<p>Boston University has published its admissions stats:
The Daily Free Press, 4/7/05 </p>
<p>SAT scores, GPAs jump for BU's Class of '09
By Ashley Mateo </p>
<p>SAT scores and grade point averages are up for students admitted to Boston University's Class of 2009 over this year's freshmen, BU spokesman Colin Riley said this week.</p>
<p>The admitted class is also more diverse than the Class of 2008, Riley said. The university admitted 45 percent of more than 31,000 applicants, the university's largest applicant pool in history, Riley said.</p>
<p>Compared to the Class of 2008, applicants' class standings climbed from the top 9 percent to the top 8 percent and the average GPA rose from 3.6 to a 3.65. The average SAT score increased from 1327 to 1341. </p>
<p>The increases come after the Class of 2008's numbers dipped from those of the Class of 2007, which had an average SAT score of 1331 and an average GPA of 3.64.</p>
<p>"Boston University is definitely becoming more competitive and the high-quality nature of the applicant pool makes this clear," he said, adding that the university accepted about 600 valedictorians this year.</p>
<p>College of General Studies sophomore Lesley Frankel said she has already noticed BU's increased academic stature. </p>
<p>"Standards such as GPA and SAT scores have been rising," she said. "It's getting harder and harder to get in as BU gets more and more selective."</p>
<p>College of Arts and Sciences freshman Zachary Hobbs said the higher standards will be reflected in the university's academic environment.</p>
<p>"I think the incoming classes are going to be a lot more academically competitive as BU's reputation grows," he said. "Each year, the incoming freshmen are getting progressively more intelligent and this trend is only going to continue."</p>
<p>Riley said BU's selectivity adds value to a university degree and "the caliber of the students and the faculty."</p>
<p>CGS sophomore Tiffany Yee said a stronger reputation will also open job opportunities for graduates.</p>
<p>"If the school's reputation increases, employers will know that the students are coming from a competitive, challenging background," she said.</p>
<p>BU's next class should also be more diverse than past classes, Riley said. The amount of African American applicants increased by 18 percent and the number of Hispanic and Native American applicants each increased by 15 percent. </p>
<p>The only statistic that remained consistent was the gender breakdown at about 59 percent female students.</p>
<p>School of Management freshman Ryan Zawistoski said admissions office diversity is superficial. </p>
<p>"There are a lot of international students at BU," he said. "But the economic backgrounds of the students seem to be largely similar. If the student profile was based more on academic achievement, the university would be more well-rounded."</p>
<p>Riley said aside from the statistics, diversity extends beyond ethnicity or race.</p>
<p>"We're always looking to have a strong representation from a wide array of areas," he said. "The most important thing, however, is that the students are more than a set of numbers ... The applicant is treated in their entirety - what they've done so far with their lives, whether they will succeed here and what they will bring to the university."</p>