@collegemom3717 Is right on the money. Your essays will be important. You also have an additional hurdle in that you are Asian and going into STEM/medicine. Try to pull out something unusual that is non-stereotypical ( for anyone). It would frankly, be easier if you weren’t going into Stem as an Asian student. Have you ever thought of combining subjects, bio and ethics for example or Chem and econ. It’s much easier to gain acceptance to these top schools if you can paint a picture of what you want to do rather than showing a list of stats. And many med students have a varied background.
Also, I think BU is very attuned to being used as a safety. It’s highly unlikely you will pull it off. You should look at their program and find a way to discuss why you would pursue it. Also, BU (and Northeastern) have risen in ranking and accept a totally different student than was the case a decade ago. They will also likely know if you are truly interested or just pretending. Many students actually like the large student body and atmosphere of both schools. My spouse went to BU ( a long long time ago) and has a friend who is a Dean. They laugh about how hard it is to get into BU now. And BU has some great research programs that even Harvard doesn’t have. So very different and those getting accepted to these programs know why they want to attend.