Boston University LEAP Program

[tramxme]

I just got an acceptance on Thursday (03/07) so they must be currently reviewing. Perhaps it depends on the department you applied to?

 

Also, don't worry, I didn't get the scholarship or any financial aid 

Congrats for the acceptance. What department did you apply to? And would you be attending without any financial aid? Did you do the FAFSA?

[potatohead]

Hi tramxme,

 

I applied for systems engineering. I did the 2013 FAFSA in early January and redid the 2014 FAFSA the same week as the acceptance, so I'm wondering if they saw the updated one. This forum seems divided as to whether or not it's even used in scholarship determinations. 

 

I'm not sure if I'd attend without any aid. BU was one of my top choices for a very long time, but I already have two fully funded options from other top choice programs where I could acquire a similar skillset. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[starofdawn]

OH MAN! I wish I knew about this program. I'm a chem major, going into materials science. Had no idea this program existed, or else I definitely would have applied. Thankfully I've already been accepted to a school, but if not, I would have applied next year.

 

I'll be sharing this program with my non-eng friends, in case they want to get a MS in an engineering discipline.

 

Fight on, my non-UG eng brothers and sisters.

[StaNg72]

Best of luck to everyone waiting to hear back! If you do get LEAP scholarship, consider yourself very lucky. When it comes to funding nowadays, all anyone can manage is a giant eye roll. 

[Double-Oh-8]

[Tayfax]

Hey everyone I was accepted to LEAP for materials science a while back, like many I got no financial aid options (even though my FAFSA EFC was zero). What decisions are other people coming to? I really want to attend, but the cost is scary. What are other LEAP people doing for housing next year?

[tramxme]

Anyone hears back yet??? Im so nervous!!!!!!!

[bsny]

Anyone hears back yet??? Im so nervous!!!!!!!

Haven't heard anything. I'm going to call at the end of the week if I don't hear anything by then.

 

Which department did you apply to?

[tramxme]

Haven't heard anything. I'm going to call at the end of the week if I don't hear anything by then.

 

Which department did you apply to?

Computer engineering. You?

Edited March 17, 2014 by tramxme

[bsny]

Computer engineering. You?

Electrical, which I suppose is the same department.

[Loquacator]

Mechanical, and haven't heard anything back either. I'm quietly bouncing off the walls over here waiting.

[bsny]

Just got an acceptance email for electrical engineering.

[tramxme]

Just got an acceptance email for electrical engineering.

Congrats!!!!!Any financial aid? When did you apply? I'm anxious!!!

[bsny]

Congrats!!!!!Any financial aid? When did you apply? I'm anxious!!!

Submitted my application right at the deadline (Jan. 15). Got the LEAP scholarship for half tuition and renewable for 3 semesters.

[tramxme]

Same department...I applied a day before you and didn't do FAFSA =( If they don't want me, just say so, i hate hanging like this. 

[szman]

Congrats bsny! I deferred my app from spring. I was accepted in spring but still haven't heard back for fall.

[Loquacator]

Congratulations bsny. I just got my letter today. I applied a day or two before the deadline. No financial aid, but I'm still happy. Now to figure out housing and money.

[szman]

we should think about getting a house together to reduce cost 

[fln]

we should think about getting a house together to reduce cost 

this is a great idea. i was just admitted to the mechanical engineering program and am super excited!

[szman]

this is a great idea. i was just admitted to the mechanical engineering program and am super excited!

Congrats! Did u get aid?

[bsny]

we should think about getting a house together to reduce cost 

I actually have a house in Cambridge about a 20 minute walk from BU. Right now it's full, but it's 7 bedrooms, so there are fairly frequent openings. If anyone is interested, message me and I'll make sure to contact you about any space we have.

[Loquacator]

I'm interested in shared housing, too, but I'll be bringing with me a family of four. If anyone is looking at a house together, let me know. Also, I'll have to move to Boston from California, so if anyone else is in that boat, let me know and maybe we can share moving costs/labor.

[anon_leap]

To  corroborate LEAPstudent's post:

 

I received partial scholarships for the LEAP program for phase 1+2 and am looking to get a job as a software engineer. The software offerings are anemic in the college of engineering and the computer science department is more or less defunct. 

Keep your job and start teaching yourself how to code (you will be teaching yourself everything even if you decide to come to BU).

I am now essentially sprinting toward the finish line; I've given up on educational prospects at the college and am dumping time into personal training and projects. My BU classes are a hassle and time drain, nothing more nothing less. 

 

Now a report from the trenches that I wish I had heard when applying, but no one gave me. I feel students in the program are walking examples of the sunken-cost fallacy. BU costs thousands of dollars and the education is sub-par. You either realize this fast and get out/minimize your work load and work on outside projects or like many students live in this weird bubble of denial as your student loans accrue interest and you are financially crippled. 

 

Phase 1 you can do ANYWHERE and once you do you can apply to ANY master's program you want especially if you're thinking about CS. The amount of fudging and lack of care put into cementing down requirements is a travesty. This stretches into funding problems and ways to screw you over financially which has happened to multiple students. I'd rather not get into it because the details are specific to my peers. Suffice it to say that nowhere will you find stringent policies regarding fund disbursement and status in relation to the LEAP program. This has become much more of a problem after they fired Helaine Friedlander and replaced her with Leslie Tellalian and Maria Isabel Tereso. Suffice it to say, you have no advocates in the program and it is beginning to stink of a cash cow abyss that BU throws clueless post-baccs into.  

 

This program is only worth it if you have funding and are only doing it for a piece of paper (i.e. minimize your workload, work on outside projects, get out fast, nicely fill in a gap in your resume). The one good thing this program did for me was give me a jump start from stagnancy because now I fear for my financial future (remember I have funding, but it's still costing me about 6000x what the education is actually worth), but there are much cheaper and smarter ways of getting yourself out of a rut. 

 

As a final note, LEAPstudent please send me a private message so we can get a beer and bitch about this program. The lack of realism and common sense in this program is nauseating. 

 

edit: Sorry if I sound so harsh, but I think you should have uncut advice from someone dissatisfied with the program. The program was and is a great idea, but the implementation and quality of education are terrible. I don't like to see people who are a bit unsure of what to do after college to get destroyed financially for the benefit of bloodsuckers at BU. You have options and take my report with a gain of salt, if it sounds like I'm bitter it's because I am. 

Edited March 21, 2014 by anon_leap

[Loquacator]

Thanks for sharing your experience anon_leap; I much prefer to hear the worst there is, even if I do decide to go. I would very much like to know if you and LEAPstudent think your issues with the program extend to other departments, or if it is primarily an issue with CS/CE. Best of luck with all your plans.

[leap_anon]

I just want to follow up also as a current LEAP student. I agree with what fellow LEAPers in the CE and EE fields are saying about BU. While I am grateful to have the opportunity to learn engineering skills and have the potential to eventually maybe?? get a job doing what I want (I say this because as days go by I am starting to question this more and more) I would heavily consider your options and see if there are other equivalent options that might be more cost and labor effective.

 

I do feel BU often see's your $$ before seeing you as a person. There is very little support. Since joining, I've accrued a lot of debt and not a lot of job prospects in return. Teaching is pretty subpar, but that does come with big research universities. If you do decide to attend focus on meeting fellow LEAPers that is what will end up getting you through.

 

I too have started to focus on doing projects and less on schoolwork as has been explained previously. Like most academic institutions you will get out what you put in. Just expect to put in A LOT more effort than you might be used to especially if you come from a smaller liberal arts school. There is a bit of red tape and it is important to go after what you want if you want to try to make anything happen here.

 

Just thought I'd throw my two cents in because this trend unfortunately continues in the ME department as well.

Edited March 21, 2014 by leap_anon