2009-2010 Boston University Application Thread

[camaras2480]

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Are people filling out the optional essay? I feel like it discourages you from doing so. I did a pretty good job of explaining everything in my AMCAS application, but the only thing I haven't written about is why I want to go to BU. Do you think I should include that here or is it not necessary?

There is no need to write something. But if you do, don't make it some boring, standard Why BU essay. They will not appreciate that.

 

[OneMCATAway]

.

 

[nick_carraway]

should i be more creative with this?! =/

How else would you say it? What is the creative explanation?

If it doesn't exist, don't force it.

 

[OneMCATAway]

haha i don't know they just leave such a long space there lol so you think i should def. write something?

at first i said: and thus, there is no Health Professions Advisory Committee Letter available from.. etc.. but is just committee letter good enough? i dont know if i should repeat the whole thing!

 

[OOOaF]

So for the secondary where it states "2. Are you expecting to go on to medical school directly after completing your undergraduate work? If you have spent more than 4 years as an undergraduate, please explain below. If no, please explain: (1400 character limit)"
I plan on going to med school right after my UG but I will do so in 5 years since I started off as a nursing student and got behind for a year. So my answer is yes, but I don't follow the second part. Do I explain this?

 

[Aggro]

Yes, you should explain why it took you five years to get an undergraduate degree.

 

[camaras2480]

haha i don't know they just leave such a long space there lol so you think i should def. write something?

at first i said: and thus, there is no Health Professions Advisory Committee Letter available from.. etc.. but is just committee letter good enough? i dont know if i should repeat the whole thing!

oh and should committee letter be capitalized Committee Letter?

You are being ridiculous lol 😛

Repeat the same thing, or don't. Capitalize it, or don't. I assure you your decision does not hinge on either of these issues. 😀

 

[camaras2480]

So for the secondary where it states "2. Are you expecting to go on to medical school directly after completing your undergraduate work? If you have spent more than 4 years as an undergraduate, please explain below. If no, please explain: (1400 character limit)"
I plan on going to med school right after my UG but I will do so in 5 years since I started off as a nursing student and got behind for a year. So my answer is yes, but I don't follow the second part. Do I explain this?

"Yes" and fill in the box explaining why it took you five years.

 

[OOOaF]

Is it really worth it to submit a photo? I was previously told by a professor to decline on any questions about race or gender since I am a white male. Is there any truth to that?

 

[Appless]

Is it really worth it to submit a photo? I was previously told by a professor to decline on any questions about race or gender since I am a white male. Is there any truth to that?

It doesnt matter. Seriously they are going to reject you because you are a white boy? So are probably 60% of all applicants. You dont have to be mexican/black/native american to get into med school😉. If you dont want to send one then dont, either way . They are not going to be like well....this kid is looking like a good applicant lets interview him............OMG NO hes white wow well that changes everything **** this guy, his app was looking good until I saw he was white, if only he was black man id accept him in a heartbeat 😉.

 

[OneMCATAway]

It doesnt matter. Seriously they are going to reject you because you are a white boy? So are probably 60% of all applicants. You dont have to be mexican/black/native american to get into med school😉. If you dont want to send one then dont, either way . They are not going to be like well....this kid is looking like a good applicant lets interview him............OMG NO hes white wow well that changes everything **** this guy, his app was looking good until I saw he was white, if only he was black man id accept him in a heartbeat 😉.

🤣

 

[BlueElmo]

Is it really worth it to submit a photo? I was previously told by a professor to decline on any questions about race or gender since I am a white male. Is there any truth to that?

Send it if you feel like it. You don't have to, but I sent mine in.

 

[anxiousteen]

i think it's good to send a photo.
it's a lot easier to reject a faceless application in my opinion.
plus i'm goodlooking so it can't hurt lol.

 

[OOOaF]

It doesnt matter. Seriously they are going to reject you because you are a white boy? So are probably 60% of all applicants. You dont have to be mexican/black/native american to get into med school😉. If you dont want to send one then dont, either way . They are not going to be like well....this kid is looking like a good applicant lets interview him............OMG NO hes white wow well that changes everything **** this guy, his app was looking good until I saw he was white, if only he was black man id accept him in a heartbeat 😉.

haha good point. i didn't think it mattered but i've heard it from several sources. are you guys just using senior photos from high school or wedding photos or something?

 

[camaras2480]

It doesnt matter. Seriously they are going to reject you because you are a white boy? So are probably 60% of all applicants. You dont have to be mexican/black/native american to get into med school😉. If you dont want to send one then dont, either way . They are not going to be like well....this kid is looking like a good applicant lets interview him............OMG NO hes white wow well that changes everything **** this guy, his app was looking good until I saw he was white, if only he was black man id accept him in a heartbeat 😉.

Wow Elijah, rising to new levels haha. Or maybe, falling to new lows. lol

 

[camaras2480]

i think it's good to send a photo.
it's a lot easier to reject a faceless application in my opinion.
plus i'm goodlooking so it can't hurt lol.

hahahha

 

[OneMCATAway]

im finally done here, byebye $100

 

[Appless]

Wow Elijah, rising to new levels haha. Or maybe, falling to new lows. lol

lol new lows 🙁! I like to think of it as good advice! 😛

haha good point. i didn't think it mattered but i've heard it from several sources. are you guys just using senior photos from high school or wedding photos or something?

I recently got my passport like 2 months ago, I had an extra photo left over from that and used that.

 

[ltw902]

i'm still really confused about the pre-req grid. even after reading all the posts. suppose i took 4 biology classes for a total of 16 hours in a span of 4 semesters. for the biology grid, would i put 4 for "total lecture only semesters" grid or would i put 16?

 

[Appless]

i'm still really confused about the pre-req grid. Even after reading all the posts. Suppose i took 4 biology classes for a total of 16 hours in a span of 4 semesters. For the biology grid, would i put 4 for "total lecture only semesters" grid or would i put 16?

4

 

[camaras2480]

lol new lows 🙁! I like to think of it as good advice! 😛

lol sureee 🙂

and lol @ whoever was going to put 16 😛

 

[swamy]

Hi guys I know some of you are having trouble with the ochem lab requirment issue. I've been having trouble with the general chem lab requiment. At UC Berkeley it is understood that 1 sem of gen chem + 1 sem of biochem = 1 year of general chemistry. However our biochem classes do not have a lab component...so that means i have not satisfied the gen chem lab requirement. I dont know what to do, cuz i have not encountered this problem elsewhere. Any suggestions? (I already called them and the lady just said before matriculation you need to have that satisfied....i already graduated and im not planning on taking a chem lab course)

 

[archiheartsme]

hi all, relatively new to this...

so as you all may know, boston requires 2 years of chemistry (lab and lecture)

i went to berkeley and the pre-med track was:

Chem 1A (general chem lecture and lab)
Chem 3A (ochem lecture)
Chem 3AL (ochem lab)
Chem 3B (ochem lecture)
Chem 3BL (ochem lab)
MCB 102 (biochem)

BU admissions says i can use biochem for ochem...so i have 4 semesters of lecture and ONLY 3 OF LAB!!! any advice? should i spend the x money and try to get in without meeting their requirements?

also, for the question "are you expecting to go to med school directly after undergrad? if you spent more than 4 years in undergrad please explain", do we have to explain why we're not expecting to go straight to med school?

thanks all!

 

[CalBear2009]

Haha you gotta love all the people from Berkeley posting on here.
I'm complete at Boston, and I explained in my secondary that UCB only offered 3 semesters of lab in chemistry. This is a UC wide problem so I hope they understand.

 

[BlueElmo]

Haha you gotta love all the people from Berkeley posting on here.
I'm complete at Boston, and I explained in my secondary that UCB only offered 3 semesters of lab in chemistry. This is a UC wide problem so I hope they understand.

yup that's what I did. Just explained the situation in that box they give you.

 

[Appless]

Haha you gotta love all the people from Berkeley posting on here.
I'm complete at Boston, and I explained in my secondary that UCB only offered 3 semesters of lab in chemistry. This is a UC wide problem so I hope they understand.

same problem here at UCI there are only 2 quarters of ochem and physics labs...its just understood these = 1 year. Shouldnt be an issue and im complete so i doubt i have to fix anything. UCs put more kids in med school then anywhere in the country, so id say its not a huge deal, i doubt all UC kids take 1 semester of extra lab to make up for the fact our schools do things oddly.

 

[archiheartsme]

thanks for all your help!! i was considering just dropping the secondary altogether...but you were all very helpful!

thanks again and good luck!

 

[ziggyd0c]

just submitted! in the optional essay i wrote about how i lived in Boston for a while when i was younger, and i also wrote a bit about why my GPA is on the low side 😳

 

[premedstdnt]

On the pre-requisite grid, I still can't get my red ! marks to go away. There are two left, for biology and general chemistry. For gen chem I have 2 lecture only and 1 lab only. For bio I have 3 lecture only and 1 lecture/lab. Why are the marks still there??

 

[swamy]

lol i love how after me another calbear wrote abt the same problem. anyways thank A LOT guys! yeah i too was going to drop the secondary but I'm going to go ahead and apply now!good luck to you all =)

 

[kuuipo637]

is boston one of those schools that will reject you automatically if you don't return the secondary within 2 weeks? i'm going abroad in august and i want to write about my cultural immersion for the essay so i want to wait until i get back before i submit. is that gonna screw me over?

 

[XRanger]

is boston one of those schools that will reject you automatically if you don't return the secondary within 2 weeks? i'm going abroad in august and i want to write about my cultural immersion for the essay so i want to wait until i get back before i submit. is that gonna screw me over?

You can try emailing and asking the school. I'm sure they'll let you if you have good reason. And if they let you, you'll be fine cause boston doesn't do rolling admission.

 

[kuuipo637]

You can try emailing and asking the school. I'm sure they'll let you if you have good reason. And if they let you, you'll be fine cause boston doesn't do rolling admission.

thanks 🙂

 

[kuuipo637]

the response was... it is up to you whether you want to wail until september to submit your application.

guess i'm good to go then. i think... yeah lol

 

[parhumn]

for the LOR section, do your letters automatically show up in that section when you submit them via AMCAS or are you supposed to manually write them in? it didn't seem like it was manual because i wasn't able to edit anything. thanks!!

 

[Bryson17]

for the LOR section, do your letters automatically show up in that section when you submit them via AMCAS or are you supposed to manually write them in? it didn't seem like it was manual because i wasn't able to edit anything. thanks!!

Auto

 

[parhumn]

and also, does anyone know the reason why their school doesn't have a pre-health committee? i seriously have no idea what i'm supposed to write for that portion

 

[kuuipo637]

and also, does anyone know the reason why their school doesn't have a pre-health committee? i seriously have no idea what i'm supposed to write for that portion

I was just going to say... my school does not offer the advantages of having a pre-health committee. i don't think it matters what you say... if your school doesn't have it, they don't have it lol

 

[camaras2480]

is boston one of those schools that will reject you automatically if you don't return the secondary within 2 weeks? i'm going abroad in august and i want to write about my cultural immersion for the essay so i want to wait until i get back before i submit. is that gonna screw me over?

No, they do not auto reject in 2 weeks.

 

[camaras2480]

I was just going to say... my school does not offer the advantages of having a pre-health committee. i don't think it matters what you say... if your school doesn't have it, they don't have it lol

Yeah, there really isn't any elaborate explanation they are looking for. Just confirm that your school does not have one, rather than you not getting a letter from the committee.

 

[hmw7]

On the pre-requisite grid, I still can't get my red ! marks to go away. There are two left, for biology and general chemistry. For gen chem I have 2 lecture only and 1 lab only. For bio I have 3 lecture only and 1 lecture/lab. Why are the marks still there??

The Recommended courses in this grid play no role in our selection process and we do not track this information by individual applicant. We are collecting this information only to improve our understanding of the overall level of preparation for advanced study of the biomedical sciences in our applicant pool as a whole.
Upon submitting your prerequisite grid, you may receive a flag indicating you do not meet one or more of our requirements. These flags are intended to assist you in highlighting important aspects of your academic program. Your application will not be declined on the basis of a flag. We are only asking for additional explanation in the text box below.

My understanding of the instructions is to do the best you can filling out the grid, explain needed info in the box, and move on. I think people are making it more complicated than intended, I believe it is just a way for them to have a general view of the applicants...and since it says it is not tracked by individual applicant, and it says it plays no role in selection process, I say we all have more important things to be over analytical about. Am I wrong?

 

[LOSAR]

wow, just got a post-secondary rejection from BU. My first rejection too. Feels great.

 

[BlueElmo]

wow, just got a post-secondary rejection from BU. My first rejection too. Feels great.

how? e-mail?
I'm sorry.🙁

 

[LOSAR]

how? e-mail?
I'm sorry.🙁

yup, email and status page. I was half-expecting it too but hoping for the best. O wells, there a few more schools to go. Good luck everyone else.

 

[camaras2480]

My understanding of the instructions is to do the best you can filling out the grid, explain needed info in the box, and move on. I think people are making it more complicated than intended, I believe it is just a way for them to have a general view of the applicants...and since it says it is not tracked by individual applicant, and it says it plays no role in selection process, I say we all have more important things to be over analytical about. Am I wrong?

No, you are right. But we are on SDN. Everyone has to have a high blood pressure, duhh 😀

 

[alibai3ah]

Same here, I knew my gpa was low, but didn't think I would receive one this fast....my first post secondary rejection too :-( ...it's a painful one too

 

[ourse]

Same here, I knew my gpa was low, but didn't think I would receive one this fast....my first post secondary rejection too :-( ...it's a painful one too

me too. second one of the day. maybe we will be be luckier w/ other schools. keep your head up!

 

[BlueElmo]

Same here, I knew my gpa was low, but didn't think I would receive one this fast....my first post secondary rejection too :-( ...it's a painful one too

Sorry to hear that.

What does the email say? Like "we're sorry, but we can't accept you" or something like that? I'm scared.

 

[camaras2480]

This is early. I was under the impression things would get rolling next week.

I think it would help current applicants ease their mind if those that were rejected posted a very basic profile: GPA, Grad GPA (if appl), MCAT, and whether or not they had ANY clinical volunteering, shadowing, and research.

Just an idea.

 

[mdwiz]

me too. second one of the day. maybe we will be be luckier w/ other schools. keep your head up!

When were you guys/girls marked as complete?