BU Medical Science Graduates?

[benelswick]

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I know this has been answered in various threads separately but if you wouldn't minding posting, here's my question?

What sense did you get about the proportion of your classmates who were accepted to BU school of Medicne?

For personal-relationship reasons I am restricted to cosmopolitan areas for school, and so even though I know graduates have had good success rates getting into med schools period I wanted to know the likelyhood of getting a BU spot or maybe a spot in a med school in NYC presuming a good performance in the program?

Thanks....and congrat's to all the new med students i've been following your stories and they've been inspirational!--Ben.

 

[Singing Devil]

This is a really difficult question to answer unless you attend BU Med. The problem is that not everybody who gets in to BU does so after two years. Some are applying after their first year, some after their second, some after their third (some of those for a second time), and some people turn BU down and go elsewhere. I know that a large number of BU grads from my year (I'm a second year) are no longer around school or aren't in Boston, so it's hard to keep track. The best thing would be to ask the GMS office, because otherwise, it's really very hard to tell. They used to tell us it's around 30 spots that are sort of reserved for GMS people (provided, of course, that there are 30 qualified GMS people, which there usually are).

There's always talk, e.g. so-and-so got in, oh really, so did so-and-so and this other person, yada, yada, yada, but it's all talk, and so isn't reliable.

 

[Fusion]

The number of GMS'ers that they actually take into the first-year class is lower than what you may think. I was in the program form Sept 2002-May 2004. According to a good friend of mine who is in his first year at BU Med, only about a dozen or so ppl from our class started at BU in Fall 2004 (although a very small number started in Fall 2003). Our class had about 100 students, so roughly 12-15% matriculated at BU. From what I understand, this is not unusual, though Singing Devil probably has more recent info. But if you are looking to get into any med school in the U.S., the program is an excellent opportunity and will get you noticed by med schools (provided you do well, of course).

As for NYC schools, one guy I know had an interview at AE (among several other schools), and another girl got into Downstate (state resident).

 

[B Baby82]

On that note about success in the BU program increasing the chances of getting into a lot of schools in the US, has anyone had success getting into any med schools in the south (particulary florida)? I'm graduating from UF in the fall and really interested in the BU program starting fall 2006 and would love to be able to return to my home state for med school. I've never seen any posts about the range in terms of locations that people have been able to get into after the program. Thanks!

 

[Fusion]

On that note about success in the BU program increasing the chances of getting into a lot of schools in the US, has anyone had success getting into any med schools in the south (particulary florida)? I'm graduating from UF in the fall and really interested in the BU program starting fall 2006 and would love to be able to return to my home state for med school. I've never seen any posts about the range in terms of locations that people have been able to get into after the program. Thanks!

Actually, I am a Florida resident myself. I applied to USF and FSU and managed to get an interview at USF (and LECOM-Bradenton if you are interested in applying to DO as well - I didn't bother applying to UF or Miami). Although the USF interview went pretty well, I was put on the bottom of the waitlist in early December and just recently got rejected. Unfortunately, the Florida schools generally don't seem to be especially open to the "born again" pre-med (i.e., those of us who did crappy in undergrad but have since demonstrated our aptitude and genuine commitment to medicine) With that said, however, USF and Miami are on the list of schools at which BU GMS graduates have matriculated in the past. BU students get into med schools all over the country, though there are certainly some schools that really like our program. I have had three other interviews from schools out of state and am excited at the prospects. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

 

[benelswick]

Wow I gotta say for the price of the program...12-15% for a homecourt advantage sucks! I mean I'm sure most of the applicants are pretty good. That's completely unimpressive. I feel like a masters from UCSF in real distinct field would do the same for my application at a fraction of that price. Hmmm...thanks for the insight. Too bad the ros franklin program is in Chicago..I don't think my wife would like to spend 5 years there.

 

[Fusion]

Wow I gotta say for the price of the program...12-15% for a homecourt advantage sucks! I mean I'm sure most of the applicants are pretty good. That's completely unimpressive. I feel like a masters from UCSF in real distinct field would do the same for my application at a fraction of that price. Hmmm...thanks for the insight. Too bad the ros franklin program is in Chicago..I don't think my wife would like to spend 5 years there.

The AP Program at RFU is probably the most effective with regards to the proportion of students getting into their MD program after one year and not having to do a thesis. You should really look into it or another SMP-type program (like the ones at Georgetown and Drexel) over a traditional graduate program. The chance to take courses alongside med students is the best way to prove yourself. Chicago's not a bad place either, even though the campus is about an hour north of the city. If you want to get into med school, you do what you gotta do. Your wife may not be to keen on it at first, but she'll come around. 🙂

 

[benelswick]

yeah...you're right. you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[bivwack]

Wow I gotta say for the price of the program...12-15% for a homecourt advantage sucks! I mean I'm sure most of the applicants are pretty good. That's completely unimpressive. I feel like a masters from UCSF in real distinct field would do the same for my application at a fraction of that price. Hmmm...thanks for the insight. Too bad the ros franklin program is in Chicago..I don't think my wife would like to spend 5 years there.

I was in the GMS program from 2001-02, and now i'm a MS2 @ BU. theer are about a dozen or so people in my class that did the GMS @ the same time i did, and a fewe who did it the year after. But to say that only 12-15% of the GMS class gets accepted inst realy the case, b/c not everyone in the GMS progam who applys and is accepted into the program plans on attending. I knew a few peaple in my program that submitted an application, but no plans to attend if accepted, and a few that had no intention to apply to BU when finished.

So I think it would be fair to say maybee 1/4 -1/3 who apply to BUSM from the GMS program get acceptances from BU, but those same students probably have been accepted to other schools as well. I was told most of those that turn down acceptances, do so b/c they where also aceted to (less expensive ) state schools.

 

[lightnk102]

A 12-15% acceptance rate is still a lot higher than a 5% acceptance rate you would otherwise have (which i believe is average acceptance rate to a medical school. someone correct me if i'm wrong). In addition, you can't lose sight of the true purpose of the program - which is a chance for the professors and admissions commitee members to get to know you better than they would in a 30 minute interview. Many of the people who teach are on the admissions committee. It would obviously be a significant home court advantage to have someone personally vouching for you inside the boardroom as opposed to just being one more of the 9000 applications that BU gets per year.

The numbers I've been told are consistent with what everyone else has been saying. I was told that approximately 15 people get in every year, give or take a few. I don't know whether that's 1st and 2nd GMS students combined or not.

The GMS office keeps track of statistics. You could call and ask for a list of schools where former graduates have matriculated in the past.