2011-2012 Boston University Application Thread

[JSU]

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What are we supposed to do if we took more than 20 classes of Humanities? (i took 22 total, 19 at preferred institution and 3 AP). The Grid only allows you to go up to 20 "Total Lecture Only Semesters". Any ideas? Thanks!

I would like to know the same thing. Is that number the amount of semester that you have taken any humanities (meaning I could have taken 3 during one semester but that would count for 1) or is it total courses?

 

[jnprunner12]

Just thought I would say that I just received the Initial Contact email about the BU secondary. I submitted my AMCAS on 6/25, and have not been verified. Looks like they may be sending it to people who have not been verified, however, you are not able to submit it until AMCAS has verified your application.

 

[Chemdude]

Does anyone know how BU looks at multiple mcat scores?

 

[cookiemonster12]

Hi everyone,
I'm not verified so I'm wondering if my secondary looks different. It doesn't look like they asked a question-- just to optionally write about something not in your primary.
They don't have their own essay question?

Also, I can't put any letters into the letters section. Does that section get updated by them? I thought they were asking what kinds of letters we were sending but since I can't change it maybe not...

 

[mrdude]

Just thought I would say that I just received the Initial Contact email about the BU secondary. I submitted my AMCAS on 6/25, and have not been verified. Looks like they may be sending it to people who have not been verified, however, you are not able to submit it until AMCAS has verified your application.

just got the secondary last night too and i submitted the same day as you but still havent been verified either

 

[monkeyMD]

For the rec letters, they say: "we will accept three letters of recommendation, two of which should be from undergraduate faculty who have taught you in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. " This just means subject areas of Bio, Chem and Physics...correct?

 

[vickpick]

For the rec letters, they say: "we will accept three letters of recommendation, two of which should be from undergraduate faculty who have taught you in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. " This just means subject areas of Bio, Chem and Physics...correct?

yeah

 

[citrusguy2010]

um so what do you do if you submitted too many rec letters?

 

[partay]

On the LOR page, are we supposed to somehow list the letters they should be expecting? Or is that small box supposed to keep track of all the letters received? There's no way to click on it or edit it..

My letters haven't been sent to AMCAS yet, but Ive designated 5 to BU. Should I just submit everything as is and continually check the status until they receive everything?

edit: silly me. didn't get to the last page where it says:
"You will be unable to finalize this Supplemental Application until all required elements have been completed AND your AMCAS application has been verified by AMCAS. There may be a delay (24 to 48 hours) between the time AMCAS notifies you of your verification and the time the information reaches BUSM."

 

[vickpick]

um so what do you do if you submitted too many rec letters?

From http://www.bumc.bu.edu/admissions/applicationprocess/requirements/:
"Letter of Recommendation Requirements

Those applicants who attend, or who have recently graduated from, an undergraduate institution or a post-baccalaureate premedical program which offers a Health Professions Advisor or Advisory Committee should submit a letter from this person or committee. If no such institutional letter is available, the applicant should explain this on the BUSM supplemental application and substitute a minimum of three individual letters, two of which must be from a professor who has taught you in Biology, Chemistry or Physics. The secondary application will not be considered complete until we have received all required letters in our office, on official institutional letterhead and with a hand-written signature.

If you are enrolled in, or have completed, a formal, degree-granting program of graduate study, please provide a letter from your thesis adviser or a graduate professor for non-thesis programs. If you are engaged in research, either as a part of a degree program or in any other substantive way, a letter from your research supervisor or the director of the research program would be appreciated.

Boston University School of Medicine only accepts letters electronically through the AMCAS Letter Service. AMCAS will accept letters from users of VirtualEvals, Interfolio and via the US Postal Service. The address to which letters should be sent is located on the AMCAS Letters Request Form. For more information on this process, please visit AMCAS Letters FAQ."

There is no listed maximum.

 

[vickpick]

On the LOR page, are we supposed to somehow list the letters they should be expecting? Or is that small box supposed to keep track of all the letters received? There's no way to click on it or edit it..

My letters haven't been sent to AMCAS yet, but Ive designated 5 to BU. Should I just submit everything as is and continually check the status until they receive everything?

you can't edit it. Its showing us what letters they have received.,.

 

[AZFutureDoc]

I'm a little worried about what the school says about letters... I'm semi-nontraditional (graduated college 3 years ago), and just got my Masters degree. I only have one letter writer who taught me in undergrad. Two are from doctors I've shadowed for a while, one is from a professor I TA'd a lab for, one is from a graduate professor. I feel like I have great letters of rec, but BU's letter requirement is very discriminatory against people like me, who took their prereq classes years ago.

 

[AZFutureDoc]

One more question. From reading through this thread, it seems like BU doesn't send the secondary until you're verified. Is this true? Or did it just work out this way because most of you were very early applicants? I'm trying to prewrite my secondaries, and prioritize them by when I will receive them. If I have a while till I get this one, I can focus on other secondaries that I will receive sooner... Thanks!

 

[jkchang10]

One more question. From reading through this thread, it seems like BU doesn't send the secondary until you're verified. Is this true? Or did it just work out this way because most of you were very early applicants? I'm trying to prewrite my secondaries, and prioritize them by when I will receive them. If I have a while till I get this one, I can focus on other secondaries that I will receive sooner... Thanks!

I submitted my AMCAS on June 30th and received my secondary INITIAL email on July 8th. I have not been verified yet.

So I think they send you access to the secondary before you're verified. BUT I'm pretty sure you can't assign LORs or submit the secondary until AFTER you've been verified. Hope this helps!

 

[FattySlug]

For the rec letters, they say: "we will accept three letters of recommendation, two of which should be from undergraduate faculty who have taught you in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. " This just means subject areas of Bio, Chem and Physics...correct?

Could you have 2 from bio or 2 from physics for example? The two letters don't have to come from different subject area right?

 

[tmh]

Could you have 2 from bio or 2 from physics for example? The two letters don't have to come from different subject area right?

No I think it just means 3 "science" profs, with "science" defined as "physics, chem, bio." Nothing new here.

 

[AZFutureDoc]

I submitted my AMCAS on June 30th and received my secondary INITIAL email on July 8th. I have not been verified yet.

So I think they send you access to the secondary before you're verified. BUT I'm pretty sure you can't assign LORs or submit the secondary until AFTER you've been verified. Hope this helps!

Thanks so much! It helps a ton.

 

[slowbutsteady]

anyone know if they're very numbers focused or holistic? what kinds of student do they like to take/woudl do well there? i've heard they like very liberal types.

4th year at BUSM here. They seem to like to see some interest in public health. After all, BUMC is a public hospital.

 

[slowbutsteady]

verified 6/1 got secondary yesterday..

Please provide a narrative or timeline to describe any features of your educational history that you think may be of particular interest to us. For example, have you lived in another country or experienced a culture unlike your own, or worked in a field that contributed to your understanding of people unlike yourself?


if I mention living in NY that I get to meet diverse group of ppl, would that be frown upon?

I feel like mentioning my residency state in appliation will be (-) b/c they would probably think "this person probably did not have intention to stay in boston after medical school or why would we wanna pick this person who does not have any relation with Boston"

Is this true? 🙁 i hope not..

I don't think they expect you to stay in Boston, BU is not a public school. But they may be concerned that, if accepted, you will choose to go elsewhere if you express very strong ties to another location.

I used my optional essay to enlarge upon my personal and family connections to Massachusetts. Not sure if it helped, but it didn't hurt.

 

[octupus]

One more question. From reading through this thread, it seems like BU doesn't send the secondary until you're verified. Is this true? Or did it just work out this way because most of you were very early applicants? I'm trying to prewrite my secondaries, and prioritize them by when I will receive them. If I have a while till I get this one, I can focus on other secondaries that I will receive sooner... Thanks!

I submitted my primary 07/07, not verified and received secondary this morning.

 

[Emilyyyy]

Found this secondary in my junk folder- just a heads up in case people don't check there!

 

[docpar]

I have a quick question. If I took upper level biology courses such as Histology and Physiology, do I include those in the "Biology" row under "Required Areas of Study"? I'm not sure if "Required Areas of Study" means the bare minimum required courses (as in only the introductory courses) or all of the biology courses which I've taken.

Thanks for any help

 

[F22C1]

Does applying to the MD/MBA program make it any harder to get an interview? Thanks!

 

[chitown22]

I have a quick question. If I took upper level biology courses such as Histology and Physiology, do I include those in the "Biology" row under "Required Areas of Study"? I'm not sure if "Required Areas of Study" means the bare minimum required courses (as in only the introductory courses) or all of the biology courses which I've taken.

Thanks for any help

I wasn't quite sure about this either but I included all of my upper level biology courses as well for whatever its worth

 

[docpar]

I wasn't quite sure about this either but I included all of my upper level biology courses as well for whatever its worth

Yea, i guess it's a solid course of action

thanks man

 

[cwang1990216]

Hi! I am in the same situation. are you sure we can't submit without verification? cuz I really want to get it out of the way since the secondary is pretty short.

Just thought I would say that I just received the Initial Contact email about the BU secondary. I submitted my AMCAS on 6/25, and have not been verified. Looks like they may be sending it to people who have not been verified, however, you are not able to submit it until AMCAS has verified your application.

 

[jnprunner12]

Hi! I am in the same situation. are you sure we can't submit without verification? cuz I really want to get it out of the way since the secondary is pretty short.

Yes. Under "Supplemental Elements," Click "Finalize Supplemental Application." On the right hand side of the screen there is some yellow orange text that reads,

"** You will be unable to finalize this Supplemental Application until all required elements have been completed AND your AMCAS application has been verified by AMCAS. There may be a delay (24 to 48 hours) between the time AMCAS notifies you of your verification and the time the information reaches BUSM."

Clear as mud to me...

Doesn't stop you from uploading your picture, completing the pre-reqs grid, and writing the essays.

 

[JSU]

What are we supposed to do if we took more than 20 classes of Humanities? (i took 22 total, 19 at preferred institution and 3 AP). The Grid only allows you to go up to 20 "Total Lecture Only Semesters". Any ideas? Thanks!

I took 40+ 😛 . I explained that it didn't fit in the essay space below.

 

[edge of desire]

hmm i didn't think they wanted AP (there's a note about it on the top) so i didn't eevn put that in my prereq grid.

 

[BlockM]

Rejected 🙁

 

[vickpick]

Rejected 🙁

First rejection from BU?

 

[therunner12]

Rejected 🙁

3 weeks after you were complete?

 

[BlockM]

3 weeks after you were complete?

I was complete June 23rd so just about 3 weeks

 

[asrikrishnan]

I was complete June 23rd so just about 3 weeks

Sorry to hear that. Did you get notification via the status page or email?

 

[BlockM]

via email, but it's also posted on the status page

 

[ycf06]

My letter status has been "Pending" for several weeks now... Is this just because of their large applicant pool? All my letters show up so they must've received it. What does "pending" mean and how long does it take for my letters to be processed?

 

[camierz]

I got rejected today as well. I was complete 6/24.

 

[bookfreak89]

Submitted my primary today (7/13) and received both initial contact emails about 3 hours later.

 

[bookfreak89]

Rejected 🙁

I got rejected today as well. I was complete 6/24.

I'm sorry to hear that. You guys will get into plenty of other places.

 

[kh48625]

I got rejected today as well. I was complete 6/24.

Wow, they are pretty fast this round. I was complete on 6/29. I hope to hear back soon...

 

[AnthroMD]

Hey everyone!

Submitted AMCAS primary last night at 6:15 PM EST and received both emails this morning at 7:18 and 7:48 AM this morning...like clockwork with that 30 minutes.

I also had a question similar to those inquiring about LORs from non-traditional students. I graduated undergrad May 2010 and don't really have any chemistry,bio, or physics LORs. But I do have plenty of others (research, shadowing, etc.) from undergrad and my Master's program, so would it be ok for me to just use those? Is BU really stringent on the 2 Chem/Bio/Physics LORs? ... My master's program was in Medical Sciences and had tons of chemistry and biology.

 

[mmmmikaela]

Does anyone have any idea how Boston feels about English prereqs? I go to a tech school (not many English gen ed requirements, or very many class options) and took a bunch of IB and AP classes in high school that covered them anyway. I've taken philosophy, reading and writing-intensive social science, and linguistics classes. Would any of these count?

MonicaMelaquiade - did you ever receive any clarification on this issue?

 

[kautionwirez]

6/26/11 I am up pretty soon

I'd love to see Boston University.

 

[kautionwirez]

Hey everyone!

Submitted AMCAS primary last night at 6:15 PM EST and received both emails this morning at 7:18 and 7:48 AM this morning...like clockwork with that 30 minutes.

I also had a question similar to those inquiring about LORs from non-traditional students. I graduated undergrad May 2010 and don't really have any chemistry,bio, or physics LORs. But I do have plenty of others (research, shadowing, etc.) from undergrad and my Master's program, so would it be ok for me to just use those? Is BU really stringent on the 2 Chem/Bio/Physics LORs? ... My master's program was in Medical Sciences and had tons of chemistry and biology.

professors from masters program? who you receive LORs from that are academically related? as long as their science prof, I think you'd be fine.

 

[topherP]

Is it three weeks from app submitted, or 3 weeks from when you're complete. I submitted my secondary close to three weeks ago, however my letters have just been received, I'm thinking I'll be waiting 3 more weeks...

 

[AnthroMD]

Hello kautionwirez, yeah I will be getting several science LORs from my Master's program.

I have one already, one more will be from my concentration director who taught me, and yet another from my research mentor, who also taught me. I also have a physician shadowing letter and a non-science letter from an anthropology professor in undergrad (my major).

That should be enough, right?

professors from masters program? who you receive LORs from that are academically related? as long as their science prof, I think you'd be fine.

 

[kautionwirez]

you should be fine then.

goodluck!

 

[sk8ngli]

AnthroMD, I called BU yesterday about letters. If the two classes your Masters director and research mentor taught you in were science classes, then you should be fine. It depends on what classes they were. If it was intro basket weaving even if they're your research mentor, doesn't count. 🙂

 

[MonicaMelquiade]

MonicaMelaquiade - did you ever receive any clarification on this issue?

no, no reply! i'm hoping some of my writing-intensive courses will suffice, but i submitted and am going to hold out on a reply before adding classes or anything if necessary.

 

[AnthroMD]

Haha ok, thanks!

I could be wrong, but on the supplemental application it appears as though if you've already graduated college and are in a graduate/post-bacc program, there are slightly different LOR requirements. In other words, it looks like they clearly delineate between traditional and non-traditional applicants.

But that's just how it looks to me.

AnthroMD, I called BU yesterday about letters. If the two classes your Masters director and research mentor taught you in were science classes, then you should be fine. It depends on what classes they were. If it was intro basket weaving even if they're your research mentor, doesn't count. 🙂