Any current BU students who have been working for some time?

[gambolholic]

Some background: I am currently in my late 20s and after working several years and getting another masters degree in a field I was not really interested in, I am in the midst of deciding whether to start pursuing an MPH in the fall.

I am interested in BU (although I also got into Tufts), but one thing that I noticed in a couple of classes that I visited was that there was a big chunk of students who were undergraduate. In one class, I sat in on a group's brainstorming session for their final project, and all but one were undergraduate. From what I've heard from past students and read on other forums, there is a trend towards fewer students starting the program with work experience, as well as some concern about catering to students who have little professional experience and do not seem to know how to work in groups.

I am by no means saying that undergraduates (or people who are coming straight from undergrad) are bad students who cannot add substantial discussion and wisdom. I would just love to also hear from older students who currently attend BU to see what they thought, as I haven't been able to find any! I don't mind being the oldest one in the room, which is probably going to be the case with a lot of my classes, but I just want reassurance that the training still felt like graduate-level, professional training, even with the trend towards a younger, less experienced student body.

Thanks!

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[moonwave89]

I'm not a current BU student, but I did take a day class and an evening class as a non-degree student there while working full time last year (I'm in my mid-20s). The day class I took seemed like it had a lot more younger students, although 2 of my group members were working (1 was a clinical postdoc and another was an RA, both at BMC). The evening class had a lot more working professionals (I'm inclined to say at least 1/3 worked during the day). The person I sat next to in that class was an older PhD candidate in biostats. The 2 TAs also worked full time. So although it's a mix of ages and experience, I don't think that makes the coursework any less rigorous or professional. BU's curriculum is very part-time/working professional friendly and also oriented to providing practical, professional skills in general so if you're worried about the experience level of younger students, you might feel more comfortable registering for the evening courses.

I was also accepted into Tufts, which is also part-time/working professional friendly. Their program seems to be more clinical (and I'd assume include more MDs in the classes) since it is within the School of Medicine. Hope that helps.