Boston University - 2015 Accepted Students

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Well, you're out of my super exclusive study group. THOSE WHO DO NOT KEG STAND WITH BRAHS ARE JUST SO WHATEVER.

My God, I don't miss that part of college. And to think, as a women's college our designated greek life was at neighboring Georgia Tech. Even the tamed down version I don't want near me. Then again, I got my first MA at FSU, so I suppose it balances out.
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JewcyFruit said:
Well, you're out of my super exclusive study group. THOSE WHO DO NOT KEG STAND WITH BRAHS ARE JUST SO WHATEVER.

My God, I don't miss that part of college. And to think, as a women's college our designated greek life was at neighboring Georgia Tech. Even the tamed down version I don't want near me. Then again, I got my first MA at FSU, so I suppose it balances out.
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But all those carbs that you'll burn from keg standing cannot be BEAT. You'll walk in to lecture with a migraine the next day, but with abs of steel!

Funny though, I'm starting to get to the point where I cannot drown myself in alcohol and be cool the next day. I think this started when I was 24. Something just happened, man.

So now, I just add conch fritters with my alcohol. Might as well be fat and jolly!

BTW, lemme know in the future if you're looking for a roommate (or anyone else on here). But be warned, I'm like an April Ludgate :p
 
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April is one of my favorite characters from that show xD
On a more related topic, my financial aid package was supposed to arrive last week...I'm going to put it down to the storm, but I'd like to see it ASAP
 
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JewcyFruit said:
When I was researching schools, there were so many different things that attracted me to BU. The faculty research diverse topics, not just within epi, but throughout SPH. They look at huge issues at the micro and macro levels. I've been getting the ASPPH Friday Newsletter for almost a year, and every Friday, BU is always mentioned - student, faculty, and alumni accolades, research publications, field contributions. It really seems that BU is making huge contributions. I like that the school is small, not Yale small, but not Emory huge. I love that it is a medical community, the public health, medical, and dental students. I love that if I get there, while taking the core courses, I can fall in love with MCH or Environmental, and I can switch because we're admitted to SPH, not to our program (except biostats because that has a huge math component). And, lastly for now because I'm super old and tired, I love that when I got accepted I got a call from a dean a few days later. I love that I got a welcome packet. I love that they are willing to work with you financially. I feel like they really go out of their way, a full court press, to let you know that they want you to join the community. With other schools I feel like it is just a bland business transaction. With BU, I feel like it is a cooperative, collaborative effort between students, admissions, departments, and student financial services. For me, this makes BU feel right.
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I can tell you from a student perspective, this is SO TRUE!!!!! I kept waiting when I was a prospective student for them to be like OH jk lol we aren't like that. But they really aren't!!!! I love it here so much, I have gotten the opportunity to do really cool research, take awesome classes, speak with professors all the time about their opinions, etc etc. Not to mention, met some really awesome peeps that will be my friends for the long run!
 
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jora, still waiting here, too. It's hard to remember that they're snowed in when we're having incredible 70F weather here.

nutella_lover, so good to hear. My initial reaction was "Of course they have to be over-the-top nice, they have to accept an average of 8 students to admit 1. They probably don't want to lose students all of their students to the Top 10 schools..." but out of all of the schools I've been accepted to so far, they've really gone above and beyond.

Now, about that financial aid package...
 
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jora said:
April is one of my favorite characters from that show xD
On a more related topic, my financial aid package was supposed to arrive last week...I'm going to put it down to the storm, but I'd like to see it ASAP
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I was just complaining about this to my coworker. I blame it on the weather. He did say up to 10 business days. So, I should get it by next Friday. I'm really hoping that it'll show up tomorrow.

I wonder why they don't upload it online...

As for housing, I noticed some peeps are doing it all online. But call me old and cynical, I just don't feel comfortable doing it 100% online. I'm going to fly up to Boston sometime in June to have a look around. I want to take a look at the neighborhood, see the condition of the building (the smell of urine unfortunately is hard to detect in photos!). And then I'm worried about being scammed. At my company, we see people getting scammed all the time over the interwebs and I often warned people and it'll be so foolish for me to fall for a trap.

The least I can do is a quick background check on someone to see if they're legit! I'm even paranoid that I'll decide to room with someone and they'll just run off with my money!

Yea, IDK. I'll probably just pick something up in the summer. If I get enough aid, I'll just go with 580.
 
Paperwork finally came. $15K, plus I have a $30K outside scholarship, which makes the tuition seem much more affordable.

Still waiting on offers from 2 local schools, one who offers a full tuition waiver to McNair students, so we'll see... might be packing for Boston when I get back into the country.
 
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Yay! Now I'm going to wade through the water in my leggings (aka not pants) to see if I got anything in the mail. I figure, if you got it all the way out in Oregon, maybe it made it to Florida. Doubtful, but a girl can dream.

Edit: Nope! And now I'm soaking wet. Thanks, Florida.
 
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She-Hulk, I hadn't even thought of that (I'd only seen that one post), but that'd be creepy and kind of hilarious.

Now your message has disappeared... mysterious.

Sorry,JewcyFruit, I thought if I received mine you'd definitely have gotten yours.
 
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Facetime conversation with my mom today:
me: "so...any new mail from Boston?"
my mom: "No. By the way, I heard they got a lot of snow."
me: "Yeah. So if anything comes in, let me know immediately, ok?"
my mom: "It's super cold there. And it's a pain when the pipes freeze."
me: "I know, you lived there for five years. Ok thank you. I really need that mail."
my mom: "I always support your decisions. But don't you think the weather in India is so nice and warm?"
Too many hints, mom...
 
@JewcyFruit I'm getting there. She's still at the "why have you never dated, there are so many nice Indian Christian boys out there, you dont need all these fancy degrees"stage.

Welp. It's March. I'm behind on my apartment search.
At this point I'm debating finding a room for rent temporarily in a nice old lady's house, and then continuing an apartment search so I can rent in January for a full year.
 
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I've been getting the "Oh, just find a nice Jewish doctor already" thing since birth. Maybe pre-birth. It's not attractive, ma!
 
Finally got my letter.
 
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I got mine, too. I'm - devastated is a word. I work two jobs, one is hourly and the other I get a monthly stipend that is technically illegal/not minimum wage. If I weren't living at home, I couldn't afford an apartment in Palm Beach County. They offered me 4k in need based scholarship. I think they are out of their minds.

The overwhelming majority of the money I did make went towards paying off undergrad loans and my car so I could come to school next year with less debt. JFC.
 
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JewcyFruit said:
I got mine, too. I'm - devastated is a word. I work two jobs, one is hourly and the other I get a monthly stipend that is technically illegal/not minimum wage. If I weren't living at home, I couldn't afford an apartment in Palm Beach County. They offered me 4k in need based scholarship. I think they are out of their minds.

The overwhelming majority of the money I did make went towards paying off undergrad loans and my car so I could come to school next year with less debt. JFC.
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I was a bit luckier, but I'm still short. Looking into Grad Plus loans, but I'm sure I'm gonna get denied. Hoping to see if I can be accepted if I have my mother as a cosigner.

Also, the COA that I came up with is a lot smaller than their estimated COA. I was able to cut some of it by only calculating how much I'll spend on room and board since I plan on living with several other graduate students. The average seems to be about $700-800 a room. That is around $3,500 or $4,000 a semester (instead of the $6,199 that they suggested) when you add in things like utilities. I'm sure I can find a way to spend less on books as well. Sigh... But I'm with you, I wasn't too happy about the award either.
 
I guess they qualified me for a Federal Plus loan which is great, fine, whatever. But the sad part is that if you go to Sallie Mae with pretty good credit, which I have, I can get the loans for a fraction of the interest. They want 7.5% plus an origination fee of like 5% and SM will give me like 2% interest. This whole thing makes me feel dirty. With that loan thing, I'm 9k short.
 
JewcyFruit said:
I guess they qualified me for a Federal Plus loan which is great, fine, whatever. But the sad part is that if you go to Sallie Mae with pretty good credit, which I have, I can get the loans for a fraction of the interest. They want 7.5% plus an origination fee of like 5% and SM will give me like 2% interest. This whole thing makes me feel dirty. With that loan thing, I'm 9k short.
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Ah, all my loans are federal. Are you saying a private loan would make more sense? Maybe it would... Hm... Maybe I should seek out SM.
 
JewcyFruit said:
TOP 10 B*TCH*S!
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The interesting thing is that BU's score, 3.6, is the same, I believe, from when the list was compiled four years ago, so the minor change in rank from tied for #11 to tied for #10 is due to the relative movement of other schools on the list, and of course the list doesn't reflect the new changes. I think that schools that improved their absolute scores, like Tulane, and others, did so due to their large global health programs, which are attracting more interest academically and professionally. It all depends what you want out of a school, Yale is good for research and is actually pretty competitive as it has a small class size. Brown isn't even ranked as it only recently became a school of public health, and yet it's a dream school for a lot of people.

Also, rank isn't nearly as important for public health schools as it is for business schools, so other factors come into play.
 
She-Hulk said:
The interesting thing is that BU's score, 3.6, is the same, I believe, from when the list was compiled four years ago, so the minor change in rank from tied for #11 to tied for #10 is due to the relative movement of other schools on the list, and of course the list doesn't reflect the new changes. I think that schools that improved their absolute scores, like Tulane, and others, did so due to their large global health programs, which are attracting more interest academically and professionally. It all depends what you want out of a school, Yale is good for research and is actually pretty competitive as it has a small class size. Brown isn't even ranked as it only recently became a school of public health, and yet it's a dream school for a lot of people.

Also, rank isn't nearly as important for public health schools as it is for business schools, so other factors come into play.
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Agreed. Penn State isn't listed as well for the same reason as Brown. A lot of good schools are missing. I wouldn't exclude a school for not being on the list.
 
I wish they would move to include all MPH programs, and not just schools of public health. I understand why they do it that way, but I find it unhelpful. It's hard for me to compare Tufts to BU and GW when I am missing this component. It isn't the be-all, end-all, but it something. You know?
 
JewcyFruit said:
I wish they would move to include all MPH programs, and not just schools of public health. I understand why they do it that way, but I find it unhelpful. It's hard for me to compare Tufts to BU and GW when I am missing this component. It isn't the be-all, end-all, but it something. You know?
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A lot of factors come into play, with public health schools, the general rankings in us news are just one component. You could devise a a point system, where 1 is a positive, and 0 is a negative. For example:

1. US News ranking. 1 is you can live with it, 0 is you can't.
2. Tuition. 1 if the tuition is very agreeable, 0 if it a drawback. (I'm assuming that if you can't afford a school, or if it doesn't make sense tuition-wise then you won't go there no matter what.)
3. Personal likeability. 1 if you love it, 0 if you not especially in love with said school.
4. Specific research/interests. 1 if it works with your career plans, 0 if nothing special jumps out.
5. Location. 1 if you love the area, 0 if not.
 
JewcyFruit said:
@jora Has mom reminded you that your eggs are getting old yet? Just wait until she starts to work that into the conversation.

For all: Look what I found on the internets - http://blog.thebostoncalendar.com/how-to-hunt-for-an-apartment-in-boston/
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Also, I'm happy to lend any advise on where to live in Boston. I'm obsessed with it. Boston is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO fun.
And the weather isn't that bad!!! Plus, heat is included in most apartments so yeah, just crank it up!
 
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@nutella_lover Seriously, I'm a Florida girl that LOVES the cold. But I've Hashimoto's so I'm freezing all the time. It's 75 out now and I'm shivering. The one thing that makes me know I'll be okay is heat and hot water included. I'm being drawn, out of laziness, to James Court/Harrison Court because I can walk across the street and back between classes to let my pup out, sleep later, etc., but the coooooost. Thoughts on trying to be off Mass. Ave and taking (whichever number) bus in? Is it pretty safe to do that at night (assuming I take night classes, though I will try not to)? What about Fenway/Kenmore?

Also, do you have any opinion on how BUSPH stacks up to Tufts?
 
JewcyFruit said:
@nutella_lover But I've Hashimoto's so I'm freezing all the time. It's 75 out now and I'm shivering. The one thing that makes me know I'll be okay is heat and hot water included.
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Why JewcyFruit . . . why?

Let me get this straight, you "love" the cold, but can't be in it because you have a medical condition? Boston gets tons of snow and freezing weather, I don't know why you didn't just go to USF. Yes BU is tied for #10, USF is something like #16, but they're both middle of the road schools given that US News only ranks about 25 of them anyway! With the money you'll save from going to USF you could probably take ten luxury vacations to Boston and sit in a spa somewhere.

I get the whole go to a school that you "love", but with BU, they kinda declared the old way of doing things a failure. The school used to advertise their 'practical experience' as a major selling point, well guess what?, turns out that they were selling fewer practical hours than most other schools, and they're still middle of the road even with the increase to 240 hours . . . something that will be a lot harder to achieve with something like four major public health schools already crowded in Boston.

BU should use some of that money they stockpiled to hire adjunct faculty to teach next year and give it to incoming students for 'merit' scholarships, or whatever they're calling the discounts to get students to come, out of the recognition that, yes, incoming students in the coming years will have a harder time due to the curriculum changes.
 
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Does anyone know if you can extend the decision deadline?

Also, if you accept their offer, does that mean there is no backing out? I want to secure a spot in case I don't get into other schools I haven't heard back from.
 
mhapplicant2015 said:
Does anyone know if you can extend the decision deadline?

Also, if you accept their offer, does that mean there is no backing out? I want to secure a spot in case I don't get into other schools I haven't heard back from.
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Not sure about the deadline, doesn't hurt to ask though.

If you back out after accepting, you would probably burn the BU SPH bridge, but there aren't really any 'consequences' for doing so.
 
agh2415 said:
Not sure about the deadline, doesn't hurt to ask though.

If you back out after accepting, you would probably burn the BU SPH bridge, but there aren't really any 'consequences' for doing so.
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Well other than losing the deposit right? April 15th is cutting it so close and there's some schools I haven't finished applying to like USC
 
Hey guys who is going to BU accepted student's day this month?
 
JewcyFruit said:
@nutella_lover Seriously, I'm a Florida girl that LOVES the cold. But I've Hashimoto's so I'm freezing all the time. It's 75 out now and I'm shivering. The one thing that makes me know I'll be okay is heat and hot water included. I'm being drawn, out of laziness, to James Court/Harrison Court because I can walk across the street and back between classes to let my pup out, sleep later, etc., but the coooooost. Thoughts on trying to be off Mass. Ave and taking (whichever number) bus in? Is it pretty safe to do that at night (assuming I take night classes, though I will try not to)? What about Fenway/Kenmore?

Also, do you have any opinion on how BUSPH stacks up to Tufts?
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Hey!

So, yes, buy a coat ;), but you'll be fine.

Trying to be off Mass Ave is totally fine and totally safe, and taking the Ct-1 or 1 bus in is what me and many of my classmates do. I see you're coming to accepted students day- def ask the student panel this question! Or at your concentration luncheons.

Basically, the closer you live to school in the South End, the shorter commute you'll have, but also the price is wicked high. A lot of my friends live in the Allston/Brighton area, off the main campus, since it's super cheap, and the shuttle runs pretty far out there. You commute is usually ~40 mins, which isn't bad. Commuting via public transit is def less bad than commuting by car. Oh! And you certainly do not need a car. At all.

My friend here has a dog and lives in the Fenway, which is more expensive than Allston, but cheaper than the south end, and can walk to school in about 35 mins, but can also make it home to let her pup out from school and get back in round trip about 1.5 hours, which is not bad. I love her neighborhood, it's soooo nice. And has an awesome park. And the fenway/kenmore area is really fun to go out in.

Let me know if I can help anymore!
 
She-Hulk said:
Why JewcyFruit . . . why?

Let me get this straight, you "love" the cold, but can't be in it because you have a medical condition? Boston gets tons of snow and freezing weather, I don't know why you didn't just go to USF. Yes BU is tied for #10, USF is something like #16, but they're both middle of the road schools given that US News only ranks about 25 of them anyway! With the money you'll save from going to USF you could probably take ten luxury vacations to Boston and sit in a spa somewhere.

I get the whole go to a school that you "love", but with BU, they kinda declared the old way of doing things a failure. The school used to advertise their 'practical experience' as a major selling point, well guess what?, turns out that they were selling fewer practical hours than most other schools, and they're still middle of the road even with the increase to 240 hours . . . something that will be a lot harder to achieve with something like four major public health schools already crowded in Boston.

BU should use some of that money they stockpiled to hire adjunct faculty to teach next year and give it to incoming students for 'merit' scholarships, or whatever they're calling the discounts to get students to come, out of the recognition that, yes, incoming students in the coming years will have a harder time due to the curriculum changes.
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Hey She-Hulk, if you have all this inside knowledge, then you must go here/did go here/work here, so why are you constantly hating on BUSPH? What's the deal?
 
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I'm staying downtown because my parents had to cancel last-minute on a wedding last summer and if they don't use their credits, they lose them in June. Soooo, I get to stay at a wicked awesome place that I'll never get to stay in again. Unless I get a sugar daddy to make the cost of school less crappy. #Decisions. There is a hotel across from Boston Med, a Hampton Inn, I was going to stay in, but then my parents remembered, so. I think they have a BU rate and/or AAA.

I just got my BU physical. I haven't officially accepted, but basically in my head it's a done deal. I'm still going to visit Tufts when I'm there. I'll try and not be a sour puss the whole time and give them a fair shot. I just love BU so much. Bijou forever.
 
JewcyFruit said:
I'm staying downtown because my parents had to cancel last-minute on a wedding last summer and if they don't use their credits, they lose them in June. Soooo, I get to stay at a wicked awesome place that I'll never get to stay in again. Unless I get a sugar daddy to make the cost of school less crappy. #Decisions. There is a hotel across from Boston Med, a Hampton Inn, I was going to stay in, but then my parents remembered, so. I think they have a BU rate and/or AAA.

I just got my BU physical. I haven't officially accepted, but basically in my head it's a done deal. I'm still going to visit Tufts when I'm there. I'll try and not be a sour puss the whole time and give them a fair shot. I just love BU so much. Bijou forever.
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Hey! I forgot to talk about Bu/Tufts. From what I know, Tufts Nutrition program is apparently pretty bomb. But, our school of public health over all is better and more well received. Totally should visit while you're here, just to see what you think! Bijou foreverrrr!!!
 
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I'm wayyyyyyy too fat and love foods that make you fat much too much to even be near anything that specializes in nutrition. I'm actually worried that I'm going to be shunned at public health school. If you ask me, I'm an awesome person, but I'm really scared that my size will make people not want to be my friend. I get we're not in middle and high school anymore, but this is public health and people see me and think not-health. If they asked me, I'd be more than happy to tell them why I am the size I am, but that's never happened before. Instead, people just assume I don't exercise (Hahaha, nope! I love ballet barre, for hours and hours and hours, if anyone wants to do it with me!) and all I do is eat crap (Yeah, sometimes, just like you, but not usually!). THE MENTAL ANGUISH I PUT MYSELF THROUGH. At least I know that my doctors think I'm awesome - and that it's really not my fault most of the time.
 
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JewcyFruit said:
I'm wayyyyyyy too fat and love foods that make you fat much too much to even be near anything that specializes in nutrition. I'm actually worried that I'm going to be shunned at public health school. If you ask me, I'm an awesome person, but I'm really scared that my size will make people not want to be my friend. I get we're not in middle and high school anymore, but this is public health and people see me and think not-health. If they asked me, I'd be more than happy to tell them why I am the size I am, but that's never happened before. Instead, people just assume I don't exercise (Hahaha, nope! I love ballet barre, for hours and hours and hours, if anyone wants to do it with me!) and all I do is eat crap (Yeah, sometimes, just like you, but not usually!). THE MENTAL ANGUISH I PUT MYSELF THROUGH. At least I know that my doctors think I'm awesome - and that it's really not my fault most of the time.
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Girl, who cares what people think. You're fabulous as is.
 
JewcyFruit said:
I'm wayyyyyyy too fat and love foods that make you fat much too much to even be near anything that specializes in nutrition. I'm actually worried that I'm going to be shunned at public health school. If you ask me, I'm an awesome person, but I'm really scared that my size will make people not want to be my friend. I get we're not in middle and high school anymore, but this is public health and people see me and think not-health. If they asked me, I'd be more than happy to tell them why I am the size I am, but that's never happened before. Instead, people just assume I don't exercise (Hahaha, nope! I love ballet barre, for hours and hours and hours, if anyone wants to do it with me!) and all I do is eat crap (Yeah, sometimes, just like you, but not usually!). THE MENTAL ANGUISH I PUT MYSELF THROUGH. At least I know that my doctors think I'm awesome - and that it's really not my fault most of the time.
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If anyone shuns you, come find me and we can go eat delicious food (I LOVE FOOD.). I'm so excited for Boston food.
btw I definitely recognized you on the BU Facebook page (I'm not a stalker, I swear).
 
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jora said:
If anyone shuns you, come find me and we can go eat delicious food (I LOVE FOOD.). I'm so excited for Boston food.
btw I definitely recognized you on the BU Facebook page (I'm not a stalker, I swear).
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Yeah, don't worry about it. Seriously. If people judge you then....wellllppp......they are jerks!

Also, boston food is amazing. It is honestly SO good. I also adore food (hence the name nutella lover....)
 
Was going to make it but airplane tickets decided to go up the next day (today) to 400. =/
 
spanishkid said:
Was going to make it but airplane tickets decided to go up the next day (today) to 400. =/
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Yea, its usually best to buy tickets in advance. I'll be buying my tickets to Boston in august very soon.
 
They were pretty cheap (around 200 round trip) all last week but I decided to wait for some dumb reason.
 
FRIEND MEEEEEE!! I mean, we're absolutely going to be friends anyway. We can tell both our moms we're looking for husbands together :)
 
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spanishkid said:
They were pretty cheap (around 200 round trip) all last week but I decided to wait for some dumb reason.
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I read somewhere that tickets are cheaper to buy on Tuesdays or Wednesdays or something like that. Don't take my word for it, though. Have you tried Google Flights?
 
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@JewcyFruit ok haha - my real name is close to my SD username, so don't be all "who's this random chick"
on a side note, st. Paddy's day in India is super boring. make me excited for Boston
 
I want to join the excitement but BU is making me wait too long :( :( :( :( :( :(
 
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