BU Impressions

[Explosivo]

O.k. so I just got my second interview offer the other day but I never thought it would come from BU considering the fact that they interview less than 10% of applicants. Took me completely by surprise. Right now i'm scurrying to get as much info as I can on the school.

Anyway, I'm trying to do some research to see what its all about and I was wondering what are the general impressions SDNers have of the school besides the fact that it costs an arm and a leg to go there. I know they are ranked which is good but that's about it. The interview feedbacks that I have read on BU have generally been good but there were a few very negative ones mixed in which raises a bit of a yellow flag for me.

P.S.-If any of you that have interviewed there have any travel/hotel tips to share let me know as I have never been to Boston so I'm not sure what to expect.

thanks

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[pAkhtmAn]

Hey Exposivo,
How long did it take them to get back to you after you completed your application? Also, did your invite come through email or snail mail?

thanks,
thE pAkht

 

[Explosivo]

I was complete in early October so it took them about a month and a half to get back to me with this. Up to this point I had written them off but they *really* surprised me the other day. I have no idea why they're interested in interviewing me since I've been snubbed at so many other schools (even the private ones in my state) but hey I'll take it. The invite came via snail mail and was dated the 13th of November.

 

[zer0el]

i sent in my check/photo late, so i haven't heard back from them. the people that i know that interviewed there had negative impressions of the place compared to other schools they interviewed at. the negativity came mostly from the apathy displayed by both staff and students. the students especially appeared thankful that they were in med school, but that was about it. my friends said that it was hard for the students to show any interest during the interview day, which may be a bad sign cuz usually the students that are involved in interview days tend to be the school's most supportive. they also told me that the facilities were somewhat crummy. i dunno how much of this is true, but one of my friends said he would absolutely not attend the school if accepted. as always, if i were u i'd check it out to see if u fit in.

 

[BobbyDylanFan]

Originally posted by Explosivo
O.k. so I just got my second interview offer the other day but I never thought it would come from BU considering the fact that they interview less than 10% of applicants. Took me completely by surprise. Right now i'm scurrying to get as much info as I can on the school.

Anyway, I'm trying to do some research to see what its all about and I was wondering what are the general impressions SDNers have of the school besides the fact that it costs an arm and a leg to go there. I know they are ranked which is good but that's about it. The interview feedbacks that I have read on BU have generally been good but there were a few very negative ones mixed in which raises a bit of a yellow flag for me.

P.S.-If any of you that have interviewed there have any travel/hotel tips to share let me know as I have never been to Boston so I'm not sure what to expect.

thanks

HI Explosivo,

I can't give you much info on the stuff like their curriculum, student life, etc. but I can tell you about their campus as I work at BUSM (which is at a different location than the main campus). The campus is very urban, they have a grass lawn out in front of the school, but thats about the only place you'll see it. I doubt there is much student housing available. The hospital is adjacent to the medical school and serves a large percentage of boston's underserved peoples. As far as hotel and travel go: If you take a cab from the airport to downtown it will cost approx $20 - $25. However you can take the T (subway) from their which costs $1!! Hotels in Boston are expensive, and of course it depends on where you stay but if you are looking at downtown ones, they would be no less than $100 /night, and other ones (like the hotel at the airport) aren't that much cheaper. I go to school at Northeastern University and live about a 15 min walk from BU's med school or a 10 min bus ride. As I stated on the sdners willing to host people for interviews, my offer still stands: if you need a place to stay i could host you, let me know. Good luck at BU

 

[jalan2]

I haven't been there either but I have an interview invite with them. If you're planning to stay in the hotel, go through Priceline.com. I've had my hotel room near downtown booked for only $55 + tax + $5.95 priceline fee. Good luck!

 

[Adcadet]

I think this page is invaluable: http://www.amsa.org/resource/cardev/medsurveyresults.cfm
I'll do a little cutting and pasting...hopefully the format comes out OK.



Learning environment (for this question only: 1=competitive, 5=cooperative student body) 3.1 (1.1)

Opportunities to get involved in extracurricular activities and level of student involvement 4.5 (0.7)

Geography
Boston
Safety of the campus 2.6 (0.9)
Enjoyment of the area 3.9 (1.2)

Supportive Environment for:
Boston
Careers in primary care 3.7 (1.0)
Underrepresented ethnic minorities 3.0 (1.4)
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual students 3.4 (1.4)
Students with disabilities 2.6 (1.2)
Married students 3.8 (1.1)

Academics (Years 1 & 2):
Boston
Quality of teaching in years 1 and 2 3.2 (1.1)
Adequacy of curriculum in preparing you for USMLE Step 1 3.3 (1.3)
Hours per week in lectures for students in traditional curriculum (actual hours, not rated according to scale above) 28.5 (10.1)
Opportunities for patient interaction in the year 1 and 2 curriculum 3.7 (1.2)

Academics (Years 3 & 4):
Boston
Quality of teaching in years 3 and 4 4.5 (0.7)
Amount of responsibility given to students for patient care 4.5 (0.7)
Overall assessment of the clinical training at your school 4.6 (0.7)

Facilities
Boston
Adequacy of computer labs 3.4 (1.4)
Adequacy of libraries 2.7 (1.4)
Adequacy of study space 2.7 (1.3)

Administration
Boston
Helpfulness of administration, i.e. Dean of Students 3.1 (1.5)
Financial aid counseling 2.6 (1.5)
Administration's support/encouragement of student organizations 3.7 (1.3)
Student involvement in administrative decisions, i.e. admissions, curriculum, etc. 3.2 (1.3)

Opportunities
Boston
For research 4.1 (1.0)
To receive career guidance and mentoring 3.3 (1.2)
For experience with underserved populations 4.8 (0.4)

Overall satisfaction
Boston
Provide an overall rating of your school 3.9 (1.1)

Open Questions
What do you like best about your school?

* Boston University School of Medicine being in Boston
* being in boston
* It's located in Boston
* The clinical training in 3rd and 4th year are really very good. Also, in the first 2 years, I had a lot of exposure to patients that made the first 2 years more bearable.
* Amazing 3rd/4th year clinical experience Diversity of patient population in regards to disease and socio-econ status of patients.
* Although the facilities are poor (computers, library, general medical campus) the clinical training is amazing and if you excel, you can pick any residency you want. The school has a great reputation when it comes to residency selection.
* lots of student involvement in community activities
* Inner City setting, w/ great patient population to learn from. underserved, minority/immigrant patients. young inhospital pop. Great departments so options to go into any specialty is there.
* I feel that the clinical training I have received has been excellent, and I was very well-prepared for the USMLE I and II with minimal additional studying

What do you like least about your school?

Boston University School of Medicine
* the competitive atmosphere
* Administration, Expenses
* still honor/pass/no pass many students except from courses if they come through a boston ba/md or ma programs.
* The curriculum - not everybody takes the same course load yet everybody is graded on the same scale!
* The first 2 years. The lectures were not very helpful-- 80%+ were Slide presentations with the lecturer reading from them. Not a great teaching method, despite our gripes.
* COST
* Again, facilities are terrible, but will hopefully improve due to major complaints. As with most private schools, the cost is high but BU does little to help those who come from families above the poverty level. Expect $150K-$200K of debt.
* lots of red-tape
* Tuition is insane. You will have a mortgage by the end of med-school and won't have a house to show for it. Pt. exposure first two yrs is minimal but it's made up for during 3rd yr.
* The tuition

Please share any other thoughts you may have about your school.

Boston University School of Medicine
* Run like a business
* expensive, but a good school
* Don't come unless this is the only school that accepts you.
* Boston is a great city to learn medicine. The residents here are very smart, so my training as a 3rd and 4th year makes it ever so much more valuable. I think it's important to have great residents, because as a medical student, you spend most of your time with them, not the attendings (at least here at BU). If you needed help with something trivial and don't want to ask the attending since they're busy, the residents are right there for you.
* Why don't you collaborate with the AAMC study?! It's their Graduate Questionaire? They get more specific and I feel that if you two collaborated (from both the student's and school's side) EVERYBODY would benefit!
* GREAT CLINICAL YEARS VERY GOOD TEACHING
* With all that said, it is an amazing school when it comes to clinical preparedness.

 

[Bounty]

Explosivo,

I had also read a lot of negative things about the school before I went but keep an open mind and I think you will be pleasantly surprised like I was. The students i talked to all seemed happy and friendly. They were going to some med school party that night at a club and seemed excited about it (they even invited all the interviewees to go hang out too!)

I like Boston a lot and think it would be a cool place to go to school. Also, i didnt really think the facilities were worse than at any other school. The Boston Med Center sees some huge percentage of the uninsured/poorer population in Boston and has a really active trauma center so i think it would be a good thing to experience. There seems to be a lot of early clinical exposure too which is nice. The anatomy lab has a cool view of the downtown Boston skyline.

Let's see - if I think of anything else, i'll let you know. If you have any more specific questions, id be more than happy to answer them.

Bounty

 

[jimbo21]

hey, does anyone mind posting what sort of numbers it takes to get an interview at BU... I just got the request for $100 from them and I dont know if I really want to pay it. would a 3.4, 31R be competitive?

 

[lola]

i think it takes a big stroke of luck to get an interview from bu. i'd imagine your stats are somewhat competitive but with 8000 applicants, who the freak knows what will get you an interview?!

 

[cin1012]

Hi Explosivo and everyone else,
I'm currently a first year at BUSM. I really love this school. However there are few things that people should be aware of before making their decisions, i.e. the mixed student population and course loads due to different pathways that students are accepted through (GMS, SMED, and etc.) Grading system will soon be P/F though. If anyone has any questions feel free to PM me.

 

[ItNeverEnds]

BU Medical is located in a pretty crummy area of Boston. Make sure you talk to some of the students to see if they actually enjoy the school. Several of my friends are in the program and are there simply because they were accepted out of the MA in Medical Sciences program. Clinical training is good -- obviously, you're in Boston -- but years 1 and 2 could be MUCH more improved.