2012-2013 Boston University Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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FINALLY got a secondary! verified 6/5 -_-
 
Goobs said:
FINALLY got a secondary! verified 6/5 -_-
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congrats! but i don't think there's a difference between being verified 6/28 or 6/5. everything verified by 6/29 was sent in the same batch.
 
mfm90 said:
No.. I think it says to list each course once
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Does the same apply for Biology Courses?? Since almost all my science courses, fall under the biology category? So, just put it down in genetics, or cell biology, but not in "biology"?
 
espagueti said:
congrats! but i don't think there's a difference between being verified 6/28 or 6/5. everything verified by 6/29 was sent in the same batch.
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Yeah I know, it just seems as the general trend in this thread (small pool) is that people who were verified later got their secondary first. Probably just some weird coincidence :laugh:
 
PreMedGirl88 said:
Does the same apply for Biology Courses?? Since almost all my science courses, fall under the biology category? So, just put it down in genetics, or cell biology, but not in "biology"?
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Yea.. if you took genetics put it under genetics and the same for cell biology. Put all other bio courses under the Bio prereq option. (Assuming you have at least 2 additional bio courses)


"There is no right answer to the grid. Complete the table as best you can using your transcript and university course classifications as a guide and use the text box for any comments or clarifications. Count each class only once. If a course can be classified in more than one subject area, select the best one and add a note to the grid. You will be contacted if the Committee on Admissions has any questions regarding your entries."
 
How did everyone structure the essay about what you're doing in 2012/2013? It gives you 2000 characters...I only used a couple hundreds. Literally 4 sentences just stating what I'll be doing....nothing fancy/in-depth. Is that okay?
 
IRASNA said:
How did everyone structure the essay about what you're doing in 2012/2013? It gives you 2000 characters...I only used a couple hundreds. Literally 4 sentences just stating what I'll be doing....nothing fancy/in-depth. Is that okay?
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are you trolling? there was a section on that??
 
endowed said:
are you trolling? there was a section on that??
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It was in the same area as the did you take longer than 4 years to graduate etc etc. Mine was pretty short too though.
 
IRASNA said:
How did everyone structure the essay about what you're doing in 2012/2013? It gives you 2000 characters...I only used a couple hundreds. Literally 4 sentences just stating what I'll be doing....nothing fancy/in-depth. Is that okay?
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I did the same thing, although I was a little unsure whether they want us to explain our reasoning for taking a year or two off. What do you guys think, is this the place to remark upon "why a gap year?"
 
Got my secondary this morning and I'm not verified yet. Should I wait to be verified before submitting?
 
levodopa said:
Got my secondary this morning and I'm not verified yet. Should I wait to be verified before submitting?
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The site won't let you submit the secondary application until after the primary has been verified... I know, I tried. (Womp womp.)
 
Does anyone know if Boston has a screened secondary, or does everyone get one? Just curious.
 
PreMedGirl88 said:
Does the same apply for Biology Courses?? Since almost all my science courses, fall under the biology category? So, just put it down in genetics, or cell biology, but not in "biology"?
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To be honest, I would just classify everything as Biology. The bottom of the Prereq grid says:

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.

So basically they won't even know what each specific person puts for their recommended courses. If you classify everything as Biology, it will show you have a lot of experience there. Not sure if it matters, but meh.
 
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Goobs said:
Pretty sure everyone gets it.
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"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, post-baccalaureate 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 approximately 7,500 applications pass this initial screen and move on to additional review and consideration."

Reference
 
AiyaTuc said:
"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, post-baccalaureate 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 approximately 7,500 applications pass this initial screen and move on to additional review and consideration."

Reference
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According to the MSAR everyone gets the secondary. The "initial screening" only happens after you've submitted the secondary, even though they could easily do with just the primary if it's mostly based on numbers 🙄
 
I was under the impression from last year's thread that complete applications are screened two times, the first of which is what you described there. If you make it past the three week mark then you most likely passed that first round screen and you'll get the 30 day email, and then if you make it past round 2 you'll get an interview invite. Also according to the MSAR all applicants are sent the secondary.

Edit: Oops collegestud beat me to it
 
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? Or, have you experienced advanced training in any area, including the fields of art, music, or sports? This is an opportunity to describe learning experiences that may not be covered in other areas of this application. It is not necessary to write anything in this section. (2000 character limit, approximately 400 words)

We have found that for most applicants, an extra essay written expressly for Boston University adds little to the information content of the portfolio. While we no longer require an essay, some applicants feel that additional information is necessary in order to provide us with a comprehensive understanding of their strengths as a candidate for a career in medicine. If you wish, use the space below to offer an essay or any other information, addressing any issue you feel is of importance. If you choose to use the space, please do not duplicate information provided elsewhere in this Supplemental Application or in material you have submitted to AMCAS.
For most applicants, no supplementary essay will be necessary and this space can be left blank.

The first essay on a narrative regarding educational history..we can't write about getting masters in higher science major, right..the first question is more geared towards asking about hobbies that might have influenced our education in a way like studying abroad or music interest. The second question..is it asking more of our personal characteristics on why we we are pursuing a career in medicine..or we just have to write more additional information regarding getting medical school
 
jcurtin2013 said:
hey guys,

so I sent in my secondary and got confirmation that it was received two days ago. I checked my status today and it said that my app was "on hold" and that an email had been sent to me about my change in status, but I haven't gotten that email. anyone else on hold or have any idea what that means?
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can anybody answer this?
 
collegestud2013 said:
According to the MSAR everyone gets the secondary. The "initial screening" only happens after you've submitted the secondary, even though they could easily do with just the primary if it's mostly based on numbers 🙄
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If it's mostly numbers based, can anyone ballpark the minimum numbers for GPA and MCAT roughly to make it past the first screening?
 
PreMedGirl88 said:
If it's mostly numbers based, can anyone ballpark the minimum numbers for GPA and MCAT roughly to make it past the first screening?
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Do you have MSAR access?

I don't offhand, but I imagine the cutoffs will obviously be below whatever the 25th% are for GPA/MCAT.

In reality, prob gonna be 8+ in each mcat section and 3.0+ gpa
 
Blais said:
Do you have MSAR access?

I don't offhand, but I imagine the cutoffs will obviously be below whatever the 25th% are for GPA/MCAT.

In reality, prob gonna be 8+ in each mcat section and 3.0+ gpa
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does anyone know if boston uses latest mcat or averages each subscore?
 
Here's just a random thought to see if anyone agree's with me.

Boston seems to be one of the most honest, down to earth school when it comes to this whole application thing. They honestly tell you they don't find an extra essay helpful, they honestly tell you they basically cut 4000 applications simply by numbers before they look at everything else, and their secondary was pretty straightforward.

I kinda applied here without knowing much about the school. But Boston gets a lot of kudos from me for this secondary. Got it, filled it out, submitted it. No complicated 6 essays or other busy work.
 
gettheleadout said:
If you have spent more than 4 years as an undergraduate, please explain below. (You may skip this question if you have graduated within 4 years.)
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Hey Guys,

New to SDN. I was wondering if the prompt from above is referring to the other prompt below it, or not? The reason I ask is because there is no word limit to the prompt I have quoted above.

Any help would be appreciated!!
 
Why can't I submit my application? My letters are already sent to AMCAS but it doesn't show on BUSM secondary application and without that I can't submit my secondary? Did anyone else have this issue?
 
Mitalie said:
Why can't I submit my application? My letters are already sent to AMCAS but it doesn't show on BUSM secondary application and without that I can't submit my secondary? Did anyone else have this issue?
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Have you already had your primary processed by AMCAS? I know many of us can't submit until our primaries have been processed by AMCAS and then I think I read somewhere that there may be a 48 hour delay for that information to get to the school... then you can submit your secondary 🙂

Also, I think it'll be quiet because the offices don't open again until Monday so they might not have gotten to your application yet, so no worries, it's the weekend!
 
Does anyone understand this word/character count on the essays? It says we have 200 characters, but it seems like each "character" is actually ~10 characters. As in, if I type 50 characters, it will say I have used 5 characters.

EDIT: nvm lol. The last number was cut off. Either my computer is messed up or that is some terrible formatting.
 
BeancheBlanco said:
Does anyone understand this word/character count on the essays? It says we have 200 characters, but it seems like each "character" is actually ~10 characters. As in, if I type 50 characters, it will say I have used 5 characters.
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Put your cursor in the "200" box. Arrow right and you'll see it's really 2000.
 
jcurtin2013 said:
I checked my status today and it said that my app was "on hold" and that an email had been sent to me about my change in status, but I haven't gotten that email. anyone else on hold or have any idea what that means?

can anybody answer this?
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No idea, but mine says the same.
 
Blais said:
" Originally Posted by jcurtin2013
I checked my status today and it said that my app was "on hold" and that an email had been sent to me about my change in status, but I haven't gotten that email. anyone else on hold or have any idea what that means?

can anybody answer this?
.
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I think this means,
1)You aren't rejected 👍
2) They are not ready to give you an interview just yet, they want to first see who else comes in.
 
Blais said:
No idea, but mine says the same.
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same here... it was updated the same day I sent my 2ndary
I didn't get any email, so guess have to wait and see!

plus i didn't find anything in last year's forum... I just hope it's not a hold for rejection or somethin like LOR is not signed/ on letterhead... even though I told ppl 100x, still not 100% sure they came through.
 
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that status is in reference to your LOR requirement. You had to choose to either Hold the application until all letters are in or continue on with the minimum amount of LORs. Once they receive your letters that status should change to complete.
 
I know this was briefly discussed, but I'm still kind of wondering what people's takes are on the optional essay. I know it says most people won't fill it out, but it feels so wrong not putting anything!! Did anyone actually write something for it? I was born and raised in Boston and still live here and would love to stay for medical school, but I don't know if that's something to write or something to wait to (hopefully) discuss in an interview?

Thanks in advance for the input 🙂
 
cjc71 said:
I know this was briefly discussed, but I'm still kind of wondering what people's takes are on the optional essay. I know it says most people won't fill it out, but it feels so wrong not putting anything!! Did anyone actually write something for it? I was born and raised in Boston and still live here and would love to stay for medical school, but I don't know if that's something to write or something to wait to (hopefully) discuss in an interview?

Thanks in advance for the input 🙂
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i wrote something but only cause i had reason to. i talked about my childhood experiences and how they helped shape me into who i am today. i hadn't mentioned it anywhere else in my primary or secondary, so i thought this was the perfect spot
 
For this question: If you are not expecting to go directly to medical school after completing your undergraduate work, please explain. (1400 character limit, approximately 280 words)

Do you think we need to explain why we are doing what we are doing, or can we just explain what we are doing?
 
eirrac said:
For this question: If you are not expecting to go directly to medical school after completing your undergraduate work, please explain. (1400 character limit, approximately 280 words)

Do you think we need to explain why we are doing what we are doing, or can we just explain what we are doing?
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I think it means to explain why and what.
 
Can any current students comment about the Alternative Curriculum? I would potentially be interested because doing research in med school is very important to me.
 
anyone have any updates in their status? mine just says "application complete" =/
 
If I want to apply to the MPH program during my first year there, do I have to check out MD/MPH on the secondary?

The page says "While you are not required to indicate interest in MD-MPH, MD-MBA or MD-MACI programs at this time, you may wish to do so to ensure that we provide adequate information during the admissions process." But then where you mark it it says "Indicate the program to which you currently wish to apply" and I'm not CURRENTLY applying..
 
dextor2003 said:
anyone have any updates in their status? mine just says "application complete" =/
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Nope. Same. I had a hold on my application for a bit because my letters weren't signed..but got that fixed and now I'm just "complete"
 
imcanadaian said:
Nope. Same. I had a hold on my application for a bit because my letters weren't signed..but got that fixed and now I'm just "complete"
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From last year's thread no news = good news. On day 19 after the complete status they reject tons of people, then they slowly reject a few people as the days trickle on. If you make it to day 30 you get an email apologizing for the delay and eventually get an interview invite. Just pray you don't hear anything for a while :scared:
 
JFK90787 said:
.[/COLOR][/I].None of the example they give are applicable to me. Is this just a glorified diversity essay? I could talk about a particular EC with underserved people and say how this will prepare me to work with the patients that frequent BU. Sound OK? I am just a little hesitant because of their wording "..features of your educational history", ..and a volunteer experience doesn't really feel educational.
.
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I just talked about one of my hobbies and my love of learning
 
I included a little bit about my activities outside of school and how I learned from them. Just submitted today; good luck everyone!
 
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