2008-2009 Boston Secondary Application Thread

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eagle34 said:
I believe that we also have a service that you can stay the night with a current medical student. I would suggest calling the admissions office and asking them about it. I'm not fully sure about that yet as we have a meeting about admissions on September 17th.
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Thanks. I am traveling with my wife (she is visiting the local universities that have Art History PhD programs). Therefore I was planning on staying in a hotel. Thanks though.
 
****!! I just got the BU interview invite yesterday and now 2 of the options are already filled!! I sent them a message asking if I could interview at the end of Oct because I already bought a plane ticket to the east coast for another interview on the 27th...(and BU only gave me Oct 17 as the latest date). Now i'm worried that I'll wait for their response and my other 2 dates will fill up.

Should I just select one of the dates and hope that I can change it later?? Or if I select a date now will I not be able to change it later?? AHH I'm freaking out! What if the other 2 dates fill up in the next few hours and BU doesn't offer me any more dates?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??! :scared::scared:

Edit: Alright I stopped freaking. Sorry guys. My mom just told me I was being too "pre-med"
 
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veaselhaufen said:
I did the optional essay and I'm pretty sure I'd have been rejected if I hadn't
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fuzzywuz said:
Most of the people who got interviews have pretty amazing stats.

veaselhaufen, good luck with the interviews...you got quite a handful =)
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I think this is pretty standard SDN/pre-med hype. To determine whether you get an interview they will look at everything from GPA/MCAT, activities, research, letters of rec, to your personal statement. They aren't going to say "Oh hey, great GPA/LOC/MCAT/Activities...perfect candidate....oh wait....oh no...he didn't do the optional essay. Aww, too bad....ok, well....no interview for him/her". Although no one can know what exactly they are looking for I think it is safe to say that its not based on the presence of a single, optional, essay.

P.S.: I have fairly low stats and I got an interview. So they really do take everything in your application into consideration.
 
Siverhideo1985 said:
I think this is pretty standard SDN/pre-med hype. To determine whether you get an interview they will look at everything from GPA/MCAT, activities, research, letters of rec, to your personal statement. They aren't going to say "Oh hey, great GPA/LOC/MCAT/Activities...perfect candidate....oh wait....oh no...he didn't do the optional essay. Aww, too bad....ok, well....no interview for him/her". Although no one can know what exactly they are looking for I think it is safe to say that its not based on the presence of a single, optional, essay.

P.S.: I have fairly low stats and I got an interview. So they really do take everything in your application into consideration.
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Agreed. Again, they are trying to look for the "best-fit." What that is...we, the students at BU here, don't really know. All of us are qualified to be here, obviously, but all of us are different.
 
hey to all who got interviews, major congratulations, i'm so happy for you!

since i'm applying to this school as well (am in the process of completing the secondary), i was wondering if you guys wouldn't mind sharing what your stats were (gpa's, mcat) just to get a sense of what my chances are of getting an interview.....thank you!
 
Undergrad GPA: 3.51 (science a little lower, note: 4.00 senior year, after I had figured out that i want to be a doctor, lol)
Graduate GPA (SMP): 3.8
MCAT (may 07): 29R, BS10 PS9 VR10

SO yea...they look at the whole application, I assure you.
 
sorry to hear that... when were youcomplete?
 
Rejected also 🙁 First rejection actually. Bahh give me an interview from a school who's seen my rec letters ahh...I'm so worried about those!!!! And it's a Saturday! Who's sitting there sending rejection letters on a Saturday? Lame! 😛
 
Yep, definitely not all about stats--I got an interview as well, check out my mdapp for more info
 
CSnowFoxD said:
Rejected also 🙁 First rejection actually. Bahh give me an interview from a school who's seen my rec letters ahh...I'm so worried about those!!!! And it's a Saturday! Who's sitting there sending rejection letters on a Saturday? Lame! 😛
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And I thought we were safe from demoralization during the weekends. Saturday? Now that's just mean.
 
Has anyone rescheduled an interview yet? I signed up for one that was offered (but is really inconvenient) because I saw that dates were filling up really fast. I'm worried about pushing the "cancel and reschedule" button because the word "cancel" freaks me out. Does anyone know how BU deals with rescheduling? Are they accommodating??
 
I have a question for all of you......

Did everyone write something for the optional essay section??? Should I use that space to talk about how I can contribute to the diversity of BU or something of that effect or leave it blank???
 
jgberken said:
I got a "sorry for the delay and be patient with us" email...COME ON! I guess it's ok though. 😛
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i got that e-mail too. i was a little surprised because i really wasn't expecting to hear anything from them until i was either rejected or offered an interview. from the info on this thread it seemed like a rejection was more likely, but here's to still having hope.
 
gujuDoc said:
I have a question for all of you......

Did everyone write something for the optional essay section??? Should I use that space to talk about how I can contribute to the diversity of BU or something of that effect or leave it blank???
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I just used an essay that I had written for my VCU secondary talking about how I was a unique applicant, etc.
 
tabrazinski said:
i got that e-mail too. i was a little surprised because i really wasn't expecting to hear anything from them until i was either rejected or offered an interview. from the info on this thread it seemed like a rejection was more likely, but here's to still having hope.
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Yeah, seriously, I was reading through that email thinking it was going to be a rejection. Especially since the second paragraph begins with "I regret the fact that we...."

What's the deal, BU?
 
Look at it this way, at least you got the apologetic email - I didn't, so apparently they don't even care about leaving me hanging. 😉
 
Remember, BU gets 11,000 in a year, and are projected to have more than that this year. So, please, do be patient with them, it's a lot of apps to go through.
 
eagle34 said:
Remember, BU gets 11,000 in a year, and are projected to have more than that this year. So, please, do be patient with them, it's a lot of apps to go through.
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Understood. Didn't mean to come off as complaining/unappreciative 😀
 
Sorry if you guys already talked about this in this thread...I'm too lazy to read through it all. But why do people say that BU rejects "overqualified" people?? I'm confused why a school would do that, except the obvious of making their numbers look better...but the benefits of accepting very qualified people would seem to outweigh the chance someone passes up their invite.

Is this a case of people trying to make themselves feel better??? Or is BU just one of those schools were ECs outweigh GPA/mcat? Or does BU actually reject overqualified people so they don't feel rejected themselves?

So many questions....😳
 
There could be many reasons...

1) The person is not a good fit.
2) The school thinks this person is applying to the school as a backup.
3) one-dimensional applicant (great grades and scores, but have nothing outside of that)
etc etc etc
 
If you actually look at the stats of BU matriculants, they are pretty high. Our entering class of 2008, I think, had the highest GPA and MCAT of any recent class, and again, more people accepted seats at BU than any other year.
As for rejecting "overqualified applicants," this can be for a few reasons:
1)Not wasting money on someone who they know will not come to BU
2)Not a good fit for BU
3)No EC's

And trust me, BU does not feel rejected. 11,000 apps/year will make a school feel anything but rejected. Especially the year after the largest entering class in school history.
 
Haha Eagle and Fuzzy posted almost the exact same thing. I'm in agreement with them and this is not true of just BU but a lot of schools everywhere. I really do think schools do try to pick students who they feel fit in with the personality and goals/mission of the school while also being academically qualified and people who they feel will be able to finish the program.
 
nina7123 said:
Sorry if you guys already talked about this in this thread...I'm too lazy to read through it all. But why do people say that BU rejects "overqualified" people?? I'm confused why a school would do that, except the obvious of making their numbers look better...but the benefits of accepting very qualified people would seem to outweigh the chance someone passes up their invite.

Is this a case of people trying to make themselves feel better??? Or is BU just one of those schools were ECs outweigh GPA/mcat? Or does BU actually reject overqualified people so they don't feel rejected themselves?

So many questions....😳
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It is because many pre-meds assume that "overqualified" is defined by high numbers. Though everyone is aware of the significance of qualitative factors, it's much harder to really understand them or work on them.
 
fizzle said:
It is because many pre-meds assume that "overqualified" is defined by high numbers. Though everyone is aware of the significance of qualitative factors, it's much harder to really understand them or work on them.
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Precisely.

In the last year alone I learned that you could have great numbers, great essays, and a great paper application but screw up your interview and get rejected because you either gave a first impression that came off as being immature or cocky or any number of other things.

I also learned in the last 2 years that you could have great numbers, great ECs, etc. but write sloppy essays and your application can be looked down on.

Then I also learned in the last year that you could have done great in your apps, essays, interviews but come to find out you have a weak letter and that can screw you over.

These are the things that I observed with real Fl. applicants I know.

and these are a few of he examples not the whole lot of them of things that are non numerical that are important.
 
Hmm...I also got rejected today. It's my first one. It was hard to accept, but I knew it was coming, judging by the trend brewing on SDN. Anyhow, I got another interview today to off-set the rejection. Keep faith, and GL everyone! :luck:
 
Has anyone met ALL (not one of, but ALL) of the following criteria:

1) Completed their app for BU before July 25th.
2) Received the "we regret... please be patient..." email

AND

3) Received a rejection from BU?

... just trying to figure something out. Thanks so much guys.
 
Got the "please be patient" email today - damn pointless emails from schools, giving me a heart attack.
 
To the current med students, what is the best way to get to the med school when in Boston: the subway (is there a stop close to the school), cab, walk?

I have never been to Boston and don't know a lot about the city. Thanks
 
The South Face said:
To the current med students, what is the best way to get to the med school when in Boston: the subway (is there a stop close to the school), cab, walk?

I have never been to Boston and don't know a lot about the city. Thanks
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I don't go there but I live in Boston. BU med is mainly served by bus. One of the only spots in Boston where the subway doesn't go directly. Check out their website for public transportation info.
 
That is actually a key piece of information right there about the subway not going there. Thanks man.

linguini said:
I don't go there but I live in Boston. BU med is mainly served by bus. One of the only spots in Boston where the subway doesn't go directly. Check out their website for public transportation info.
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majahops said:
That is actually a key piece of information right there about the subway not going there. Thanks man.
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That's not necessarily true. The Silver Line takes you to Washington and Newton, a block from campus. There are a few stops for the BU shuttle (free) which runs from the main campus to the medical campus. But unless you're living along this line, it'd probably be easier to take the T.
 
dwc929 said:
That's not necessarily true. The Silver Line takes you to Washington and Newton, a block from campus. There are a few stops for the BU shuttle (free) which runs from the main campus to the medical campus. But unless you're living along this line, it'd probably be easier to take the T.
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Well the silver line is mostly a bus...but I guess we're splitting hairs here.
 
majahops said:
That is actually a key piece of information right there about the subway not going there. Thanks man.
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You can actually take the Orange Line to Mass Ave stop and its about a 10 min walk from that T stop to the med school. I know a number of students here that do that.
 
Word of advice, DO NOT rely on the #1 bus or the #10 to get you to your interview on time. If they're the only option, bring cab money just in case. Silver line is very reliable though.
 
Hey everyone-

Has anyone that's been complete after 8/13 received notification of any kind (i.e. interview or rejection???)

Tx!
 
I'm growing impatient.




😛
 
Not to say misery loves company, but at least I'm not alone....
Yea, I got that too, just wondering what the deal is...
thanks for the reply! 🙂
 
im right with you guys.. complete 8/14 i believe and got the apologetic patience email a few days ago
 
Early completion of applications is up this year...admissions is doing the best they can. They still have a lot of interviews to give out.
 
Just got an interview invite!! I've been complete since late July and got the "be patient" email, but I was thinking rejection. So stoked. Scheduled my interview for 10/27. Hopefully you guys will hear something soon, too.
 
I didnt originally apply to Boston in my AMCAS, but i received a letter from them requesting to do so...did this happen to anyone else? This isn't a fancy way of getting my hopes only to sap my bank account is it?
 
submitted 8/20, just got the apologetic email this morning, exactly 30 days after submission.

just curious, does BU traditionally receive more applications each year than other schools? if so, what were you guys' reasons behind applying?
 
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