2008-2009 Columbia College of P&S Secondary Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
CardiacKid said:
Anyone know what I should put in the personal information part of the app when they ask:
permenant address good until:
email address good until:

Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

I just put 10/09 for both of them.
Members don't see this ad.
 
is columbia rolling admissions?
 
Under "collegiate activities," can I put current summer activities, even though I didn't put them on my AMCAS?

Do summer activities fall under "collegiate activities," anyway? Shpanks. :oops:
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Has anyone contacted the school yet to see if their application is complete? Or does anyone know how long the wait is before they start sending out interview? Thanx
 
Wow.. this secondary needs some severe rewriting. i got a few question:

1) For question #4, should we include what kind of work was done during the academic year, or just report the hours? seems like the question is more about how much time a week were we obligated to a job than what kinda of work it was.

2) For question #5, should we include a UBER brief job description? and dates? How did you guys format this? i was thinking "JOB TITLE - DATE - UBER BRIEF DESCRIPTION," so just using comma's to separate the jobs.

3) For question #6 I'm a non-traditional applicant, so I have a few years of job experience between my undergrad education and my postbacc education. In the strictest reading of the question, this type of time gap didn't interrupt my education each individual educational course. However, it was a break in my larger educational scheme. maybe im over thinking this.
 
waterlilly said:
Has anyone contacted the school yet to see if their application is complete? Or does anyone know how long the wait is before they start sending out interview? Thanx
Click to expand...

They said on their website that they'd notify us but it'd take longer than some other schools because they don't have an electronic status check page.

I'm going to call at the end of next week if they don't receive my letters.
 
freaking columbia still has not responded to my email.. i guess i should call next week.. i emailed asking about the sept 2008/2009 thing bc i submitted before one of you guys called and asked them which to use.
 
ar2388 said:
freaking columbia still has not responded to my email.. i guess i should call next week.. i emailed asking about the sept 2008/2009 thing bc i submitted before one of you guys called and asked them which to use.
Click to expand...

I called; they said that it does not matter, at all. :)
 
sss403 said:
I called; they said that it does not matter, at all. :)
Click to expand...

really?! oh yay! thank you... hehe i feel a little better about this stupid app. ugh... why cant we just already know huh?:p
 
I got an email today saying my app was incomplete still.
 
Did you guys use up to the character limit on your long essay? Mine is about 1900 characters. Quite succinct, if I do say so myself. I'm worried that the brevity will come across as a lack of investment, however. What do you guys think?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Did you also send your letters of evaluation?

You aren't considered complete until they recieve those too right? Also, I think columbia doesn't review apps until late august, so you still have time. I wouldn't be worried yet. Call them see what they say
 
I received an e-mail from them today that I am complete. They said that my application will be reviewed when the ad com meets in mid-September and that they'll promptly notify me whether or not I'll be getting an interview.

I sent in my letters via interfolio on 7/2, but I think it was my photo that was the last received, and I sent that on 7/8.
 
Carlin said:
I received an e-mail from them today that I am complete. They said that my application will be reviewed when the ad com meets in mid-September and that they'll promptly notify me whether or not I'll be getting an interview.

I sent in my letters via interfolio on 7/2, but I think it was my photo that was the last received, and I sent that on 7/8.
Click to expand...

Nice! You're complete so early... I think my file was complete in October last year.

Congrats on your acceptance at EVMS. Wild! Accepted during sophomore year?
 
Quick questions:

1) About the "Ethnicity" field: Would "Asian-Pacific Islander" be the best choice for Chinese/Japanese/Korean?

2) For the mailing address and email address being "good until" some date, suppose that's it's good indefinitely...what date would you put?

3) When listing our GPA, do we use our AMCAS-calculated GPA or the GPA calculated by our school?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
lubthumpdub said:
Quick questions:

1) About the "Ethnicity" field: Would "Asian-Pacific Islander" be the best choice for Chinese/Japanese/Korean?

2) For the mailing address and email address being "good until" some date, suppose that's it's good indefinitely...what date would you put?

3) When listing our GPA, do we use our AMCAS-calculated GPA or the GPA calculated by our school?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

1) I think that's what I put.

2) IIRC, I just put a random date ten years from now.

3) Can't remember. Sorry.
 
lubthumpdub said:
Quick questions:

3) When listing our GPA, do we use our AMCAS-calculated GPA or the GPA calculated by our school?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Use the AMCAS GPA or you can calculate it with Columbia's provided scale conversion.
 
dienekes88 said:
1) I think that's what I put.
Click to expand...

I put asian-pacific islander, then I was confused. I thought ...perhaps it specifically meant PACIFIC ISLANDER asians, as opposed to eastern asians. Because there was a separate choice for southern asians. I e-mailed the office, told them that I was Chinese, and asked whether I should change it to "other."

They replied saying "a copy of this e-mail has been put in your file and we made a note of it." So, I'm still not exactly sure what the right answer is...
 
I'm surprised that this is this the longest secondary thread lol
Am I missing something terribly important... is there anything extra you have to do other than submit the secondary and the photo form?
 
It's the longest because it opened in mid-June. There has been more time for people to post on this thread compared to some of the others.
 
Has anyone using VEvals been marked as complete? I uploaded mine on June 12 and Columbia has still not said that I am complete.:(
 
sss403 said:
Has anyone using VEvals been marked as complete? I uploaded mine on June 12 and Columbia has still not said that I am complete.:(
Click to expand...

I had my letters uploaded to VirtualEvals on June 30 and still haven't received email that I am complete....
 
shemarty said:
I put asian-pacific islander, then I was confused. I thought ...perhaps it specifically meant PACIFIC ISLANDER asians, as opposed to eastern asians. Because there was a separate choice for southern asians. I e-mailed the office, told them that I was Chinese, and asked whether I should change it to "other."

They replied saying "a copy of this e-mail has been put in your file and we made a note of it." So, I'm still not exactly sure what the right answer is...
Click to expand...

"Asian-pacific american is a term that was used in the United States to include both Asian Americans and Americans of Pacific Islander American due to its official use as a race on the United States Census between the years 1990 and 2000. Since 2000 the United States Census Bureau has split these two groups apart because the majority of the people included in the term considered themselves to be two separate groups when questioned by the anthropologists who designed the racial definitions for the 2000 US Census. Now, Asian American and Pacific Islanders are two separate races on the US Census 2000, so the term Asian-Pacific American has decreased in use. The Asian and Pacific Islander Student Center at CSU Pomona defines an "Asian & Pacific Islander" as someone with ancestry from West, Central, North, East, South, Southeast, and East Asia and someone whose ancestry is from the Pacific Islands."

Therefore, I chose asian-pacific islander on the form.
 
sss403: Submitted 6/15, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
seven87: Submitted 6/18, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
Shemarty: Submitted: 6/19, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
ar2388: Submitted: 6/24, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
Waterlilly: Submitted: 6/27, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
copingmethods: Submitted: 6/29, Letters rec'd: 7/11, Complete: 7/15
Vadd0: Submitted: 7/2, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
Isis24: Submitted: 7/2, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
Myuuchan: Submitted: 7/6, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
rplyler1: Submitted: 7/8, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
rowerlauren: Submitted: 7/8, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
dr drummer: Submitted: 7/8, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
happyandswell: Submitted: 7/9, Letters rec'd: ??, Complete: ??
 
dynezxice said:
"Asian-pacific american is a term that was used in the United States to include both Asian Americans and Americans of Pacific Islander American due to its official use as a race on the United States Census between the years 1990 and 2000. Since 2000 the United States Census Bureau has split these two groups apart because the majority of the people included in the term considered themselves to be two separate groups when questioned by the anthropologists who designed the racial definitions for the 2000 US Census. Now, Asian American and Pacific Islanders are two separate races on the US Census 2000, so the term Asian-Pacific American has decreased in use. The Asian and Pacific Islander Student Center at CSU Pomona defines an "Asian & Pacific Islander" as someone with ancestry from West, Central, North, East, South, Southeast, and East Asia and someone whose ancestry is from the Pacific Islands."

Therefore, I chose asian-pacific islander on the form.
Click to expand...

Okay, but then why are "South Asia" and "Southeast Asian" two of the dropdown menu choices if Asia-Pacific Islander means "someone with ancestry from West, Central, North, East, South, Southeast, and East Asia and someone whose ancestry is from the Pacific Islands"?

I'm still really confused. :(
 
shemarty said:
Okay, but then why are "South Asia" and "Southeast Asian" two of the dropdown menu choices if Asia-Pacific Islander means "someone with ancestry from West, Central, North, East, South, Southeast, and East Asia and someone whose ancestry is from the Pacific Islands"?

I'm still really confused. :(
Click to expand...

I guess Columbia wanted to be specific. Since "South Asians" refer to people from India and its surrounding countries, and "Southeast Asians" to countries like Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, etc, it wouldn't be accurate for them if they categorize themselves as "Asian-Pacific."

Asia-Pacific Islander is someone who has ancestry from West, Central, North, East, South, Southeast, and East Asia AND from the Pacific Islands.

All in all, I am also befuddled with the whole categorization, as these things changes from time to time.
 
dynezxice said:
I guess Columbia wanted to be specific. Since "South Asians" refer to people from India and its surrounding countries, and "Southeast Asians" to countries like Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, etc, it wouldn't be accurate for them if they categorize themselves as "Asian-Pacific."

Asia-Pacific Islander is someone who has ancestry from West, Central, North, East, South, Southeast, and East Asia AND from the Pacific Islands.

All in all, I am also befuddled with the whole categorization, as these things changes from time to time.
Click to expand...

Argh. Do I really want to bother sending another follow-up e-mail to confirm that they understand that I'm Chinese and therefore selected whichever ethnicity is most appropriate for a Chinese person on my application? Because now I think that I might be listed as "other."

Or...Maybe I don't really care. I don't think it'll matter, and if they ask me why I'm marked as "other" at my interview, I'll just explain or something. Or, they can probably clearly tell from my picture that I'm Chinese.

I don't get it. Why is India different from Thailand, but Fiji is not different from China?
 
shemarty said:
Argh. Do I really want to bother sending another follow-up e-mail to confirm that they understand that I'm Chinese and therefore selected whichever ethnicity is most appropriate for a Chinese person on my application? Because now I think that I might be listed as "other."

Or...Maybe I don't really care. I don't think it'll matter, and if they ask me why I'm marked as "other" at my interview, I'll just explain or something. Or, they can probably clearly tell from my picture that I'm Chinese.

I don't get it. Why is India different from Thailand, but Fiji is not different from China?
Click to expand...

In the big scheme of things, this minor detail is not going to have an impact. :thumbup:
 
shemarty said:
:oops: I know, I was just frustrated because I didn't know what to do about it.
Click to expand...

It's like a dean of admissions told me this past semester, "don't sweat the small stuff." It's hard for me to let stuff like that go, though, because "the devil's in the details."

Gee, it sure is fun pitting two cliches against one another!
 
Hey, so I took the MCAT 7/10 but I don't want to wait until mid-August to submit the Columbia's secondary. Can I leave the MCAT score boxes blank and just have my test date on there?
 
serikk85 said:
Hey, so I took the MCAT 7/10 but I don't want to wait until mid-August to submit the Columbia's secondary. Can I leave the MCAT score boxes blank and just have my test date on there?
Click to expand...

I'm going to guess "yes," but you can call the office to check. They probably get your score through AMCAS.
 
Has anybody received any notifications about Columbia receiving your photo or your LORs?
 
Last edited:
Nope - just wondering if anyone else has heard anything, or if they've just been quiet for a while.
 
seven87 said:
shemarty seems to enjoy calling schools...
Click to expand...

True, hahah...shemarty is all about those phone calls we all hate to make.

Same thing here though, all has been sent for over a month now, but no email. What I find weird is that someone (previous post) received an e-mail about being incomplete.

Oh well..I think we'll be ok ;)
 
sss403 said:
True, hahah...shemarty is all about those phone calls we all hate to make.

Same thing here though, all has been sent for over a month now, but no email. What I find weird is that someone (previous post) received an e-mail about being incomplete.

Oh well..I think we'll be ok ;)
Click to expand...

That would be me - I received that email, and I emailed asking if I should send my LORs/photo again, since it had been a while since I had sent them. Then they wrote back, and said they actually did have them, and marked me complete!
 
I just emailed them and they had received my letters and photo, but not my AMCAS. They said the reason for this was they had just begun receiving the AMCAS applications.

That is why we haven't heard from them.
 
seven87 said:
I just emailed them and they had received my letters and photo, but not my AMCAS. They said the reason for this was they had just begun receiving the AMCAS applications.

That is why we haven't heard from them.
Click to expand...

I just heard the same thing from them. LAME
 
Man, I guess it really *was* quite pointless to submit these secondaries back in June, if they didn't start downloading our AMCAS applications until just recently.

I guess it was good to have them be done, though.
 
shemarty said:
Man, I guess it really *was* quite pointless to submit these secondaries back in June, if they didn't start downloading our AMCAS applications until just recently.

I guess it was good to have them be done, though.
Click to expand...

Yeah but now that I'm done and have 0 secondaries hanging over my head I'm enjoying the break. I mean I have been pondering Duke's old essays, but I don't want to actually write it until I know the prompts for sure.

My roommate is slacking and hasn't even started her essay... so not everyone has submitted theirs.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

wysdoc
2022-2023 South Carolina, Columbia
2 3 4
Replies
166
Views
33K
ScribeForHire
S
wysdoc
2022-2023 Missouri, Columbia
2 3 4
Replies
174
Views
36K
OtisO
OtisO
chilly_md
2022-2023 Columbia (Vagelos)
7 8 9 10 11
Replies
507
Views
166K
zackowacko
Z
wysdoc
2022-2023 Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW)
15 16 17 18 19
Replies
943
Views
219K
tolietpaper123
T
wysdoc
2022-2023 New York Medical College
15 16 17 18 19
Replies
933
Views
227K
purplepanda23
P
Top