Boston University C/O 2019 (2015-2016) Applicants Forum

nicola16 · Post by **nicola16** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:52 pm

Hello all! Didn't see a thread, so I thought I'd create one. I applied ED to Boston University, though I don't think my chances are great. Does anyone know any unofficial stats for the Distinguished Scholar Program?

Stats for Regular Decision:
LSAT: 160 - 163 - 164
Median GPA: 3.67

Application instructions: http://www.bu.edu/law/prospective/apply/jd/application/
Application FAQ: http://www.bu.edu/law/prospective/apply/jd/faq.html
Financial Aid Info: http://www.bu.edu/law/prospective/financial_aid/

Law School Numbers info from last year's applicants:

Distinguished Scholar Program (from the BU site):
Applicants who are confident that Boston University (BU Law) is their first choice may choose to apply through our Binding Early Decision Program. Applicants who are granted admission to the Binding Early Decision Program will be named Distinguished Scholars and will be granted a three-year, full tuition scholarship. The application process for admission through the Distinguished Scholar Binding Early Decision Program is highly competitive. The Admissions Committee may choose to hold some files for a decision later in the application cycle. Applicants who are not offered admission through the Early Decision Process are at no disadvantage in the regular admissions cycle.

monceau · Post by **monceau** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 10:19 pm

Checking in! BU's employment stats were actually pretty good for c/o 2014, hoping it stays the same for 2015

janderson821 · Post by **janderson821** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 10:27 am

Checking in! Submitted last Saturday.

Billy Madison · Post by **Billy Madison** » Fri Oct 30, 2015 10:41 am

Checking in, applying early next week!

mrdanoesq · Post by **mrdanoesq** » Fri Oct 30, 2015 11:56 am

Checking in! Also, seconding the request for ED numbers, if anybody has any idea. I submitted about a month ago, and the waiting game is killing me.

monceau · Post by **monceau** » Fri Oct 30, 2015 3:45 pm

mrdanoesq wrote:Checking in! Also, seconding the request for ED numbers, if anybody has any idea. I submitted about a month ago, and the waiting game is killing me.

According to MyLSN there was a non-URM last year who got accepted BU ED with 165 3.66

threatlevelmidnight · Post by **threatlevelmidnight** » Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:56 am

Anyone considering the Public Interest Scholarship?

MOKE4311 · Post by **MOKE4311** » Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:50 pm

Post deleted

Scalvert · Post by **Scalvert** » Tue Nov 03, 2015 12:20 am

Has anyone visited campus?

mrdanoesq · Post by **mrdanoesq** » Tue Nov 03, 2015 12:28 pm

Scalvert wrote:Has anyone visited campus?

Yeah - they just finished completing a brand new law building. It's really nice. Apparently, they got suggestions from the student body for design elements that were incorporated into the architectural plans, which I think says something about how BU values students.

jesinka90 · Post by **jesinka90** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 10:08 pm

Checking in. Submitted application on October 30th

mrdanoesq · Post by **mrdanoesq** » Fri Nov 06, 2015 11:44 am

Hi all,

I clearly submitted way too early. I teach, so my goal was to get it out of the way as early as possible so I could focus on my students, rather than trying to juggle apps and teaching at the same time. Now it's been 2 months and I hate not knowing.

I spent last night going through last year's applicant thread to get a sense of what to expect for a timeline.

From what I could gather, some people applying RD will hear around Thanksgiving. The ED announcements seemed to come out right on the deadline (Dec 9), though everybody on the TLS BU board was deferred to RD, so I couldn't tell if ED acceptances go out earlier.

The biggest waiting game seems to be for merit/need scholarships, which mostly are decided the last week of January, or so, though a few people reported getting scholarship offers with their acceptances.

Anyways, if anybody out there has been obsessively checking their status like I have, there's unlikely to be any change for another month. I'm currently on hiatus.

Good luck!

Troianii · Post by **Troianii** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 8:47 am

App received 11/5/15. Still incomplete, sending in ED contract via mail. I was going to apply much earlier but was split about whether to apply ED or not. With full scholarship I have no expectation of getting accepted ED, but... with full scholarship, can't hurt right?

180kickflip · Post by **180kickflip** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 9:04 am

nicola16 · Post by **nicola16** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 10:12 am

Post removed.

RacheterRaptor · Post by **RacheterRaptor** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 11:16 am

nicola16 wrote:
Troianii wrote:App received 11/5/15. Still incomplete, sending in ED contract via mail. I was going to apply much earlier but was split about whether to apply ED or not. With full scholarship I have no expectation of getting accepted ED, but... with full scholarship, can't hurt right?
My thoughts exactly! Good luck to you!

I have read that if you apply ED but don't get accepted with the scholarship, it could hurt your chances negotiating money in the RD round. They know you applied ED so they think BU is your first choice and you would pay sticker just to go there. Not a lot of help since you've already submitted.... just something to keep in mind.

mrdanoesq · Post by **mrdanoesq** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 12:01 pm

RacheterRaptor wrote:
nicola16 wrote:
Troianii wrote:App received 11/5/15. Still incomplete, sending in ED contract via mail. I was going to apply much earlier but was split about whether to apply ED or not. With full scholarship I have no expectation of getting accepted ED, but... with full scholarship, can't hurt right?
My thoughts exactly! Good luck to you!

I have read that if you apply ED but don't get accepted with the scholarship, it could hurt your chances negotiating money in the RD round. They know you applied ED so they think BU is your first choice and you would pay sticker just to go there. Not a lot of help since you've already submitted.... just something to keep in mind.

Any chance you remember where you read this? I'd like to see it in context. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, since presumably BU understands that many people (including myself) are applying ED specifically because of the money. I think I've got an outside shot at Harvard, but the money issue is absolutely decisive for me. At the other end, I've already been accepted with a full-ride plus stipend at a slightly lower-ranked, but comparable school. I'd just go there if BU tries to get me to pay sticker and Harvard doesn't work out. I just don't see how BU benefits from treating unsuccessful EDers this way. Isn't the whole premise of the program to attract/entrap people that might otherwise go to a T14 that gives less $ than BU? Pushing people into the RD pool and then not giving them money simply because they applied ED isn't helping their competitiveness in that respect.

nicola16 · Post by **nicola16** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 12:29 pm

Post removed.

RacheterRaptor · Post by **RacheterRaptor** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 2:01 pm

mrdanoesq wrote:
RacheterRaptor wrote:
nicola16 wrote:
Troianii wrote:App received 11/5/15. Still incomplete, sending in ED contract via mail. I was going to apply much earlier but was split about whether to apply ED or not. With full scholarship I have no expectation of getting accepted ED, but... with full scholarship, can't hurt right?
My thoughts exactly! Good luck to you!

I have read that if you apply ED but don't get accepted with the scholarship, it could hurt your chances negotiating money in the RD round. They know you applied ED so they think BU is your first choice and you would pay sticker just to go there. Not a lot of help since you've already submitted.... just something to keep in mind.
Any chance you remember where you read this? I'd like to see it in context. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, since presumably BU understands that many people (including myself) are applying ED specifically because of the money. I think I've got an outside shot at Harvard, but the money issue is absolutely decisive for me. At the other end, I've already been accepted with a full-ride plus stipend at a slightly lower-ranked, but comparable school. I'd just go there if BU tries to get me to pay sticker and Harvard doesn't work out. I just don't see how BU benefits from treating unsuccessful EDers this way. Isn't the whole premise of the program to attract/entrap people that might otherwise go to a T14 that gives less $ than BU? Pushing people into the RD pool and then not giving them money simply because they applied ED isn't helping their competitiveness in that respect.

Went back and checked my source, and you're right, they do specifically mention this probably doesn't apply to programs where ED comes with guaranteed money: http://spiveyconsulting.com/blog/to-ed-or-not-to-ed/

On the other hand, if your numbers are at/below the medians, applying ED might signal more "genuine" interest instead of just going after the money, and maybe the admissions staff think you will still pay something out of pocket (not necessarily sticker)... I've no experience with law school admissions and every file is different of course, who really knows.

MOKE4311 · Post by **MOKE4311** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 1:04 am

Deleted

mikesmith19 · Post by **mikesmith19** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 1:37 am

rion91 · Post by **rion91** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 8:23 pm

Hey guys. 1L at BU here. I'll answer any Qs you have. But please post them here since I won't be checking my PMs. FWIW, I was admitted to/visited BC as well.

mrdanoesq · Post by **mrdanoesq** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 8:54 pm

rion91 wrote:Hey guys. 1L at BU here. I'll answer any Qs you have. But please post them here since I won't be checking my PMs. FWIW, I was admitted to/visited BC as well.

Great! Thanks - let's start w/ the obvious: why BU (esp. over BC)? Where else were you looking?

Dexter97 · Post by **Dexter97** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 8:59 pm

mrdanoesq wrote:
rion91 wrote:Hey guys. 1L at BU here. I'll answer any Qs you have. But please post them here since I won't be checking my PMs. FWIW, I was admitted to/visited BC as well.
Great! Thanks - let's start w/ the obvious: why BU (esp. over BC)? Where else were you looking?

Im interested in this. In all the posts Ive seen it seems like BU is the place to go if you want the city atmosphere and want to be able to "do your own thing" whereas BC is all about school spirit, involvement, good boy's club. Any insight?

RedGiant · Post by **RedGiant** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 9:20 pm

Dexter97 wrote:
mrdanoesq wrote:
rion91 wrote:Hey guys. 1L at BU here. I'll answer any Qs you have. But please post them here since I won't be checking my PMs. FWIW, I was admitted to/visited BC as well.
Great! Thanks - let's start w/ the obvious: why BU (esp. over BC)? Where else were you looking?
Im interested in this. In all the posts Ive seen it seems like BU is the place to go if you want the city atmosphere and want to be able to "do your own thing" whereas BC is all about school spirit, involvement, good boy's club. Any insight?

Current BU 3L here. Feel free to PM me with questions about school/life/jobstuff. I can't really help with Admissions answers--no one really talks about what their numbers were. Much of my class has 1/2 tuition scholarships, not sure if that's true three years on.

I took a class at BC (we can do that for free, but sadly BC classes don't count for your BU GPA). I summered with a BC 2L too. The general difference I felt was that BC was more "fratty" and "sorority"-ish (this is a generalization, as BC itself has no Greek system), but the kids in my class were just younger, more brotastic, and the girls really cared about looking super-cute in a way that most BU girls do not. I also felt like people had more money in general--a lot of BC kids had cars (because BC Law is hard to get to without a car during off hours). The prof at BC was great, and their campus seemed more active than ours in terms of club events. The other difference was that the kids in my class were more free about asking idiotic questions--this tends to be tempered a bit more at BU, in my experience, but people at BC just asked away. (The prof was really nice and patient about answering everything--this was not a dig on BC as much as a difference that the academic dialogue seemed more open at BC.) The BC cafeteria is loads better than BU's pathetic attempt at a cafe, but BC shares it with the freshman that live on that campus. I actually like how nested and tiny the BC campus is too--BU's law school is now quite large and indoor-sprawly now that we have two buildings, and it creates a lack of community in a way that BC does not.

Good luck, and again, happy to answer questions to the best of my ability.