2014-2015 Columbia University College of P&S Application Thread

[cactus8910]

Does Columbia send complete emails? I submitted my application on 9/02 but I never got an email saying it was complete :S

I got a complete email 11 days after submitting, but that was back in July so they could be processing them slower now.

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[BioEngMD]

Does Columbia send complete emails? I submitted my application on 9/02 but I never got an email saying it was complete :S

My complete email showed up in my spam folder so might wanna check there as well.

 

[bahf19]

Can anyone who interviewed here speak to the day's schedule? Do you find out if you have a morning or afternoon interview the day of your interview, or will you find out beforehand? If you have afternoon interviews, is there something to do for the 2.5 hours allocated to morning interviews? Thanks!

 

[Copernicium]

Can anyone who interviewed here speak to the day's schedule? Do you find out if you have a morning or afternoon interview the day of your interview, or will you find out beforehand? If you have afternoon interviews, is there something to do for the 2.5 hours allocated to morning interviews? Thanks!

You find out when you sign in at the Admissions Office and get your folder and name tag. You can attend classes and do whatever until 11:15 or so if you don't have a morning interview.

 

[bahf19]

You find out when you sign in at the Admissions Office and get your folder and name tag. You can attend classes and do whatever until 11:15 or so if you don't have a morning interview.

Thanks!

 

[CTU Surgeon]

This was probably already discussed in the thread, but is there a consensus on the most convenient airport for getting to Columbia via public transportation?

 

[Bovary]

This was probably already discussed in the thread, but is there a consensus on the most convenient airport for getting to Columbia via public transportation?

If you fly into LaGuardia, you can take the express M60 SBS bus to Harlem at 125th then take a bus/subway north to Columbia. JFK is more directly connected to the subway but it's further away, and I've had no problems with the M60 bus before. For that bus in particular, buy a metrocard indoors at the airport, then use the card outside before boarding to buy a Special Bus Service (SBS) ticket.

 

[Bovary]

Anyone else have a very meager interview? My single faculty interview didn't cover a whole lot, and I scarcely talked about myself, and there was certainly no way to stand out from the other applicants who got warm, conversational interviews.

 

[FFH]

Anyone else have a very meager interview? My single faculty interview didn't cover a whole lot, and I scarcely talked about myself, and there was certainly no way to stand out from the other applicants who got warm, conversational interviews.

That was the norm according to people who interviewed last year and the year before. So probably still quite heavily paper based review, I guess even post interview. Or that the content wasn't really the key to what Columbia was looking at. Good luck.

 

[FFH]

If you fly into LaGuardia, you can take the express M60 SBS bus to Harlem at 125th then take a bus/subway north to Columbia. JFK is more directly connected to the subway but it's further away, and I've had no problems with the M60 bus before. For that bus in particular, buy a metrocard indoors at the airport, then use the card outside before boarding to buy a Special Bus Service (SBS) ticket.

Either is fine. JFK is farther but it's easier to roll around your luggage. if you have a lot then pick this one. Just sit and relax for an hour, boom! You are there on 168th. About LGA, it really depending on the time of the day you arrive/leave. Anytime weekday between 7am to 11am, 3pm to about 7:30pm, the M60 bus is going to crawl instead of roll. A short distance sure, but painful painful ride that's long and you might be standing all the way. It also depends on how much you need your plane to be on time. My FAA source and personal experiences: LGA don't handle all that many flight but they are terrible at what they do. JFK is really much better. EWR is also an option, it can be a lot cheaper for some airlines to go there, for example southwest.

 

[Bovary]

That was the norm according to people who interviewed last year and the year before. So probably still quite heavily paper based review, I guess even post interview. Or that the content wasn't really the key to what Columbia was looking at. Good luck.

Thanks for the somewhat reassuring news. Of all my interviews, columbia had by far the most impressive set of fellow interviewees, so I'd figured the interview would be extra important. Or not, it seems...

 

[e408]

I submitted my application in July and still have not gotten a complete email. Do you suggest sending a message to the school through the website to ask if it is complete?

 

[anna.bell2]

I submitted my application in July and still have not gotten a complete email. Do you suggest sending a message to the school through the website to ask if it is complete?

I submitted mine in July as well and received a complete email two days later- I think some sort of glitch might have happened there, so I think it's a good idea to contact the school and make sure everything's okay.

 

[kiwilemon961]

just received an email about "it's not too late to apply to the Bassett program"...is this just a regular recruiting email?

 

[unnumzaan]

just received an email about "it's not too late to apply to the Bassett program"...is this just a regular recruiting email?

No, it's a regular trolling email.

 

[kiwilemon961]

what's the most recent update on interviews? anybody know what complete dates they're on?

 

[sshah92]

just received an email about "it's not too late to apply to the Bassett program"...is this just a regular recruiting email?

I received the same email -- not too sure, considering that the request doesn't come with any additional fees, so maybe they just haven't received enough applications to the program? On the bright side it's good to know that "[our applications] are under active consideration by the Admissions Committee."

 

[MrMe123]

I received the email as well

 

[breakintheroof]

just received an email about "it's not too late to apply to the Bassett program"...is this just a regular recruiting email?

It seems that this email has gone out to lots of applicants in past years as well. I do not think it has much, if any, significance.

 

[kjj17]

what does it mean if you don't get that email? lol (columbia is a huge reach for me, so no surprise if I'm already secretly rejected)

 

[breakintheroof]

what does it mean if you don't get that email? lol (columbia is a huge reach for me, so no surprise if I'm already secretly rejected)

I don't think anyone knows. If you are very concerned, check last year's thread. There are probably examples of people who didn't receive the email but who were offered interviews.

I didn't get the email either. Then again, I already applied to Bassett.

 

[breakintheroof]

Speak of the devil--I got an interview invite at Bassett this morning! I was complete in mid-August. It is not possible to get work done when I am this excited.

 

[BeancheBlanco]

Anyone else have a very meager interview? My single faculty interview didn't cover a whole lot, and I scarcely talked about myself, and there was certainly no way to stand out from the other applicants who got warm, conversational interviews.

I don't know what your interview experience was exactly but you can learn a lot about someone from a warm, conversational interview.

 

[researchismymiddlename]

Speak of the devil--I got an interview invite at Bassett this morning! I was complete in mid-August. It is not possible to get work done when I am this excited.

Congrats!!!!

 

[Bovary]

I don't know what your interview experience was exactly but you can learn a lot about someone from a warm, conversational interview.

Correct. In this case, it is the "other applicants who got warm, conversational interviews", which I'm contrasting with my own cold, threadbare interview.

 

[BeancheBlanco]

Correct. In this case, it is the "other applicants who got warm, conversational interviews", which I'm contrasting with my own cold, threadbare interview.

I see. Yeah it seems difficult to compare applicants when different interviewers (and different interviewing styles) are being used. I'm sure they take the interview style into consideration though. Warm and fuzzy interviews might feel better than stressful ones, but they probably accept the same number of people from each.

 

[Bovary]

I see. Yeah it seems difficult to compare applicants when different interviewers (and different interviewing styles) are being used. I'm sure they take the interview style into consideration though. Warm and fuzzy interviews might feel better than stressful ones, but they probably accept the same number of people from each.

Maybe. Maybe not. I could see a situation where interviewers don't sit and vote on an admissions committee, but rather merely submit a post-interview report. Some interviewers could on average write significantly more positive/negative reports, but with only sparse anecdotal info via SDN it's virtually impossible to tease out these effects.

That being said, this is the main argument in favor of MMI interviews.
To quote http://www.mcgill.ca/files/caps/MMI_FAQ.pdf
"Harasym et al. (1996) demonstrated that interviewer variability accounted for
56% of the total variance in interview ratings." and this "56%" value is widely repeated on med schools' websites describing why they use MMI interviews (e.g. http://school.med.nyu.edu/md-admissions/mmi-faqs)

So I would reckon that yes, interviewer does matter, and (to make up a scenario), a school that accepts 50% of applicants post-interview might accept 75% of those interviewed by Interviewer A and 25% of those interviewed by Interviewer B. Individual admissions committees may (or may not) recognize that certain interviewers habitually report lower "scores" and thus correct for that when comparing applicants. Who knows.

 

[breakintheroof]

"Harasym et al. (1996) demonstrated that interviewer variability accounted for 56% of the total variance in interview ratings."

Given these data, it is odd that Columbia persists in using just one interviewer. Surely by now every medical school must be aware of the shortcomings of traditional interviews. Hopefully Columbia knows not to give theirs too much weight.

 

[Bovary]

Given these data, it is odd that Columbia persists in using just one interviewer. Surely by now every medical school must be aware of the shortcomings of traditional interviews. Hopefully Columbia knows not to give theirs too much weight.

True. I agree with you, and since doing a pair of MMI interviews I really do like the format (from the school's perspective. More stress, I think, for the applicant). But the above article is just one article, and there are surely arguments against the format. Probably.

 

[samsunimomo]

II! Complete 7/31.

 

[breakintheroof]

True. I agree with you, and since doing a pair of MMI interviews I really do like the format (from the school's perspective. More stress, I think, for the applicant). But the above article is just one article, and there are surely arguments against the format. Probably.

You're right, we haven't looked at all the evidence, and I am sure Columbia has their reasons. It would be hard to argue with the results of their process! I am particularly impressed by their yield (percentage of accepted students who matriculate) being so high given how many other acceptances their accepted students must have.

 

[FFH]

what does it mean if you don't get that email? lol (columbia is a huge reach for me, so no surprise if I'm already secretly rejected)

I would say it probably has more to do what type of environment you grew up in:urban, rural etc. if that's not correct, at least I can assure you that it's not about stats: I have high stats for Columbia and I am a solid applicant with II from schools with the same calibre as Columbia and I didn't get that email. So no worries for this point at least

 

[FFH]

You're right, we haven't looked at all the evidence, and I am sure Columbia has their reasons. It would be hard to argue with the results of their process! I am particularly impressed by their yield (percentage of accepted students who matriculate) being so high given how many other acceptances their accepted students must have.

That real yield is much lower. I believe the linkage program students are included in the yield, and there are tons of them. (14 last year I believe)

 

[FFH]

II! Complete 7/31.

We were completed on the same day! Congrats to you and good luck to me!

 

[breakintheroof]

That real yield is much lower. I believe the linkage program students are included in the yield, and there are tons of them. (14 last year I believe)

Ah, good to know! I take back how impressed I am by their yield. I remain impressed otherwise.

 

[toostressful]

Has anybody had any trouble updating their application? It keeps telling me I'm not using the right file type... But I'm uploading a .pdf file.

 

[Art V.]

Has anybody had any trouble updating their application? It keeps telling me I'm not using the right file type... But I'm uploading a .pdf file.

Mine went right through. I would try renaming the file

 

[anna.bell2]

Has anybody had any trouble updating their application? It keeps telling me I'm not using the right file type... But I'm uploading a .pdf file.

That happened to me one night, I tried next morning with the exact same file and it went right through. I'm not sure why or if that'll work, but it's worth trying again tmrw morning!

 

[researchismymiddlename]

Has anybody had any trouble updating their application? It keeps telling me I'm not using the right file type... But I'm uploading a .pdf file.

Worked for me on the first try! Try what @anna.bell2 posted Good luck!

 

[clowiebear]

has anybody received a post-secondary rejection? or does columbia wait until end of the cycle?

 

[researchismymiddlename]

has anybody received a post-secondary rejection? or does columbia wait until end of the cycle?

I'd like to know this too!

 

[nolentem]

A quick question regarding whether an ITA notice would be appropriate. I'm going to be in the city for a few days mid-November and am two hours away in Philadelphia. In this case, I'd be interested in scheduling an interview more to streamline scheduling and whatnot, more than to defray travel expenses.

Any thoughts on whether or not I should send an ITA notice through the website?

 

[mmmcdowe]

A quick question regarding whether an ITA notice would be appropriate. I'm going to be in the city for a few days mid-November and am two hours away in Philadelphia. In this case, I'd be interested in scheduling an interview more to streamline scheduling and whatnot, more than to defray travel expenses.

Any thoughts on whether or not I should send an ITA notice through the website?

Yes it doesnt hurt but don't think you are out of the count if they say no. The earlier you send it the more likely they can oblige if they were going to offer you an interview. Use the website yes.

And yes columbia sends out pre-interview rejections but they do wait until late in the cycle usually.

 

[daenschl]

A quick question regarding whether an ITA notice would be appropriate. I'm going to be in the city for a few days mid-November and am two hours away in Philadelphia. In this case, I'd be interested in scheduling an interview more to streamline scheduling and whatnot, more than to defray travel expenses.

Any thoughts on whether or not I should send an ITA notice through the website?

I know people who had success with ITA notices to Columbia (and all the other NY schools too by the way). Couldn't hurt!

 

[RogueUnicorn]

True. I agree with you, and since doing a pair of MMI interviews I really do like the format (from the school's perspective. More stress, I think, for the applicant). But the above article is just one article, and there are surely arguments against the format. Probably.

That's the main argument against in our case

 

[sms32291]

any II lately? I suppose theyre still meticulously going through apps that were completed late july/early august.

 

[Jr MD]

Just got one this morning!! I was complete in early sept though !! WOOOOHOOO!!!

 

[XxAnonymousxX]

I was complete 9/26, and I just received an II this morning!!

Lol...in case you can't tell, this is my absolute dream school.

Good luck to everyone applying this cycle!!

 

[Jr MD]

I was complete 9/26, and I just received an II this morning!!

Lol...in case you can't tell, this is my absolute dream school.

Good luck to everyone applying this cycle!!

Are you OOS?? CONGRATTTSS!!! It's my dream school too!!

 

[XxAnonymousxX]

Congrats to you too!!!!! I'm IS. How about you?

When is your interview? I scheduled mine for Nov 5.