Does Georgetown offer merit aid compared with Boston University?

Yes, there is a real difference here: Boston University is much more associated with merit scholarships, while Georgetown is not known for offering broad merit aid. Georgetown’s aid is centered far more on need-based financial assistance, whereas BU has several named merit scholarships and is a school many applicants keep on their list partly because merit is at least part of the pricing conversation.

For a student whose family needs non-need-based help to make a private university affordable, BU is the school more worth watching. It regularly offers merit awards to some admitted students, including higher-profile competitive scholarships, and merit can matter there even for families who may not qualify for substantial need-based aid.

Georgetown is a different case. It does offer very limited merit scholarship opportunities, but they are not a major feature of its pricing or admissions landscape. Most students should approach Georgetown assuming that affordability will depend primarily on need-based aid, not on winning a merit award.

That means the practical takeaway is less about which school is cheaper in the abstract and more about what kind of applicant you are financially. If your family expects to rely on merit money because need-based formulas may not reflect what you can comfortably pay, BU is much more likely to belong on the list as a place where that could happen.

If your family may qualify for strong need-based aid, Georgetown can still be worth serious consideration, because its financial support is aimed in that direction rather than through merit incentives. The best way to think about these two is that BU uses merit as part of enrollment strategy in a visible way, while Georgetown mostly does not.