How does Boston University compare to Rutgers in admissions difficulty?

The biggest practical tradeoff is that Boston University is a private university with a much more nationally competitive applicant pool, while Rutgers is a large public university whose selectivity depends a lot more on campus, program, and whether you are in-state. For a typical applicant looking at the main campuses, BU is usually harder to get into overall. Rutgers can still be quite selective in certain schools and majors, but it is not usually viewed as being on the same admissions difficulty level as BU across the board.

Part of the reason is who each school attracts. BU draws a very large number of applicants from across the country and abroad, so the pool is broad and often strong academically. Rutgers, especially New Brunswick, is well known and respected, but as a public flagship it also serves many New Jersey students and has a different admissions role than BU.

It also matters which Rutgers campus or program you mean. Rutgers New Brunswick is the most competitive Rutgers option most students are referring to, while Newark and Camden are typically less difficult for admission. Within Rutgers, specialized programs like business, engineering, pharmacy, or honors-related options can be notably tougher than the university overall.

So for building a list, BU usually belongs in a more selective category than Rutgers for the average student. If you are comparing BU against Rutgers New Brunswick in a less specialized major, expect BU to be the tougher admit; if you are comparing BU to a very competitive Rutgers program, the gap can narrow, but BU still tends to be the harder school overall.