Boston BS/MD

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
1

i am interested in applying to Boston BS/MD with an unweighted GPA of 3.83, is it too low?

2

Not too low if you have everything else perfect or close to it. BU doesn’t go crazy after GPA like some of these programs. You may want to refer to their latest common data set, section C7, page 10. Good luck!

https://www.bu.edu/oir/files/2018/03/cds-2018.pdf

3

The requirements for BA/MD are significantly higher than for regular undergraduate admission.

4

I personally know students who have gotten in with a ~3.8 GPA - but their SAT scores are usually >1550 and their essays are spectacular. BU really puts an emphasis on unique/strong essays that show a passion for medicine. Most students who get into BU smed have near perfect GPAs.

5

As other stated you can get in with 3.8GPA if other parts SAT/ACT, EC’s and your Essay blows them away. In other words you will need perfection everywhere else.

6

Try to demonstrate your mastery over the subjects by scoring very well on Chem and Math2 SAT subject tests (requirement) and also 5s on APs related to as many as possible in BCPM (Bio, Chem, Phys, Math). That way you will be sending them a convincing message that you are as good, and perhaps even better than those applying with higher gpas, but probably a shade lower in gpa because of high competition in a tough school. (they understand, themselves being a tough school). Also academic rigor considered as their top priority in selections across the board.

7

what kind of EC’s would help in my situation?
thanks for some great feedback.

8

There is also a required interview on campus.

9

So should the common app personal statement essay have a focus on med?

10

So should the common app personal statement essay have a focus on med?
@theperfectmed1

11

@28739collegegirl
Not necessarily. Almost all the programs, expects some essay / prompts in the secondary application for BS/MD and there you can state your desire for medicine.

For future posts, use this thread than creating a new thread.

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/multiple-degree-programs/2081864-official-thread-for-bsmd-applicants-2019.html#latest

12

@28739collegegirl - the commonapp doesn’t have to a focus on medicine. I’ve seen commonapp essays about starting an education focused non-profit, leadership in school clubs, golf, and international health experiences all work for the commonapp essay for BU SMED. As @GoldenRock said, you can show your passion for medicine in the supplemental essays!

13

Hi

Anyone got interview invite to Boston BS/MD next month?

14

BU Interview dates so far Jan 25, 28 and Jan 31st.

15

BU SMED BSMD interview dates - They will interview total of 80 candidates on four days (Friday January 25, Monday January 28, Thursday January 31, and Friday February 8). 2 backup dates Feb 14 and 15 for snow outs.

16

My S will be there for interview on Jan 25th…

17

Any tips for the interview day???

18

Few tips I can randomly come up,

  1. The most common, be yourself. Don't carry the weight of interview on your shoulder, something like, this is it, make or break.
  2. If you have had any research exposure, be prepared to delve over it in your discussions in depth. Convey your enthusiasm uncovered during the experience. But don't panic if anything asked beyond the scope of your work or don't know. Convey the same. If you haven't had any research exposure, don't worry.
  3. Don't be under any rush to answer right away. If something asked which involves some time to recollect or think over, say so to the interviewer and pause.
  4. Don't heed to the advice some folks give about always making eye contact. No, you can look away while collecting thoughts and then restore the eye contact when resuming the conversation.
  5. The first of the interviews is with a faculty of arts and science. They may not be too keen on knowing why you want to do medicine and what made you come up with the decision so early in life. They may assess your general personality. The second interview with a med school faculty may be more interested in the above.
  6. Since this is a liberal arts focused program, It is possible the faculty of arts and science may notice that you may have completed course work in their field (a rare possibility though), such as history, psych, human geography, government etc, especially if you are currently studying one, they may ask you few questions about the course work. So brush up relevant material in any such course work you are currently taking in senior year. If the faculty is from science, they mostly won't care.
19

Thanks @rk2017

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  1. Feel free to ask the interviewer any questions yourself, such as for example asking an anthropology or philosophy faculty member who may be interviewing you about how their field relates to medicine. Express curiosity in their field or background if you get time and chance. If you have any prior knowledge or exposure to their area from your general outside the class reading, no matter how small it may have been, let it be known. They are not going to test your knowledge.