Same street, same Green Line, five national hockey titles each. We ran the numbers on Boston’s oldest college rivalry. You pick the winner.
Two schools. One avenue. Less than five miles apart. Boston University sits in the middle of the city on Commonwealth Avenue. Boston College sits at the far end of it, where the Green Line’s B branch runs out of track in Chestnut Hill.
They’ve been playing each other in hockey since 1918. They’ve been arguing about everything else for longer.
On paper, it’s closer than either side likes to admit. BU is the older school, founded in 1839; BC came along in 1863. Getting in is hard at both: BU admitted about 12.8% of nearly 77,000 applicants for the Class of 2029, and BC about 14% of 39,686. BU’s first-year class is bigger, 3,450 students to BC’s 2,479. And neither is cheap: 2026–27 tuition is $73,024 at BU and $75,070 at BC, with total costs of $98,419 and $95,258.
The case for BU
BU is a city school. Your campus is Kenmore, Fenway and the Charles. Red Sox games are a walk away and the internship is one T stop over. It pulls nearly twice as many applicants as BC, and students come from all over: the Class of 2029 includes students from 69 countries.
On the ice, BU owns the Beanpot. Thirty-two titles to BC’s 21. BU also leads the all-time series, 143–138–21 across 302 games as of February 2026. Tight, but a lead is a lead.
The case for BC
BC is the classic college experience: Gothic towers, a real campus, big-time football in the ACC. It’s a Jesuit school with a strong sense of community, and alumni who never stop talking about it.
On the ice, BC has won as many national titles as BU — five each — and BC won the most recent Beanpot, beating BU 6–2 in February 2026.
The tie that won’t break
Five national championships each. A series separated by five wins over 108 years. Even the price is close: BC charges more in tuition, BU costs more overall.
The numbers won’t settle it. So you will.
City campus or classic campus? BU or BC?
