Hi everyone- I haven't seen a thread about this year's tufts MBS class.. Has anyone applied/heard back yet? I was curious how long it typically takes to hear from them after submitting a final application.
Thanks!
Thanks!
TUFTS MBS 2018-2019
- Thread starter abzphilly
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Congrats! Mine was complete on 3/5 so hoping to hear something soon -- thanks!
I was accepted, and I have till early April to give them a decision. I don't see a current Tufts MBS Facebook page for 18'-19' so I will create one. We can use it to help future students coordinate housing as well
Edit: Just created it. It's titled "Tufts MBS 2018-2019"
Edit: Just created it. It's titled "Tufts MBS 2018-2019"
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Hi everbody!
How long does it generally take to hear a response after the application is complete?
How long does it generally take to hear a response after the application is complete?
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Marked complete on 4/20!
Waiting to hear back from this and BU MAMS. Will be a tough choice to make if I get accepted.
Waiting to hear back from this and BU MAMS. Will be a tough choice to make if I get accepted.
Greetings everyone,
I did the Tufts MBS program last year 2016-2017. Stumbling along this page I think I can offer some points of insight. Also am here to answer any questions about MBS life.
1. Don't expect to get into Tufts Med directly from the MBS. The Dental school allows students with stellar grades to basically finish the MBS program in May and start Dental school in July. For the medical school though the Dean will come speak and basically say if you apply while in the MBS program we'll throw out your application. They expect you to apply the year after you finish your course work and thesis.
2. Tufts Med wants an odd combination of things in your application (this only applies to Tufts med). Tufts doesn't necessarily want the highest GPA, in fact, my 4 friends with 4.0 were all rejected no interviews. The interviewed/accepted people in the MBS class still had high GPAs >3.65, but they were SUPER active in social justice activities around campus and with the underserved population in Boston. Tufts is a public health sort of focused school and look very highly on what you have done for the community.
3. Many people get into medical school, its just not what you think. The stats you see about medical school acceptances doesn't exactly tell the whole story. A majority of the acceptances you see come from one's state school or DO schools. By January of my MBS year I had made the decision that at 29 I could no longer wait for another application cycle. I applied to 1 DO school, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Harlem, interviewed, and was accepted pretty quickly. I had a 3.65 GPA at the end of the MBS and a 512 MCAT. Those stats are the top of the pile at most DO schools and looking back on it I am happy with my decision.
4. Take note of the timing. MBS semester ends in May, AMCAS opens in June. Latest you'd want to take the MCT is July provide you don't want to wait another year. I can't speak personally to studying for the MCAT while in courses but my friends say its pretty difficult. The upside though is that the MCAT material itself is rather easy after MBS. In fact, the lowest retake score I've heard of from people having completed the MBS is a 515. A retake would be essential if you specifically wanted to go to Tufts. They'd want at least a 515 if you are trying to compensate for a lower undergrad GPA.
5. The volume is hard, but manageable. Once you get a hang of forcing yourself to study for 10+ hours you can get in a really good groove and the days fly by. Unfortunately though med school is even more classes (Physical Diagnosis, Anatomy lab, small groups), but the MBS is decent preparation depending on what school you end up at.
I did the Tufts MBS program last year 2016-2017. Stumbling along this page I think I can offer some points of insight. Also am here to answer any questions about MBS life.
1. Don't expect to get into Tufts Med directly from the MBS. The Dental school allows students with stellar grades to basically finish the MBS program in May and start Dental school in July. For the medical school though the Dean will come speak and basically say if you apply while in the MBS program we'll throw out your application. They expect you to apply the year after you finish your course work and thesis.
2. Tufts Med wants an odd combination of things in your application (this only applies to Tufts med). Tufts doesn't necessarily want the highest GPA, in fact, my 4 friends with 4.0 were all rejected no interviews. The interviewed/accepted people in the MBS class still had high GPAs >3.65, but they were SUPER active in social justice activities around campus and with the underserved population in Boston. Tufts is a public health sort of focused school and look very highly on what you have done for the community.
3. Many people get into medical school, its just not what you think. The stats you see about medical school acceptances doesn't exactly tell the whole story. A majority of the acceptances you see come from one's state school or DO schools. By January of my MBS year I had made the decision that at 29 I could no longer wait for another application cycle. I applied to 1 DO school, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Harlem, interviewed, and was accepted pretty quickly. I had a 3.65 GPA at the end of the MBS and a 512 MCAT. Those stats are the top of the pile at most DO schools and looking back on it I am happy with my decision.
4. Take note of the timing. MBS semester ends in May, AMCAS opens in June. Latest you'd want to take the MCT is July provide you don't want to wait another year. I can't speak personally to studying for the MCAT while in courses but my friends say its pretty difficult. The upside though is that the MCAT material itself is rather easy after MBS. In fact, the lowest retake score I've heard of from people having completed the MBS is a 515. A retake would be essential if you specifically wanted to go to Tufts. They'd want at least a 515 if you are trying to compensate for a lower undergrad GPA.
5. The volume is hard, but manageable. Once you get a hang of forcing yourself to study for 10+ hours you can get in a really good groove and the days fly by. Unfortunately though med school is even more classes (Physical Diagnosis, Anatomy lab, small groups), but the MBS is decent preparation depending on what school you end up at.
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If you do not mind, would you be able to answer a few questions?
1) If I'm understanding your statements correctly, you applied to Touro before your 1st year was complete. Do you know how many of your classmates also applied to non-Tufts MD or DO programs before their first MBS year was complete? If so, how much did the potential interview schedules affect their coursework?
2) Of the classmates you mentioned who were active in social justice/undeserved population activities, did they pursue said activities while juggling their coursework? How common was it for people to pursue extracurricular activities while still in the non-thesis portion? From my general understanding of SMPs and your comments of 10+ hours of studying a day, I would have expected that most people would be holed up with books all day.
Thanks for your time. I was accepted (thankfully) but I'm facing some dilemmas on how to plan and proceed. I'm currently thinking of applying to state/DO schools in the summer/fall before/when I enter, so I wanted to get a sense of what other students in the same scenario did.
1) Correct, I actually applied to Touro in January of 2017, got a secondary February, Interview March, Accepted April. I'd say about 20/150 students applied while in Tufts MBS first year. These people, including myself were people who had applied previously and had been waitlisted at their state school or somewhere else, not that that is a requirement. Coursework is going to depend on how well and how fast you learn. Class isn't required at Tufts, so those who had interviews would just go to the interviews and study on plane/train and make up when you get back. Obviously reschedule the interview if it is on an exam day.
2) The classmates that were accepted to Tufts from MBS program that were involved in social justice did so at the risk of decreased grades. But, again like I stated, Tufts cares more about that stuff than an extra .2 on your GPA. You do run the risk though that other Universities won't say the same thing. If you have your heart set on Tufts it would almost be better to have a 3.65 and be SUPER involved in community service than to have a 4.0 or 3.85 and have none.
As far as the 10+ hours of studying a day, its going to depend how you learn and how focused you are. If you can go to the library, not check Facebook or youtube or mess around you can be out in 8hrs or so. If you get distracted or are tired, it might take a bit longer. Also if you are not an auditory learner watching the lectures might take longer to grasp. 2nd semester I did better watching no lectures but reading the syllabus/corresponding textbook, no doubt though auditory learns have a time advantage.
PM me if you want to know more about why I chose to just go DO.
I mean super active social justice/community service which includes Sherwood. Tufts looks very highly on these kinds of actions, don't underestimate them.
Can I ask you what your stats were?
I applied 02-22-18, but still didn’t get a response yet. My MCAT score was very low below 500. But i have a gpa greater than 3.75
What is the course schedule like? Is it blocks or semester-long courses? If blocks, how long is each block? Thanks!!
Most (not all) people who get into this program have stats close to being accepted to an MD school with maybe 1 area weakness.
Going to have to sell yourself pretty well on your personal statement as why you scored so low and how you plan to use Tufts to help you succeed in the future.
Totally anecdotal, but I knew of no one in my class that had below a 508.
Fall Semester termed "Med Foundations I" follows the exact schedule of the MD students. You'll be taking say: Cell bio, Genetics, Biochemistry then have 1 exam 120 questions 3 hrs with all the questions intermixed. Then it switches to Biochem, Histo, Immuno, Genetics with the same type of testing.
In the spring the exams are separate and staggered based upon no real logic except always on Mondays. You'll have say Physiology Monday 60 questions (i think) 2hr time slot then next Monday have anatomy 90 questions 2hrs then Tuesday would be Pathology (easiest class) 50 questions 2hrs.
Not listing all the classes but giving example as best I can from memory. Each semester has its +/- I personally hated the combined longer test, but in the end it makes no difference I scored according to how I studied.
Awesome, thanks for replying! I am looking forward to starting this program
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How long are people usually waiting between completing an application and hearing a response?
I think it varies. For me it was two weeks for others it has been longer
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Accepted today!
Complete: 4/19
Accepted: 5/9
Also got accepted to BU. If anybody has any advice to help me choose one program over the other please let me know.
I set up campus tours for both programs so I'll be able to ask more detailed questions.
Complete: 4/19
Accepted: 5/9
Also got accepted to BU. If anybody has any advice to help me choose one program over the other please let me know.
I set up campus tours for both programs so I'll be able to ask more detailed questions.
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Having trouble with the 500 word personal statement.. I have a pretty solid personal statement in my opinion, but it's 962 words! GAH! Did anyone else have trouble cutting their PS down to meet the word requirement?
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pm me
I called the registration office a month ago and was told that all courses will be selected for individuals in the Master Biomedical Sciences Program and not to worry about registering for courses. I have heard from Financial Aid Office and Public Health Dept on immunization records.
I'm planning to live in the North End. Also, I received an email today from Tufts about housing options.
Is anyone going to open house next week?
I got the same email too. I guess I'll have to start looking for an apartment in the city. I am planning on going to open house next week so Ill see you guys there!
I also did the MBS program, in the same year as neurosciT
I disagree with the "social justice" thing. Most of the people I know who were interviewed/accepted did not have social justice activities around the Boston area. I was very active in Sharewood, and I know plenty of people who were also very active and did not get an interview. I also know that the people most involved in community work/public health didn't get in, despite the fact that their GPAs and MCATs were well within the ranges of accepted MBS students.
I do agree that Tufts wants an odd combination of factors. I was VERY surprised by who got in, who didn't get in, and who didn't even get an interview.
I would say that this is true.
Personally the lowest I have heard of is a <505 and a 507-509 range.
The lowest score I have heard of from someone who got into Tufts after MBS was a 510, and I know several people in the 510-512 range who did get interviewed at Tufts. So it's not like people absolutely need a 515 MCAT to get into Tufts.
Tufts SOM is changing their curriculum next year (I believe that this is the current timeline), and once that happens MBS will no longer be taking classes at the same time as the medical students. This would have been a huge deal for me when I was applying, and I would not have attended Tufts if this had been the case.
I disagree with the "social justice" thing. Most of the people I know who were interviewed/accepted did not have social justice activities around the Boston area. I was very active in Sharewood, and I know plenty of people who were also very active and did not get an interview. I also know that the people most involved in community work/public health didn't get in, despite the fact that their GPAs and MCATs were well within the ranges of accepted MBS students.
I do agree that Tufts wants an odd combination of factors. I was VERY surprised by who got in, who didn't get in, and who didn't even get an interview.
I would say that this is true.
Personally the lowest I have heard of is a <505 and a 507-509 range.
The lowest score I have heard of from someone who got into Tufts after MBS was a 510, and I know several people in the 510-512 range who did get interviewed at Tufts. So it's not like people absolutely need a 515 MCAT to get into Tufts.
Tufts SOM is changing their curriculum next year (I believe that this is the current timeline), and once that happens MBS will no longer be taking classes at the same time as the medical students. This would have been a huge deal for me when I was applying, and I would not have attended Tufts if this had been the case.
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I know you didn't ask for advice, but my advice to you is that it doesn't seem like the MBS program is the best fit. People in MBS who do really well in the medical school admissions process have a good MCAT score but a bad undergrad GPA. This is why MBS admissions tends to favor people with high MCAT scores and low undergrad GPAs. The MBS program is designed for people to show grade improvement, which is not what you need. You need to sit and study for the MCAT and improve your score.
Don't be naive, every year some people in MBS get grades that are most likely going to kill their chances of getting into med school (below 3.5 MBS GPA). If you get below a 3.5 GPA, it is unlikely that a med school will take a chance on you. This is a risk that people who go into MBS take. It only makes sense to take that risk if your undergrad GPA is low to begin with. If your undergrad GPA is high, you are taking this risk for no reason. In fact, I knew 2 people I knew in MBS last year who are considering other career options now because they got low MBS GPAs despite having 3.7+ undergrad GPA going in. MBS is not a game. It can help in the admissions process if you do it right, but it can also kill your chances of getting into med school if you don't perform well.
If you retook your MCAT and made a significant improvement, you could definitely get in with a 3.75+ GPA--why waste $50k in tuition? MBS does not directly prepare you for the MCAT, and in fact it is extremely hard for people to fit in preparing for the MCAT with the MBS program. People either have to do it during the spring semester (which is crammed to hell with exams toward the end) or they spend 1.5 months after the semester ends. That's why I think the admissions committee tends to pick good test takers who just need a GPA boost--that's who the program is really for.
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I already have my personal statement written, but it is 882 words. Are they very strict about the word count? I am having a hard time cutting it down.
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Just committed today. Had to turn down BU.
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Hello everyone!
I was wondering if I could get some advice on how the MCAT Course is when you're doing the program. I scored a 499 1st take and a 498 2nd take with rather minimal studying, so I feel that I could significantly improve my score if I actually got myself into studying for the MCAT enough. I have been accepted to Tufts MBS/MPH and Drexel MBS and I am really unsure of which one to use because I would love to get both degrees at Tufts, but I also want to make sure I do much better on the MCAT. So if anyone knows any information or can give me any insight that would be great.
Thank you!
I was wondering if I could get some advice on how the MCAT Course is when you're doing the program. I scored a 499 1st take and a 498 2nd take with rather minimal studying, so I feel that I could significantly improve my score if I actually got myself into studying for the MCAT enough. I have been accepted to Tufts MBS/MPH and Drexel MBS and I am really unsure of which one to use because I would love to get both degrees at Tufts, but I also want to make sure I do much better on the MCAT. So if anyone knows any information or can give me any insight that would be great.
Thank you!
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How did you decide between the two?
Hey LuDeaux! Sorry I didn't see this till now. It's titled "Tufts MBS 2018-2019" Try searching that, and if you're having trouble still I can find a way to add you in.
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pm me
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I was accepted to this program, as well as the USF MSMS and RFU MBS. Having trouble deciding on one, any insight?
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"A literature or laboratory-based thesis, "
Can someone explain the difference in these two types of theses' to me please
Can someone explain the difference in these two types of theses' to me please
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This is late but I'm planning on applying to this program, but my GPA and MCAT are on the low side (3.5 and 499). Planning on completing this program as a leg up for med school applications and retaking the MCAT. Is there a chance at acceptance to Tufts MBS with these stats?
I am currently a first year in the MBS program and had lower stats than you when applying. Give it a shot, if they believe you will do well here they will accept you.
Lmk if you have any questions
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I PM'd you!
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Do you have any additional information? I am accepted in Tufts MBS program and am wondering how this change impacts MBS program?
