Universities in Boston for International Students: Harvard, MIT, BU, Northeastern and More — 2026/27 Costs and Admission

Boston, together with Cambridge and the surrounding suburbs, is one of the main student hubs in the U.S. Massachusetts hosted 84,097 international students in 2024/25, the fourth-highest total of any state (IIE Open Doors). Northeastern has 22,465 international students, second only to NYU nationally; Boston University has 12,845 and Harvard 8,110. A full 2026/27 year at the city's private universities costs $92,000–100,000 (MIT $92,760; BU $98,419), while public UMass Boston charges nonresidents $40,366 in tuition and mandatory fees.

This guide covers where the universities are, how they compare on price, selectivity and aid for international students, how to apply, and one legal point for Russian citizens. To compare Boston with New York, California and other states, start with our overview of universities in the USA for international students.

Who Boston suits

A good fit for engineering, computer science, life sciences, business or music, if you want to study close to research centers and hospitals. Boston is more compact than New York: universities, labs and companies are connected by subway and commuter rail.

Compare alternatives if your family's budget is below $90,000 a year and you cannot count on need-based aid: in Boston, only the most selective universities offer it to international students. New England winters are also long and snowy.

Boston, Cambridge and the suburbs

Boston universities compared

THE is the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026. Admit rates come from the universities' fall 2025 reports or the federal College Navigator database for fall 2024. Budgets include tuition, fees, housing and food unless stated otherwise.

Harvard and MIT: what international applicants should know

Harvard. For fall 2025, Harvard received 47,893 applications and admitted 2,003; 16% of the class applied from outside the U.S. (Harvard counts by home address, not citizenship). Admission and aid policies are the same for everyone, decisions are made without regard to aid requests, and demonstrated need is met in full. Families earning under $100,000 a year pay nothing; up to $200,000, aid covers at least full tuition. The SAT or ACT is required; in exceptional cases where testing is inaccessible, AP, IB, A-level or national exams can meet the requirement. An English test is not required. Deadlines: Restrictive Early Action on November 1, Regular Decision on January 1. The 2026/27 budget is $91,634 in billed costs plus books, personal expenses and travel — $95,134–100,134 in total; health insurance ($4,954) is extra if you lack family coverage. See our Harvard profile.

MIT. For fall 2025, MIT admitted 1,334 of 29,281 applicants (4.6%). International applicants follow the same process and receive aid on the same terms as U.S. citizens; MIT says that since 2025/26 students from families earning under $200,000 typically attend tuition-free (MIT frames this benchmark for American families; international aid is calculated from the same income and asset documents). MIT uses its own application portal, not the Common App. The SAT or ACT is required and must be taken by November 30 for Early Action or December 31 for Regular Action; an English test is strongly recommended for some non-native speakers. Deadlines: Early Action on November 1, Regular Action on January 4; aid applications by November 30 and February 15. The 2026/27 budget is $92,760, including $66,720 in tuition. All first-year students must live on campus.

Boston University, Northeastern and Boston College

Boston University stretches along the Charles River; 21% of its class entering in fall 2025 is international. The 2026/27 budget is $98,419, of which $95,334 is billed (tuition $73,024, housing $13,170, food $7,570, fees $1,570). BU meets full need only for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and its page for international students states that need-based aid is not currently available to them, so plan to self-fund or seek merit awards. Massachusetts law requires health insurance, which is added if you do not have a qualifying plan.

Northeastern is known for co-operative education (co-op), in which students alternate study with paid, full-time work in their field; for F-1 students, co-op runs under CPT. The first-year budget for 2026/27 is $98,322 (tuition $71,050, fees $1,650, housing $13,612, food $9,210). In fall 2024 it received 98,425 applications and admitted about 5%. International students are not eligible for need-based aid but are automatically considered for merit scholarships, which Northeastern describes as highly competitive and not covering the full cost. Students whose English needs more support may be admitted through NU Immerse, a one-year transitional program. Northeastern also requires the entire application to be completed by the applicant: essays and forms may not be written by paid agents or consultants. Some first-year students may start at another Northeastern campus.

Boston College is a Jesuit university in Chestnut Hill. In 2025 it admitted 13.9% of 39,686 applicants. For 2026/27, tuition is $75,075, fees $1,354 and room and board $18,834 — $95,978 in total, plus about $3,250 for books and incidentals. BC states that it cannot provide need-based aid to students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

UMass Boston and other public options

For nonresidents in 2026/27, UMass Boston tuition is $39,586, or $40,366 with mandatory fees; students on visas pay an additional international student fee. International applicants with a GPA of 3.3 or higher are automatically considered for merit scholarships of up to $10,000 a year, with no separate application. Pathway programs are available for students whose grades or English are not yet sufficient.

Other UMass campuses — UMass Lowell, strong in engineering and co-op, and UMass Dartmouth — are cheaper to live near but farther from Boston. The flagship campus is in Amherst in western Massachusetts; THE 2026 ranks the University of Massachusetts 112th.

A note for Russian citizens

Russia's Ministry of Justice added Tufts University and its Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy to its list of "undesirable organizations" in March 2026. The list also includes certain Harvard units — the Kennedy School, the Ukrainian Research Institute and the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies — although Harvard University itself is not listed. Under Russian law, involvement with such organizations can create legal risk for Russian citizens. This does not apply to citizens of other countries; Tufts ranks 189th in THE 2026.

Matching schools to your field

Living costs in Boston

These are academic-year, on-campus figures. Renting an apartment and staying for the summer will raise the total. See student housing in the USA.

How to apply

1. Spring of your penultimate school year. Build a list: one or two schools with admit rates of 5% or lower, three or four private universities admitting 10–30%, and UMass Boston or UMass Lowell as a price-safe option.
2. Spring–summer. Take the SAT or ACT (required by Harvard and MIT) and an English test.
3. Summer–autumn. Write your main essay and each school's questions (MIT has short essays in its own portal). Ask two teachers for recommendations.
4. By November 1. Early round: Harvard (Restrictive Early Action limits early applications to other private universities — read Harvard's rules), MIT (non-restrictive Early Action), and BU, Boston College and Northeastern according to their own calendars.
5. By January 1–5. Regular round. Submit aid documents with your application.
6. March–April. Decisions; choose a university and pay the deposit by May 1.
7. May–August. I-20, F-1 visa (visa guide), housing.

See applying to U.S. universities for the full process, and transferring to a U.S. university if you plan to start at a two-year college.

Notes for applicants from Russia and Central Asia

• Check Russia's list of undesirable organizations if you are a Russian citizen: in this region it covers Tufts, its Fletcher School and certain Harvard units.
• Proof of funds. For an I-20 from a private Boston university, you will document about $92,000–100,000 for the first year.
• Payments. Application fees, the CSS Profile and deposits are paid from abroad; see paying for studies abroad from Russia.
• Testing. Harvard and MIT require the SAT or ACT; check test center locations on the College Board and ACT websites and plan a backup date.

Common mistakes

• Treating all Boston schools as equally expensive. UMass Boston costs over $50,000 a year less than private universities.
• Expecting need-based aid at BU, Boston College or Northeastern. International students are not eligible.
• Confusing Harvard's Restrictive Early Action with MIT's Early Action. The first limits other early applications; the second does not.
• Ignoring co-op in your timeline and budget. Co-op semesters change your schedule; check how long your specific Northeastern program takes.

FAQ

Sources

• IIE Open Doors — Fast Facts 2025 and leading institutions 2024/25 — checked 24 September 2026
• Times Higher Education — World University Rankings 2026 — checked 24 September 2026
• Harvard: admissions statistics, requirements, international applicants, cost 2026/27 — checked 24 September 2026
• MIT: class of 2029 statistics, deadlines and requirements, international applicants, cost 2026/27, affordability — checked 24 September 2026
• Boston University — cost 2026/27, aid for international students and class profile; Northeastern — cost 2026/27 and international applicants; Boston College — admission statistics and international students — checked 24 September 2026
• UMass Boston — 2026/27 rates and international scholarships — checked 24 September 2026
• NCES College Navigator — fall 2024 admit rates (BU, Northeastern) — checked 24 September 2026
• Russian Ministry of Justice — list of undesirable organizations — checked 24 September 2026

All amounts are in U.S. dollars as published by the institutions.

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