2010-2011 Boston University Application Thread

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Asyouwereatrio said:
When were you complete and did you get an email about a status change? Sorry to hear though, but with numbers like that, you'll probably get in somewhere else! they tend to outright reject students with high stats, like my friend with a 3.8 GPA, engineering degree, and 37T MCAT. He is now at UCSD SOM....
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does anyone else find it really silly when this is done?
 
Anyone know if they except writing intensive courses to substitute for an English class?

I emailed them today but figured it might even be quicker if I asked here...plus others get the benefit of knowing if they have similar questions!
 
gujuDoc said:
Optional is optional for a reason. If you want them to know somehting about your lab experiences or something not on amcas then add it, but if it doesn't add anything useful to your application then don't add it.

If you are indian or asian, I wouldn't add something about being an immigrant. You do realize BUSM is full of all immigrants that you are not impressing them.

If you, however, were poor and came from some really bad circumstances and want them to know about this and didn't get in your PS then maybe you can add it in there if you want. Or if there is some other special circumstance that is relevant you can add it in there. Just don't waste their time if there is nothing real to say. Like I said, it is OPTIONAL for a reason.
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After perusing the SDN BUSM threads for both this and last's years application cycle, I feel it necessary to make a post. As many of you know (should know), any "advice" on these forums shouldn't be taken too seriously. So please, as a reader on this forum and/or applicant to BUSM, remember this when you come here for "advice".


"If you are indian or asian, I wouldn't add something about being an immigrant. You do realize BUSM is full of all immigrants that you are not impressing them"

Statements like this make me cringe. To the OP:

1. I think it's hilarious that you've come to the conclusion that "BUSM is full of all immigrants".:wtf:
2. See above.
3. Don't tell people what is/isn't important to their own personal story.
4.It's awesome that you show your enthusiasm for BUSM because it truly is a great place to learn medicine, but don't act like you know everything about how the school functions, what criteria the adcom uses to determine acceptances or who does/doesn't make a good applicant
5.Best of luck to you during the cycle. My SUGGESTION is you spend less time on SDN (you make a heck of a lot of posts), less time worrying about other people's applications, and more time on your own applications.

Good luck to everyone this year!
 
Students with high stats may get rejected from a variety of reasons, but from what LizzyM has stated before, it boils down to lack of non academic ECs or "well roundedness". Do you guys feel that you did not show too many outside interests or meaningful ECs in your application?

With BU and Tufts there is the issue of what some people call the "Tufts Syndrome". Students with high stats get rejected because the school does not think that they will choose to attend at the end, because they will have admissions at other top universities.
In the case of California students, I guess if the application does not show a real "connection" with Boston or the North East, then it is rejected. If you come from New England, then there is a better reason, although if they think that you are Harvard material, then they will reject you as well.

I guess you guys got "tufted", because you are too good! So you see, it is a positive message after all.. 🙂
 
gujuDoc said:
BUSM is not full of immigrants????? What are you smoking? The dental school is 80% Indian. The Medical school is high percentage of Indians, asians, other ethnic groups and foreigners from different places.

The thing about BUSM not wanting you to write fluff has been said over and over and over by at least 4 MD admissions officers I know of first hand who have said they don't want to hear fluff. Maybe at an interview they want to hear of why BUSM but they don't want you to write stuff for the optional essay unless you have something meaninful to say.

And I'm doing my apps. So don't you worry about me. I wasn't saying not to write something if it is SIGNIFICANT TO WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY. but people should be aware that if they are an immigrant there are also several others. And should only write it if it is truly something they feel they NEED to say to make their more poignant point. If they are saying it because they think it will get brownie points and make them unique they should realize that there are many others who may have similar stories. That was my only point.

Do not proceed to assume stuff about me.

Also I've been to the school for a year now so I'm not talking as someone who has not been to BUSM ever. Your post would hold validity if I've never been to boston but as I've seen a dental school with 95% of the advanced standing being indian and desi, 80% of the overal dental graduates being indian and desi, and several several several different immigrant groups being a good half of the M1 class this year, I find it hard to believe that BUSM isn't full of immigrants.

My point was not that they shouldn't talk about if it is truly significant and they need to talk about it to make the poignant point of their story but that they are not unique in being an immigrant or a foreigner in boston university school of medicine. I'm sorry I could've restated what I did in a better way. But I was just trying to make a point which I probably should've written better.
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Although I don't completely disagree with your post, the fact that you believe people who aren't white are immigrants is a bit ignorant, to put it lightly. As a second generation Asian I take a bit of offense to hear that when you see a school with a bunch of Indians and Asians walking around you automatically assume that they're all "immigrants" or "foreigners." Not going to dwell on this point, but I hope what I'm saying is clear to you..

Back on point, what I would say is that no matter the topic, if it's significant to you, write about it and adcoms should be able to tell if you're being honest or just BSing them.
 
gujuDoc said:
BUSM is not full of immigrants????? What are you smoking? The dental school is 80% Indian. The Medical school is high percentage of Indians, asians, other ethnic groups and foreigners from different places.

The thing about BUSM not wanting you to write fluff has been said over and over and over by at least 4 MD admissions officers I know of first hand who have said they don't want to hear fluff. Maybe at an interview they want to hear of why BUSM but they don't want you to write stuff for the optional essay unless you have something meaninful to say.

And I'm doing my apps. So don't you worry about me. I wasn't saying not to write something if it is SIGNIFICANT TO WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY. but people should be aware that if they are an immigrant there are also several others. And should only write it if it is truly something they feel they NEED to say to make their more poignant point. If they are saying it because they think it will get brownie points and make them unique they should realize that there are many others who may have similar stories. That was my only point.

Do not proceed to assume stuff about me.

Also I've been to the school for a year now so I'm not talking as someone who has not been to BUSM ever. Your post would hold validity if I've never been to boston but as I've seen a dental school with 95% of the advanced standing being indian and desi, 80% of the overal dental graduates being indian and desi, and several several several different immigrant groups being a good half of the M1 class this year, I find it hard to believe that BUSM isn't full of immigrants.

My point was not that they shouldn't talk about if it is truly significant and they need to talk about it to make the poignant point of their story but that they are not unique in being an immigrant or a foreigner in boston university school of medicine. I'm sorry I could've restated what I did in a better way. But I was just trying to make a point which I probably should've written better.
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let's be real though, just having done a year of SMP doesn't make any of us BUSM experts. we were mostly in the library anyway :laugh:

regardless of where you're from an immigration experience can have very powerful effects on your life..
 
if u check last years thread, they send out a **** ton of rejections in the beginning.

:luck: to all
 
MB333999 said:
if u check last years thread, they send out a **** ton of rejections in the beginning.

:luck: to all
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ahhhhh I hope I'm not one of those. Hopefully us SDNers will make it through the cut. :xf::xf:
 
MB333999 said:
if u check last years thread, they send out a **** ton of rejections in the beginning.

:luck: to all
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Yep. I just checked it out. Surprisingly a whole stream of rejected applicants starting on page 8 or 9.
 
loua0731 said:
ahhhhh I hope I'm not one of those. Hopefully us SDNers will make it through the cut. :xf::xf:
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we should just tell them if u dont interview all of us you interview none of us
then we roar like lions
 
MB333999 said:
we should just tell them if u dont interview all of us you interview none of us
then we roar like lions
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:laugh:

If all the SDNers across the country did it at once, think they'd hear it in Boston?
 
Guess I gotta wait for my rejection since I was complete on the 7th of July....and so it'll take them a few days to get to it. 😱
 
Asyouwereatrio said:
Guess I gotta wait for my rejection since I was complete on the 7th of July....and so it'll take them a few days to get to it. 😱
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completed the same day. Apparently about 5-7,000 people get cut during their prelim review of us. That's alot of rejections.
 
Avoidthetiger said:
completed the same day. Apparently about 5-7,000 people get cut during their prelim review of us. That's alot of rejections.
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Wow, people are already getting rejections before interviews go out? Weird system they must have but when you get 10K+ apps I guess it makes sense.
 
oops double post...got carried away 😛
 
By the way, I was just surfing BUSM website and was reading the FAQ and this really made me LOL.

"wut r some negative features of BUSM?

There are many extracurricular activities at BUSM and Boston is a very lively city. Students are at risk for over committing themselves and may encounter difficulty in maintaining focus on their academic work. "

I know there are risks with drunk driving, smoking, etc. But this risk definitely tops everything. Anyone else find this funny... anyways I don't know how this is relevant but if I cheer couple of people up, I guess its worth it.
 
2cool4u said:
By the way, I was just surfing BUSM website and was reading the FAQ and this really made me LOL.

"wut r some negative features of BUSM?

There are many extracurricular activities at BUSM and Boston is a very lively city. Students are at risk for over committing themselves and may encounter difficulty in maintaining focus on their academic work. "

I know there are risks with drunk driving, smoking, etc. But this risk definitely tops everything. Anyone else find this funny... anyways I don't know how this is relevant but if I cheer couple of people up, I guess its worth it.
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Hahaha that reminds me of when in interviews, a student gets asked for his weakness and he says "work too hard" or "care too much"
 
gujuDoc said:
Yes exactly. 10k apps. After GWU, and alongside Albany and a few other schools, BU is one of the most applied to medical schools in the nation for several reasons.

I'm not surprised and I'm sure there is a method to all of this though it seems so arbitrary to us. There is a lot of things we are not told about the process and procedures by which adcoms use to decide who to interview and who to cut and I am sure there is a method to all their decisions.

However, these people that are getting cut, esp. the high scorers, will get in somewhere in this country if their apps are decent. I have no doubt about that. That is just my two cents.
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Yeah, hopefully. Although I got shut down everywhere with a 3.6/35 last cycle. These people have much better numbers though.
 
OGMD said:
Yeah, hopefully. Although I got shut down everywhere with a 3.6/35 last cycle. These people have much better numbers though.
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Oh wow sorry to hear that. Did you have a red flag?
 
Tippyboat said:
Oh wow sorry to hear that. Did you have a red flag?
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I really don't think I did. I mean, I got interviews at a top 20 private school and a UC, so I couldn't have had anything too bad
 
OGMD said:
I really don't think I did. I mean, I got interviews at a top 20 private school and a UC, so I couldn't have had anything too bad
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Haha. Saw your profile. Your red flag is that you're overqualified!! Every school thinks you're going to turn them down. Not really. Well, maybe the mid and low-tier schools thought this but who really knows. Hope you milked them on why you weren't accepted.
 
gujuDoc said:
Probably because most of these people won't go to BUSM and they know it and your friend at UCSD SOM is a case in point. They probably knew from the get go they'd go to a cali school any day over BU for financial reasons, for weather and family reasons, and for fact that it is far higher ranked then BU along with all the cali schools.
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I think it's fairly silly to do that though, since people could sincerely want to go to BUSM...even with high scores, etc.
 
Maybe I'm just crazy but I think this whole rejecting applicants because they're overqualified thing is just a myth. I highly doubt that adcoms would make any assumptions about whether or not an applicant would attend their school if accepted prior to interviewing them, and if they do it's based on information contained in the LORs and PS not just on the fact that they are "too smart" for the school. It is the adcom's job to attract the best and the brightest minds from across the country and around the world so it would seem like starting out by rejecting anybody with high scores would be contrary to everything they work for.
 
DoC352 said:
Maybe I'm just crazy but I think this whole rejecting applicants because they're overqualified thing is just a myth. I highly doubt that adcoms would make any assumptions about whether or not an applicant would attend their school if accepted prior to interviewing them, and if they do it's based on information contained in the LORs and PS not just on the fact that they are "too smart" for the school. It is the adcom's job to attract the best and the brightest minds from across the country and around the world so it would seem like starting out by rejecting anybody with high scores would be contrary to everything they work for.
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I would tend to agree with you. On the other hand, if a top applicant has no ties whatsoever to your school or area, and you can only do 1000 interviews, would you really want to fill that number up with people who are probably not going to accept the offer? That would not be strategic.

I am sure that among the 11,000 apps, there are 1000 3.8/38 people. Where would BU be if it only interviewed the top stat people?

In my own case, of 25 apps, I got one interview at a top 5 and one interview at a so-called "low-tier" school. The rest of the "low-tier" schools ignored me or rejected me.

Most of my interviews were at schools where my stats and my overall record were right in the ballpark.
 
ya shes just giving her opinion lol chilzzzzzzzzzz braaaaa
 
Just got the "you are complete" email. Thought I saw someone say earlier in this thread that they got rejected the same day they got this email...?? I hope not! I have low stats for BU, but I have some great research experience so maybe they will at least entertain the thought of interviewing me... Please. :scared:
 
noshie said:
Just got the "you are complete" email. Thought I saw someone say earlier in this thread that they got rejected the same day they got this email...?? I hope not! I have low stats for BU, but I have some great research experience so maybe they will at least entertain the thought of interviewing me... Please. :scared:
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Hi Noshie!
I think I remember you from the 3/27 mcat thread! Congrats on getting your goal score! I see we're both nontrads and applying to lots of places! Good luck, and maybe I'll see you sometimes at an interview!

btw, my 3/27 test went bad due to an illiness and I cried my eyes out for 2 days straight. I retook it in June and got 7 points higher. I really enjoy your optimism! it helped actually helped me pull through after getting my scores back from 3/27.
 
Engineer2med said:
Hi Noshie!
I think I remember you from the 3/27 mcat thread! Congrats on getting your goal score! I see we're both nontrads and applying to lots of places! Good luck, and maybe I'll see you sometimes at an interview!

btw, my 3/27 test went bad due to an illiness and I cried my eyes out for 2 days straight. I retook it in June and got 7 points higher. I really enjoy your optimism! it helped actually helped me pull through after getting my scores back from 3/27.
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Thanks for your kind words! I do remember you! That's awesome that you did so much better on the next test!!! A 7 point increase is a really big deal. Congrats on overcoming the MCAT. Though I'm sure it was just nerves the first time. Good luck this cycle! :luck: Keep me posted!
 
noshie said:
Just got the "you are complete" email. Thought I saw someone say earlier in this thread that they got rejected the same day they got this email...?? I hope not! I have low stats for BU, but I have some great research experience so maybe they will at least entertain the thought of interviewing me... Please. :scared:
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Just got complete email this morning too Noshie. Fingers crossed but if I get rejected it won't come as too much of a surprise. I know BU is notorius for cutting a lot of people pretty fast.
 
i got the complete email too, for a second i thought it was an invitation.. cmon BU show some lurve all up in this bizznatch
 
Excuse my ignorance, but will we be receiving an email if BU rejects us?
 
noshie said:
Just got the "you are complete" email. Thought I saw someone say earlier in this thread that they got rejected the same day they got this email...?? I hope not! I have low stats for BU, but I have some great research experience so maybe they will at least entertain the thought of interviewing me... Please. :scared:
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Not true for me, I got the complete email July 2nd and as far as I know I am still being considered.
 
hm, well I suppose it's nice of them at least to send us a rejection e-mail. :laugh:
 
on the grid, does "biology" mean intro bio, and not upper div courses? and does humanities mean all the humanities classes we've taken?
 
hey all, I'm struggling with the essay required for md-phd applicants. the prompt is: Please provide a statement, up to 750 words in length, detailing your interest in the MD-PhD program and how you envision it supporting your long term goals. In this statement, please describe your qualifications and the objectives of your educational program, report on your prior research activities, teaching experience, publications, research presentations, independent studies, and membership in academic, professional, or honorary societies. It is important that you detail your own role in the research activities you list.
They're essentially asking us to combine our md-phd essay, research, essay, and cv into one small essay. What are you guys focusing on? Are you just re-wording your md-phd essay (cuz we know the admissions committee probably didn't read it anyway)? I'm struggling here so help me out please
 
<sigh> Just got my first rejection of this cycle. They must have read my posts on here, haha. 32Q/3.6cGPA/3.45sGPA.

What was the conclusion about rejectee's being able to call and ask for a reason about why they were rejected? In case there is some major problem in my application.
 
Avoidthetiger said:
<sigh> Just got my first rejection of this cycle. They must have read my posts on here, haha. 32Q/3.6cGPA/3.45sGPA.

What was the conclusion about rejectee's being able to call and ask for a reason about why they were rejected? In case there is some major problem in my application.
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oh nooooo!!!!!!!! 🙁 I'm sorry! Gosh...I guess the wave of rejections is on its way then. :scared:

When were you complete?
 
gujuDoc said:
Wow. Sorry to hear. I was rooting for you too.
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well considering I'm still working on 50% of my secondaries, there are plenty of other schools to root for me. I'm sad though - Boston and I sounded like a good match. Research, patient interaction, good city. 🙁
 
About the reason for rejection.. I emailed and asked and received a lengthy but not-specific response about their application process.
 
BiochemGuy said:
About the reason for rejection.. I emailed and asked and received a lengthy but not-specific response about their application process.
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yea, I have a feeling I will get the same. I guess it means that there is nothing particularly wrong with your application... they just didn't want to consider you anymore. I wonder if they even looked at your application to see if there was any red flags... or if they have this generic email for everyone.

edit: Like gujuDoc said, I would like a PM too. I'll send them an email inquiring in the next few days and let everyone know.
 
Last edited:
This is the response I received:
Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding your application for admission to Boston University School of Medicine. I regret that we have been unable to reach a more satisfactory conclusion regarding your candidacy and I fear that anything we offer by way of explanation will also fail to satisfy you. Nonetheless, here is my best effort.

Every completed application receives a careful, thoughtful, and systematic review. With approximately 100 initial applications for every available seat in our entering class, it is inevitable that we decline many well qualified candidates. There is rarely a single, straight-forward explanation as to why we are unable to move forward with any individual application, but rather a series of subjective decisions reflecting our assessment of the individual applicant in the context of our entire applicant pool. We try very hard to be fair and to be respectful of each individual's accomplishments.

Our application process, in general terms, proceeds as follows:

1. Our first step each year is to establish a universe of academically prepared individuals within the pool of candidates who file initial applications with us. This year, it looks like we will be working with approximately 12,000 applications. The initial screening step is based largely, but not exclusively, upon quantitative data such as academic performance at the undergraduate, postbaccalaureate and graduate levels, MCAT scores, and academic rank of the educational institution(s). Various aspects of life history are also considered. In recent years we have had almost 5000 applications pass this initial screen and move on to additional review and consideration.

2. Next, we review the remaining folders in even greater detail, struggling to identify the candidates with special or unusual characteristics that suggest they may be particularly well suited to attending our medical school. Of the approximately 5,000 applicants reviewed at this level, we have capacity to interview only about 1,000, so we are forced to make many arbitrary and subjective decisions. Our focus is on a comprehensive, holistic evaluation of each applicant, incorporating academic and nonacademic factors in a highly individualized review. Once again, it is extremely unusual for a decision to be made on the basis of only 1 factor. Rather, these decisions reflect our sense of the overall portfolio.

3. After interview the folders are reviewed yet again, this time with the interviewer's report providing important, but not necessarily determinative, guidance in our final decision about acceptance. By this stage of the process each applicant folder has been scrutinized and discussed by no fewer than 8 members of the Committee on Admissions.

Please accept our best wishes as you pursue other options to begin your career in Medicine.
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I assume it was a generic one, but it was a nice note. Either way, hopefully it'll help the SDN community in some way 🙂 Good luck to the remaining applicants!
 
Avoidthetiger said:
yea, I have a feeling I will get the same. I guess it means that there is nothing particularly wrong with your application... they just didn't want to consider you anymore. I wonder if they even looked at your application to see if there was any red flags... or if they have this generic email for everyone.

edit: Like gujuDoc said, I would like a PM too. I'll send them an email inquiring in the next few days and let everyone know.
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Geez, that sucks, sorry about the rejection you guys. I feel like I'm waiting for a few too, although that's a really terrible mindset...expecting rejections. Avoidthetiger, you and I also have such similar GPAs...makes me think what that means for me and Boston...hmm
 
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