tufts and bu kiddies?

[nichols195]

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Could those of you who have interviewed at tufts or bu, or have already scheduled future interviews list your gpa/mcat?

Here is another question. Why do these schools not have significantly higher gpa/mcat averages considering the insane number of applications both of these schools receive each year. Are they more interested in life experiences/extracurriculars? Just curious.

I just recently finished up secondaries for all my schools so I have not had time to really hear back from anyone yet.

 

[Yogi Bear]

i think it's boils down to being a school with admissions requirements that fit the profile of many applicants as well as being located in an awesome city.

 

[nichols195]

i am aware of why they have so many applicants...i was wondering why they do not have higher overall gpa/mcat stats despite being good schools in an awesome city. Is the gpa/mcat less of a factor with more preference given to unique attributes/life experience/extracurriculars?

 

[Premed2003]

It's because people with high stats are accepted, but don't go....so they accept people with lower stats. They only have a 1/3 matriculation rate, so lots of people with lower stats matriculate and those with the high stats go to better schools.

 

[CRAZYTERP]

Originally posted by Premed2003
It's because people with high stats are accepted, but don't go....so they accept people with lower stats. They only have a 1/3 matriculation rate, so lots of people with lower stats matriculate and those with the high stats go to better schools.

I would be weary of saying people do not go to Tufts or Bu because they get into better schools. I mean you may for instance piss some poeple, like myself off who really want to go to Boston. However, I would argue that the pice tag makes both these schools very unattractive and if you have the choice of paying 15,000/year at a state school that is also good vs 36,000 for BU and another 15,000 for living in Boston you may choose your school based on money. I have been to BU and I do not consider it inferior to other schools whose primary goal is to produce clinicans rather than researchers.

-CT

 

[Premed2003]

Unfortunately, the students at BU told me that they like their school, but there are a lot of negatives. They wouldn't elaborate though. They said it's good clinical training, but when I asked what else is good, they said well the clinical training is really great. I don't think this speaks well to the school.

Other people on the tour asked why the students decided to come to BU and they said it was the best place they got in. Whereas at other schools, they said because it's so great at this or so great at that....these students were just stuck at this school and didn't particularly want to be there.

I didn't meet anyone who got into Harvard who went to BU instead...though they admit people who got into Harvard. This is what I meant by my post that was in response to the original question They admit people with high numbers, but they don't come. So the matriculating class has lower numbers.

For me at least, BU is definitely not for me. I think a lot of people feel this way as well. A lot of people on my interview day left with a negative feeling about the school -- doesn't help when they're trying to steal people away from going to better schools. It would help if the admissions office hired students who were excited about the school -- which makes you wonder if anyone is excited about the school if the people they hire are so down about the school.

 

[Katie]

I can't speak for BU, but as a second year at Tufts it does seem to me that Tufts is one of the better schools for looking beyond stats. They also seem to strongly consider state of residence, undergrad institution, and extracurriculars. Although BU currently has better research facilities, students at Tufts seem to be getting the better deal in terms of clinical exposure during the first 2 years, and Tufts students generally seem to be happier with their school than BU students. The average stats for the class of 2006 were 3.48 and 30, but a large number of students came from Tufts undergrad and a significant number from Cornell, Harvard, Brandeis, and UC Berkeley as well. None of these schools are exactly "easy", and I think TUSM takes that strongly into consideration while assessing a candidate's stats. I went to my state school for undergrad and had a 3.62 and 29 MCAT. I have found that most students here were not admitted to their state med school, but there are plenty of exceptions to that rule as well, and a large number of students also chose Tufts over BU or other similar schools from what I gather of my conversations with classmates. hope that helps, good luck to you!