Boston University LEAP Program

[elbclimbs]

Was not at all expecting a decision so quickly, but denied. Extremely disappointed. 

[elbclimbs]

I reached out to Denise to see if I could get some feedback, since the denial was absolutely not expected, and it seems like they didn't look at my recent coursework at all, and perhaps may not have even read my personal statement. She cited a poor grade in Calc 1 that was from 2002, but I have since retaken it along with several other prep courses and done very well, and my personal statement explained my history. When I responded to clarify that they were looking at the old grade and not my recent work, she dismissed me completely and said they've been doing this for a long time. Wow. I'm honestly shocked and don't really know what to think. I had thought about reapplying at a later date, but now I don't think I will. Talk about a sour taste. Argh.

Edited November 6, 2018 by elbclimbs

[Wackstrom]

On 11/6/2018 at 2:12 PM, elbclimbs said:

I reached out to Denise to see if I could get some feedback, since the denial was absolutely not expected, and it seems like they didn't look at my recent coursework at all, and perhaps may not have even read my personal statement. She cited a poor grade in Calc 1 that was from 2002, but I have since retaken it along with several other prep courses and done very well, and my personal statement explained my history. When I responded to clarify that they were looking at the old grade and not my recent work, she dismissed me completely and said they've been doing this for a long time. Wow. I'm honestly shocked and don't really know what to think. I had thought about reapplying at a later date, but now I don't think I will. Talk about a sour taste. Argh.

I'm sorry to hear that. There's a bit of subjectivity to admissions since the process can be holistic. Grades are one thing, but were there perhaps other areas of your application that weren't as strong? If you'd like, feel free to PM me your stats/statement and I'd be happy to offer some feedback.

My suggestion is to maybe think about trying again if you think this is the best path for you. You also have the option of applying for another division and switching later on after getting admitted.

[elbclimbs]

4 hours ago, Wackstrom said:

I'm sorry to hear that. There's a bit of subjectivity to admissions since the process can be holistic. Grades are one thing, but were there perhaps other areas of your application that weren't as strong? If you'd like, feel free to PM me your stats/statement and I'd be happy to offer some feedback.

My suggestion is to maybe think about trying again if you think this is the best path for you. You also have the option of applying for another division and switching later on after getting admitted.

My GRE was quite high (she even said it was "very high"), I had what I think were decent LORs, and I have several years of good (though not entirely relevant) work experience, along with some recent relevant projects. But she cited the poor grade from 2002 and that I had some repeated classes. In my personal statement, I attempted to briefly explain my academic history - I was diagnosed with ADHD at 30 and prior to that had been sort of all over the place academically, which is what she was referring to. However, since being diagnosed, everything has improved, and I thought I had proven that with my performance since then. That's what I meant when I said it seemed they ignored all of that. I would reapply, but clearly it's not going to make a difference, if they're just going to ignore anything I've done since being diagnosed and focus on the old stuff, so I'm looking at other options. I may just need to work my way through non-degree courses at a state school after all. 

[Wackstrom]

19 hours ago, elbclimbs said:

My GRE was quite high (she even said it was "very high"), I had what I think were decent LORs, and I have several years of good (though not entirely relevant) work experience, along with some recent relevant projects. But she cited the poor grade from 2002 and that I had some repeated classes. In my personal statement, I attempted to briefly explain my academic history - I was diagnosed with ADHD at 30 and prior to that had been sort of all over the place academically, which is what she was referring to. However, since being diagnosed, everything has improved, and I thought I had proven that with my performance since then. That's what I meant when I said it seemed they ignored all of that. I would reapply, but clearly it's not going to make a difference, if they're just going to ignore anything I've done since being diagnosed and focus on the old stuff, so I'm looking at other options. I may just need to work my way through non-degree courses at a state school after all. 

I can't speak for Denise but I don't think she's the primary application reviewer. My understanding is that faculty review applicants for their respective division, so in your case it would have been ECE faculty. Unfortunately, the admissions standards will vary between divisions - some faculty may more carefully scrutinize pre-reqs based on where they were taken (I heard one case where an ECE student had to retake DiffEq - even though he already took it at UCLA - due to differing standards of rigor (?!?!) ... probably an extreme example). From everyone I talked to, though, this has generally not been an issue (I took mine at various community colleges) but ECE may be more uniquely stringent in this respect.

As I said already, it's not hard to switch divisions once you get in so it would be worth thinking about applying to another one first and making the switch later on.

[elbclimbs]

1 hour ago, Wackstrom said:

I can't speak for Denise but I don't think she's the primary application reviewer. My understanding is that faculty review applicants for their respective division, so in your case it would have been ECE faculty. Unfortunately, the admissions standards will vary between divisions - some faculty may more carefully scrutinize pre-reqs based on where they were taken (I heard one case where an ECE student had to retake DiffEq - even though he already took it at UCLA - due to differing standards of rigor (?!?!) ... probably an extreme example). From everyone I talked to, though, this has generally not been an issue (I took mine at various community colleges) but ECE may be more uniquely stringent in this respect.

As I said already, it's not hard to switch divisions once you get in so it would be worth thinking about applying to another one first and making the switch later on.

Interesting. I also took mine at a community college, so maybe that was part of it. I'll certainly consider applying to a different division, then. Thanks!

[adamechanical]

On 11/6/2018 at 8:57 AM, elbclimbs said:

Was not at all expecting a decision so quickly, but denied. Extremely disappointed. 

 

On 11/28/2018 at 10:14 AM, elbclimbs said:

Interesting. I also took mine at a community college, so maybe that was part of it. I'll certainly consider applying to a different division, then. Thanks!

@elbclimbs, I wouldn't bother reapplying. Ever since I finished my MSME program at my local state university (note: I started with a BA in English), I never gave a second thought to my BU rejection and I'm REALLY glad I didn't go even if I did get in. I'm not trying to knock down BU, but they're not the only game in town and definitely not as good a deal as your local state school. Even with all the mishmash of community college classes (I went to 10 different schools moving around), I still got my degree and had no problem getting a job and also got my PE license in Mechanical Engineering with no additional explanation. Don't let BU's decision discourage you, you can do it! Give your local school a chance, mine definitely changed my life. Eventually, as you progress in your engineering career, where you went to school will be the least of anyone's concerns.

[ghanada]

On 1/3/2019 at 4:03 PM, adamechanical said:

 

@elbclimbs, I wouldn't bother reapplying. Ever since I finished my MSME program at my local state university (note: I started with a BA in English), I never gave a second thought to my BU rejection and I'm REALLY glad I didn't go even if I did get in. I'm not trying to knock down BU, but they're not the only game in town and definitely not as good a deal as your local state school. Even with all the mishmash of community college classes (I went to 10 different schools moving around), I still got my degree and had no problem getting a job and also got my PE license in Mechanical Engineering with no additional explanation. Don't let BU's decision discourage you, you can do it! Give your local school a chance, mine definitely changed my life. Eventually, as you progress in your engineering career, where you went to school will be the least of anyone's concerns.

This is good advice. The reason BU's LEAP program initially gained popularity in the mid 2000's is because it was pretty much the only option for non-engineers to get into an engineering Masters program. The kicker was that nearly every person received substantial scholarship, I believe I had around 75% scholarship when I started. So the cost of attending was on par or even cheaper than attending a public university. Also, at that time BU's grad BME rank was like #7 or something in US News and World Report so it was prestigious, almost fully funded, and located in a cool city. I haven't kept up with LEAP recently but even by the end of my time there things drastically changed (e.g. firing of Helaine was a massive hit) and they made a huge cutback in funding. I basically stopped recommending it to people. 

Bottom line is that there are most likely many ways of achieving your end goal and everyone should really explore all options available. If attending LEAP is the best fit, I would recommend at least completing every possible pre-requisite course you can at a local community college to save money and then just do the last of the courses through LEAP. But if you can find other programs that are open to accepting non-engineering undergrads, look into those too. Some engineering disciplines are more flexible about this. BME is often pretty flexible with what undergrad majors they accept. But say electrical engineering might not be as flexible. 

[jrm2831]

Reviving this thread (once again) since it's the largest source of LEAP testimony outside of the odd reddit thread or BU's website.  Submitted my application last week(the 15th) for the Materials Science and Engineering LEAP program.  I have pretty ok GRE scores(IMO a little mediocre for an engineering application) 155 Q 161 V 5.0 AW, a BS in Biotechnology with a 3.26 GPA and minors in chemistry, marketing and BA and also about 5 years work experience in a major biotech company.  In addition, I retook Calc II at a community college in 2018 to refresh my calc abilities in preparation for this. 

-Does anyone know the current competitiveness of the program?(some of the people in this thread have talked about that, but I don't think data from 2012 is entirely reliable in 2020)

-Does anyone know how long it takes for BU to make an admissions decision? its only been a week and im going crazy here.

 

Edited January 22, 2020 by jrm2831

[lilmermaid23]

On 1/21/2020 at 8:54 PM, jrm2831 said:

Reviving this thread (once again) since it's the largest source of LEAP testimony outside of the odd reddit thread or BU's website.  Submitted my application last week(the 15th) for the Materials Science and Engineering LEAP program.  I have pretty ok GRE scores(IMO a little mediocre for an engineering application) 155 Q 161 V 5.0 AW, a BS in Biotechnology with a 3.26 GPA and minors in chemistry, marketing and BA and also about 5 years work experience in a major biotech company.  In addition, I retook Calc II at a community college in 2018 to refresh my calc abilities in preparation for this. 

-Does anyone know the current competitiveness of the program?(some of the people in this thread have talked about that, but I don't think data from 2012 is entirely reliable in 2020)

-Does anyone know how long it takes for BU to make an admissions decision? its only been a week and im going crazy here.

 

Hi jrm! I also submitted my application on 1/15 and I’m going crazy!! Hopefully we’ll hear back by mid March if admissions follow recent trends. I applied to BME. Graduated from UCLA with a degree in Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Genetics (3.5). 159 Q and 162 V 4.5 AW. Fingers crossed!

[ghanada]

On 2/10/2020 at 7:13 AM, lilmermaid23 said:

Hi jrm! I also submitted my application on 1/15 and I’m going crazy!! Hopefully we’ll hear back by mid March if admissions follow recent trends. I applied to BME. Graduated from UCLA with a degree in Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Genetics (3.5). 159 Q and 162 V 4.5 AW. Fingers crossed!

A fellow bruin! That was my alma mater before doing the BU LEAP program. Good luck!

[jrm2831]

On 2/10/2020 at 10:13 AM, lilmermaid23 said:

Hi jrm! I also submitted my application on 1/15 and I’m going crazy!! Hopefully we’ll hear back by mid March if admissions follow recent trends. I applied to BME. Graduated from UCLA with a degree in Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Genetics (3.5). 159 Q and 162 V 4.5 AW. Fingers crossed!

Good luck!  BME is such an awesome discipline!  I was hoping that I wouldn't have to wait that long for a decision, but I guess it's out of our hands now.

[jrm2831]

Just received my acceptance letter with quarter tuition scholarship! good luck to all current and future applicants!

[lilmermaid23]

Received my acceptance February 18th with 1/3 tuition scholarship! So excited. Can’t wait to meet everyone and best of luck to current and future applicants. 

[financialengineer]

Hey guys,

I'm a current LEAP student in the Materials Science program, I have one more semester before I get my MS. A few pointers about the whole process for your benefit.

 

Take as many prerequisites as you can at community college! BU is so expensive (even with a scholarship)! $55000 a semester and not to mention the crazy cost of living! I have to pay $1975 for a tiny 1 br for my wife, child, and I. Its nuts! Please go to community college for phase I, it can cost less than $1000 a year. This especially applies to Materials Science because every single class can be taken at a CC. I don't check this account often, but if I happen to see a message I'll send you the required LEAP course list for your major that was recently hidden for no good reason. I've heard from former leapers that you needed to have something like 6 uncompleted undergrad courses to be admitted to LEAP, and maybe that used to be true, but definitely not anymore.

 

Also, if you happen to get a 1/3 scholarship, they will give some bull that your scholarship is 0.33*tuition, and disregard those other decimals to rip you off of about $100. If you talk to them and insinuate that that's grounds for a class action lawsuit, they'll give it to you because they know it's dishonest.

 

Use connections and apply for lab assistant positions immediately, it doesn't matter if you have no experience. I am not as bold, and I have passed up a lot of opportunity, but I know people who are getting great experience and connections as soon as they walk through the door.

 

Lastly, if your advisor tries to tell you that you should retake a course you already have a good grade in, push back, unless you feel you have forgotten the material. My advisor wanted me to retake Diff EQ, and I fought that man till he admitted I didn't actually have to, and I have had no bad consequences.

 

Bottom line, take CC classes, and get in and out as fast as possible to save $, and make connections and get experience ASAP.

[Banananut]

Hi @AustinChemical, thanks for taking the time to write up your thoughts. I recently was accepted into the MechE program and am having a tough time deciding if it’s the right choice. I was hoping to hear that grad students would be eligible for fellowships or research funding if they follow the thesis pathway but was sadly informed this is not the case. Did you end up applying for external research scholarships to assist with your grad school tuition or did you choose the M.Eng route to get out quicker? The estimated $78,000 a year price tag is a tough pill to swallow even with the 1/3 tuition scholarship, especially when most graduate schools will provide funding for Master’s students. On a side note, I would love to get the list of prerequisites for the MechE program if you’d be willing to send it. Hoping to knock out some courses before starting in the spring (assuming I bite the bullet and commit!).

[ghanada]

13 hours ago, Banananut said:

especially when most graduate schools will provide funding for Master’s students.

Just a heads up that in my experience Master's students are typically NOT funded at most schools. PhD students are nearly always funded, but Masters students are usually not, but depending on the school, there can be opportunities for Masters students to try and source funding themselves by doing things like teaching, research for a lab, work study, etc. So just be aware that getting a Masters tends to be an expensive affair regardless of going through LEAP or not. Though BU is obviously on the most expensive side of the scale given its tuition cost and cost of living in Boston. 

Everything @AustinChemical said is spot on. Basically, complete as much as you can outside of BU and spend the least amount of semesters/time as you can enrolled at BU. It has been a while since I graduated (2012), but I remember lots of gotchas in dealing with funding. For instance, I remember that it was required to be enrolled and be a paying student in order to officially graduate. So even though I was doing independent research work in a lab for my MS thesis and not enrolled in any coursework (I was already done with that), I still had to pay quite a bit of money in order to be officially enrolled just to turn my thesis in and say I graduated. 

The best advice is to just consider long and hard if a Masters in an engineering program is exactly what you will need to reach your career goals. If there are other cheaper routes that could be possible, spend time looking into those too. For me, I really wanted to get a PhD in biomedical engineering and there was nearly no possible way with my background and GPA that I could have gotten into a good PhD program without LEAP. So I sucked it up and took on nearly 6 figures of LEAP debt in order to do it, and in the end it worked out, I made it to a good PhD program, and now I'm in a career doing everything I had always dreamed of and more. I'm still paying a boatload of money each month (near $1k) to pay off all that debt, but it is what it is and I wouldn't have changed the path I took.

[Sinibotia]

I submitted my application to this program a few days ago. My academic profile isn't strong (2.8 GPA, no publications) but I have good recs, a decent trend in grades (3.9 final year GPA), decent quant score, great verbal, and I think a very strong SOP. Also a minor in math with a 3.6 GPA in math classes lol. I don't have high hopes that I'll get in but stranger things have happened! I'll be sure to update as soon as I get a response. 

[nodeofranvier]

On 3/15/2021 at 6:19 PM, Sinibotia said:

I submitted my application to this program a few days ago. My academic profile isn't strong (2.8 GPA, no publications) but I have good recs, a decent trend in grades (3.9 final year GPA), decent quant score, great verbal, and I think a very strong SOP. Also a minor in math with a 3.6 GPA in math classes lol. I don't have high hopes that I'll get in but stranger things have happened! I'll be sure to update as soon as I get a response. 

Have you heard back yet? I submitted mine around the same time as you with similar stats, but I’ve just received an acceptance to another program that only gave me a week to confirm the enrolment. I might try to call tomorrow and let them know I have a deadline, hopefully it works out. 

[nodeofranvier]

Update: I got in! Just received my offer this morning with 1/4 tuition scholarship!

[adamechanical]

On 4/22/2021 at 9:33 AM, nodeofranvier said:

Update: I got in! Just received my offer this morning with 1/4 tuition scholarship!

Great news! Best of luck! Engineering is the coolest.

[birdie10]

On 7/28/2021 at 1:59 PM, adamechanical said:

Great news! Best of luck! Engineering is the coolest.

Applied 3/15 for BME concentration - so far, the only LEAP BME students I can find online have bachelor's in Biology. When I asked Denise if bio background is required for BME concentration, and she said no. 

Anybody without biology background applied for BME concentration within LEAP? 

[adamechanical]

37 minutes ago, birdie10 said:

Applied 3/15 for BME concentration - so far, the only LEAP BME students I can find online have bachelor's in Biology. When I asked Denise if bio background is required for BME concentration, and she said no. 

Anybody without biology background applied for BME concentration within LEAP? 

I think as long as you meet their minimum requirements, your application is fair game. They're judging you on the totality of your application and your potential for success in the program. If they don't explicitly say it's a requirement, it isn't one.

Good luck @birdie10!!

I know I'm a broken record about this but I'll keep repeating it: did you happen to apply to other schools (i.e. your local public university) besides BU? They're not the only option for people with a non-engineering background. Either way, go chase your dream! You can do it! ?

[scroach399]

Applying for BME Oct 1st! 

Something I was unclear about, hoping someone can clarify: can you do either MEng or MS? Or is it just MS?