2009-2010 Boston University Application Thread

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Question123 said:
So, I keep hearing about these "ethical" questions that BU gives during interview, but haven't found any mentioned. What sorts of questions have people been asked?
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Mine was basically "would you advise parents of patient x to take patient x off of life support, given x y and z"

The question was prefaced by "The dean likes us to ask an ethical question"
 
Interview invite here! I was complete on 8/20 and just got the invite, so if you've been complete forever and haven't heard back yet, you might be getting some good news soon...👍
 
why does boston take so long to get back to us?!! i hope/wonder if the interviewers remember the interview at the adcom meeting or do they just go based on a few notes!! the wait is killing meeeeeee :scared:
 
OneMCATAway said:
why does boston take so long to get back to us?!! i hope/wonder if the interviewers remember the interview at the adcom meeting or do they just go based on a few notes!! the wait is killing meeeeeee :scared:
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b/c they're going to review all the first round interviewees during the same series of meetings - so whatevs, we wait another 2 weeks
 
oze said:
b/c they're going to review all the first round interviewees during the same series of meetings - so whatevs, we wait another 2 weeks
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Actually it's more like 2 months. First acceptances come out mid-January, so everyone sit back and grab some nog.
 
FuSoYa said:
Actually it's more like 2 months. First acceptances come out mid-January, so everyone sit back and grab some nog.
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oooh right first couple of weeks in January. Still, oh well, I'll still be gnawing on leftover turkey by then
 
elementals said:
Welp. My head rolled.

Complete 10/28
Rejected 11/18
Undergrad GPA 3.48
PhD GPA 3.65
MCAT 41T

First rejection for me due to my late start. Boston wasn't my first choice but it still stings!
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By the way, I heard that BU has a strict GPA/MCAT formula that determines who gets auto rejected. I met someone on an interview who got rejected 1 week post complete, then called the admin office and said "this is bs" and they told him that. I don't know if this is the case for you but a low-ish undergrad gpa even in the presence of high MCAT and decent PhD gpa may mean that you don't pass the formula, or maybe not?

I wonder tho...because Dean Witzburg doesn't seem like a strict cutoff kinda guy.
 
smmypnts said:
By the way, I heard that BU has a strict GPA/MCAT formula that determines who gets auto rejected. I met someone on an interview who got rejected 1 week post complete, then called the admin office and said "this is bs" and they told him that. I don't know if this is the case for you but a low-ish undergrad gpa even in the presence of high MCAT and decent PhD gpa may mean that you don't pass the formula, or maybe not?

I wonder tho...because Dean Witzburg doesn't seem like a strict cutoff kinda guy.
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Hm, I don't know if that condition applies to elementals. I have about the same undergrad GPA (although it came from a school with little grade inflation so maybe they took that into account) and a worse MCAT score and I haven't been auto-rejected.
 
driftkitty said:
Hm, I don't know if that condition applies to elementals. I have about the same undergrad GPA (although it came from a school with little grade inflation so maybe they took that into account) and a worse MCAT score and I haven't been auto-rejected.
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Agreed, I have a much lower GPA and much lower MCAT and was invited to interview. I think this site also shows a pretty large range...
 
I've been complete for awhile and my "Application Status" page only says that my application is complete. Are rejection notices here sent via snail mail, email...?
 
jip said:
I've been complete for awhile and my "Application Status" page only says that my application is complete. Are rejection notices here sent via snail mail, email...?
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email with a status page update. so you're still sitting pretty.
 
Question123 said:
Agreed, I have a much lower GPA and much lower MCAT and was invited to interview. I think this site also shows a pretty large range...
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ditto to all the above. i also question someone from admissions telling an applicant on the phone that there is a "formula." that is just not something admissions people would say, even if it were true.
 
Does anyone know the number of students that are accepted (not matriculated) out of the ones interviewed?
 
Last edited:
So I just interviewed and I was going to send a thank you note to my interviewer by e-mail, when I noticed that on the Application website there is a section to upload documents, and one of the choices is 'Thank You Letter.' Am I supposed to send it through there?
 
robrobbberts said:
So I just interviewed and I was going to send a thank you note to my interviewer by e-mail, when I noticed that on the Application website there is a section to upload documents, and one of the choices is 'Thank You Letter.' Am I supposed to send it through there?
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Yeah, they'll print it out or something and send it to the designated person... I think that's what Dr. Witzburg said.
 
shoot i totally missed that! i was going to do the thank you note to the admission people too but didtn want to repeat the same thing i wrote for my interviewer cuz then it wouldnt sound very sincere.. ahhh entering regret mode now 🙁
 
OneMCATAway said:
shoot i totally missed that! i was going to do the thank you note to the admission people too but didtn want to repeat the same thing i wrote for my interviewer cuz then it wouldnt sound very sincere.. ahhh entering regret mode now 🙁
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I highly doubt it matters
 
Agreed that it doesn't really matter.

I will go on record as saying I have doubts that there has ever been a case of someone who didn't get into medical school because they failed to send a thank-you note.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, what about redsquare's application?"
"Well, my initial recommendation was to extend an acceptance..."
"But?"
"But he didn't send a thank-you letter post-interview. Obviously, this shows a lack of character that is inconsistent with the mission of Boston University School of Medicine. I say pass."
 
FWIW, i haven't written a single thank you note. mostly because i get busy and forget about it... and 'cause i think they're silly. i'm doing okay despite my thankless-ness.
 
dw2158 said:
FWIW, i haven't written a single thank you note. mostly because i get busy and forget about it... and 'cause i think they're silly. i'm doing okay despite my thankless-ness.
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That's good to hear. I thought i was the only one!
 
Bryson17 said:
That's good to hear. I thought i was the only one!
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Me too! And after filing away so many thank-you letters as an undergrad working in the admissions office (and knowing no one ever read them), I still think they're silly.
 
thanks for making me feel better guys! i was just beating myself up for not having read my status page ever since the interview 😛
 
just got this email. some people interviewing in the future might find it useful

Dear Oze,

We hope that you enjoyed your recent visit to Boston University School of Medicine and that you found the program informative. I am writing now to outline what you can expect from us in the coming months.

Our Committee on Admissions will review your application in the context of the overall applicant pool. In mid-January we will send a status update email to each individual who has interviewed prior to that time, accepting a small number of candidates, declining some, and deferring a final decision on some.

We plan to complete our interviews by late February, and by mid-March we will send a second group of emails to all candidates who have completed the application process with us, including those who were deferred in the first round. In that second group of emails we will accept most of the entering class of 2010, invite a few individuals to take a spot on our waiting list, and inform others that we will be unable to offer an acceptance this year.

...the email continues on for a while, but the above is the most useful information.
 
mdeast said:
Me too! And after filing away so many thank-you letters as an undergrad working in the admissions office (and knowing no one ever read them), I still think they're silly.
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Not true. I have had people respond to my thank you's. I know it doesn't make a difference, but I feel like it is just cordial to do so.
 
oze said:
We plan to complete our interviews by late February, and by mid-March we will send a second group of emails to all candidates who have completed the application process with us.
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How do they expect to finish by Feb if they are only now inviting people from September in for January interviews?

c: mid-to-late Sept, still no news.

Can't imagine that people who were complete in November are going to be able to get interview invites then.
 
smmypnts said:
How do they expect to finish by Feb if they are only now inviting people from September in for January interviews?

c: mid-to-late Sept, still no news.

Can't imagine that people who were complete in November are going to be able to get interview invites then.
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Probably just stealing our money 😉

/Nov completion... FML
 
smmypnts said:
How do they expect to finish by Feb if they are only now inviting people from September in for January interviews?

c: mid-to-late Sept, still no news.

Can't imagine that people who were complete in November are going to be able to get interview invites then.
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Good point. I think that the rate of applications they receive slows significantly as the cycle progresses. At this point, I don't imagine there being nearly as many applications waiting for completion and review for interview as say August or early September, nor is there any anticipation of many applications to come between now and the deadline. In other words, the remaining applicant pool maybe is just much smaller. Also, I think BU interviews more candidates per interview day than most schools. But it does seem like there is bottleneck effect taking shape here, doesn't it?
 
Kielbasa911 said:
Good point. I think that the rate of applications they receive slows significantly as the cycle progresses. At this point, I don't imagine there being nearly as many applications waiting for completion and review for interview as say August or early September, nor is there any anticipation of many applications to come between now and the deadline. In other words, the remaining applicant pool maybe is just much smaller. Also, I think BU interviews more candidates per interview day than most schools. But it does seem like there is bottleneck effect taking shape here, doesn't it?
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I imagine that the rate of application submission has slowed considerably. Also, many people who were complete in September, etc., who are just now receiving interview invites are most likely after another review of applications. I would not take it to mean that they're just now getting to September apps.

My guess is that the next two interview months will be consumed with late submits (relatively few) and reconsiderations.
 
redsquareblack said:
I imagine that the rate of application submission has slowed considerably. Also, many people who were complete in September, etc., who are just now receiving interview invites are most likely after another review of applications. I would not take it to mean that they're just now getting to September apps.

My guess is that the next two interview months will be consumed with late submits (relatively few) and reconsiderations.
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I was complete on 9/15 exactly. I bet August is the highest volume month, But I imagine a large number of people were only complete in late September or early October (ex August MCAT-ers, waiting on a slow LOR, procrastinators, people who go away/work alot in the summer ect). Also, the second year students I met all told me they applied in like October/November. I guess if they give a lot of invites in December they can catch up, but ending in February does seem kind of strange at their rate.
 
smmypnts said:
How do they expect to finish by Feb if they are only now inviting people from September in for January interviews?

c: mid-to-late Sept, still no news.

Can't imagine that people who were complete in November are going to be able to get interview invites then.
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well duh. that's why it's best to apply early to a school that has rolling admissions.
 
I don't think BU necessarily invites people in the order they were complete. I was complete on Sept. 2 and received an interview invite on Sept. 10. I interviewed on their first interview day (October 7th).

The people who were complete recently shouldn't lose hope because they could easily get invited quickly after completion if BU loves them... But those of you complete in August and September shouldn't lose hope either because BU rejects people immediately after completion if they don't like them.

This is one of those schools where you should be happy that you haven't been rejected yet!!

Good luck to you all! :luck: Now I get to wait until January 12ish at the earliest to hear about my decision... 👎
 
bannie22 said:
oh god. 40? and they interview daily dont they?
and they started relatively early too...
😳

i BU IS spoilt for choice. 🙄
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According to U.S. News, last year they interviewed 1034, accepted 531, and 178 enrolled. Percentages are on par with most schools.. maybe even a bit better.

Though Dr. Witzburg did say they are going to be a bit more conservative with their acceptances this year since last year more people ended up enrolling than they had anticipated.
 
so I just received an email from Dean Witzburg (probably just with his signature on it) saying that

"It has been 30 days since we sent you a notice indicating that your application was complete and had been referred to our Committee on Admissions for review. While our Committee is accustomed to reviewing a very large volume of applications, this year we have seen an unprecedented number of applications that have been completed early in the cycle. It appears that we will be able to interview only about 10% of our applicants this year, so these reviews are quite challenging. As a result, we are running several weeks behind.

I regret the fact that we have not been able to take action on your application as yet, but I want to assure you that we are moving as quickly as we can and that there will be no penalty for the delay in our processing. Applicants who are selected for interview are invited in chronological order by date of application completion, not by date of review. If our Committee on Admissions concludes that we can invite you for an interview and campus visit, we will get it done!

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused by our extended review of your file. We expect to complete our evaluation quite soon, and wish you success with all your applications."

anyone else get this? is this bad? or am i still ok?
 
jturkel said:
so I just received an email from Dean Witzburg (probably just with his signature on it) saying that

"It has been 30 days since we sent you a notice indicating that your application was complete and had been referred to our Committee on Admissions for review. While our Committee is accustomed to reviewing a very large volume of applications, this year we have seen an unprecedented number of applications that have been completed early in the cycle. It appears that we will be able to interview only about 10% of our applicants this year, so these reviews are quite challenging. As a result, we are running several weeks behind.

I regret the fact that we have not been able to take action on your application as yet, but I want to assure you that we are moving as quickly as we can and that there will be no penalty for the delay in our processing. Applicants who are selected for interview are invited in chronological order by date of application completion, not by date of review. If our Committee on Admissions concludes that we can invite you for an interview and campus visit, we will get it done!

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused by our extended review of your file. We expect to complete our evaluation quite soon, and wish you success with all your applications."

anyone else get this? is this bad? or am i still ok?
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you're fine - pretty much everyone has gotten one
 
jturkel said:
so I just received an email from Dean Witzburg (probably just with his signature on it) saying that

"It has been 30 days since we sent you a notice indicating that your application was complete and had been referred to our Committee on Admissions for review. While our Committee is accustomed to reviewing a very large volume of applications, this year we have seen an unprecedented number of applications that have been completed early in the cycle. It appears that we will be able to interview only about 10% of our applicants this year, so these reviews are quite challenging. As a result, we are running several weeks behind.

I regret the fact that we have not been able to take action on your application as yet, but I want to assure you that we are moving as quickly as we can and that there will be no penalty for the delay in our processing. Applicants who are selected for interview are invited in chronological order by date of application completion, not by date of review. If our Committee on Admissions concludes that we can invite you for an interview and campus visit, we will get it done!

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused by our extended review of your file. We expect to complete our evaluation quite soon, and wish you success with all your applications."

anyone else get this? is this bad? or am i still ok?
Click to expand...

I got that email sometime in October (to be precise, it was almost the mid of Oct). Still have not heard back and its the end of November. Not sure what is going on. Thinking to bug em with "any action on my app" email but i guess will wait a bit more.
 
jturkel said:
so I just received an email from Dean Witzburg (probably just with his signature on it) saying that

"It has been 30 days since we sent you a notice indicating that your application was complete and had been referred to our Committee on Admissions for review. While our Committee is accustomed to reviewing a very large volume of applications, this year we have seen an unprecedented number of applications that have been completed early in the cycle. It appears that we will be able to interview only about 10% of our applicants this year, so these reviews are quite challenging. As a result, we are running several weeks behind.

I regret the fact that we have not been able to take action on your application as yet, but I want to assure you that we are moving as quickly as we can and that there will be no penalty for the delay in our processing. Applicants who are selected for interview are invited in chronological order by date of application completion, not by date of review. If our Committee on Admissions concludes that we can invite you for an interview and campus visit, we will get it done!

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused by our extended review of your file. We expect to complete our evaluation quite soon, and wish you success with all your applications."

anyone else get this? is this bad? or am i still ok?
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YIKES. can't imagine what your heart did when you got to these words.
 
oze said:
you're fine - pretty much everyone has gotten one
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ok. thanks for clearing it up for me. appreciate it 👍

collosalmockery said:
I got that email sometime in October (to be precise, it was almost the mid of Oct). Still have not heard back and its the end of November. Not sure what is going on. Thinking to bug em with "any action on my app" email but i guess will wait a bit more.
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that would be a good idea. its obviously too "early" (having just received that email) for me to do that now lol.

bleargh said:
YIKES. can't imagine what your heart did when you got to these words.
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yah. it was really bad. i read it and was like, oh crap. this is my top choice so i was about to start freaking out.
 
jturkel said:
ok. thanks for clearing it up for me. appreciate it 👍



that would be a good idea. its obviously too "early" (having just received that email) for me to do that now lol.



yah. it was really bad. i read it and was like, oh crap. this is my top choice so i was about to start freaking out.
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but when were you complete? if you were complete way before and just got this email, seems they are going extremely slow.
 
collosalmockery said:
but when were you complete? if you were complete way before and just got this email, seems they are going extremely slow.
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october 27th. (i know, its late. my primary wasnt submitted until late september.)
 
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