Frequently Asked Questions
Contact Us
Preferred Method of Contact: Message Center
Boston University School of Medicine Admissions Office:
Phone: 617-358-9540
Email: medadms@bu.edu
Mailing Address:
Office of Admissions
72 East Concord Street
L-124
Boston, MA 02118
MD-PhD Program Contact:
Phone: 617-358-9518
Email: gmsuser@bu.edu
Letters of Recommendation
Q: My required letters have been received, along with all my other required elements, how come my application has not been completed?
A: It is Chobanian & Avedisian SOM policy not to complete applications until ALL, required and optional, letters are received. If you would like us to forward your application without your optional letters, you may request it by sending a message to the Message Center and the optional letters will be added as they are received. However, by doing so, we cannot guarantee a decision will not be made prior to receiving your optional letters.
Q: How come I can't enter in a list of letters?
A: All letters must come from AMCAS. The list of letters that you submitted to AMCAS will appear here after you application has been verified by AMCAS.
Educational History
Q: I graduated last winter/spring, how do I answer question 2, Are you expecting to go on to medical school directly after completing your undergraduate work?
A: If you are not planning on matriculating into medical school within 6-8 months of graduating from your undergraduate school, then you would put down No as your answer and explain the gap between graduation and application in the text box below.
Q: What are you looking for in question 4, Please provide a narrative or timeline to describe any features of your educational history that you think may be of particular interest to us?
A: Any information at all that you feel would add to your application. It is not necessary to put anything in this question. Our committee would prefer that you not repeat any information that you have previously mentioned elsewhere, so this question can remain blank.
Q: I'm expecting to go to medical school from my post baccalaureate program. How do I answer question 2, Are you expecting to go on to medical school directly after completing your undergraduate work?
A: You should answer No, you are not planning to go to medical school immediately following undergraduate work, and explain that your are enrolled in a post baccalaureate program.
Core Competencies
Hint: Complete the form to the best of your ability using your transcript(s) as a guide. If you don't know how to classify a course, use your best judgement and put a note next to it. This competency grid is used to provide a summary of you academic work. There is no right or wrong answer. Please include every class that you have taken in each category.
Q: I took three Humanities classes in the Spring 2018. Is that equivalent to one semester of Humanities or three?
A: We are looking of the number of semester long courses that you have taken, not the number of semesters. If you took 3 Humanities courses in Spring 2018, then you would list all 3 courses in the box.
Q: I took a science lecture and a science lab during the same semester and each was graded separately on my transcript. Should I put that down as lecture with lab course?
A: No. If you took a lecture and a lab that each received separate grade, they would be counted as separate courses.
Q: My course could fall into more than one of your listed subjects. Where should I put it?
A: If you feel that a course falls under more the one subject, place it in both and explain.
Q: If I took upper level biology courses such as Histology and Physiology, Can I include those in the Biology row?
A: You can include them in Biological Sciences with a note explaining why you elected to place them there.
Q: Would molecular biology fall under Biology or Cell Biology? Would Neurobiology and Directed Research in Neuroscience fall under Biology?
A: You should put classes under the category you think it fits best. Put a note in the box if it is not immediately obvious why you classified a course the way you did. There is no right or wrong answer. We are looking for a broad understanding of your coursework.
Q: Under Biology, does this include general biology only or can I include classes like physiology, anatomy, etc?
A: You can include any courses that have a biology component, including physiology, anatomy, etc. You can include both lower and upper level courses.
Q: What are the acceptable Chemistry courses?
A: The Chemistry competency example courses fall under General Chemistry, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, etc.
Optional Section in Why Chobanian & Avedisian SOM?
Q: Is this section really optional?
A: Yes. There are no penalties for leaving the optional section blank. If you have additional material that you think will add to your application, please feel free to use this space. If you feel you have covered all material in previous sections or in the AMCAS application, you may leave it blank.
Application Fee
Q: I paid the fee by credit card and now the expiration date of my card shows all zeros.
A: This is a known feature (glitch?) of the Chobanian & Avedisian SOM secondary application. If you see a payment confirmation, then your payment has been received by the office and you can submit your application.
Q: I hit the payment button but I haven’t received a confirmation.
A: Please wait at least twenty-four hours before contacting the Office of Admissions. Depending on the time of day that you paid, you may have submitted after daily payments have been posted. If that is the case, then your payment should process during the next business day. If it has been more than two days and the payment still does not post, please contact the Office of Admissions via the Message Center.
Submit Supplemental Application
Q: My checklist shows that my LORs are not complete but I submitted them to AMCAS.
A: If your AMCAS application has not been verified, then your letters will not appear in your Chobanian & Avedisian SOM secondary application. Your letters will appear within twenty four hours of your verification by AMCAS. My AMCAS was verified more than twenty four hours ago. A) Please contact AMCAS to verify that they have submitted the letters to us electronically. You may need to login to your initial application again and hit the Submit button once more to trigger AMCAS to release your letters.
Q: I can’t submit because my checklist says my prerequisite grid is incomplete.
A: Please check to make sure that every drop down box has a number in it, even if that number is zero. A single unfilled box will prevent submission of your secondary application.
Q: I submitted my application. How come it is not complete yet?
A: Submitting your application is not the same completing it. Submitting it simply sends the supplemental elements to our office. Your application is considered complete when:
- Application fee has been paid
- ALL letters of recommendation have been received
- MCAT scores have been received
- AMCAS application has been verified
- BUSM supplemental application has been submitted
If you are unsure if your application is complete, refer to the grid on the Submit Supplemental Application page.
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