Is William & Mary harder to get into than Boston College?

Yes. For most applicants, Boston College is generally a bit harder to get into than William & Mary, though they are in a similar tier of selectivity and neither is easy. Boston College tends to draw a very large national applicant pool and has a reputation for especially strong demand in the Northeast and among students seeking a private Jesuit university with broad name recognition. William & Mary is also highly selective, but its admissions landscape is shaped more by its public-university structure, including a meaningful difference between in-state and out-of-state applicants.

If you are an out-of-state student, William & Mary can feel closer to Boston College in difficulty, and in some cases it may be just as tough because public flagships and top public colleges often reserve more space for in-state residents. If you are a Virginia resident, William & Mary may be more accessible than Boston College simply because residency can matter there in a way it does not at BC.

The student who often finds Boston College tougher is one applying from a broad national pool to a school that gets a lot of interest for business, economics, nursing, and its campus culture near Boston. The student who may find William & Mary especially challenging is a nonresident applicant aiming at a smaller public university with limited out-of-state spots and a very academic, discussion-heavy reputation.

So the simple comparison is that Boston College is usually viewed as slightly more selective overall, but your state residency can narrow that gap a lot when William & Mary is in the mix.