2012-2013 Boston University Application Thread

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My congratulations to all those accepted, and for those deferred, just grit your teeth through the wait. I interviewed last year in November, was deferred in January and received an acceptance in late March. I deferred them back to get my MPH in California and will be matriculating in the fall, so I look forward to meeting anybody that decides to go here (sounds like a lot of people are having trouble coming to terms with the price). Very excited about next August!
 
Cyclismo said:
My congratulations to all those accepted, and for those deferred, just grit your teeth through the wait. I interviewed last year in November, was deferred in January and received an acceptance in late March. I deferred them back to get my MPH in California and will be matriculating in the fall, so I look forward to meeting anybody that decides to go here (sounds like a lot of people are having trouble coming to terms with the price). Very excited about next August!
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Take that, BUSM! 🙂
 
MedPR said:
Take that, BUSM! 🙂
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I think you're all unnecessarily hating on BUSM...they at least have the courtesy to send decisions out promptly and not keep us in the dark..You gotta respect that...they're one of the few schools that actually stick to their planned application schedule
 
Nandrolone said:
i figured it wasn't gonna be worth it...i mean, i did some research and it's unlikely they will give me more than 75% tuition, which another school has offered to already. so, hope u get my spot MedPR.
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I was accepted on Friday as well. Would you mind sharing any other interesting findings in your research? I.e. how poor you had to be to get aid or how awesome your stats had to be etc...

The MSAR lists the average indebtedness as ~$170k but the financial sheet BU gave us adds up to about $300+k. The US News has 33% of students getting grants/scholarships and 76% on loans. Is the indebtedness number brought down by people who can afford BU straight up?

For those who know Boston well, is everything more expensive in Boston or is it limited to rent/parking/gas?
 
aihouse said:
I think you're all unnecessarily hating on BUSM...they at least have the courtesy to send decisions out promptly and not keep us in the dark..You gotta respect that...they're one of the few schools that actually stick to their planned application schedule
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It was sarcasm.
 
Degausser said:
I was accepted on Friday as well. Would you mind sharing any other interesting findings in your research? I.e. how poor you had to be to get aid or how awesome your stats had to be etc...

The MSAR lists the average indebtedness as ~$170k but the financial sheet BU gave us adds up to about $300+k. The US News has 33% of students getting grants/scholarships and 76% on loans. Is the indebtedness number brought down by people who can afford BU straight up?

For those who know Boston well, is everything more expensive in Boston or is it limited to rent/parking/gas?
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Everything us more expensive in boston. Rent, parking (!!!), gas, food, gym memberships, beer, drinks at bar, dinner at restaurants.

The good news is there are good deals all over the city, and you just gotta find them. Still very expensive COL (or PRICE OF EXISTENCE) though.
 
Anyone know if there's anything bad that can happen if you apply for aid from a school that you might not go to? Worst thing is that you just don't get the money right?
 
cfive22 said:
Anyone know if there's anything bad that can happen if you apply for aid from a school that you might not go to? Worst thing is that you just don't get the money right?
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Financial aid is decided separately from admissions.
If you're not accepted I doubt you'll be in their system.
 
for those who have interviewed already, how was the interview? (i'm interviewing at BU tomorrow)
was there any ethical questions?
 
jsong23 said:
for those who have interviewed already, how was the interview? (i'm interviewing at BU tomorrow)
was there any ethical questions?
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my interview was CRAZYYYYY!

they led me to this auditorium in the medical school and had me sit there with only dim lights on. a guy came out from one of emergency exit doors at the front of the hall and handed me a piece of paper "upon which was written a scenario" and he told me "you have 40 minutes to write a musical performance that advises the audience through allegory and metaphor." Baffled, I turned over the paper to find the following scenario:

You enter the patient's examination room to find her vomiting excessively into a larger than life pez dispenser with a caricature of Ernie from sesame street. When you tell her there is a garbage can in the room and inquire about her giant pez dispenser, she shoots you a flabbergasted look and asks to see the physician. Upon trying to calm her down, and explaining that you are the physician to whom her care has been entrusted, she stands up and begins doing a rendition of "I don't want to be a chicken, I don't want to be a duck..." hand motions and all.

Please address what you might do as a physician if presented with such a case by composing a musical performance consisting of no less than 4 musical numbers. We encourage the use of creativity, especially props.
 
jsong23 said:
for those who have interviewed already, how was the interview? (i'm interviewing at BU tomorrow)
was there any ethical questions?
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Yes, I was asked if I witnessed any unethical behavior in healthcare settings before and what I subsequently did about it.

EDIT:
they led me to this auditorium in the medical school and had me sit there with only dim lights on. a guy came out from one of emergency exit doors at the front of the hall and handed me a piece of paper "upon which was written a scenario" and he told me "you have 40 minutes to write a musical performance that advises the audience through allegory and metaphor." Baffled, I turned over the paper to find the following scenario:

You enter the patient's examination room to find her vomiting excessively into a larger than life pez dispenser with a caricature of Ernie from sesame street. When you tell her there is a garbage can in the room and inquire about her giant pez dispenser, she shoots you a flabbergasted look and asks to see the physician. Upon trying to calm her down, and explaining that you are the physician to whom her care has been entrusted, she stands up and begins doing a rendition of "I don't want to be a chicken, I don't want to be a duck..." hand motions and all.

Please address what you might do as a physician if presented with such a case by composing a musical performance consisting of no less than 4 musical numbers. We encourage the use of creativity, especially props.
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This also happened to me, too. I bet we had the same interviewer.
 
jsong23 said:
for those who have interviewed already, how was the interview? (i'm interviewing at BU tomorrow)
was there any ethical questions?
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I had two ethical scenarios and one of them was turned into a quasi third scenario. The dean will tell you it will be challenging. However, most of the people in my interview didn't get any and only some got one. All of the people I talked to seemed to feel like things went well. I met no one else who went through what I did on my day (but I didn't ask every single person so it's definitely possible other interviewers do that).

http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/index.html
 
tpsreport said:
Financial aid is decided separately from admissions.
If you're not accepted I doubt you'll be in their system.
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No I mean, I was already accepted but don't know whether to apply for aid or not.
 
cfive22 said:
No I mean, I was already accepted but don't know whether to apply for aid or not.
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Apply for aid. It does not obligate you to go to the school, you don't have to take it, and it could be a deciding factor in determining where you will ultimately matriculate.
 
Does anyone know how many weeks BU gives its students to study for Step 1?
 
CHB12 said:
Does anyone know how many weeks BU gives its students to study for Step 1?
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From the backside of the 2012-2013 curriculum review paper given to us in the interview day folder (this is NOT the color coded chart):

"A formal USMLE Step 1 Review Program is conducted during the spring of the second year, and five weeks are made available at the end of the second year for student preparation and study for this national exam."
 
Degausser said:
From the backside of the 2012-2013 curriculum review paper given to us in the interview day folder (this is NOT the color coded chart):

"A formal USMLE Step 1 Review Program is conducted during the spring of the second year, and five weeks are made available at the end of the second year for student preparation and study for this national exam."
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THANK YOU! That makes me feel better.
 
CHB12 said:
3?? That would be super short. I have heard that people feel they need at least 5.
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No way do you need 5 weeks (or more). 4 weeks is more than enough.
 
Does BU still have interview invites to give? I've been complete since early August, but haven't been rejected yet, so it seems like my app is kind of just stuck in limbo. I called the office and they told me that they interview through mid-February, but that doesn't really answer the question
 
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saps1030 said:
Does BU still have interview invites to give? I've been completely since early August, but haven't been rejected yet, so it seems like my app is kind of just stuck in limbo. I called the office and they told me that they interview through mid-February, but that doesn't really answer the question
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Can't say for sure, but since there's only 3 weeks until mid-Feb, it's not looking good.
 
Just got a call from an M1 congratulating me on my acceptance (received the official accept 10 days ago) and asking me if I had any questions about the school. Nice touch, BU!
 
doorner said:
Just got a call from an M1 congratulating me on my acceptance (received the official accept 10 days ago) and asking me if I had any questions about the school. Nice touch, BU!
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I got a call too. Very thoughtful of them. 🙂 Plus, it was nice to have the opportunity to ask some questions I had.
 
Missed the call lol. But ye definitely a nice way to welcome us
 
Do you think it would reflect poorly on my level of interest in attending BU if I didnt respond to their deferment early? I didnt know I had to confirm that I wanted to remain in consideration until today when I received an email from them. They told me that they assume Im no longer interested and I have 5 days to respond if Im still interested 🙁.
 
gocaliwhoohoo said:
Do you think it would reflect poorly on my level of interest in attending BU if I didnt respond to their deferment early? I didnt know I had to confirm that I wanted to remain in consideration until today when I received an email from them. They told me that they assume Im no longer interested and I have 5 days to respond if Im still interested 🙁.
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I doubt it. If you are really worried, send a letter sometime before the next batch of decisions expressing your continued interest. Good luck!
 
Got one of these yesterday. Didn't realize I had to go on their app and manually indicate that I am still interested in the school. I feel special 😡
Y'all get these too or am I the only one dumb enough to not realize I had to opt in?


Dear Mr. Batman,

I wrote to you two weeks ago, on behalf of the Committee on Admissions of Boston University School of Medicine, to indicate that we were not currently prepared to make a final decision on your application for a place in the class entering in August of 2013 and that the Committee decided to defer its final decision until late March. In addition, this information was posted to your account in MyApplication (see URL below) at BUSM, and we asked that you respond within two weeks, indicating whether or not you wish to remain under consideration for admission to Boston University School of Medicine.

As of today, we have not heard from you. We assume, therefore, that you are no longer interested in Boston University. If we have not heard from you within five days of this email, we will cancel our offer and close your application. Please feel free to contact our office, or me directly, if there is some way in which we can help you. Thank you and best wishes.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Witzburg, M.D.
Associate Dean and Director of Admissions
Boston University School of Medicine
 
tpsreport said:
Got one of these yesterday. Didn't realize I had to go on their app and manually indicate that I am still interested in the school. I feel special 😡
Y'all get these too or am I the only one dumb enough to not realize I had to opt in?


Dear Mr. Batman,

I wrote to you two weeks ago, on behalf of the Committee on Admissions of Boston University School of Medicine, to indicate that we were not currently prepared to make a final decision on your application for a place in the class entering in August of 2013 and that the Committee decided to defer its final decision until late March. In addition, this information was posted to your account in MyApplication (see URL below) at BUSM, and we asked that you respond within two weeks, indicating whether or not you wish to remain under consideration for admission to Boston University School of Medicine.

As of today, we have not heard from you. We assume, therefore, that you are no longer interested in Boston University. If we have not heard from you within five days of this email, we will cancel our offer and close your application. Please feel free to contact our office, or me directly, if there is some way in which we can help you. Thank you and best wishes.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Witzburg, M.D.
Associate Dean and Director of Admissions
Boston University School of Medicine
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The email says action required and I'm pretty sure it is in bold. Consider yourself lucky they followed up 🙂

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile
 
tpsreport said:
Got one of these yesterday. Didn't realize I had to go on their app and manually indicate that I am still interested in the school. I feel special 😡
Y'all get these too or am I the only one dumb enough to not realize I had to opt in?


Dear Mr. Batman,

I wrote to you two weeks ago, on behalf of the Committee on Admissions of Boston University School of Medicine, to indicate that we were not currently prepared to make a final decision on your application for a place in the class entering in August of 2013 and that the Committee decided to defer its final decision until late March. In addition, this information was posted to your account in MyApplication (see URL below) at BUSM, and we asked that you respond within two weeks, indicating whether or not you wish to remain under consideration for admission to Boston University School of Medicine.

As of today, we have not heard from you. We assume, therefore, that you are no longer interested in Boston University. If we have not heard from you within five days of this email, we will cancel our offer and close your application. Please feel free to contact our office, or me directly, if there is some way in which we can help you. Thank you and best wishes.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Witzburg, M.D.
Associate Dean and Director of Admissions
Boston University School of Medicine
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yea i got the same message. I hope it doesnt affect my application 🙁. when i read "we assume, therefore, that you are no longer interested", my heart sank and I almost shed a man tear..
 
Interviewing here Monday; does anyone think the massive Northeast blizzard will have an impact on the interview? I know that Hurricane Sandy caused some interviews to be cancelled.

EDIT - Nvm, just got an e-mail saying they will not be cancelled.
 
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Taranis said:
Interviewing here Monday; does anyone think the massive Northeast blizzard will have an impact on the interview? I know that Hurricane Sandy caused some interviews to be cancelled.

EDIT - Nvm, just got an e-mail saying they will not be cancelled.
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Sandy hit on a Monday. The prior Friday I called BU and they said interviews were on rain or shine. Interviews were canceled for Sandy. Just fyi.
 
has anyone received a merit scholarship offer? when do these typically come out? just curious! thanks.
 
Have people been sending their thank you letters directly to the interviewer or to the admissions office?
 
Desp said:
Have people been sending their thank you letters directly to the interviewer or to the admissions office?
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I sent mine to the interviewer. I guess it does not really matter, as long as you send it.
 
Did anyone else get a request to confirm contact information? (I did.) Is this a good thing?
 
I received the contact email and have been accepted for a little while. It was probably automated.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 
iave9963 said:
I did as well, but not reading too much into it, think everyone gets one.
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Last time I got one was about 4 weeks before they sent me the "deferred decision" email...I bet this is preemptive of their march decision emails. let the countdown begin!
 
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