2009-2010 Columbia University Application Thread

Applying to Med School? Get In Or Your Money Back
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is columbia keeping it old school with snail mail like last year or are they incorporating some email to quicken the pace?
 
mdeast said:
Am I not too late to send in a interest/update letter? I interviewed in mid-October. I've been super busy and didn't want to send it until I finished my last interview (which was last week). Is email OK....or should I mail it? Has the committee started to meet to discuss next year's class? I've probably asked this before.

Thanks!
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I'd guess mail. I sent an update letter that way but I have no idea whether they even put it in my file. I just know it got there through USPS tracking but that's it.
 
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mmmcdowe said:
As far as I know they are still sending out letters.
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keeping it old school i like it-looks like my parents might find out before me though...i don't get home for spring break till friday the 5th :/...hope its not disappointing since this is my absolute first choice
 
mmmcdowe said:
Oh, for those who are interested the last day of interviews is next Monday I believe, so the admissions committee is probably switching over to review mode soon.
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Thanks! Just sent my update letter via email to the office. Hope someone reads it in time haha.
 
mmmcdowe said:
Oh, for those who are interested the last day of interviews is next Monday I believe, so the admissions committee is probably switching over to review mode soon.
Click to expand...

I hope my update letter has been filed by then...:scared:
 
me too-i believe it was exactly two weeks from today one year ago that columbia sent out the first decisions...

the die will have been cast in two weeks-good luck friends! i hope to be at columbia with some of y'all next year
 
ElegantWeapon said:
me too-i believe it was exactly two weeks from today one year ago that columbia sent out the first decisions...

the die will have been cast in two weeks-good luck friends! i hope to be at columbia with some of y'all next year
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does anyone know how frequently they make calls? daily? every other day? some schools make acceptance calls once every two weeks (those schools have rolling acceptances, so i imagine columbia won't be doing that)
 
ny2207 said:
does anyone know how frequently they make calls? daily? every other day? some schools make acceptance calls once every two weeks (those schools have rolling acceptances, so i imagine columbia won't be doing that)
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or do they send out letters only? i have no clue
 
ny2207 said:
does anyone know how frequently they make calls? daily? every other day? some schools make acceptance calls once every two weeks (those schools have rolling acceptances, so i imagine columbia won't be doing that)
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last year it was letters only (acceptances priority mail), and as mmmcdowe said a few posts ago, as of now he believes it will stay like that this yr
 
well i'm not holding my breath. odds are slim to none. thanks columbia for the chance. it was nice to meet you dean frantz. i expect a nice skinny letter in my mailbox 2 weeks from now
 
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Its been a while obviously, but I'm not entirely sure that skinny letters are all waitlist/rejection. They might be all the same size.... If someone wants to go back and reread last years thread I know someone mentions it.
 
mmmcdowe said:
Its been a while obviously, but I'm not entirely sure that skinny letters are all waitlist/rejection. They might be all the same size.... If someone wants to go back and reread last years thread I know someone mentions it.
Click to expand...

like an over-obsessed dork, instead of studying for my exam this friday, last night I read through the old stuff and last year I believe that only the acceptances came through large package priority mailing...you can go back and confirm that though I already feel weird enough
 
ny2207 said:
well i'm not holding my breath. odds are slim to none. thanks columbia for the chance. it was nice to meet you dean frantz. i expect a nice skinny letter in my mailbox 2 weeks from now
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did i miss something? :confused: If you already interviewed, don't count yourself out, man. from other people's posts, admissions seems like a bit of a crapshoot. It ain't over till it's over! And even then, it seems like there was a quite a bit of movement on the waitlist last year.

also, just a question on the letters: do they /all/ come out in one big batch or is it in rounds after the final decisions are made?
 
runawayclock said:
did i miss something? :confused: If you already interviewed, don't count yourself out, man. from other people's posts, admissions seems like a bit of a crapshoot. It ain't over till it's over! And even then, it seems like there was a quite a bit of movement on the waitlist last year.

also, just a question on the letters: do they /all/ come out in one big batch or is it in rounds after the final decisions are made?
Click to expand...

They all come out in one stream, which takes a few days usually.
 
mmmcdowe said:
They all come out in one stream, which takes a few days usually.
Click to expand...

mmmcdowe, do you think it will still be that first wednesday in march or can it be any day in that first week that they send? let us know if possible (or if you hear anything between now and then)...If not, then I'm assuming 13 days till the decisions are finalized!
 
ElegantWeapon said:
mmmcdowe, do you think it will still be that first wednesday in march or can it be any day in that first week that they send? let us know if possible (or if you hear anything between now and then)...If not, then I'm assuming 13 days till the decisions are finalized!
Click to expand...

Decisions will go out when they are ready essentially. It is a tad up in the air because it depends on how fast they work through the files and come up with the names.
 
MMM, is there anyway to confirm whether they recieved your LOI? I definitely do not want to be the person who calls the poor busy secretary to ask, but I also want to make sure it made it!
 
mmmcdowe said:
Decisions will go out when they are ready essentially. It is a tad up in the air because it depends on how fast they work through the files and come up with the names.
Click to expand...

Oh no, not MORE uncertainty in the med school admissions process-I guess no matter what I'll never get used to the variability...All we can do is hope!

Question123 said:
MMM, is there anyway to confirm whether they recieved your LOI? I definitely do not want to be the person who calls the poor busy secretary to ask, but I also want to make sure it made it!
Click to expand...

Same here-I emailed it and also sent a follow up hard copy on Tuesday...I was thinking of calling early next week to make sure?
 
Go ahead and call if you like, though you'll often eventually get a mailed confirmation of your letter. I should also mention that another reason why it could be any day that week is because of the not small task of actually printing, packaging, and mailing those letters. I remember I once sent out 50 letters on my own and it took FOREVER to get through them.
 
I sent a letter on Jan 26th and called today to see if they had it. They do not...I am from Philadelphia and we have had some pretty crazy snow since I sent it, which might have something to do with the delay, but I would recommend calling to check based on this personal experience
 
benny345 said:
I sent a letter on Jan 26th and called today to see if they had it. They do not...I am from Philadelphia and we have had some pretty crazy snow since I sent it, which might have something to do with the delay, but I would recommend calling to check based on this personal experience
Click to expand...

wow wow thats a while back already! Now I'll definitely be calling on monday
 
ElegantWeapon said:
wow wow thats a while back already! Now I'll definitely be calling on monday
Click to expand...

Yea, I was surprised.

I sent them an email today with the word document, but they said they could not open it (maybe because I have word 2003...ancient by now I guess). I ended up having to send it plain text, which stinks because it does away with the format of the letter...ah well. I still do not know if they have been able to open it.
 
I sent a LOI by email on Feb. 16. I called to check, and the lady was very nice, told me she'd printed it out and added it to my file on Feb. 17. Also she said decisions would be mailed out during the first week of March. :luck: Good luck to all! This is my top choice too! :)
 
mmmcdowe said:
I'd recommend calling asap if you are concerned about something. Once files are pulled by the adcom it can be hard for the office to confirm receipt of your letters.
Click to expand...

(I think your post was maybe directed at me? Not sure) but either way, thanks! I did call and it did go through - I do not love the plain text format but hopefully the adcom cares more about the content!
 
first week of march???
I foresee obsessive meat world mail box checking for my future...
 
Yeah, I just called to see if they got an update and it turns out my files pulled and under review already (so she couldn't confirm) - yikes!
 
Question123 said:
Yeah, I just called to see if they got an update and it turns out my files pulled and under review already (so she couldn't confirm) - yikes!
Click to expand...

and the process is underway! I called too-said they got it but nothing about a pulled file yet...the woman was very nice and said "good luck with everything"...was scared to call but I guess as long as you are really polite they understand its a stressful process
 
ElegantWeapon said:
and the process is underway! I called too-said they got it but nothing about a pulled file yet...the woman was very nice and said "good luck with everything"...was scared to call but I guess as long as you are really polite they understand its a stressful process
Click to expand...

agreed. lady is super nice
 
So since pretty soon many of you will have tough decisions to make, I've decided to post of view things that I have written and said about Columbia (some of this might sound familiar to those who met me).

What do you think about your experience so far? Did you find it to be stressful, fun, relaxing, intense, rewarding, awesome, or what? What's the teaching style like? Are you involved with any research there? Is there any special aspect about Columbia that you found especially appealing?


All good questions. I have loved my Columbia experience so far. I can't say that I have been stressed. What I really love about Columbia is everything is geared towards allowing for the expression of the diverse interests of our class here. There's only one way to do that in medical school, and that is to take as much of the anxiety as possible out medical education. There is a lot of free time in the pre-clinical years, even in Columbia's curriculum. However, how much of that you take advantage of is very much dependent on your comfort and confidence levels as far as exams go. For example, I did a play during a week with four exams. There's no way I would have done that at another school that didn't have columbia's grading system for pre-clinicals (pass/fail, NO internal ranking system). I did just fine on those exams, but I know that if I had spent the extra time studying I could have gotten at least one more point on those exams. If I was at a school with a stringent pre-clinical grading system, I would have done just that. I think that's a shame, because residency directors don't really care all of that much about pre clinical grades as long as you don't do poorly. Here, you have free time and the confidence to use it. So you can enjoy NYC, do research, work at a clinic, or just explore specialties. I love the options that that opens up for you. As far as learning style goes, Columbia doesn't really try to shove a specific style of learning down your throat. Rather, it gives you the options to do PBL, group learning, lecture based learning, or self study at your preference because almost all things are non-mandatory. So if you don't like lecture, watch it online. Don't like small group? Don't go. It allows you to learn the way you do best rather than forcing you to learn how to learn again. I personally always attend lecture except for occasionally the earliest (9:00) and I pick and choose what small groups I go to. All in all, I would say that Columbia is diverse, fun, achieving, and relaxed all in one. Diverse especially, and that includes what your goals are. Some people focus more on fun, others focus on research and achieving, there's no pressure to do anything that you don't want to. They just want you to do well whatever you choose to do as a physician, be that research, academia, global health, etc.

I am involved in research, yes. I work on studying a specific vascular malformation in the brain. That's one of the great things about going to a school that is pass fail unranked. However, I'd just like to emphasize that there is no pressure to do research or anything for that matter. Columbia doesn't care what you end up doing, so long as you are the best at it (so they can brag about you).

What are your thoughts about the step 1 being taken after 3rd year rather than before?

I feel that there are a number of major advantages to the changes in the curriculum. First of all, the changes in the curriculum alter the focus of the pre-clinical years. At many schools, the pre-clinical curriculum is focused on preparing students for the step 1 exam, but ultimately this is truly not the purpose of early medical education despite the importance that this exam. At Columbia, the revised curriculum now allows for us to instead focus on preparation for the clinical year by placing the Step 1 exam afterward. Everything now focuses on preparing students in terms of both learning the diagnosis and treatment of disease and for the implementation of that knowledge in the third and fourth years. Exams, for example, are in the form of clinical vignettes to prepare students for the types of thinking required in later years. Even as a first year, I have been able to apply what I have learned in a patient setting through one of Columbia's student run
clinics in order to supplement the knowledge of more experience students.

This movement of the step 1 at the same time allows for a more natural progression of preparation for the exam without taking any focus away from preparing for and performing during the major clinical year. The step 1, while not a test of the third year's content, is nonetheless based on the critical reasoning required during clinical practice. At the same time, the education one receives during third year is still based on the foundations
of the pre-clinical curriculum. This additional training, while not tested, provides an advanced framework of knowledge that will only amplify a student's ability to tackle the questions posed on the step 1 and to better relearn forgotten material during the six weeks given to students after third year for Step 1 preparation. With an entire year's worth of practice using the deductive reasoning of medicine, and also the advanced third
year knowledge which is ultimately based on and incorporated into the pre-clincal framework, this more than compensates for not teaching to the step 1 like many schools without being detrimental to the progression of medical education.

Also, if anyone has any other questions feel free to ask or email your lunch/tour guides.
 
Last edited:
stop teasing mmmcdowe, we already love columbia enough :p

kidding thanks for all the info-it sounds amazing, hence my top choice!

mmmcdowe said:
So since pretty soon many of you will have tough decisions to make, I've decided to post of view things that I have written and said about Columbia (some of this might sound familiar to those who met me).

What do you think about your experience so far? Did you find it to be stressful, fun, relaxing, intense, rewarding, awesome, or what? What's the teaching style like? Are you involved with any research there? Is there any special aspect about Columbia that you found especially appealing?


All good questions. I have loved my Columbia experience so far. I can't say that I have been stressed. What I really love about Columbia is everything is geared towards allowing for the expression of the diverse interests of our class here. There's only one way to do that in medical school, and that is to take as much of the anxiety as possible out medical education. There is a lot of free time in the pre-clinical years, even in Columbia's curriculum. However, how much of that you take advantage of is very much dependent on your comfort and confidence levels as far as exams go. For example, I did a play during a week with four exams. There's no way I would have done that at another school that didn't have columbia's grading system for pre-clinicals (pass/fail, NO internal ranking system). I did just fine on those exams, but I know that if I had spent the extra time studying I could have gotten at least one more point on those exams. If I was at a school with a stringent pre-clinical grading system, I would have done just that. I think that's a shame, because residency directors don't really care all of that much about pre clinical grades as long as you don't do poorly. Here, you have free time and the confidence to use it. So you can enjoy NYC, do research, work at a clinic, or just explore specialties. I love the options that that opens up for you. As far as learning style goes, Columbia doesn't really try to shove a specific style of learning down your throat. Rather, it gives you the options to do PBL, group learning, lecture based learning, or self study at your preference because almost all things are non-mandatory. So if you don't like lecture, watch it online. Don't like small group? Don't go. It allows you to learn the way you do best rather than forcing you to learn how to learn again. I personally always attend lecture except for occasionally the earliest (9:00) and I pick and choose what small groups I go to. All in all, I would say that Columbia is diverse, fun, achieving, and relaxed all in one. Diverse especially, and that includes what your goals are. Some people focus more on fun, others focus on research and achieving, there's no pressure to do anything that you don't want to. They just want you to do well whatever you choose to do as a physician, be that research, academia, global health, etc.

I am involved in research, yes. I work on studying a specific vascular malformation in the brain. That's one of the great things about going to a school that is pass fail unranked. However, I'd just like to emphasize that there is no pressure to do research or anything for that matter. Columbia doesn't care what you end up doing, so long as you are the best at it (so they can brag about you).

What are your thoughts about the step 1 being taken after 3rd year rather than before?

I feel that there are a number of major advantages to the changes in the curriculum. First of all, the changes in the curriculum alter the focus of the pre-clinical years. At many schools, the pre-clinical curriculum is focused on preparing students for the step 1 exam, but ultimately this is truly not the purpose of early medical education despite the importance that this exam. At Columbia, the revised curriculum now allows for us to instead focus on preparation for the clinical year by placing the Step 1 exam afterward. Everything now focuses on preparing students in terms of both learning the diagnosis and treatment of disease and for the implementation of that knowledge in the third and fourth years. Exams, for example, are in the form of clinical vignettes to prepare students for the types of thinking required in later years. Even as a first year, I have been able to apply what I have learned in a patient setting through one of Columbia's student run
clinics in order to supplement the knowledge of more experience students.

This movement of the step 1 at the same time allows for a more natural progression of preparation for the exam without taking any focus away from preparing for and performing during the major clinical year. The step 1, while not a test of the third year's content, is nonetheless based on the critical reasoning required during clinical practice. At the same time, the education one receives during third year is still based on the foundations
of the pre-clinical curriculum. This additional training, while not tested, provides an advanced framework of knowledge that will only amplify a student's ability to tackle the questions posed on the step 1 and to better relearn forgotten material during the six weeks given to students after third year for Step 1 preparation. With an entire year's worth of practice using the deductive reasoning of medicine, and also the advanced third
year knowledge which is ultimately based on and incorporated into the pre-clincal framework, this more than compensates for not teaching to the step 1 like many schools without being detrimental to the progression of medical education.

Also, if anyone has any other questions feel free to ask or email your lunch/tour guides.
Click to expand...
 
mmmcdowe said:
So since pretty soon many of you will have tough decisions to make, I've decided to post of view things that I have written and said about Columbia (some of this might sound familiar to those who met me).
Click to expand...

it's amazing that you can be a full-time student and also spend so much time talking to pre-meds. do you hope to eventually become a med school admissions dean?
 
SwineSue said:
it's amazing that you can be a full-time student and also spend so much time talking to pre-meds. do you hope to eventually become a med school admissions dean?
Click to expand...

Shhh, Dean Nicholas might have just started but you gotta plan early for these things.
 
benny345 said:
I sent a letter on Jan 26th and called today to see if they had it. They do not...I am from Philadelphia and we have had some pretty crazy snow since I sent it, which might have something to do with the delay, but I would recommend calling to check based on this personal experience
Click to expand...

Looks like I might have to make that call on Monday then. I sent mine a day earlier.
 
So can anyone confirm that Columbia is done giving out interview invites?
 
Quick question: a friend said they mail decision letters to your permanent address rather than your preferred address. True? False? i'm just wondering b/c my permanent address is on the opposite side of the country will increase the wait/anxiety time.........
thanks
 
Green Onions said:
Quick question: a friend said they mail decision letters to your permanent address rather than your preferred address. True? False? i'm just wondering b/c my permanent address is on the opposite side of the country will increase the wait/anxiety time.........
thanks
Click to expand...

Hmmm. I hope not. I'd prefer to see my waitlist letter myself rather that have to hear the dissapointment in my parent's voice when they open the letter over the phone lol.
 
I am at school and accidentally left my Columbia interview day packet at home, but does anyone know if we are supposed to apply for financial aid pre-decision? Please let me know!
 
Nerday Shortay said:
I am at school and accidentally left my Columbia interview day packet at home, but does anyone know if we are supposed to apply for financial aid pre-decision? Please let me know!
Click to expand...

You can. Just send in your documents. They won't prepare you a financial aid package unless you're admitted though. If they have your documents it'll get done faster though.
 
Do you guys think that I am at a disadvantage for not having sent in an update letter?
 
esP13 said:
Do you guys think that I am at a disadvantage for not having sent in an update letter?
Click to expand...

Not if you haven't had anything to update. The only disadvantage would be if they didn't know great things about you that have happened. Showing interest is always a good idea if you are indeed very interested, but don't feel obligated to dredge up random stuff to do it.
 
OasisFTW said:
So can anyone confirm that Columbia is done giving out interview invites?
Click to expand...

I haven't heard anything from Columbia since my secondary so I called them today -- the lady said that they will be sending out invites till the end of this week? :confused: And, if I haven't heard anything, it means the committee hasn't decided yet, so there might be hope but VERY SLIM (her words) to get an interview.
 
kalpit210 said:
I haven't heard anything from Columbia since my secondary so I called them today -- the lady said that they will be sending out invites till the end of this week? :confused: And, if I haven't heard anything, it means the committee hasn't decided yet, so there might be hope but VERY SLIM (her words) to get an interview.
Click to expand...

You can check on it, but I thought? interviews were over last week. I'd imagine that the committee is busy selecting from interviewed applicants for the accepted class ...not perusing old applications for new invites. Admissions decisions (for everyone) go out next Monday, so if you hadn't heard anything by then it's pretty safe to assume you won't get one.

I could be totally wrong, but at this point (considering decisions are released next Monday), I seriously doubt it.
 
mdeast said:
You can check on it, but I thought? interviews were over last week. I'd imagine that the committee is busy selecting from interviewed applicants for the accepted class ...not perusing old applications for new invites. Admissions decisions (for everyone) go out next Monday, so if you hadn't heard anything by then it's pretty safe to assume you won't get one.

I could be totally wrong, but at this point (considering decisions are released next Monday), I seriously doubt it.
Click to expand...

are you sure its monday? last year they went out on a Wednesday
 
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