2009-2010 Boston University Application Thread

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mmmcdowe said:
If given a choice between multiple schools, go to a school that is going to make you happiest. Medical school is too long and hard to not to go to a place that can keep you going at it. The personal choice is what MAKES you happy. Money, location, fit, prestige, whatever is going to keep a bounce in your step.
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Great post and awesome signature
 
Agreed on the above quote. Just to offer another opinion as to how BU selects candidates for offers of admission.

It seems to me that a lot more goes into the selection process than just numbers, although BU can tend to look like a number oriented institution. Offers of admission seem to be given to applicants who will not only work to exemplify the BUMC motto of "exceptional care without exception" but also be engaging, active members of the BUSM community.

I say the "BUSM community" because, after being here for some time, that is what it really is. Clinicians, researchers, faculty, staff, and students all have a vey close bond. As this is the case with most other schools, I think BUSM illustrates how much a close knit community means to them. Its been said before but they aren't just accepting a student, they are accepting a future colleague.

With that said, if you have interviewed here and are wondering where you stand? I think the best indicator would be how well you leveled with your interviewer. Did you laugh with them? Were they engaging you as actively as you tried to engage them? Was it a positive experience or just another formality to get that acceptance letter in the mail?

Even though why you want to go to medical school is important, at BU it may be just as important to be a candidate that would "fit" in here but will also embrace the community that is BUSM.
 
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so, i was digging around my BU interview folder and i found some scribbles that i had jotted down while at BU. supposedly BU is mailing out letters on March 3rd. was this me day dreaming or can anyone else confirm that they received the same info?

either way, we're getting close! :luck: to all and congrats to those already accepted.
 
PeterParker7 said:
so, i was digging around my BU interview folder and i found some scribbles that i had jotted down while at BU. supposedly BU is mailing out letters on March 3rd. was this me day dreaming or can anyone else confirm that they received the same info?

either way, we're getting close! :luck: to all and congrats to those already accepted.
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i think its more like the 31st.. we still got a month left! :xf::xf::luck:
 
I think last year it was more like March 26/27. But maybe they are doing it earlier? I hope.
 
Yeah, they told our group we should find out the last week of March, and definitely before April.
 
Anyone else get a a contact information verification email? I got one at 1 AM this morning of all times.
 
mdeast said:
Anyone else get a a contact information verification email? I got one at 1 AM this morning of all times.
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I got it too. For a second I thought it was a rejection, then I realized we won't hear anything for a month!
 
i think they did the same thing for the jan. admissions period too. don't read into it for your sake.
 
mdeast said:
Anyone else get a a contact information verification email? I got one at 1 AM this morning of all times.
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This went out to accepted and waitlisted candidates as well, so it's nothing to read into.
 
PeterParker7 said:
so, i was digging around my BU interview folder and i found some scribbles that i had jotted down while at BU. supposedly BU is mailing out letters on March 3rd. was this me day dreaming or can anyone else confirm that they received the same info?

either way, we're getting close! :luck: to all and congrats to those already accepted.
Click to expand...


On my interview day, they said the Admissions Committee would decide on applications on March 3. They said letters would be prepared and mailed after that, so they advised interviewees to expect letters to arrive at the end of March.
 
Doctor 8675309 said:
On my interview day, they said the Admissions Committee would decide on applications on March 3. They said letters would be prepared and mailed after that, so they advised interviewees to expect letters to arrive at the end of March.
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In my notes, I wrote down "end of March and before April".

Also, in the letter that they sent out in January, it says

The Committee would like to defer its final decision until late March, at which time your folder will be reviewed in the context of our entire applicant pool for this year.
 
c17h said:
In my notes, I wrote down "end of March and before April".

Also, in the letter that they sent out in January, it says

The Committee would like to defer its final decision until late March, at which time your folder will be reviewed in the context of our entire applicant pool for this year.
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😍
 
To the GMS kids out there:

Anybody want to guess how many GMS interviewees have been accepted thus far? I think someone posted earlier that there's probably only going to be around 20 spots for GMS. Does everyone think that most accepted GMS kids will definitely be attending? I'm currently sitting in the "deferred till March for decision" group right now...
 
Immunoglobulin said:
To the GMS kids out there:

Anybody want to guess how many GMS interviewees have been accepted thus far? I think someone posted earlier that there's probably only going to be around 20 spots for GMS. Does everyone think that most accepted GMS kids will definitely be attending? I'm currently sitting in the "deferred till March for decision" group right now...
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I'm not a GMS but...
When I interviewed my interviewer told me how the breakdown usually went. He said that there were about 30 or so seats that were reserved for the 7 year BA/MD program AND the GMS students. So that probably averages out to about 20 seats for GMS or so. Who knows, I mean the numbers could change and he could have been giving me a rough estimate.
In anyway, i know that there are alot of GMS students and I remember thinking it was quite a low number of spots to compete for....
Good luck!
 
AHHH this wait is KILLING ME!!!

According to last year's thread, some people found out March 30th, and then everyone else found out March 31st! This 'notification by the last week of March' isn't as much 'last week' as it is LAST DAY, gahhhhh👎
 
I remember it being the 26th and 27th of that month, which is what I wrote down. Maybe that was phone calls though and not emails.
 
I wonder if they've already made decisions for most of us and are just waiting to mail them out.
 
dukejen04 said:
just got a rejection email. that's a disappointment.
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:O

Are you serious? I thought they were sending out decisions late March. That is what my deferred e-mail stated. When did you interview?

Sorry to hear. 🙁
 
dukejen04 said:
just got a rejection email. that's a disappointment.
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You applied MD/PhD, right? Not to pry, but I think you'll have several of us deferred MD-only people bombarding you for more info... understandably so, I think. This waiting thing is atrocious.

Sorry to hear that and best of luck to you with other options! 👍
 
I just got waitlisted for MD/PhD, so maybe it's only the MD/PhD people they're emailing today.
 
royalewthcheese said:
You applied MD/PhD, right? Not to pry, but I think you'll have several of us deferred MD-only people bombarding you for more info... understandably so, I think. This waiting thing is atrocious.

Sorry to hear that and best of luck to you with other options! 👍
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Yeah- I interviewed MD/PhD in December, was deferred in January, and got the BU med school rejection letter today, meaning I guess I got rejected from MD/PhD and MD.
 
i need it to be march 30th nowww!!! this waiting is killing me...

please take me, BU. 😍:xf:
 
Swim88WJ said:
i need it to be march 30th nowww!!! this waiting is killing me...

please take me, BU. 😍:xf:
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I know! The waiting is awful. Is they make the decisions at the beginning of the month, why do they wait until the end to tell us??
 
Reekneee said:
I know! The waiting is awful. Is they make the decisions at the beginning of the month, why do they wait until the end to tell us??
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b/c they can :meanie:

nah but seriously there must be some logistical reason - transferring all the files to the financial aid office or something...something!!!
 
maybe they started by reviewing MD/PhD's first and they have yet to get to regular MD's.. since march has just started there is still a lot to review they can't possibly be done already!!

good luck all :luck: and BU please make me happy this month 😍
 
It is mostly re-reviews tho. So should be a lil faster if they were previously scored somehow.
 
Does anything else think that BU's application for financial aid is horrendous??

I mean, is it REALLY necessary to make us use the CSS PROFILE instead of FAFSA for parental info?? Not only does it charge us an extra $25 because PROFILE, unlike FAFSA, is not free - but it's also tons more work. And the online BU application - seriously? I don't know, maybe my parents are the only ones still in the stone age - but they don't have/know how to use the internet, so I ended up having to fill that section out for them and BU's system makes doing so way more complicated than it should be. I just hope all this effort is worth it in the end...
 
Do we know for sure that they are making decisions at the beginning of March? I don't want to compose an update if they are already done with my file...

I really loved BU, this wait is such a killer!!!
 
SmokeyGray said:
Do we know for sure that they are making decisions at the beginning of March? I don't want to compose an update if they are already done with my file...

I really loved BU, this wait is such a killer!!!
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I can confirm that decisions have been made. I was on campus last week when I saw virtually every one of our down stairs conference rooms plus the Dean's conference room reserved for committee on MD admissions. The piles were stacked high and there clearly were quite many different groups looking at them.

Many of my GMS professors for the SMP program were there too, and one of them is an assistant dean of admissions at BU Med this year. So decisions have been made, I'm sure of that.
 
Swim88WJ said:
i need it to be march 30th nowww!!! this waiting is killing me...

please take me, BU. 😍:xf:
Click to expand...

The decisions were made last week. But I don't know if they are doing snail mail like they did for GMS applicants. That might be why it takes a month between the decisions were made and when you receive it.

Since I saw them doing such, I just wanted to come onto this thread and tell everyone on this thread that I wish them the best of luck. BU is a great school and as a GMS kid who has taken medical school level courses here, I can attest to this much.....

BU Med is a really great environment in terms of the diversity of the students, the helpfulness and how caring the faculty is, and the friendliness of the students. The only thing that really sucks is the cost. But that's the cost of a private institution in a more major city. So anyhow, I wish you all luck.
 
beantownboss said:
Agreed on the above quote. Just to offer another opinion as to how BU selects candidates for offers of admission.

It seems to me that a lot more goes into the selection process than just numbers, although BU can tend to look like a number oriented institution. Offers of admission seem to be given to applicants who will not only work to exemplify the BUMC motto of "exceptional care without exception" but also be engaging, active members of the BUSM community.

I say the "BUSM community" because, after being here for some time, that is what it really is. Clinicians, researchers, faculty, staff, and students all have a vey close bond. As this is the case with most other schools, I think BUSM illustrates how much a close knit community means to them. Its been said before but they aren't just accepting a student, they are accepting a future colleague.

With that said, if you have interviewed here and are wondering where you stand? I think the best indicator would be how well you leveled with your interviewer. Did you laugh with them? Were they engaging you as actively as you tried to engage them? Was it a positive experience or just another formality to get that acceptance letter in the mail?

Even though why you want to go to medical school is important, at BU it may be just as important to be a candidate that would "fit" in here but will also embrace the community that is BUSM.
Click to expand...

As someone who now has some experience with BU med I am in complete agreement with this post. The reason it seems numbers oriented is because there are 10,000 applicants so the initial prescreening when they give a lot of preinterview rejections is usually due to the fact that they have to cut down the applicant size somehow.

One of the other things I should mention is another reason why it seems like they cut a lot of people out is that BU also has different early assurance programs and GMS kids who they evaluate amongst their applicants.

However that being said, they do look at other factors too. I can say that without a doubt that they do take diversity seriously at BU which is much more then I can say at some other unnamed places. I have been really impressed by it and the students I've met in both the med campus and GMS program.
 
OneMCATAway said:
maybe they started by reviewing MD/PhD's first and they have yet to get to regular MD's.. since march has just started there is still a lot to review they can't possibly be done already!!

good luck all :luck: and BU please make me happy this month 😍
Click to expand...

From what I saw, in fall they had one day when they had the R building conference rooms reserved for decisions and one day last week for spring decisions reviewed. they had multiple subcommittees which included many of the M1 professors and others.

BU has a far bigger admissions committee due to the large number of applicants they get and interview compared to my old university. So the decisions were all made for the MD program last week as I stated in my last 2-3 posts. I don't know if they separate out MD/PhD or if they accept the PhD portion separately of the MD decisons like they do at some schools.

But at least I can offer you this much ease in letting you know the decisions were made and they were there pretty much whole day. So they are probably just sending them out now.
 
gujuDoc said:
The decisions were made last week. But I don't know if they are doing snail mail like they did for GMS applicants. That might be why it takes a month between the decisions were made and when you receive it.

Since I saw them doing such, I just wanted to come onto this thread and tell everyone on this thread that I wish them the best of luck. BU is a great school and as a GMS kid who has taken medical school level courses here, I can attest to this much.....

BU Med is a really great environment in terms of the diversity of the students, the helpfulness and how caring the faculty is, and the friendliness of the students. The only thing that really sucks is the cost. But that's the cost of a private institution in a more major city. So anyhow, I wish you all luck.
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so....i guess people who are on hold post-interview get their results through mail? not phone call.. not email?
Is that how people got thier acceptance notice last year?
 
yaho said:
so....i guess people who are on hold post-interview get their results through mail? not phone call.. not email?
Is that how people got thier acceptance notice last year?
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I am not sure how they are sending you guys decisions. I could technically ask people I know on the committee if I wanted to cuz I saw which of my professors were in those rooms through the windows. But I don't know. If its like GMS, I'm guessing that if they said it takes til the end of the month to find out it would be snail mail. But that's my guess. I could also ask my friend as I know some people who have been accepted if you want me to.
 
yaho said:
so....i guess people who are on hold post-interview get their results through mail? not phone call.. not email?
Is that how people got thier acceptance notice last year?
Click to expand...

From last year's thread it looks like the first march acceptance was posted on 3/30, and it was indeed a phone call from the interviewer.

GujuDoc, thanks for all the insider info. Good luck to everyone waiting to hear, hope to see you guys at the second-look.
 
One question... Which day of last week did they meet? Just curious
 
yaho said:
so....i guess people who are on hold post-interview get their results through mail? not phone call.. not email?
Is that how people got thier acceptance notice last year?
Click to expand...

For what's it worth, some of those accepted in January received a phone call from their interviewers before receiving snail mail and an e-mail, while others only received the snail mail and e-mail a few days afterwards. Good luck!
 
Wow, I am impressed they are done with decisions this early in the month considering they gave us such a late date for when they would notify us.

Sorry if this is a repetitive question, but I just want to double check these ball park numbers:
~10k applied
~1k interview
~300 accepted
And if you are on the wait list there is next to no chance for a turn over (just a couple every few years manage to get in)?

Then for the acceptance process, phone call then email/snail mail?

Good luck to all! I am really excited to hear back from BU, its one of my top choices. :xf:
 
^phone call not always. only for the special kids (obbiously not me)
 
gujuDoc said:
From what I saw, in fall they had one day when they had the R building conference rooms reserved for decisions and one day last week for spring decisions reviewed. they had multiple subcommittees which included many of the M1 professors and others.

BU has a far bigger admissions committee due to the large number of applicants they get and interview compared to my old university. So the decisions were all made for the MD program last week as I stated in my last 2-3 posts. I don't know if they separate out MD/PhD or if they accept the PhD portion separately of the MD decisons like they do at some schools.

But at least I can offer you this much ease in letting you know the decisions were made and they were there pretty much whole day. So they are probably just sending them out now.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information, gujuDoc. Which day last week were these meetings held?
 
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