2015-2016 Boston University Application Thread

[organesha]

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Secondary received this morning and just submitted. I decided to use my diversity essay for the optional section because its contents aren't mentioned anywhere else in my app. They are pretty adamant throughout about how it is OPTIONAL, though..

 

[Pastamahn]

Stilllll waiting

 

[nih15hopeful]

Is anyone else having trouble saving? Especially in the "preferences" section, after you enter the information and press save, it says "Failed to save."

Same, anybody have any suggestions?

I'm getting the same message.

This is happening to me and is stressing me out...

Have any of you figured out how to resolve this issue? I think this section is required to be filled out in order to submit, right?

 

[quicheduty]

Have any of you figured out how to resolve this issue? I think this section is required to be filled out in order to submit, right?

No, preferences can be updated anytime and are separate from the secondary.
BU is working on fixing the glitch - I called 🙂

 

[nih15hopeful]

No, preferences can be updated anytime and are separate from the secondary.
BU is working on fixing the glitch - I called 🙂

.

 

[G.NA]

Have any of you figured out how to resolve this issue? I think this section is required to be filled out in order to submit, right?

IE should do the trick. Firefox too

 

[sunshine02]

Have any of you figured out how to resolve this issue? I think this section is required to be filled out in order to submit, right?

BU said it's working on it! 🙂

 

[nih15hopeful]

IE should do the trick. Firefox too

Yeah, I was thinking the same, but neither worked.

BU said it's working on it! 🙂

Yep! Now that I know it's not a required section at the moment, I plan on omitting it until post-submission.

 

[starlite911]

I got the "Pre-Registration" email, which I completed. I then received the "Initial Contact" email, but have yet to receive the "Web Account Registration" email, which they said would be received in "up to 3 hours." But if they're having this many technically difficulties, I'll give it some more time before contacting them.

 

[heebeejeebies]

Anyone have any idea if anatomy/physiology/medical sciences faculty satisfy the "biology" letter requirement? It'd be ridiculous for me to ask a prof from 5 years ago who taught me Bio I in a room of 1000 to write a letter...

 

[starlite911]

Anyone have any idea if anatomy/physiology/medical sciences faculty satisfy the "biology" letter requirement? It'd be ridiculous for me to ask a prof from 5 years ago who taught me Bio I in a room of 1000 to write a letter...

Only their office could tell you for sure, but since anatomy and physiology are basically a subset of biology, I would assume so.

 

[chocoholicsoxfan]

I got the "Pre-Registration" email, which I completed. I then received the "Initial Contact" email, but have yet to receive the "Web Account Registration" email, which they said would be received in "up to 3 hours." But if they're having this many technically difficulties, I'll give it some more time before contacting them.

Check spam. Mine went there.

 

[heebeejeebies]

Only their office could tell you for sure, but since anatomy and physiology are basically a subset of biology, I would assume so.

Thanks, yeah, I just hate being a bother on the admissions staff, "here's another *******".

 

[starlite911]

Check spam. Mine went there.

great call. Never would have thought to check that, given that the others went straight to my inbox. Oh technology...

 

[heebeejeebies]

great call. Never would have thought to check that, given that the others went straight to my inbox. Oh technology...

I just went to my emails spam filter and allowed all .edu domains through, works like a charm, other than the odd Ross email.

 

[Pastamahn]

Anyone else still waiting?

 

[starlite911]

So people have been submitting, despite the inability to enter/save "preferences"?

 

[G.NA]

So people have been submitting, despite the inability to enter/save "preferences"?

i had trouble too but i literally just kept spamming the button and it worked

that being said are the preferences so important? the rest of the app saves fine. people should be able to do without it lol BU is already addressing us as Mr/Ms so..

 

[starlite911]

i had trouble too but i literally just kept spamming the button and it worked

that being said are the preferences so important? the rest of the app saves fine. people should be able to do without it lol BU is already addressing us as Mr/Ms so..

Thanks! I might wait until tomorrow to see if it's fixed, and if not, just go ahead and submit regardless and keep them guessing about my preferences 😉

 

[Pastamahn]

Finally got it! Not sure why they have so many steps to fill out the app though..

 

[Avocat]

On the prerequisite grid, are we supposed to include future courses that we haven't taken yet? Sorry if this is obviously answered somewhere on the secondary; trying to navigate the website is giving me a headache with their mix of fonts and colors.

EDIT: Just kidding, found it.

 

[Chasing Never Land]

Received and submitted yesterday (I pre-wrote) - now the waiting game! anyone know last year how long it took between turning it in and IIs?

 

[RudyRude]

Secondary received this morning and just submitted. I decided to use my diversity essay for the optional section because its contents aren't mentioned anywhere else in my app. They are pretty adamant throughout about how it is OPTIONAL, though..

What are the thoughts here about using a diversity essay for the optional essay??

 

[RudyRude]

Another question. My school was on the quarter system, so I have to convert quarter units to semester units. On the secondary website it say "(If your calculation is not a whole number, round up)". Does this mean if its 5.3, I round it to 6 units?

 

[Pastamahn]

Hmm debating whether or not to write the optional essay.

 

[starlite911]

Hmm debating whether or not to write the optional essay.

the "most students don't" is what finally pushed into the no direction

 

[Pastamahn]

the "most students don't" is what finally pushed into the no direction

Haha I think I'm about to go in that direction as well.

 

[Pastamahn]

For the English requirement, does a writing intensive course count? Or do they want a class that is specifically under the English department? I know some schools are more relaxed about this than others.

 

[mazarine]

@Pastamahn writing-intensive courses, or whatever satisfies the writing/English requirement at your college, should be fine. If you're worried, you can note it in the clarification part of the prereq grid.

 

[Pastamahn]

@Pastamahn writing-intensive courses, or whatever satisfies the writing/English requirement at your college, should be fine. If you're worried, you can note it in the clarification part of the prereq grid.

Awesome! I ended up writing something in that space to describe substitutions to clarify.

 

[Avocat]

Thanks! I might wait until tomorrow to see if it's fixed, and if not, just go ahead and submit regardless and keep them guessing about my preferences 😉

Still not working for me. I think I'll just submit regardless; the personal preferences section isn't technically part of the secondary anyway. The welcome page even says to complete/submit secondary before updating preferences.

 

[starlite911]

Still not working for me. I think I'll just submit regardless; the personal preferences section isn't technically part of the secondary anyway. The welcome page even says to complete/submit secondary before updating preferences.

I ended up doing the same and emailed them about the preferences, and they just said to send them in a message and they would add them to my file.

 

[Mr. Shelby]

Has anyone submitted the secondary, but had the "MCAT Received" category as "No" even though the scores show up in the MCAT Status section of the Supplemental Elements?

 

[Avocat]

How are you all submitting photos that are both <1 mb and 400x400 pixels? Am I just incompetent at resizing photos? I tried to make a photo <1 mb and it looks like it was taken with a potato.

 

[cactusinmyhead]

I'm a re-applicant here, received interview last cycle, was rejected. I was thinking of using the additional info section to describe what has changed about my application, but it may be redundant with the gap year essay. To include or not to include?

 

[Pastamahn]

I'm a re-applicant here, received interview last cycle, was rejected. I was thinking of using the additional info section to describe what has changed about my application, but it may be redundant with the gap year essay. To include or not to include?

With them being so adamant about that section being optional, unless you have something that's pretty important, I would not write it because being redundant in a truly optional essay could hurt you.

 

[mazarine]

How are you all submitting photos that are both <1 mb and 400x400 pixels? Am I just incompetent at resizing photos? I tried to make a photo <1 mb and it looks like it was taken with a potato.

If you start with a large photo and crop it to 400x400, the photo size should become <1 mb. I have a 480x480 pixel photo that is 175 kb.

 

[cactusinmyhead]

With them being so adamant about that section being optional, unless you have something that's pretty important, I would not write it because being redundant in a truly optional essay could hurt you.

Thanks. I guess they can figure out for themselves what has changed? That's what I pay them $100 for!

 

[Pastamahn]

Thanks. I guess they can figure out for themselves what has changed? That's what I pay them $100 for!

Unless there's some area in the gap year essay you didn't quite touch on as much as you would have liked? I don't want to give you a definitive answer because I don't know your specific situation, but I feel like it could go either way as to if you should write that essay depending on your gap year essay and how much you wrote there.

 

[cactusinmyhead]

Unless there's some area in the gap year essay you didn't quite touch on as much as you would have liked? I don't want to give you a definitive answer because I don't know your specific situation, but I feel like it could go either way as to if you should write that essay depending on your gap year essay and how much you wrote there.

Yeah I just re-read my gap year essay, and it's pretty much a timeline of what I did since last applying soooo..... it would be redundant to write about it again.

EDIT: I just noticed they have an optional essay specifically for re-applicants.

 

[G.NA]

How are you all submitting photos that are both <1 mb and 400x400 pixels? Am I just incompetent at resizing photos? I tried to make a photo <1 mb and it looks like it was taken with a potato.

Use an iPhone

 

[ahoffmann16]

Has anyone submitted the secondary, but had the "MCAT Received" category as "No" even though the scores show up in the MCAT Status section of the Supplemental Elements?

I just submitted and it also shows "NO" on the application status but I clearly saw my MCAT score in the secondary and chose not to defer a decision since I was happy with my score and will not be retaking. Maybe a glitch?

 

[Affiche]

This is the jankiest portal I've used yet!!

 

[DocSami]

Anyone including additional coursework in the prerequisite grid or just the basic requirements for they ask for? I have more than 2 semesters of biology but don't know if I should include it

 

[Affiche]

I just submitted and it also shows "NO" on the application status but I clearly saw my MCAT score in the secondary and chose not to defer a decision since I was happy with my score and will not be retaking. Maybe a glitch?

I have the same issue.

 

[wagonwheel23]

@rachiie01 @ahoffmann16 I emailed admissions about this. It's a glitch.

 

[G.NA]

It's a glitch.

Just like the rest of the portal

 

[G.NA]

Anyone including additional coursework in the prerequisite grid or just the basic requirements for they ask for? I have more than 2 semesters of biology but don't know if I should include it

they are asking for everything you've taken in those categories

 

[kinda_desperate]

So the consensus is that it's really truly not necessary to write anything for the "optional essay." However, is it bad to not write anything for the educational timeline essay? i've never been abroad and have no advanced training the arts. I'm not sure what they mean by "worked in a field that has contributed to understanding of people unlike yourself though." Like what?

 

[RudyRude]

So the consensus is that it's really truly not necessary to write anything for the "optional essay." However, is it bad to not write anything for the educational timeline essay? i've never been abroad and have no advanced training the arts. I'm not sure what they mean by "worked in a field that has contributed to understanding of people unlike yourself though." Like what?

Well, for the truly optional one, I just pasted a diversity essay i wrote for another secondly. Shouldn't hurt... i hope.