How do Boston University and Tulane compare in overall admissions difficulty?

Boston University is typically viewed as the tougher admit overall. It draws a very large national and international applicant pool, has strong demand across multiple schools and majors, and its regular decision process is especially competitive. Tulane is also highly selective, but its admissions results are shaped more by enrollment strategy and demonstrated interest, which can make it feel unpredictable in a different way.

For a student applying through regular decision without a strong interest signal, Boston University is usually the more difficult one to crack. BU gets a huge volume of applications from students who see it as a reach or match, and because it offers well-known programs in areas like business, communications, engineering, and pre-med pathways, competition stays intense across the board.

Tulane can be tricky for a different reason. It pays close attention to whether a student seems likely to enroll, so things like visiting, attending events, opening emails, writing a school-specific supplemental response, or applying early can matter more there than at many peer schools. That means some well-qualified students are denied or waitlisted not because they are weaker applicants than BU admits, but because Tulane is managing yield very carefully.

In practical terms, BU is more often the school people mean when they say “harder to get into” in a pure admissions-strength sense. Tulane is selective enough that it should not be treated as easy or safe, but it is the kind of school where application strategy can change the odds more noticeably.