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2014-2015 Boston University Application Thread
- Thread starter gettheleadout
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WL as well............... ugh, i REALLY want to go here for a hundred diff reasons
does anyone know what to make of this statement in the WL email:
"From this group of exceptional people, the Committee on Admissions has selected a small group to comprise a waiting list. This group is not ranked and includes only those applicants for whom we hope places will become available prior to matriculation in the fall. If and when places become available in the class, the Committee will consider all candidates on the waiting list."
I'm particularly hopeful about the bolded part....does this mean everyone on the waitlist has at least a chance of getting admitted or am i just trying to keep my delusional hope alive when i should be letting go...?
i'm asking because of what someone said above about them accepting less upfront this year and then accepting people off the waitlist little by little. i mean, a lot of other schools have historically used this strategy so it doesn't seem too farfetched. according to past statistics, out of ~1000 interviewed, ~400 were accepted. so perhaps now that the march 15 amcas deadline was established, they've accepted only 100 to fill the class, and the other 300 are WL and will be accepted as the original 100 decline offers (if they do)...?
also, the fact that we're encouraged to fill out the finaid forms is also hopeful, i guess....?
does anyone know what to make of this statement in the WL email:
"From this group of exceptional people, the Committee on Admissions has selected a small group to comprise a waiting list. This group is not ranked and includes only those applicants for whom we hope places will become available prior to matriculation in the fall. If and when places become available in the class, the Committee will consider all candidates on the waiting list."
I'm particularly hopeful about the bolded part....does this mean everyone on the waitlist has at least a chance of getting admitted or am i just trying to keep my delusional hope alive when i should be letting go...?
i'm asking because of what someone said above about them accepting less upfront this year and then accepting people off the waitlist little by little. i mean, a lot of other schools have historically used this strategy so it doesn't seem too farfetched. according to past statistics, out of ~1000 interviewed, ~400 were accepted. so perhaps now that the march 15 amcas deadline was established, they've accepted only 100 to fill the class, and the other 300 are WL and will be accepted as the original 100 decline offers (if they do)...?
also, the fact that we're encouraged to fill out the finaid forms is also hopeful, i guess....?
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Pink, no idea. I'm having very similar thoughts to you. The messaging around the WL feels very confusing, it was supposed to be a very small one but we've seen so many of us on it. Then there is the sentence that you bolded but maybe they did not change it from the last year's email? Who knows... As much as I dislike waiting, I am very much willing to take an acceptance, no matter how late it comes. So at this stage all I can do is 
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Does anyone know if there are actually need-based scholarships available? I felt like I remembered reading on their website that there weren't any need-based scholarships (just need-based loans from the school with low interest rates) but I just logged on to the portal and saw a section about submitting the FAFSA to be eligible for need-based scholarships.
Edit: Nevermind, I just read through the financial aid email and saw that they said something in there too about need-based scholarships.
Edit: Nevermind, I just read through the financial aid email and saw that they said something in there too about need-based scholarships.
@pinkPEACE
Since BU has had the medical student residence (2012) they've had a higher percentage of accepted students come to BU, which has resulted in overenrolled classes/very few students moving off of the waitlist. As a result, they accepted fewer students this year under the assumption that they will not have too many students enroll and will then be able to accept students from the waitlist. That said, I still wouldn't expect everyone on the WL to get in. But you do all still have a chance since you aren't ranked and will all be reconsidered whenever a spot becomes available 🙂
Since BU has had the medical student residence (2012) they've had a higher percentage of accepted students come to BU, which has resulted in overenrolled classes/very few students moving off of the waitlist. As a result, they accepted fewer students this year under the assumption that they will not have too many students enroll and will then be able to accept students from the waitlist. That said, I still wouldn't expect everyone on the WL to get in. But you do all still have a chance since you aren't ranked and will all be reconsidered whenever a spot becomes available 🙂
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*fingers crossed*
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I think I remember my tour guide on the interview saying that BU is true pass/fail for the first two years, with no internal ranking. Also, I have a vague memory that we were told there would be a tuition freeze after the first year. Are both of these true?
Thanks! That's interesting. So if there's no internal ranking, how do they make recommendations for AOA?
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nope. i actually asked them about this over the phone (back in jan, a current student phoned me) and the guy said that they (the registrar) will definitely make sure they get our deposit before april 30. I'm sure they'll email us a reminder.
dunno specifically -- sorry!
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There is no Junior AOA since BU does not rank preclinical years and is P/F. Senior AOA is selected based on clinical grades (graded on a H/HP/P/LP/F scale) and I believe there is a system of ranking based on those clinical grades.
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I'll be there! Yup, business casual is what it said in one of the emails.
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@odyssey2 and @Tappinfool66, I'll be there too and trying very hard not to wear weather-inappropriate clothing, but it's finally supposed to be somewhat springy and nice this weekend!
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+1 I've been checking the fin aid portal like erry day. Hopefully soon!
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Heading back home now after second look and feeling pretty confused. I loved it here on interview day but today gave me a really weird negative feeling. Did anyone else who went today get a weird vibe? I'm wondering if it's just me since it seemed like most people I talked to were pretty set on coming to BU after today. Dean Witzburg did say at the end of the day to trust our gut feeling, though. And unfortunately my gut was telling me this isn't the school for me. Will probably sadly end up withdrawing soon, and I say sadly because BU really does seem like a great school and BMC would be a wonderful place to train. Oh well, what can you do? :/
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Sounds like you had a great 2nd look, in that you got information that helped you form a decision. Good luck wherever you go!
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Got my final financial aid award - received another $15,000/year in need-based scholarship 🙂 I'll probably be withdrawing sometime soon, though. Hoping they'll be able to reallocate the money and give it to someone else 🙂
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Don't normally post but just wanted to say I'm withdrawing today. I loved BU and Boston and was leaning here, but my undergrad school just gave me a full tuition scholarship, impossible to turn down. Best of luck to you guys on the waitlist I'm pulling for you guys!!!
I don't have actual numbers, but based on how the cycle has gone so far at least on SDN, it seems like most that have been accepted have withdrawn and that most have been waitlisted. Either there is going to be a lot of WL movement or SDN has not been a fair representation of the applicants as a whole. Any expectations on WL movement?
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i really hope this is the case!
does anyone know when the best time to send a letter is? should WL people be waiting until after the 30th or is before better? is the committee even meeting regularly before the 30th? thanks 🙂
I don't think there is a best time, for me I am going to send an update when my grades from final semester are in and that will not be until May 10thish.
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Come on BUSM show us some love!!!!
Hoping for love too, but we still have a month or so until they will accept anyone from WL.
Yep, I got mine a few weeks ago. Maybe you should call and ask to make sure you sent everything in?
They give out Dean's scholarships upon admission, but I don't think they offer anything else in terms of merit aid.
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I would definitely follow up with an e-mail/call to check up on what's going on like @odyssey2 said. One reason it might be taking a while to hear back is that the rising M2's-M4's had their financial aid paperwork deadline pass recently, so they just might be busy working on those.
has anyone heard about when we will be hearing
School had said most movement occurs from june1-july31. So around june
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I wonder why it's so late. They technically would know by now who has declined their offer of acceptance, right? I'm wondering if maybe they forgot to take into account the new traffic deadline when they sent the WL email (like copy n pasted last years' version, in which case june 1st is a more appropriate date).
I'm really hoping they tell us some news soon! June 1st seems like forever away...
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Because I'm a master time-waster... I went through the last three Application threads and found all (if im not mistaken) of the reported acceptances off the Waitlist...
13-14: 6/29/14 A from MD WL
12-13: Heresay report on 5/22/15 (friend A from MD WL); 5/23/13 A from MD/PhD WL; 5/30/13 A from MD WL; 6/14/13 A from MD WL; 6/26/13 A from MD WL;
11-12: No reported acceptances from the WL
So... during 2013, quite a few peeps were accepted right after the 5/15/ deadline. Interesting. I wonder how this year is going to look... maybe theres an every other year WL movement trend? Lets hope so!
13-14: 6/29/14 A from MD WL
12-13: Heresay report on 5/22/15 (friend A from MD WL); 5/23/13 A from MD/PhD WL; 5/30/13 A from MD WL; 6/14/13 A from MD WL; 6/26/13 A from MD WL;
11-12: No reported acceptances from the WL
So... during 2013, quite a few peeps were accepted right after the 5/15/ deadline. Interesting. I wonder how this year is going to look... maybe theres an every other year WL movement trend? Lets hope so!
sample size and postings to SDN vary each year, especially since number of people coming from the WL is itself a smaller pool of people. I do think there will be movement but I bet it will occur only after June 1, when BU suggested it would.
To any current students, if you're taking out loans, does the estimated CoA on the BUSM website cover living expenses sufficiently well, or is it likely I'll have to take out more to cover rent, food, etc.? Total personal living expenses for M1, outside of tuition, fees, and books, is about 16000, about 21-23000 for M3 and M4.
Not sure how helpful this answer will be, but it depends a lot on individual situations so I'll try to just go over things to consider for your (or anyone's) personal situation, if that makes any sense. Overall, CoA has been more than enough for me (about to start M4) & most people are able to make it work. I'm also not sure if you can technically take out more loans than the CoA that BU gives.
Overall things that your money will potentially go to:
- will loan money be your only money or do you have more saved away that you can use for things (if needed)
- are you generally good at budgeting? --> it's helpful to figure out how much money after rent you'll have left over every month to spend
- Do you tend to spend lots of money on food/drinks/shopping/activities/traveling? (not terrible, it will just make $16000 harder to stretch, and you might need to cut back)
- housing/moving:
- Rent: Most of that money goes towards rent, so if you live in the MSR/somewhere with equivalent rent, ($900/month?) you'd have a lot of money left over & that amount is very doable. If you end up living elsewhere with higher rent, that will eat up even more of that money. (especially if you're paying a broker's fee/security deposit & cable/utilities on top of rent).
- Buying crap: if you're moving somewhere unfurnished, you're gonna need to buy all sorts of furniture, kitchen stuff, etc depending on what you already own or don't (still need kitchen/bathrooms stuff for MSR, just not bedroom/living room)
- moving to boston--it's gonna eat up some of your money before you get your loans
- Moving again...cause if you move after M1, you're going to be paying security deposit/1st+last month's rent, maybe broker's fee, etc all with your M1 loan money
- Other possible expenses: a car (which I wouldn't really suggest bringing) +/- parking ($$), pets, hobbies, family, etc etc that could add up.
- Summer/vacation week plans: what you're planning to do in the summer between M1/M2 also factors in because you won't get M2 loans until late summer so you'll need to use M1 money for that.
- books: I forget what they put for books, but there's very few you actually need to buy the 1st 2 years, so you probably won't use all that money.
- Transportation: costs will also vary depending on if you live walking distance from school or not. And if you're a cab/uber person or walking/public trans person (definitely get a plastic charlie card as the fare is cheaper than if you use paper ones)
- health insurance: don't know how old you are, but if you are still covered by your parents, that's an extra $2000 you get back.
- Exams: step 1 exam after M2 costs about $600 I think that you'll need to pay for during M2
I didn't touch so much on M3/4, but it's generally the same, except for factoring in a few grand for exams and another few grand for traveling to/from interviews and applying to residency programs
TL;DR: Yes, it is enough for most people as far as I know, but you'll likely have to be more thrifty than you were pre-med school 🙁 (and importantly, also not live somewhere with absurdly expensive rent). If you have a specific cost question that I didn't answer (or any other BU/boston questions), feel free to ask!
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how exciting
