Academic Elite: Boston College Stands Out Again on Graduation Success Rate

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College Athletics once again ranks among the nation's academic elite, according to the latest NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures released on Nov. 20.

With an overall GSR of 98, Boston College is tied for sixth in the nation - and second in the Atlantic Coast Conference - in all sports. Among Football Bowl Subdivision schools, BC ranks second-best nationally, behind Notre Dame. The NCAA's Division I GSR was 91%, according to the 2014-17 cohorts.  Since the GSR's inception, Boston College has earned an overall mark of 94 or better in all 19 GSR reports, which date back to the class of student-athletes that entered in 1998.

For the third consecutive year, BC football ranked second in the ACC with an 97 GSR - 14 points above the Division I average (83). ACC football programs have the highest GSR average (88) among all FBS Conferences.  BC's men's basketball program again posted a perfect GSR score of 100 - one of six in the ACC. The women's basketball program registered a score of 91 - 20 points higher than the national average (71).

In total, 18 BC programs scored a perfect 100 GSR: baseball, men's basketball, men's cross country and track & field, men's fencing, men's golf, men's skiing, men's soccer, men's tennis, women's cross country and track & field, women's fencing, field hockey, women's golf, women's lacrosse, women's skiing, women's soccer, women's swimming & diving, women's tennis, and women's volleyball. Each of BC's 26 programs listed on the most recent report scored a GSR of 89 or higher. All were higher than their respective national averages.

The Wednesday update is based on information obtained from the 2024 NCAA Graduation Rate Report. The report provides graduation information for students and student-athletes who entered in Fall 2014 through Fall 2017. These are the most recent graduating classes for which six years of information is available. A graduation rate (percent) is based on a comparison of the number of students who entered a college or university and the number of those who graduated within six years. For example, if 100 students entered and 60 graduated, the graduation rate is 60 percent. The four-class average includes those who entered as freshmen in 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18.

It should be noted that graduation rates are affected by a number of factors: some students transfer to another college, some may be dismissed for academic deficiencies, some may have to work part-time and need more than six years to graduate. The NCAA's Graduation Success Rate (GSR) subtracts students from the entering cohort who are considered allowable exclusions (those who either die or become personally disabled, those who leave school to join the armed forces, foreign services or attend a church mission) as well as those who would have been academically eligible to compete had they returned to the institution.

More information about the GSR is available at NCAA.org.

Academic Elite: Boston College Stands Out Again on Graduation Success Rate

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