Poets&Quants Top Business Schools

Boston University Questrom School of Business

#17

Contact Georgina Hannah with any questions. Profile updated: January 23, 2024.

Contact Information

Location:
595 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02215
Admissions Office:
(617) 353-2300

Tuition & Fees In-State: $319,994*

Tuition & Fees Out-of-State: $319,994*

Average Salary: $77,079

Graduates With Jobs 90 Days After Graduation: 98%

International: 23%

Minority: 22%

First generation college students: 24%

When do students declare their majors: Freshman Year

Acceptance Rate: 8%

Average SAT: 1,406

Average ACT: 32

Average GPA: 3.87

HS Class Top Ten: 45%**

*The total cost of the degree over four years for the most recent graduating class inclusive of school fees, room, board, or living expenses.

** HS Class Top Ten is the percent of the student population that graduated high school in the top ten percent of their class.

*** Please note that these statistics are provided for the business school major only whenever possible. If a school does not track these statistics separately, then the university-wide statistics are provided.

The Questrom School of Business at Boston University maintained the same ranking in this year’s 2023 rankings as last year’s ranking – at No. 17. They moved down two spots from their 2021 ranking, but up 10 places from 2020. Overall, of three main categories, Questrom ranked No. 18 in both Career Outcomes and Admission, Academic Experience, and No. 27 in Academic Experience. 

This year, Questrom had an even more selective acceptance rate of 8% for their most recent incoming class – more than a 5% difference from last year’s 13.54% rate. The incoming class’s average SAT score was down a few points, from 1411 to 1406 this year. 

Questrom students have relatively strong employment outcomes which went up from last year, in part due to the hands-on experience they gain through Core. About 97.70% of the Class of 2023 landed a business-focused internship before graduation, up a few percentages from last year’s 95.58%. The class maintained nearly the same employment rate as last year – 98.08% for ‘23 grads, similar to the 98.3% of graduating ‘22 seniors last year who secured full-time employment within three months of graduation.

The Questrom education emphasizes both the hard and soft skills of business to give its students a comprehensive education that starts the day they step foot onto campus.

QUESTROM MEANS BUSINESS ON DAY ONE 

Questrom offers a single degree, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. All Questrom students major in Business Administration and Management. However, the B-school requires students to complete at least one functional concentration including: Accounting, Business Analytics, Finance, Independent Concentration, Information Systems, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Law, Management & Organizations, Marketing, Operations & Technology Management, Organizational Behavior, and Strategy.

Students start their business education freshman year, taking a mix of courses such as Business Ethics, Finance, Economics, and Calculus. All Questrom freshmen are required to take the year-long foundational program of Business Ethics and Finance with the same cohort of classmates. As Questrom students progress throughout their four years, they are introduced to more focused business courses from Financial Accounting to Marketing Management. 

Unlike other B-schools where students don’t take business courses until their junior year, Questrom allows its students to begin taking business courses their very first day. In turn, this allows students to get a head start on their business education and a leg up in interviews for both internships and jobs. 

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL CORE PROJECT

The signature experience at Questrom is the Cross-Functional Core Project, also known as “Core.” Students take part in Core during their junior year, where they work in student teams across disciplines of finance, marketing, operations management, and business analytics to develop a product or service and create a full-fledged business plan. The year-long project is a valuable experience that enables students to understand nearly every aspect of business – from research to presentation. 

On top of giving a comprehensive view of the hard skills required to start a business, Core also emphasizes the importance of soft skills such as the ability to work cross-functionally with team members.

For those looking to get a quick start on their business education with an opportunity to learn both the hard and soft skills of business, Questrom is the right place to be. 

The Core experience is viewed highly amongst Questrom alumni with many citing the project as one that taught them both the hard and soft skills to succeed post-grad. 

Alumni say: 

Questrom’s Core Curriculum was intense, in a good way. It taught me many aspects that you need/or can use to establish a business. Beyond the hard skills, I also experienced soft/people skills that are present in the business world I’m working in today.”

“CORE project – working with 8 other students on such a high-stakes semester-long project taught me a lot about patience and leadership. I learned a lot about the different personalities we worked with and how to delegate tasks based on everyone’s abilities. It taught me how intensive yet attainable building a product/service from the ground up is, and gave me a well-rounded understanding of what goes into creating a business.”

“The team experiences and working with a range of students on so many different types of team projects prepared me to be a team player in the real world.”

“Questrom has a semester where all students are required to do CORE. Each person has their own role on the team depending on their strength, but each person is able to learn about the other arms of the business through discussions, meetings and presentation preparations. At the end of the semester, we have real-world professionals who come in to understand the idea and the potential long-term feasibility. Students have the option to continue this idea into real-life if they see sufficient scope.”

“The London Management Internship Program was an opportunity that allowed me to become more cultured and intern at a foreign company where I built connections and expanded my network globally.”

“Group projects and peer feedback was integrated into every class throughout Questrom. This is extremely helpful in my career now as I manage stakeholder relationships, collaboration, and written peer evaluations.”