2018-2019 Boston University School of Medicine

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
What did the current students say about the school? Everything I've heard from students has been overwhelmingly positive, especially with respect to the administration

Current students (that I talked to at least) had nothing but great things to say about the school. While there might be little annoying things here and there, none of the students could think of a major con when asked. This was different than some other schools I interviewed at, where students definitely had their share of gripes. BU’s administrstion is super responsive to student needs, so complaints of lack of study space were met with the opening of a new student lounge this year.

Members don't see this ad.
 
What did the current students say about the school? Everything I've heard from students has been overwhelmingly positive, especially with respect to the administration
They said their class had a problem with overly competitive students and was referred to as “gunnerish” by the administration. This was just one student, but positive campus culture and strong sense of community are important for me, and I just didn’t get that on my interview day.

Lots of people love BU and it’s obviously a highly respected school. No one reading this thread should make their decision based on one experience from an internet stranger. Always go with your gut and your own experience. I was just disappointed with my individual experience and wanted to show my support to others who felt the same
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Finally rejected. Complete early Aug. LizzyM 73. Good luck to everyone else this cycle.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Got my R too. Only thing I can think of is that I didn't fill out the "optional" essay. Maybe it wasn't that optional?
 
I wonder what they were looking for. I thought I had a pretty strong application. Do you think they'd be open to requests for application feedback?
I think they just get hella apps. If you read through the thread, you can see people with very high stats getting rejected. But it never hurts to ask why, I suppose.
 
R, complete 8/7. Good luck everyone!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
And thats another L. Complete Mid-August, LM 71-72.

Good luck fellas, [hopefully] see ya'll on the other side in the next decade or so!
 
did anyone submit early august or before and still waiting for a decision?
 
did anyone submit early august or before and still waiting for a decision?

Yeah, I submitted in the first week of August and got an email 10/12 saying they received a huge amount of apps in that period and are still working on reading our files
 
Anyone who interviewed MSTP, can you tell me how your experience was?
 
received the "we are behind" email today. complete mid-september. not holding out much hope at this point...
 
I submitted in late Aug. and was marked complete 09/10. Didn't receive any "we are behind" emails though...

weird! i figured they were just going in order of complete date, like once people get to six weeks out they receive the email. perhaps it's a sign you're already under review.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Does anyone who's interviewed know at what time the 3pm Diversity & Inclusion seminar ends?
 
Has anyone who has been rejected here reached out about feedback on their application? I know some schools are very accommodating about this, and others aren't, so just wondering how BU is and what the process is to get feedback. TIA!
 
Has anyone who has been rejected here reached out about feedback on their application? I know some schools are very accommodating about this, and others aren't, so just wondering how BU is and what the process is to get feedback. TIA!

I sent a request for application feedback through the portal last cycle. This was the response:

We appreciate your interest in BUSM and the fact that you have offered us an opportunity to consider your application. I would like to help you understand our decision on your application but I fear that I will, inevitably, disappoint you. In a comprehensive, holistic review process like the one we use in our Admissions program, there is rarely a “smoking gun” that knocks an applicant out of contention. That is, we almost never find a single factor in the applicant portfolio that forces us to decline the candidate.

I have taken another look at your file and have confirmed that, at least by our reading, there is no single fatal flaw.
Our decisions are, inevitably, made in the context of a very large and well prepared applicant pool. As an example, we received over 12,000 applications last year for the approximately 120 4-Yr MD seats available in our class. Our application numbers this year appear to be running 3-4% ahead of last year and I would estimate that in this cycle we will see approximately 8,000 applicants who are fully qualified to attend this, or any other, medical school. Since we have capacity to interview only about 1000 candidates in the course of a single admissions cycle, we will be forced to eliminate more than 85% of those qualified applicants without ever meeting them in a face-to-face interview.

We find this to be extremely challenging and, downright sad. We recognize that our decisions are subjective, at times perhaps even arbitrary, but we read every page of every file and do the best we can with the information available to us. I have no doubt that we make mistakes and that we turn away many terrific candidates, some of whom would have been a great match for our school.

At risk of sounding harsh, the best I can say about your application is that it just did not rise to the top of an extremely competitive pool. This does not mean we do not respect you and your accomplishments, and it certainly does not mean that you should not go to medical school and have the opportunity to earn the privilege of practicing medicine. It just means that this year, this medical school will be unable to carry your application forward. For additional information on our review process, go to http://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/admissions/application-process/.

We wish you every success as you pursue your other opportunities.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Witzburg, M.D.
Associate Dean and Director of Admissions
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Rejected today after receiving the "we are behind" email on 10/12 :( In-state (live right down the street lol), complete 8/7, LM 75
 
First R - sucks to BU anyway ;) In all seriousness - kind of bummed, they're an awesome school, best of luck to those still in the running!
 
For those of you who have interviewed already, what is format of the interviews? Is it just 1 faculty interview and 1 student interview? How long are the interviews? Thank you!
One faculty interview in the AM that is scheduled to go for an hour and that’s it
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
One faculty interview in the AM that is scheduled to go for an hour and that’s it

And you get a sheet of information about your faculty interviewer in your folder as soon as you arrive in the morning!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
For those of you who have interviewed already, what is format of the interviews? Is it just 1 faculty interview and 1 student interview? How long are the interviews? Thank you!

Just faculty. No student. Open file, 45 min


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Has anyone received interview invites recently? I have experienced silence since being complete on 10/1. I am aware that is late in the cycle, but I'm wondering if everyone else who submitted around that time is also totally in the dark too.
 
Has anyone received interview invites recently? I have experienced silence since being complete on 10/1. I am aware that is late in the cycle, but I'm wondering if everyone else who submitted around that time is also totally in the dark too.
I’ve been in the dark since the beginning of September so idk
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
I’ve been in the dark since the beginning of September so idk
We’re in the same boat! I was researching last year’s threads and think we may hear Wednesday of this week (lots of info went out last year on Nov. 15th)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
We’re in the same boat! I was researching last year’s threads and think we may hear Wednesday of this week (lots of info went out last year on Nov. 15th)

Oh, okay! Hope that it’s good news for both of us!!
 
For those of you who have interviewed already, what is format of the interviews? Is it just 1 faculty interview and 1 student interview? How long are the interviews? Thank you!

I had one faculty interview that lasted about 1 hour. I don't think anyone had a student interview unless you count the lunch discussions, but the students were all adamant that lunch was not part of the assessment process.
 
Got a R a little less than a month ago. Completed early August. Sent a very nice rejection email! FYI one of my friends got an email saying that they are having a crazy influx of apps this year, so everything is taking a long time, and it will probably be more competitive! Good luck everyone
 
Got a R a little less than a month ago. Completed early August. Sent a very nice rejection email! FYI one of my friends got an email saying that they are having a crazy influx of apps this year, so everything is taking a long time, and it will probably be more competitive! Good luck everyone

I got the email about the number of apps a few weeks ago! Nothing else since that, though.
 
II! Complete 8/3. Early Jan dates available. Got the email about number of apps ~1 month ago.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
II! Complete 8/13 and never received the email about app overload. LM 76
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Top