Four-Year Program

Admission Requirements

Candidates for admission to the Boston University School of Medicine should apply to the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). Information and application materials are available at the AAMC website. Candidates may apply between June 1 and November 1, but early application is strongly recommended.

Applicants are expected to hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college of arts and sciences or engineering. Occasionally a candidate of unusual ability is accepted after attendance for three academic years in an undergraduate school if he or she has satisfactorily completed all of the prerequisites and the minimum entrance requirements of 90 semester hours. The following courses are required:

• English Composition or Literature (1 year)
• Humanities (1 year)
• Biology (1 year) with Lab
• General Chemistry (1 year) with Lab
• Organic Chemistry (1 year) with Lab
• Physics (1 year)

All prerequisites must be completed before a student can matriculate at BUSM. The Committee on Admissions generally prefers that applicants complete the required courses at a four-year undergraduate institution accredited in the United States or Canada. If an applicant’s academic record does not meet this expectation, the applicant  is asked to explain the circumstances. If an applicant has placed out of a required college-level course, we accept another course at a higher level in the same discipline.

A knowledge of quantitation in chemistry is recommended; usually these methods are taught in general chemistry or organic chemistry. A course in college-level mathematics is recommended but not required; many students find that a course in statistics is more helpful than the traditional calculus course. The biology and chemistry courses should include laboratory exercises. Applicants currently enrolled in a professional or graduate school must be in the terminal year of the degree program to be considered for admission to the first-year class. Applicants are urged to acquire a broad experience in the humanities, as well as in the behavioral and social sciences during their college years, but they should follow their own interests whether in the arts or in the sciences. It is not recommended that applicants try to anticipate subjects that will be required in medical school.

Throughout a student’s four years at Boston University School of Medicine, beginning with the Introduction to Clinical Medicine and followed by various clerkships, personal transportation will be required. While some of the sites are within the areas served by public transportation, others are not. The student will be responsible for providing his or her own transportation, although students frequently collaborate on this.

The Diversity & Multicultural Affairs Office has a variety of programs and resources to support students from groups underrepresented in medicine. These resources may include financial aid provided through the need-based scholarship and loan programs of the school. These programs are described in more detail at the Diversity & Multicultural Affairs Office website. All applications are processed in the Admissions Office.

All applicants must take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and should communicate directly with the Association of American Medical Colleges for information concerning these examinations. Applicants are encouraged to take the MCAT in the spring of the year of application and to have most of the basic science requirements completed at the time of application. Applicants who have not taken the MCAT by September of the calendar year of application cannot be considered for admission. MCAT scores can be considered only if the test was taken within four years of the anticipated matriculation date. While we do our best to give equal consideration to all applications that are completed prior to our published deadlines, we have a very large applicant pool and early applications may be more likely to receive a favorable review.

Early Decision Plan

Some applicants may wish to apply under the Early Decision Plan. This plan is intended for applicants whose credentials are outstanding in every respect, and who can articulate a clear rationale for selecting BUSM as their first-choice medical school. Under this plan, applicants must file applications between June 1 and August 2. Applicants may apply only to Boston University School of Medicine and, if accepted, they will neither apply to, nor attend, any other medical school. Applicants interested in an Early Decision application should speak with the associate dean and director of admissions prior to submitting the application. All Early Decision applicants will be notified that they are accepted, deferred, or rejected on or before October 1, at which time they will be free to apply to other schools if they have not been accepted to BUSM.

Selection Factors

The Committee on Admissions chooses applicants who appear to be best qualified, not only by academic record, college recommendations, and involvement in college and community activities, but also by less tangible qualities of personality, character, and life experience. A personal interview is an integral part of the admissions process. There are no age restrictions.

In recent years, more than one of every four individuals applying to United States medical schools through AMCAS has included Boston University School of Medicine on his or her list of schools. For the class of 2010, more than 11,500 applications were received for approximately 120 four-year MD seats in the entering class of 180 students.

Students in the class of 2010 had the following characteristics:

The mean undergraduate GPA was 3.72 and the mean MCAT quantitative sub-test total was 33 compared with a national average of 28 for all test takers and 31 for matriculants. The group was 54% women, 19% underrepresented minorities, 61% spoke at least one language other than English, and they represented 38 states and 21 countries of origin.

The Board of Trustees has set the tuition rate for the academic year 2010–2011 at $48,116 and the student fees at $600. The application fee is $110.

Students in Post-Baccalaureate or Graduate Programs

Many students apply to medical school after post-graduate study or the completion of premedical requirements in a post-baccalaureate program. Students who are enrolled in graduate programs may apply in the terminal year of the graduate program for which they were originally accepted into graduate school. Applicants must complete all degree requirements of any program in which they were enrolled at the time of application. Students in post-baccalaureate programs are urged to request a letter of recommendation from the Premedical Advisory Committee of the undergraduate college, or, if more appropriate, from the college or university where they are pursuing post-baccalaureate studies. A final transcript or other evidence of completion of degree requirements will be required prior to matriculation.

Students from Other Countries and U.S. Students at Foreign Medical Schools

Students from other countries or U.S. students at foreign schools are not considered eligible for admission to the first-year class unless they have satisfactorily completed at least two years of study in an undergraduate institution accredited in the United States or Canada.

Degree Requirements

Every candidate for the degree of Doctor of Medicine at Boston University must be at least 21 years of age and of good moral character. He or she must have fulfilled all of the requirements for admission to the School; give evidence of having been enrolled in an accredited medical school for at least four full academic years, two of which must have been spent in the regular third- and fourth-year courses at Boston University School of Medicine; and have discharged all financial obligations to Boston University.

The degree of Doctor of Medicine is awarded on recommendation of the faculty and may be granted cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude in recognition of outstanding academic achievement.