Boston University often called simply BU, is a private research institution in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has a lot of colleges, but BU is the largest with about 32k undergrads. BU has an acceptance rate of about 14%. BU’s acceptance rate has been falling pretty dramatically over the last ten years and has become competitive to get into. Their supplement is fairly short, but we wanted to break it down to give you the best chance of getting in.
What about being a student at Boston University most excites you? * 250
This is a fairly straightforward “why do you want to go here essay?” We know they say “most,” but this essay can be about more than one thing. However, the heart of this essay needs to be academic. The first step to writing this essay is choosing a major you want to study at BU. If you aren’t sure what you want to study yet, choose a major that you would likely study. No one will hold you to this essay once you are on campus, but you should write this essay as if you have already decided what you want to study.
Once you have a major chosen, you can start this essay with a short personal story about how you became interested in this major. For example, if you choose Anthropology, maybe your grandfather took you to a museum every Sunday or how you connected to your culture as a young person and how that sparked a love of learning about cultures. The next step showing how that connection grew into you wanting to study it at college. Maybe you took an online class about anthropology or interned at a museum, etc. The next step is to state that you want major in it at BU.
Once you have stated your major it’s time to back it up with some research about the major at BU. You can study anthropology anywhere, it’s your job to show that you want to study it at BU and you would make the most of your time there. You need to research the specific program and should look for classes, professors, and opportunities that are specific to BU.
Stay away from mentioning things like intro courses. These are usually standard everywhere. Instead, you should be looking for at least 2 higher-level courses. For example, CAS AN 397 Anthropology and Film: Ways of Seeing is a lot more specific than CAS AN 101 Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology. You should also name a professor you want to do research with. If there are any specifics to the program it is good to mention those as well. These can be things like concentrations (for example BU has 4 anthro concentrations), laboratories, fellowships, honors, etc. offered by the department. When you talk about these specifics, weave in your own interests/experiences that drew you to want to take advantage of these opportunities.
Once you have talked about academics you can mention an extracurricular opportunity on campus that relates to something you already do. For example, if you are on your high school’s debate team, you can say that you would want to get involved with BU’s Mock Trial Organization. It doesn’t need to be exactly the same as what you do now, but it should be related. This not only gives you a moment to talk about yourself and your interests but also shows you have researched student life at BU.
This essay is only 250 words, so your conclusion is going to be short. Do your best to wrap up all the points that you just made and then you are done! 250 is faster than you think so most likely you will need to cut down your first draft a little which is fine! Just make sure to mention specifics and make your points.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (OPTIONAL): PLEASE USE THIS SPACE IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, MATERIALS, OR WRITING SAMPLES YOU WOULD LIKE US TO CONSIDER.
BU has an optional space to add more to your supplement. We only advise doing this if you have useful information. This might sound harsh, but they don’t care about a poem or an essay about how you love science. This should be used for materials that add a lot of context to your application or if your application wouldn’t be complete without them. Really think if your additional information does one of these two functions before submitting.
If you aren’t sure what to put here, it probably means, you don’t need to put anything here.
BU’s supplement is pretty straightforward. If you follow our formula you should have a strong supplement that gets to the point and shows the admissions office you have a strong academic plan for your time at their school (even if it’s a short essay!)
Still, need help with your supplements? Contact us here.