BU additional information requested?

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mphhopeful12

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I got an email this morning from BU requesting that I write a secondary statement that "that details your personal goals for a career in public health, noting in particular why you believe study at BUSPH will help you achieve them."

Did anyone else get this? I guess my statement of interest wasn't specific enough? I'm not really sure what to write.

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that sucks!! :-(.
 
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what did u guys apply to? maybe its a good thing --shows they are still interested in u
 
I just received the same email too. I'm so attempted to not send them other personal statement because I already got into my top choices.
 
Ugh me too FlyingDisc, i love BU and all, but at this stage I already have other acceptances.

Also, i feel like they are asking for info that was already included in my Personal Statement. Sending them the same reasons over again would be redundant imo
 
I am totally with you on this one. I've already gotten in to four other schools, 2 with significant money and one into a scholars program of 8 ppl. I really really really don't want to write another essay and maybe this is a good way to narrow down my list? I'm kinda guessing that they could tell from my app that it wasn't my top choice? I don't know - i'm thinking of actually sending an email withdrawing my application.


I just received the same email too. I'm so attempted to not send them other personal statement because I already got into my top choices.
 
My initial thought-they may use it to decide merit scholarships? Sounds interesting that so many people would be asked for an additional letter.
 
My initial thought-they may use it to decide merit scholarships? Sounds interesting that so many people would be asked for an additional letter.


I was thinking this as well. It seems like BU sends merit scholarship awards with acceptance letters?

EDIT:


It's just strange that only one person so far has reported an acceptance from BU , while 3 people have reported this vague email.
 
I got it too. Does anybody have any idea on specifics for this? Is it basically another SOP? Is it only a couple sentences? I too feel like I will be putting a lot of the same information. Perhaps if its for a scholarship, it will be viewed separately from the personal statement and would thus not be completely redundant?
 
Got the same email. Promptly withdrew my application from consideration. Oh yea.
 
Hi,
Do you remember how you had to list the other schools you were applying to when applying to BU on SOPHAS? I actually didn't apply to BU when I saw that. I turned me off. My guess is that they try to rank your "demand" based on the other schools you applied to and where you will probably get accepted, etc. It is a little bit like accurary science. I know that is quite common with other graduate programs.

However, I don't know if it is a bad thing per se. My friend sits on an admin committee for a sociology program where he is a professor and he says that the strategy helps the students and the school because it more likely results in a mutual selection. I don't quite understand the whole theory behind it.

Anyway, for what it is worth...if you are interested in BU then I think it would be worth it.

Good luck!
 
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Hi,
Do you remember how you had to list the other schools you were applying to when applying to BU on SOPHAS? I actually didn't apply to BU when I saw that. I turned me off. My guess is that they try to rank your "demand" based on the other schools you applied to and where you will probably get accepted, etc. It is a little bit like accurary science. I know that is quite common with other graduate programs.

Yeah that rubbed me the wrong way too. I just left it blank. :D Wise or unwise?

Also, am I the only person who applied to BU and did NOT receive the email??? Granted, it's only been a couple of weeks since I applied so maybe they haven't even gotten to my application yet, but still. Is not hearing anything a bad sign as far as getting a merit scholarship and/or acceptance? :(
 
Yeah that rubbed me the wrong way too. I just left it blank. :D Wise or unwise?

Also, am I the only person who applied to BU and did NOT receive the email??? Granted, it's only been a couple of weeks since I applied so maybe they haven't even gotten to my application yet, but still. Is not hearing anything a bad sign as far as getting a merit scholarship and/or acceptance? :(

I did not receive this email. Yesterday, I did finally receive a "your application is complete" email to let me know that it's being forwarded to the department.
 
Yeah that rubbed me the wrong way too. I just left it blank. :D Wise or unwise?

Also, am I the only person who applied to BU and did NOT receive the email??? Granted, it's only been a couple of weeks since I applied so maybe they haven't even gotten to my application yet, but still. Is not hearing anything a bad sign as far as getting a merit scholarship and/or acceptance? :(

I didn't get the email either. BU hasn't contacted me since January 4th, when it sent me an 'application complete' email.
 
Yeah that rubbed me the wrong way too. I just left it blank. :D Wise or unwise?

Also, am I the only person who applied to BU and did NOT receive the email??? Granted, it's only been a couple of weeks since I applied so maybe they haven't even gotten to my application yet, but still. Is not hearing anything a bad sign as far as getting a merit scholarship and/or acceptance? :(

Don't worry, I didn't get that email and I was accepted with a merit award. You will probably hear in a few weeks. They had my application in mid november, so they probably just haven't gotten to you yet.
 
Ditto on this.
I'm having trouble wording the email as I keep wanting to say:

"really? really? you want another essay? i like you a lot but everyone else seems ok with the information I've already sent and if you gave me three weeks to send you the essay, how long will it be before I hear back from you? Thanks but no thanks"

Which is probably not the best thing to write ;)

if you don't mind me asking, how did you go about withdrawing your application from BU? I would like to do the same.
 
Ditto on this.
I'm having trouble wording the email as I keep wanting to say:

"really? really? you want another essay? i like you a lot but everyone else seems ok with the information I've already sent and if you gave me three weeks to send you the essay, how long will it be before I hear back from you? Thanks but no thanks"

Which is probably not the best thing to write ;)


LOL!! That is exactly what I want to say! This is just bad timing on BU's part; now that i've already got into some of my top choices the incentive to do even more work to appease BU just isn't there.
 
I also left it blank and I did not get this email. I really think its for people who they think are not REALLY considering BU as a school.

Yeah that rubbed me the wrong way too. I just left it blank. :D Wise or unwise?

Also, am I the only person who applied to BU and did NOT receive the email??? Granted, it's only been a couple of weeks since I applied so maybe they haven't even gotten to my application yet, but still. Is not hearing anything a bad sign as far as getting a merit scholarship and/or acceptance? :(
 
so basically you think they are saying - I know you told me you love me in your SOP, paid an application fee to prove that you love me, but really - i still don't believe you. tell me again so i know you are telling the truth...and on valentine's day no less :p

I also left it blank and I did not get this email. I really think its for people who they think are not REALLY considering BU as a school.
 
yes. lol . bu strikes me as a school very self conscious about its status.. like they will do stuff to try to get their rankings up.

but this is just my biased opinion on most big city corporation-like private schools (or really just BU/NYU)

so basically you think they are saying - I know you told me you love me in your SOP, paid an application fee to prove that you love me, but really - i still don't believe you. tell me again so i know you are telling the truth...and on valentine's day no less :p
 
ok - i did it. I basically followed the instructions - sent an email to the assistant dean of admissions with my sophas ID in the subject but instead of a new essay I said:


"Thank you for your consideration of my application. While I was very excited about the prospect of studying for my MPH at BU due to the excellent reputation of the school in the public health community, the ability to be involved in research during my mph studies, and the faculty involved in the health policy concentration - i feel strongly that i have already provided you with enough information about my personal goals for a career in public health. i appreciate the committee's time, but must respectfully withdraw my application."

Honestly, I'm sad about this. I was definitely considering BU as a really strong option (even with the other schools I have gotten into.) Oh well....

LOL!! That is exactly what I want to say! This is just bad timing on BU's part; now that i've already got into some of my top choices the incentive to do even more work to appease BU just isn't there.
 
So is anyone actually going to write what they want? I think I'm going to because BU is in my top 3 and I'm still waiting on my first choice.
 
I also withdrew my application!
 
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man, i havent even heard back from BU yet but I was *thinking* it might be one of my top choices...seems like everybody hates them! lol
 
man, i havent even heard back from BU yet but I was *thinking* it might be one of my top choices...seems like everybody hates them! lol

Just a disclaimer on mine, I think BU is a great school and would be a wonderful place to get an MPH. Due to a series of unfortunate events it became clear it was not a good fit for me, but I realize that a lot of people have had an easy/positive process with them. I still think it's a great school, but just not for me. I had wonderful experiences with Tulane and Emory, but some people have had trouble with both of those schools too, so everyone's experience is different.
 
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Awapi-
That email was awesome!!!
Very impressed that you were able to say what you were really thinking!

Just a disclaimer on mine, I think BU is a great school and would be a wonderful place to get an MPH. Due to a series of unfortunate events it became the bane of my existence (haha), but I realize that a lot of people have had an easy/positive process with them. I still think it's a great school, but just not for me. I had wonderful experiences with Tulane and Emory, but some people have had trouble with both of those schools too, so everyone's experience is different.

It's like that guy/girl that you dated and it didn't work out, I'm sure he'll be great for someone else, but you weren't meant to be. BU is that guy for me :)
 
haha awesome analogy :p

I really dont know what my first choices are, I'm waiting until I get into all my schools before I even consider them (somewhat backwards thinking, but trying to avoid disappointment! haha) BU is taking forever though....bleh
 
Wow mphhopeful12 and Awapi, those were worded greatly. I too will be sending my withdrawal to BU shortly. (Though it most likely will pale in comparison to the two of you)

Awapi, wow. Your reponse was just awesome. The admissions committee should realize that not adhering to their original words, and now sending vague emails to qualified candidates for more info, will result in BU paying the biggest price: losing passionate students who would have attended their school!

At the end of the day, it seems like the three of us will be fine. We were all admitted to other programs that suit our academic/career interests. It will be BU who lost out.
 
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I received the same email. I am also irked by being asked to submit "additional information," a misnomer as I've already supplied them with this information in my personal statement. What a strange request. Probably not responding.
 
What concentrations are you guys all applying for? Are these emails coming from the same department or from all different SPH departments?
 
For whatever reason, I find this whole thing fascinating--probably because I have no acceptances (didn't apply until mid-January) and therefore want something different to focus on, and I did second guess my hasty decision to not apply given them asking about other schools. Although I didn't realize you didn't have to answer the questions and if I had realized that, I might have applied. I am a little slow with this stuff. I have been out of academia for a while now :)

Anyway, to be fair, I do wonder if something awful happened to their electronic files and perhaps they just lost them? We had our server room at work start on fire twice in two months as incredulous as that sounds. I work for a large international NGO and while I explained this saga to some people, as a whole, we elected to send a generic email requesting they resubmit their grant applications. (We explicitly state that they should save them).
 
If they had lost their files they could have just requested copies from SOPHAS since that's where they got them in the first place. Also, SOPHAS sends them paper copies of the applications as well as the Statements of Purpose so they should have a hard copy as well as an electronic one. Again though, they could just get them from SOPHAS if they were lost somehow.

When I applied I was honest and said that I applied to Emory and Tulane as well. My GPA and GRE scores are both well above what BU lists as "competitive" for the program. I think it's most probable that they singled out people who they believe are most likely to accept at other institutions and asked them for additional information. This would weed out people not serious about BU, allowing them to lower their rate of people who decline offers of admission. Since they send out merit scholarship offers with acceptance notifications this keeps them from offering funding as well as a position in the fall class to someone who isn't likely to accept it. Logistically it makes sense, but, like intlhealth stated, it can put a sour taste in the mouth of qualified applicants who were seriously considering BU and cause them to pull their applications. So they miss out on some students who would do BU proud in the future. This is not say that those of us who received the email are any more qualified than those who didn't, I'm sure many of the people who received straight acceptances are very qualified, they may just have sounded more sure about BU in their original personal statement or BU felt that they showed their intent in some other way.

Good luck to everyone!
 
"I would be curious to know if there were any other applicants who sacrificed a weeks pay and rode for 12 hours round-trip in sweltering heat on a wooden bench seat carrying a neighbor's chicken one way in order to submit one form for Boston University."

:thumbup: this line is epic.
 
i didn't receive that e-mail... but out of curiosity, did anyone call & ask about this "additional information" request? i wonder if perhaps they are asking some applicants for very detailed statements about their career interests to determine whether they are eligible for very specific funding opportunities?
 
..I pared mine down some, but couldn't manage to keep all of the bitterness out of it...but it felt kind of good anyway :)
"

Awapi...i really liked ur email to BU
Good luck with ur MPH
 
hahah, that's classic!

m I would be curious to know if there were any other applicants who sacrificed a weeks pay and rode for 12 hours round-trip in sweltering heat on a wooden bench seat carrying a neighbor's chicken one way in order to submit one form for Boston University.
 
I just received this email today as well. I received an application complete email in early January and just now received this. I will probably suck it up and do it although I would not go there unless they gave me a very compelling financial package.
 
I submitted my additional information today. I had no idea what it was really supposed to be like so "fingers crossed"!!
 
So I guess I'll assume that I'm the only one that sent this? I wonder if it'll be another 4 weeks til I hear from them now. :(
 
So I guess I'll assume that I'm the only one that sent this? I wonder if it'll be another 4 weeks til I hear from them now. :(

Some of us have not yet even received the request for a secondary essay.
However, I'm not sure if I'll do it by the time they ask me for it. I'm just so tired of talking about me, it's making me second guess myself =\
 
Maybe you didn't receive that request because they thought your app was good enough as is. :)
 
I'm with you there swaffles. I didn't get this e-mail from BU and am starting to wonder why.
 
I didn't receive that e-mail, but I did get one from the Admissions Committee because they felt I was better suited in a concentration other than my designated one. I'm not positive what that means in terms of admittance but I delightfully agreed. I just really love Boston so I really want to be out there and I love international health.
 
. . . I emailed Boston University with a copy of my resume and an explanation as to why it was not attached to my SOPHAS application. Much to my surprise and dismay I received a very condescending email reply chastising me for not having it attached to my SOPHAS information.

I would be curious to know if there were any other applicants who sacrificed a weeks pay and rode for 12 hours round-trip in sweltering heat on a wooden bench seat carrying a neighbor's chicken one way in order to submit one form for Boston University.

Awesome email Awapi!

It pretty much summed up my experience with BU and why I decided not to do the MPH there. Hopefully they will read your email and figure out that their relationship with applicants and students is inappropriate. I have found multiple faculty members to have pushy/rude manner when interacting with students. You did a good thing for students who are there by pointing this out.

I find it bizarre that, in this age of email and internet forums, they are sending emails asking for another written submission to some prospective students, and not to others, . . . and just letting everybody guess what it all means.

I think it is a huge red flag when the ad com advises an applicant to look at another concentration, as though we aren't smart enough to figure out what we like, maybe some concentration is underpopulated and they are trying to move students against their will???

This whole thread makes me hear the music from Psycho playing in the background,. . . but treating applicants/students as just warm bodies is something that BU is notorious for.

I also think that BU shouldn't be asking applicants about other schools they applied to, especially since they let a motivated student slip away.

Anyway, I am planning on doing the PeaceCorps/MPH combined, and I wouldn't touch BU with a 40 inch pole (from personal experience), not at all impressed with their global health program.
 
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mphhopeful, you are a better person than I am...I pared mine down some, but couldn't manage to keep all of the bitterness out of it...but it felt kind of good anyway :)

Email to BU:

"When I began my application process for a Master of Public Health in September of 2010 Boston University was my top choice program. I spoke to my Peace Corps Country Director and Regional Manager about this fact on more than one occasion. I shared the information with a visiting Returned Peace Corps Volunteer/now graduate student from Senegal. I was excited and nervous about the application process and looking forward to the possibilities of a future at BU.

Around this time I completed my SOPHAS application, Boston University was the only school to which I applied that required a resume. The only internet connection within two hours of my Peace Corps site was not strong enough to allow me to upload that resume. I took a day from my precious vacation days and spent over a weeks worth of my meager living allowance to travel 6 hours to the capital for the sole reason of uploading my resume for Boston University. Due to further technical difficulties inherent to a developing country I was forced by time and money constraints to submit my SOPHAS application without the resume attached. I emailed Boston University with a copy of my resume and an explanation as to why it was not attached to my SOPHAS application. Much to my surprise and dismay I received a very condescending email reply chastising me for not having it attached to my SOPHAS information.

I feel as though I have shown my desire to attend BU, through my actions and through the words in my statement of purpose already provided to the committee for review. I would be curious to know if there were any other applicants who sacrificed a weeks pay and rode for 12 hours round-trip in sweltering heat on a wooden bench seat carrying a neighbor's chicken one way in order to submit one form for Boston University.

I am disappointed to say that this is just a small portion of the negative experience I have had throughout the application process with BU. However, on the other hand, I am proud to say that I have been accepted into all the other programs to which I have applied and have been greeted with warmth and excitement from their admissions departments, faculty, staff, and representative students. At this point I feel it necessary to withdraw my application for admittance to BU as I will be attending another institution for my MPH. Thank you."

This is a really well written email too, probably better than most of the submissions for "additional information" which are probably just recycled from other parts of the application. I hope that somebody there reads it, knowing BU they probably won't even skim read it.
 
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