentage of AHANA students in the Class of ’29 is 35 percent and eight percent of the class are international students.
Alongside these positive developments came another that was unexpected, and therefore all the more satisfying: an 11 percent rise in BC’s applicant pool for the Class of 2029.
Members of the Class of 2029 during their 'First Flight' procession to First Year Academic Convocation in September. (Caitlin Cunningham)
“Given the expected decrease in the American high school/college-age population, many colleges and universities have been bracing for, or experiencing, a decline in undergraduate applications,” said Dean of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid Grant Gosselin, “but BC clearly is an institution of great interest to prospective college students and their families.”
Higher education has been roiled in recent years, not only by recent political battles that have captured national attention, but vocal skepticism about the value and relevance of a college degree. Yet BC has been able to stand out in the landscape by touting its emphasis on formative education and the cura personalis that are staples of the Jesuit, Catholic tradition, said Gosselin.
“For all the conversations about the value of higher ed, the lifelong financial benefits associated with attending college are still a key consideration for many families,” he said. “But BC has always been about helping students identify a greater purpose, a means to have a fulfilling life, and to respond to the challenge of addressing problems in society. If you talk to students—current or former—they will tell you how much they appreciate the sense of community Boston College encourages.
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Grant Gosselin, dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid. (Lee Pellegrini)
“The message BC sends is that higher education shouldn’t just be about getting a job—though certainly that is an important facet of college. BC is committed to helping students bridge the gap between adolescence and adulthood, and to foster their emotional and spiritual as well as intellectual growth. And BC’s commitment to undergraduate need-based financial aid—including $190 million for this academic year—helps put this unique college experience within reach for our admitted students and their families.”
Boston College has long been a familiar place to Conor Forry, a member of the first-year class enrolled in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences: His parents (“They turned out amazing”) and paternal grandfather all are BC graduates, and his brother John is a senior. A Dorchester native, Forry visited campus often growing up, and attending Boston College High School provided a solid introduction to the Jesuit education he is undertaking at the Heights. Still, while applying to BC was a foregone conclusion, he made no presumptions about his destination and applied to 14 other colleges.
Needless to say, he’s quite happy he got into his top choice.
“My goal is to be like my family, who are my role models,” he said, “and BC formed them.”
Forry has plunged right in during his first semester as a major in neuroscience. Enthusiastically, he ticks off some of the highlights thus far: the Brain, Mind, and Body class taught by Neuroscience and Psychology Senior Lecturer Gene Heyman; campus resources and programs such as the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center and the Compass Mentoring Program; and student organizations like BC Beats and the Haitian and Cape Verde student associations (he’s on the board of both).
And there are communities within communities, Forry noted: “A group of us have been going to the Rock Wall at the Margot Connell Recreation Center around the same time every week—nothing that we planned, it just happened—and now we have our own little informal ‘club.’”
Watch BC's newest students pose for the annual class photo on the football field in Alumni Stadium.
Video by Ravi Jain | University Communications
As much as Forry already knew about BC, he’s been pleasantly surprised by some aspects of his life on the Heights. “It’s been incredible the amount of people who have reached out as mentors: not just faculty or staff, but older students. They offer me advice, or a place to go if I just want to sit and talk. John had told me how loving the BC community is, and he’s absolutely right.”
Scarlett Rocque, a Morrissey College first-year biology major from Peaks Island, Me., also had a family connection to BC, through her father, an alumnus. As a STEM student in a liberal arts setting, she said, he valued the necessary technical expertise he received at BC while also learning to think critically and write persuasively. But there was no expectation on his part, or hers, that she follow his path to the Heights and Rocque approached her college search with a completely open mind.
Rocque self-toured 15 campuses along the East Coast and came up with a list of her “ideal college” characteristics: “a competitive school with rigorous academics, medium-to-large in size, with a traditional campus with accessibility to a city, and ‘big-time’ college sports.
“Boston College happened to be the last school on the list of those I visited then, and I was amazed to see it checked those boxes,” recalled Rocque, who afterwards sifted through student-posted videos, social media, and other online tools to get a better sense of BC before returning for an information session and student-led campus tour, during which she spoke with undergraduates.
“Through that whole process,” she said, “I was struck most by two aspects: the kindness that every single person associated with BC displayed, and the large number of students committed to service-oriented work. Where both of those are extremely important in my life, I determined then that BC was the school for me.”
After more than a month at the Heights, Rocque said she’s been struck by “the amount of thought and care BC has put in around students’ wellness-type needs.
“I get the sense that BC has made a point of anticipating the issues and concerns that hinder students’ ability to do their best here, and has worked hard to ensure that students have a ready way to deal with them before they become problematic.”
Ava Mariotti, an art history major with minors in management and theology from Jacksonville, Fla., who lives part-time in Washington, D.C., had never even been to Boston until she visited BC the summer before her senior year of high school. She loved the look and feel of the campus, was impressed by the art history program, and—as someone who grew up riding horses—was pleased to find BC has a club equestrian team.
Most of all, BC impressed Mariotti as a place where she could fully participate in the Catholic faith that has been central to her life: “I wanted to be in a college with a sense of community and friendship for everyone, while serving others around me.”
Like Forry and Rocque, Mariotti’s BC experience is off to a good start.
“I knew from orientation and Welcome Week that I would fit in well here, but I didn’t realize how many friends I’d make and how great of a community I’d find. I’ve met such amazing people in only a month. Everyone here is always willing to help and so friendly. I love the sense of community throughout the whole school, be it from my friends, the girls on the equestrian club, or just people I meet every day."