Boston College Experience BCE Two-Week Non-Credit Program

You spend five hours a day in class, from 9 a.m. to noon and again from 1 to 3 p.m., all in the one course you chose. After a half-hour break comes the BCE Workshop Series from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. It's mandatory, and you pick your workshops from a list emailed after admission. In 2025 the options ranged from yoga and pickleball to negotiation, financial literacy and a career services workshop, and every student attends the BC Admissions Workshop.

Dinner runs from 5 to 7 p.m. and planned social activities fill 7 to 9 p.m., while residential students have to be back in the building by 10 p.m. Boston College says homework is usually no more than two hours a night. Each session also has one mandatory weekend excursion tied to your course, with an academic assignment attached, and past trips have included the Museum of Science, a tour of Fenway Park and the Institute of Contemporary Art.

You need to be a rising high school sophomore, junior or senior, and students already in their senior year can't apply. For 2026 that meant being 15 by 28 June 2026 and not turning 19 by 7 August 2026. Boston College publishes no acceptance rate or cohort size. It only says seats are limited and strongly recommends applying early.

The application asks for a 250- to 500-word personal statement on why you're applying, an essay answering the question set for your first-choice course, two letters of recommendation, an unofficial transcript and a $70 non-refundable fee. The 2026 course questions varied a lot in what they asked. Forensics asked why you're interested and what you hope to take away, while Government, Globalism & World Affairs wanted three challenges to the global network, each defined in detail with examples. Boston College won't review an application until everything is in, and chasing missing recommendations is up to you.

• English tests

  If English is your second language, you need at least 100 on the TOEFL iBT, 7.5 on IELTS or 130 on the Duolingo English Test. If you've studied for two or more years at a school that teaches in English, you can request a waiver with a transcript showing that.

• International deadline

  In 2026, international students had to apply by the second round, 10 March 2026, rather than the last one.

• Course choices

  You apply for a primary course and session and can name a second choice in case the first fills up or is canceled. You can take up to two courses, but they have to be in different sessions.

• Homeschooled applicants

  A parent's letter is expected, and Boston College strongly recommends adding a recommender from outside the family, such as an instructor from a college course.

• On-campus health rule

  Students on in-person courses must be fully vaccinated by the time they arrive.

For 2026, living on campus cost $5,800, commuting cost $3,200 and the online Applied Neuropsychology course cost $2,000, with a $70 non-refundable application fee on top. Boston College hasn't published 2027 prices yet. The residential fee covers tuition, a shared suite, the on-campus meal plan, health services during clinic hours, some extracurriculars, and transport and admission for the mandatory academic outings. Commuters get the teaching, health services and outings but no meals, although they can pay by card to eat in the dining halls. The online fee covers tuition, most materials, technology fees and virtual BCE events.

Off-campus meals and anything you do in free time cost extra, and so does a summer parking permit if a commuter drives. International students living on campus also need U.S.-based health insurance for the whole session. You won't need to buy textbooks. Boston College offers no financial aid or discounts, and the full fee is due within two weeks of your decision, which is also how you confirm your place.

Under the 2026 schedule, withdrawing brought a full refund through 26 May, half back from 27 May to 12 June and nothing after that. Students sent home for conduct or curfew violations get no refund.

If you meet the requirements, you leave with a certificate of completion and the right to ask your instructor for a recommendation letter. Boston College rates every student at one of three levels, and both Met All Requirements and Met Minimum Requirements earn the certificate. Each needs fewer than two absences, participation in class and workshops, and a final project or presentation, with the difference being whether you handed in every assignment or missed no more than two. More than two absences, more than two missing assignments or no final project puts you at Did Not Meet Requirements, which means no certificate and no letter. A morning class, an afternoon class and a workshop each count as a separate absence, so missing a single full day counts as three absences, which is enough to lose the certificate.

Since the courses carry no credit, Boston College keeps no academic record of them, but you can email to request a Letter of Non-Registration giving the course name and dates. You have to ask for a recommendation within three months of the course ending, and it's up to the instructor to agree. The letter then goes straight to the college you name, never to you.

Program Assistants, usually current Boston College undergraduates, live in the residence hall with BCE students, and each one mentors a small group, backed by program coordinators and a residential program manager. Boston College doesn't publish a staff-to-student ratio. Every night you check in with the Program Assistant on duty by 10 p.m. and must be in your own room by midnight. A first missed check-in brings a warning, after which parents are told about each violation, and three violations mean removal from the program with no refund. Leaving your room or the building during curfew hours after the attendance check also means withdrawal.

Rooms are shared suites for four, six or eight students on same-sex floors in air-conditioned halls, with no single rooms. No one but BCE residents and staff may enter the hall, not even family. The University Health Service clinic on campus treats minor injuries and illness on weekdays and puts students in touch with local doctors when it can't help.