2024-2025 Boston University

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pedneuro6894 said:
based on last years thread, Boston scattered a few interviews in their rejection week(s), but then in the following week or two they sent their next wave
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I’ve noticed that as well!! I was also talking abt the T20-30s in general, since they’ve been kind of tricky this past week rather than having big II waves
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BiomedEGR777 said:
They're relentless this week. sorry to hear man best of luck!
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Thank you! As someone else said, glad they just rip the bandaid off instead of leaving us in limbo. Best of luck to you too, someone has to make it through this week!
 
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me currently nervous af after seeing that the latest complete date to hear an R was 8/8 and i was completed 8/9
 
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If you check admit.org BU is rejecting folks that already have 5-11 interviews (so really strong applicants). Not sure what specifically they are looking for, but clearly it's not what most schools look for.

The whole explanation of the rubric doesn't really help as folks that already received 5-11 interview clearly have lots of clinical, volunteering, grades, underserved community service, etc. So despite what was stated in that video, it's not that cut and dry. They quite possibly cull applicants they suspect will go elsewhere. Just my theory. Admit.org is a small sample size, and you can't get an interview everywhere, but you do have to wonder what BU didn't like about that guy with 11 interviews. Quite a few with 4-7 interviews and 519-524 MCAT scores. Would really be interesting to see know what their thought process was.
 
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surelycalm said:
If you check admit.org BU is rejecting folks that already have 5-11 interviews (so really strong applicants). Not sure what specifically they are looking for, but clearly it's not what most schools look for.

The whole explanation of the rubric doesn't really help as folks that already received 5-11 interview clearly have lots of clinical, volunteering, grades, underserved community service, etc. So despite what was stated in that video, it's not that cut and dry. They quite possibly cull applicants they suspect will go elsewhere. Just my theory. Admit.org is a small sample size, and you can't get an interview everywhere, but you do have to wonder what BU didn't like about that guy with 11 interviews. Quite a few with 4-7 interviews and 519-524 MCAT scores. Would really be interesting to see know what their thought process was.
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I tend to agree with you that Yield Protection is still a thing, even at T30s, but I think what’s far more likely is mission fit.

Schools like Yale and Penn are a lot more research focused whereas Chicago and Boston are a lot more service focused. Schools will want applicants that share their mission!
 
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My honest response when I receive the rejection email from BU (just kidding don't reject me pls)
 

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Dr.Pineapple said:
My application was strong for research but even stronger for service. I got an II at chicago so I’m a little surprised at Pre II R from boston. Good luck everyone else though!
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I’m sorry to hear that! Sometimes the process is just really random. Perhaps your reader at Chicago really loved one of your experiences, while your Boston reader didn’t. Maybe your Boston reader was in a bad mood. It’s impossible to know. All we can do is guess.

Chicago is a fantastic school, though, and I really hope you get in!
 
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Mr. Macrophage said:
I’m sorry to hear that! Sometimes the process is just really random. Perhaps your reader at Chicago just really loved one of your experiences, while your Boston reader didn’t. It’s impossible to know. All we can do is guess.

Chicago is a fantastic school, though, and I really hope you get in!
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Thank you Mr. Macrophage, we shall rejoice after we all get in ☝️.
 
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pre-II OOS R today on the 1 year anniversary of them rejecting me last cycle lmaoooo
 
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surelycalm said:
If you check admit.org BU is rejecting folks that already have 5-11 interviews (so really strong applicants). Not sure what specifically they are looking for, but clearly it's not what most schools look for.

The whole explanation of the rubric doesn't really help as folks that already received 5-11 interview clearly have lots of clinical, volunteering, grades, underserved community service, etc. So despite what was stated in that video, it's not that cut and dry. They quite possibly cull applicants they suspect will go elsewhere. Just my theory. Admit.org is a small sample size, and you can't get an interview everywhere, but you do have to wonder what BU didn't like about that guy with 11 interviews. Quite a few with 4-7 interviews and 519-524 MCAT scores. Would really be interesting to see know what their thought process was.
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mean if they have a 90th percentile score of a 524 and a average mcat of 518 I doubt they are cutting students just bc they think they’ll go somewhere else. Also the whole “I was yield protected” argument just gives off the energy of I’m better than the people who got interview Invites. Sorry about the pre-ii R but everyone is bound to get one at least a few schools
 
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lonelywoolf said:
mean if they have a 90th percentile score of a 524 and a average mcat of 518 I doubt they are cutting students just bc they think they’ll go somewhere else. Also the whole “I was yield protected” argument just gives off the energy of I’m better than the people who got interview Invites. Sorry about the pre-ii R but everyone is bound to get one at least a few schools
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That wasn't me. Please explain how someone with 11 interviews a 522 MCAT score, over 1000 hours underserved community service, etc. etc. gets culled?

This is a general question. I get that schools get 10,000 applications and they can't interview everyone, but I'm still curious how adcoms can look at someones application that was good enough for 11 early IIs including some T5s if I remember correctly, and decide nope, not good enough to even interview.

I think that's a big problem for this process. There seems to be a lot of luck and voodoo that goes on.

If the process was more transparent, folks could truly apply to 3 - 5 schools and be done with it. Instead, folks apply to 30-40 schools even with standout stats.
 
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surelycalm said:
That wasn't me. Please explain how someone with 11 interviews a 522 MCAT score, over 1000 hours underserved community service, etc. etc. gets culled?

This is a general question. I get that schools get 10,000 applications and they can't interview everyone, but I'm still curious how adcoms can look at someones application that was good enough for 11 early IIs including some T5s if I remember correctly, and decide nope, not good enough to even interview.

I think that's a big problem for this process. There seems to be a lot of luck and voodoo that goes on.

If the process was more transparent, folks could truly apply to 3 - 5 schools and be done with it. Instead, folks apply to 30-40 schools even with standout stats.
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I mean could be many factors including writing or the reader just didn’t connect with the student. Also I personally don’t believe everything I read online in terms of someone having 11 interviews this early. All I can say is if the 90th percentile for this school is a 524, you didn’t get “yield protected”/they don’t think you are too good for them. they just went with another candidate
 
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lonelywoolf said:
I mean could be many factors including writing or the reader just didn’t connect with the student. Also I personally don’t believe everything I read online in terms of someone having 11 interviews this early. All I can say is if the 90th percentile for this school is a 524, you didn’t get “yield protected”/they don’t think you are too good for them. they just went with another candidate
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Yield protection is a far broader than it just meaning an applicants scores are too high. It could be as simple as someone is applying from a state that they rarely get someone to matriculate from. From a curiosity perspective, it would be interesting to know why they rejected some of these applicants. There is simply no way folks with 520+ and multiple early IIs were jectected because they "not good enough" or didn't have a mission fit. It has to be something else.
 
surelycalm said:
Yield protection is a far broader than it just meaning an applicants scores are too high. It could be as simple as someone is applying from a state that they rarely get someone to matriculate from. From a curiosity perspective, it would be interesting to know why they rejected some of these applicants. There is simply no way folks with 520+ and multiple early IIs were jectected because they "not good enough" or didn't have a mission fit. It has to be something else.
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I 100% agree many amazing applicants get rejected. When trimming down 13000 applicants to 500 acceptances there’s no way every good applicant gets in and it sucks people work so hard for what is essentially a shot in the dark. I just also have seen the term “yield protection” thrown around mainly in the context of candidates being too good for this school which is a slap in the face to people who worked hard to get interviews. From the bottom of my heart though I do truly hope everyone gets into a school that fits them well and that they’re excited about, we’ve all worked extremely hard to get here
 
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I emailed BU for app feedback after the R and they had some pertinent information about this in their response (I've cut out the places where they gave me specific feedback):

"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.

Our decisions are, inevitably, made in the context of a very large and well prepared applicant pool. Specifically, we anticipate receiving more than 9000 applications this cycle, and of these the vast majority are from applicants who are well-qualified for the study and practice of medicine. 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 often downright sad. We recognize that our decisions are subjective, but we do 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."
 
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pm-me-tardigrades said:
I emailed BU for app feedback after the R and they had some pertinent information about this in their response (I've cut out the places where they gave me specific feedback):

"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.

Our decisions are, inevitably, made in the context of a very large and well prepared applicant pool. Specifically, we anticipate receiving more than 9000 applications this cycle, and of these the vast majority are from applicants who are well-qualified for the study and practice of medicine. 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 often downright sad. We recognize that our decisions are subjective, but we do 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."
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So they did give specific feedback for your application? Like reasons why the rejected you?
 
Iron Man23 said:
So they did give specific feedback for your application? Like reasons why the rejected you?
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not really they just said no red flags on the app (which is comforting) and also that my app didn't rise to the top but didn't give me any suggestions for how to improve. I think a lot of people fall into the "this app is good but didn't stand out to us" bucket, and way less people fall into the "we're rejecting you for this very specific reason" bucket
 
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pm-me-tardigrades said:
not really they just said no red flags on the app (which is comforting) and also that my app didn't rise to the top but didn't give me any suggestions for how to improve. I think a lot of people fall into the "this app is good but didn't stand out to us" bucket, and way less people fall into the "we're rejecting you for this very specific reason" bucket
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How long did it take for them to get back to you after you requested feedback?
 
+1 II OOS submission date 7/23 LM ~77. Did you guys get an email? I only found out through the text alert.
 
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Anyone not seeing any dates to select at the interview scheduling page?
 
+1 OOS II Complete 7/12 LM 83 super duper pumped 🥹
 
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INTL Pre-II R just now (09/16/2024) – Complete 8/9

First response this cycle... 😔
 
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OOS R complete 7/24. They’re just some haters fr I’m too good for them anyway
 
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INTL Pre-II R this morning. Complete 8/7. Submitted this app last but this was my first R.
 
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+1 ii OOS, LM 77 while eating Chobani - complete 7/14
 
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Strawberry, gotta match the school colors. 🍓🍓🍓
 
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zyzz. said:
Strawberry, gotta match the school colors. 🍓🍓🍓
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this changes everything. I'm gonna buy only chobani strawberry to pray to the BU gods for a BU II
 
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OOS R complete 8/8. LM 72. Just adding another data point to this thread
 
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I applied and completed 8/8-i haven't heard back yet either!


im asking for a friend who got a 502 on her mcat and wants to apply late to BU and im not sure what to tell her but what do you guys think?
 
anxiouspremedstudent2001 said:
I applied and completed 8/8-i haven't heard back yet either!


im asking for a friend who got a 502 on her mcat and wants to apply late to BU and im not sure what to tell her but what do you guys think?
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I’m certainly no expert, and I believe “never say never” definitely has some truth to it, but I think her odds are unfortunately quite low at this point. It’s less about submitting late and more about her MCAT score, which is 10 points below Boston’s 10th percentile, the usual cutoff people suggest on whether or not a school is worth applying to. If she has a super unique life story and activity list, she still might have a chance, but I wouldn’t want her to get her hopes up.

I know that’s not what she wants to hear, but the good news is that there are many other schools much more lenient with MCAT where she would have a much better shot, in my opinion.
 
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Hi all - for the dates that you're mentioning, is this the date that you submitted the secondary, or the date that you received the "application complete" email? Thanks!
 
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unknownpanda25 said:
Hi all - for the dates that you're mentioning, is this the date that you submitted the secondary, or the date that you received the "application complete" email? Thanks!
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Should be the date they received the complete email. If not, they should just say “submitted X/Y.”
 
For the info sessions, are we supposed to wear formal clothing?
 
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Hey I think I will need to reschedule my interview (it's still a month out) due to being assigned to an out of state volunteer experience the week of the interview. Do you think I'll be okay? I know they say they'll be accommodating but I worry this will negatively impact my chances.
 
BiomedEGR777 said:
I'm planning to wear a nie button up, no suit jacket or tie though unless others on here think we should
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I was planning on wearing a suit, I figure better safe than sorry and I can remove suit coat/tie if they say something at the beginning about it being more casual
 
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