Is Boston University or the University of Rochester generally harder to get into?

The main practical difference is that Boston University tends to face a much more crowded applicant pool, while the University of Rochester is still selective but typically offers applicants a less compressed admissions landscape. BU’s location in Boston, broad name recognition, and large volume of applications make admission especially competitive across many of its undergraduate schools. Rochester attracts a highly academic applicant pool as well, but its admissions environment has historically been less difficult overall than BU’s.

Neither school is a reliable “safety” for a strong student. At both, grades in a demanding curriculum, sustained involvement outside class, recommendations, and a coherent sense of academic interests matter. Competitiveness can also vary by undergraduate school or intended area of study, so an applicant should not assume that the overall comparison guarantees the same result in every program.

For a balanced application list, it makes sense to treat BU as the more aspirational of the two unless your academic profile is notably above its typical applicant level. The University of Rochester can still belong in the reach or target range depending on your record, but it is generally the less difficult school to enter.