The craiglist killer is a med student!

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I disagree. Even as recently as last night, neither my mom or girlfriend was aware that he was a medical student, but were well aware of the story. This is significant, given that I am leaning heavily toward going to BU (go ahead, make the low MCAT score joke, hehe - it's fair game).

I think the story is just sad any way you look at it. It's most sad for the girls who were killed or terrorized by this guy. It's also sad for the fiance and her family and social network. It's sad for the school who is going to be unfairly associated [to some extent] with this guy's crime. And lastly, though less obviously, it is sad that the pressure to have a nice wedding is so strong that it could drive someone to such measures (clearly, the pressures wouldn't drive just anyone to these measures, but still, the point is that it's an unecessary and really ridiculous pressure).

*** HOPE YOU SEE THE LAST SENTENCE OF MY POST ABOVE, BABY *** 🙂

MegaProjectile said:
I doubt this story would have had the same impact save for the fact that perpetrator/accused is a medical student. If this were some engineering or lawyer student, the local papers may have only covered it.

Despite the dwindling salaries, it would seem the societal respect garnered by the medical profession still remains strong.I mean judging from the initial media reaction they don't seem to be calling for his head like they did for Scott Peterson's.
Sociopaths are a-dime-a-dozen but the guy doesn't seem to "fit" the profile according to media's interpretation. Which sociopath does?:laugh:
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dw2158 said:
i used whatever link was posted earlier.

and... forgive me for this... what is google cache? 😳
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I was going to explain it, but didn't want to hurt feelings if it was known.

Any search term you type into google, underneath the link, on the right side, you can click, 'cached' right next to 'similar pages.'

That is google's memory. so you'll be able to see whatever was last seen on that webpage before it was closed.
 
majahops said:
It's sad for the school who is going to be unfairly associated [to some extent] with this guy's crime. And lastly, and perhaps less obviously, it is sad that the pressure to have a nice wedding is so strong that it could drive someone to such measures (clearly, the pressures wouldn't drive just anyone to these measures, but still, the point is that it's an unecessary and really ridiculous pressure).
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Well, supposedly he had heavy gambling debts. Also, perhaps it's coincidence that BU has admitted two people who have "allegedly" murdered people while in attendance but how many times can lightning strike in the same place?
 
Not that I don't find your posts entertaining and wise for the most part, because I do... But why don't you rephrase that in a more affirmative tone? What are you suggesting, precisely?

drizzt3117 said:
Well, supposedly he had heavy gambling debts. Also, perhaps it's coincidence that BU has admitted two people who have "allegedly" murdered people while in attendance but how many times can lightning strike in the same place?
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majahops said:
Not that I don't find your posts entertaining and wise for the most part, because I do... But why don't you rephrase that in a more affirmative tone? What are you suggesting, precisely?
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I'm suggesting that BU takes an unconventional approach when it comes to med admissions, and it's apparently come back to bite them. As a 2nd/3rd option (until recently, definitely 3rd) in a very desirable city with lots of applicants, I can see why they don't like being someone's backup, and to be fair, I'm not sure it would have been easy for people to screen out people like this current Craiglist killer, but the previous person was supposedly trained as an assassin and arrested for threatening to murder his gf not even 100 miles from Boston. You would think something like that MIGHT not get past the adcom. Certainly it reflects poorly on the school, and I don't think anyone from BU would disagree with that.
 
Fair enough. There's nothing you say there that isn't true... Just wanted to make sure you weren't trying to infer something more.

But it's possible that they use a statistically-informed process that has more to do with efficiency and less to do with "not wanting to be someone's second choice." Most schools chop at the bottom, which makes sense when viewed from the perspective of efficiency's-sake... but we certainly don't attribute this tactic to their "not wanting to be someone's first choice." While I realize those two examples (chopping from top and chopping from bottom) aren't exactly congruent, perhaps BU, as the school which receives more applications than any other school, has come to the conclusion that it also improves efficiency to chop at the top. Sure, you miss out on a lot of great applicants when you chop indiscriminantly from the top, but you also miss out on a lot of great applicants when you chop from the bottom... but I'm guessing you'd never mention the latter as an issue.

To be honest, my guess (and of course this is purely conjecture here) is that of any section of the applicant pool, the middle would probably have the lowest aggregate level of neuroticism. When you add in BU's particular attraction to past community service and clinical experience, you can see how, if anything, they guard strongly AGAINST accepting wackos.

... on the other hand, I could just be a wacko myself, trying to justify my acceptance there. 😛

drizzt3117 said:
I'm suggesting that BU takes an unconventional approach when it comes to med admissions, and it's apparently come back to bite them. As a 2nd/3rd tier school in a very desirable city with lots of applicants, I can see why they don't like being someone's backup, and to be fair, I'm not sure it would have been easy for people to screen out people like this current Craiglist killer, but the previous person was supposedly trained as an assassin and arrested for threatening to murder his gf not even 100 miles from Boston. You would think something like that MIGHT not get past the adcom. Certainly it reflects poorly on the school, and I don't think anyone from BU would disagree with that.
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0Complications said:
😱

What!? That is ******ed... Wouldn't the school want to bolster their stats by accepting people with higher MCAT scores?

Sure, not as many will end up going, but it is counterintuitive to reject them based solely on a high MCAT.

By the way, what was his score?
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Give a seat away to someone who most likely won't attend (ie, not pay tuition) vs give the seat away to someone who most likely will attend.
 
circulus vitios said:
Give a seat away to someone who most likely won't attend (ie, not pay tuition) vs give the seat away to someone who most likely will attend.
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Actually at the beginning of the cycle, BU was one of the schools I was really interested in. I might have seriously considered going there, so I think it's a pretty stupid strategy if you ask me.
 
majahops said:
Fair enough. There's nothign you say there that isn't true... Just wanted to make sure you weren't trying to infer something more.
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I think BU is very embarrassed by this and clearly if they knew this guy liked murdering prostitutes they probably wouldn't have admitted him. That said, I am still inordinately amused by this whole thing. I can see why you might not think it is funny though.

But it's possible that they use a statistically-informed process that has more to do with efficiency and less to do with "not wanting to be someone's second choice." Most schools chop at the bottom, which makes sense. Perhaps BU, as the school which receives more applications than any other school, has come to the conclusion that it also improves efficiency to chop at the top. Sure, you miss out on a lot of great applicants when you chop indiscriminantly from the top, but you also miss out on a lot of great applicants when you chop from the bottom... but I'm guessing you'd never mention that as an issue.
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That would be justified if they were keeping said top tier applicants around until later and then offering them interviews later, which they'd probably decline if they weren't interested. This is the approach some other mid tier schools (notably Rush, Jefferson, and others) tried to do, which brings a certain degree of disdain in and of itself, but I honestly don't see any statistical justification to immediately reject people with high stats, especially hen they obviously didn't take any time to really review their application in a qualitative manner. Do you expect to me to believe that BU read my application thoroughly in the two days between when I was complete and when I got a preinterview rejection? lol
 
No, I'll be the first to admit that BU had a very different, abrupt way of making the "cuts." That said, I know for a fact they read everyone's personal statement and gave it great weight. That's all I know about the process, really.

But I like that you are able to admit that you would have liked to have been considered there. Show's that your not one of these online tough-guys who is never vulnerable.

drizzt3117 said:
I think BU is very embarrassed by this and clearly if they knew this guy liked murdering prostitutes they probably wouldn't have admitted him. That said, I am still inordinately amused by this whole thing. I can see why you might not think it is funny though.



That would be justified if they were keeping said top tier applicants around until later and then offering them interviews later, which they'd probably decline if they weren't interested. This is the approach some other mid tier schools (notably Rush, Jefferson, and others) tried to do, which brings a certain degree of disdain in and of itself, but I honestly don't see any statistical justification to immediately reject people with high stats, especially hen they obviously didn't take any time to really review their application in a qualitative manner. Do you expect to me to believe that BU read my application thoroughly in the two days between when I was complete and when I got a preinterview rejection? lol
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drizzt3117 said:
Do you expect to me to believe that BU read my application thoroughly in the two days between when I was complete and when I got a preinterview rejection? lol
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If BU had to spend two whole days on each and every application, it would probably take them over two years (and I know that's a way under-estimate) to get through one year's application cycle, even taking into consideration that they review many applications a day.

That said, though, the medical school admissions process is way too heavily skewed towards the admissions offices, and since they generally refuse to release any kind of information at all regarding an applicant, it's impossible to say anything without sounding ignorant. Something needs to be changed here, but I suppose the medical applicant's situation isn't general enough for anyone else to give a damn.
 
eghhh i had a couple points over a 33. i got interviewed at BU. rejected post interview tho...... altho it was mdphd. well they were slow to reject but the med school pulled the trigger on me quick
 
majahops said:
No, I'll be the first to admit that BU had a very different, abrupt way of making the "cuts." That said, I know for a fact they read everyone's personal statement and gave it great weight. That's all I know about the process, really.

But I like that you are able to admit that you would have liked to have been considered there. Show's that your not one of these online tough-guys who is never vulnerable.
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LOL. both of my interviewers were like i didnt read your app at all. just tell me what up
 
majahops said:
No, I'll be the first to admit that BU had a very different, abrupt way of making the "cuts." That said, I know for a fact they read everyone's personal statement and gave it great weight. That's all I know about the process, really.
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I dunno about that. I think they first screen people out that aren't in their desired range of stats, then read statements.

But I like that you are able to admit that you would have liked to have been considered there. Show's that your not one of these online tough-guys who is never vulnerable.
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Well, Boston was my #1 choice for location going into the cycle. As it turned out, I did actually get a decent amount of love in the general vicinity but it didn't end up working out. There's always residency though 😀
 
with that said one of my friends last year got accepted with a 3.97 and a 36 to BU. he had no ECs, no clinical, like a month of research cutting heads off mice. he didnt end up going there tho

the first question they ax'ed me was what other schools i applied to
 
fizzle said:
If BU had to spend two whole days on each and every application, it would probably take them over two years (and I know that's a way under-estimate) to get through one year's application cycle, even taking into consideration that they review many applications a day.
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Oh I'm sure they never read my application at all, simply axed it b/c I wasn't in their desired stat ranges.

As far as your other point majahops,

I do think that schools need to have some sort of screening process, and screening out low stat applicants is unfortunate but you certainly have to automate the process to some degree. That said, I don't think doing it for higher stat applicants is a good idea.
 
witness23 said:
eghhh i had a couple points over a 33. i got interviewed at BU. rejected post interview tho...... altho it was mdphd. well they were slow to reject but the med school pulled the trigger on me quick
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I don't think they rejected everyone with a 33 and above, it was probably just the stat range the person was in, who knows though. In any case, WHY would you tell someone that on an interview? lol
 
witness23 said:
with that said one of my friends last year got accepted with a 3.97 and a 36 to BU. he had no ECs, no clinical, like a month of research cutting heads off mice. he didnt end up going there tho

the first question they ax'ed me was what other schools i applied to
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if(AMCAS.getMCAT(k)>33)
{
if(AMCAS.getActivityNumber(k)<=1)
{
then{interview(k)}
else{axe(k)}
}
then{axe(k)}
else{interview(k)}
}


//i prolly got the syntax wrong. haven't programmed anything since AP Comp sci
 
Consolidating, packaging, buying and selling toxic-debt like hotcakes probably wouldn't sound like a good idea to you or I either, but someone MIT number-nut thought it would be. 🙂

drizzt3117 said:
I do think that schools need to have some sort of screening process, and screening out low stat applicants is unfortunate but you certainly have to automate the process to some degree. That said, I don't think doing it for higher stat applicants is a good idea.
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majahops said:
Consolidating, packaging, buying and selling toxic-debt like hotcakes probably wouldn't sound like a good idea to you or I either, but someone MIT number-nut thought it would be. 🙂
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Haha, you probably didn't know that 1) I went to MIT undergrad, and 2) I worked in IB/finance prior to med school but it's amusing nonetheless.

That said, the concept of packaged CDOs seemed pretty dubious to me given the usual level of due diligence taken in home loans prior to the changes in regulation in the industry in the late 90s early 2000s, even given Modigliani-Miller (I understand that one could argue that by setting strict conditions, this assumption violates MM but in practice, one could easily make the argument that nearly unlimited leverage is justifiable and causes a high rate of return). In the end, in hindsight, it seems perfectly clear that incurring huge potential liabilities to make small profits was a risky strategy, and using leverage to make these small profits into large ones is exponentially more risky. That said, by demanding short term profits in excess of expectations as de rigeur as a society, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
 
My big bro went to MIT for business school and works in CDOs at you know where. It's pretty crazy how obviously disgusting the situation is/was, but I'm confident they'd do it all over again the same way if they had the chance. 😎

drizzt3117 said:
Haha, you probably didn't know that 1) I went to MIT undergrad, and 2) I worked in IB/finance prior to med school but it's amusing nonetheless.

That said, the concept of packaged CDOs seemed pretty dubious to me given the usual level of due diligence taken in home loans prior to the changes in regulation in the industry in the late 90s early 2000s, even given Modigliani-Miller (I understand that one could argue that by setting strict conditions, this assumption violates MM but in practice, one could easily make the argument that nearly unlimited leverage is justifiable and causes a high rate of return). In the end, in hindsight, it seems perfectly clear that incurring huge potential liabilities to make small profits was a risky strategy, and using leverage to make these small profits into large ones is exponentially more risky. That said, by demanding short term profits in excess of expectations as de rigeur as a society, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
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drizzt3117 said:
Haha, you probably didn't know that 1) I went to MIT undergrad, and 2) I worked in IB/finance prior to med school but it's amusing nonetheless.

That said, the concept of packaged CDOs seemed pretty dubious to me given the usual level of due diligence taken in home loans prior to the changes in regulation in the industry in the late 90s early 2000s, even given Modigliani-Miller (I understand that one could argue that by setting strict conditions, this assumption violates MM but in practice, one could easily make the argument that nearly unlimited leverage is justifiable and causes a high rate of return). In the end, in hindsight, it seems perfectly clear that incurring huge potential liabilities to make small profits was a risky strategy, and using leverage to make these small profits into large ones is exponentially more risky. That said, by demanding short term profits in excess of expectations as de rigeur as a society, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
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Quite the Monday morning quarterback we have here.

You could have prevented the financial crisis and prevented the admission of a murderer into medical school. Did you mention that on your personal statement?
 
btc said:
quite the monday morning quarterback we have here.

You could have prevented the financial crisis and prevented the admission of a murderer into medical school. Did you mention that on your personal statement?
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:laugh:
 
BTC said:
Quite the Monday morning quarterback we have here.

You could have prevented the financial crisis and prevented the admission of a murderer into medical school. Did you mention that on your personal statement?
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Actually I wrote my personal statement on how it's annoying when people make the straw man argument.

I didn't claim to know better than anyone else about the financial crisis. In fact, I clearly said that due to demanding short term returns as a society, we had no one to blame except ourselves. Obviously that's EXACTLY the same thing as being able to prevent the financial crisis. I don't think taking the position that Americans have a short-term view on most things is even controversial, nevermind grandiose.

I also said that it would be difficult if not impossible to identify this particular murderer through the interview process as he had no criminal record, but that the LAST murderer that BU had admitted had been arrested for accusing to kill his g/f. I don't think it's too much to ask for a med school to not acept those that were arrested for threatening murder but perhaps it's just me. I guess who are we to judge...
 
BTC said:
Quite the Monday morning quarterback we have here.

You could have prevented the financial crisis and prevented the admission of a murderer into medical school. Did you mention that on your personal statement?
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I also heard that drizzt warned Kennedy about going to Dallas.
 
NotAndrew said:
I heard that drizzt warned Lincoln that the play was not worth seeing.
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I told him there might not be a happy ending if he saw it, but I guess I should have been more specific. My friends call me Cassandra, btw.
 
I'm Jesus of Nazureth. Nice to meet you, Cassandra. So, doin' the med school thing, eh? Not a bad gig, not a bad gig. Oh me? I walk on water, biotch!

drizzt3117 said:
I told him there might not be a happy ending if he saw it, but I guess I should have been more specific. My friends call me Cassandra, btw.
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drizzt3117 said:
I told him there might not be a happy ending if he saw it, but I guess I should have been more specific. My friends call me Cassandra, btw.
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Took me like three minutes to get.


Also: the Craigslist CEO is going to be on CNN in like 2 minutes.
 
MilkmanAl said:
I really enjoy how this thread has been shamelessly driven towards whining about not getting into BU. :laugh: Time to let it go.
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I'll be the very to admit that I'm definitely experiencing some schadenfreude and amusement over this whole situation, simply because BU's high-handed declaration that they thought some nebulous definition of fit got them a better student body and "careful" reading of personal statements has led them to admit a couple of murderers. I don't think it's as much whining/bitterness than amusement though 😀
 
I don't think there's anything amusing about it. A woman is dead and this murdering punk kid, who surely would have gone elsewhere if he didn't go to BU, was set to become a doctor. It's absolutely tragic.
 
Considering I got rejected from BU within like 3 days of being complete.. I mean, c'mon, throw me a bone here. I agree a little bit with drizzt, there's a little of schaedenfreude to be found but it's still tragic as majahops says. It's pretty bad business for everyone involved with BU.
 
drizzt3117 said:
I'll be the very to admit that I'm definitely experiencing some schadenfreude and amusement over this whole situation, simply because BU's high-handed declaration that they thought some nebulous definition of fit got them a better student body and "careful" reading of personal statements has led them to admit a couple of murderers. I don't think it's as much whining/bitterness than amusement though 😀
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Since there is nothing whatsoever "amusing" about any of this, I vote for whining/bitter in your case.

Why is it "high-handed" for a school to reject you, or anyone for that matter?
 
matter of fact, i might have wrote addressed my BU secondary essay (or maybe the mdphd essay) as Tufts. im pretty sure i wrote tufts instead of bu. i actually applied late there and got an interview really soon too. maybe mdphd app works differently, no sure.


people there were awesome though. i would have loved to hang out with them. minus one.
 
I agree... and not trying to be uptight... I just feel so bad for those girls. It's one thing to be in a situation where you [feel you] need to do sexually-related things for money, it's another thing to be robbed or killed while doing them. Just so sad.

RoadRunner17 said:
Considering I got rejected from BU within like 3 days of being complete.. I mean, c'mon, throw me a bone here. I agree a little bit with drizzt, there's a little of schaedenfreude to be found but it's still tragic as majahops says. It's pretty bad business for everyone involved with BU.
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I have no idea how he could have killed such an attractive woman.
 
drizzt3117 said:
BTW, my buddy last cycle had an interviewer at BU tell him straight up that he would have gotten the pre-interview axe if his MCAT were one point higher... clearly domestic violence > high MCAT, at least for BU.
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You said he had a 3.85 and a 33 and would have been rejected if his MCAT were one point higher?

According to the 2010-2011 MSAR the median accepted BU MCAT was a 33Q, and the 90% was a 38S... not sure how true these stories of BU screening out "over-qualified" applicants are...
 
rkells said:
You said he had a 3.85 and a 33 and would have been rejected if his MCAT were one point higher?

According to the 2010-2011 MSAR the median accepted BU MCAT was a 33Q, and the 90% was a 38S... not sure how true these stories of BU screening out "over-qualified" applicants are...
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omg i'm your biggest fan. i pre-ordered the trapped in the closet dvd on amazon. watched it when it shipped. with the commentaries.
 
I'm not so sure about the cutoff. I had 4.0/40 and I got an interview there. Granted, it was for the MD/PhD program and got waitlisted. When I interviewed with the director, his tone made it sound like he was completely sure I wasn't going to go there if I got in... which was true because I had gotten into UVA a few days earlier and I already got the tickets. They're all very nice people though and Boston seemed like a good school.
 
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i dont see why BU is dragged in the discussion.. lets be mature and remember that a student or two dont represent a big institution.
 
This whole question of whether the dude would have been screened out by BU if they had a better admissions process is ridiculous.

How many pre-meds end up committing suicide? A lot. How many doctors end up with drug problems? Even more.

Did whatever med school fail to properly screen these people? What do you want to do? Psych evals on every applicant? And even if you did, how many people could lie their way though that?

All I'm saying is that it's impossible, regardless of screening or background checks, to make the medical community immune to drug dealers, takers, murders, rapists, and people who go 66 in a 65, because that's illegal, too.

Med school, is a microcosm of society - although a skewed one, live with it.
 
You have to admit though... it is interesting.
 
People are only bringing up the admissions process because BUSM is known for making some surprising decisions. I highly doubt we'd be discussing this if it were any other school. Obviously no one is seriously trying to make any sort of a connection it's just fun to talk about.
 
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