2009-2010 Columbia University Application Thread

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In summary, it comes down to this:

If you badger the dean enough without being annoying, and they have a reasonable amount of interest in you, then you have a decent shot of getting in off the waitlist. Your chances of getting in are directly correlated with the amount of interest that you show in Columbia; they really want the waitlisted students who are truly interested in the school. Write them a letter of intent, send emails, and call them!
 
Rajasthan said:
In summary, it comes down to this:

If you badger the dean enough without being annoying, and they have a reasonable amount of interest in you, then you have a decent shot of getting in off the waitlist. Your chances of getting in are directly correlated with the amount of interest that you show in Columbia; they really want the waitlisted students who are truly interested in the school. Write them a letter of intent, send emails, and call them!
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They definitely want people who are going to be happier here, but people do get off waitlist without correspondence.
 
benny345 said:
I am sort of lying to you - my address is in Bryn Mawr, so maybe its faster??
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Eh...i think it'd be slower to get to burbs. I live in the city. Do you go to school at the Mawr? I may be an alumni of a college not too far away....

Ugh, if I do get a rejection I will be seriously bummed. This was probably one my two top choices. I also was only asked two questions at my interview, "Why Columbia", "Tell me about studying abroad". Lasted about 15 minutes. My interviewer then stopped asking questions, told me he had read my file, that I seemed like an interesting person, and that I was an excellent candidate- I would be either waitlisted or accepted, he couldn't tell which, and then spent 30 minutes trying to tell me why Columbia was a great school and all the selling points. He even spent time trying to convince me not to go to the institution I currently work at (and basically why columbia was better than it). I just don't get the point of inviting me to interview, going through that spiel with me, and then rejecting me. Le sigh.
 
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mdeast said:
Eh...i think it'd be slower to get to burbs. I live in the city. Do you go to school at the Mawr? I may be an alumni of a college not too far away....

Ugh, if I do get a rejection I will be seriously bummed. This was probably one my two top choices. I also was only asked two questions at my interview, "Why Columbia", "Tell me about studying abroad". Lasted about 15 minutes. My interviewer then stopped asking questions, told me he had read my file, that I seemed like an interesting person, and that I was an excellent candidate- I would be either waitlisted or accepted, he couldn't tell which, and then spent 30 minutes trying to tell me why Columbia was a great school and all the selling points. He even spent time trying to convince me not to go to the institution I currently work at (and basically why columbia was better than it). I just don't get the point of inviting me to interview, going through that spiel with me, and then rejecting me. Le sigh.
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Yeah, my interviewer definitely took the time to tell me how much 'fun' I'd have at Columbia and how good of a fit I was for the school. I also live 20 minutes west of Manhattan, so I'm majorly bummed to not have heard anything from Columbia yet. I will ditto your le sigh.

Maybe I'll see you around Mt. Sinai!
 
mdeast said:
....

Ugh, if I do get a rejection I will be seriously bummed. This was probably one my two top choices. I also was only asked two questions at my interview, "Why Columbia", "Tell me about studying abroad". Lasted about 15 minutes. My interviewer then stopped asking questions, told me he had read my file, that I seemed like an interesting person, and that I was an excellent candidate- I would be either waitlisted or accepted, he couldn't tell which, and then spent 30 minutes trying to tell me why Columbia was a great school and all the selling points. He even spent time trying to convince me not to go to the institution I currently work at (and basically why columbia was better than it). I just don't get the point of inviting me to interview, going through that spiel with me, and then rejecting me. Le sigh.
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This is such a common complaint, but the reasons for nonacceptance (at least right away) are the same: Your interviewer can advocate for you, but it is a group of people who never met you who vote on your application. They may not be as enamored with your credentials.
 
mdeast said:
Eh...i think it'd be slower to get to burbs. I live in the city. Do you go to school at the Mawr? I may be an alumni of a college not too far away....
.
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Nah I actually went to Columbia...so really hope I get to go back! Definitely my top choice and am willing to schmooze excessively to get in...I grew up in Bryn Mawr though...are you a wildcat?
 
benny345 said:
Nah I actually went to Columbia...so really hope I get to go back! Definitely my top choice and am willing to schmooze excessively to get in...I grew up in Bryn Mawr though...are you a wildcat?
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Our mascot was a bit more squirrely.
 
honker said:
This is such a common complaint, but the reasons for nonacceptance (at least right away) are the same: Your interviewer can advocate for you, but it is a group of people who never met you who vote on your application. They may not be as enamored with your credentials.
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I'm totally understanding of a waitlist (heck, this is Columbia, it's competitive, I honestly wasn't expecting to get accepted outright) and maybe that's what I'll end up getting... but I just don't get the point of reviewing my app out of 8,000, inviting me to interview, asking me only two questions at my interview, telling me I won't be rejected and that I'm a great candidate....then rejecting me. It just seems like a waste of time for everyone. I don't sit here and claim to be an all star candidate, but I think I'm a sociably well adjusted and passionate enough person that my interview skills aren't going to be my downfall. Judging that an initial review screens for things like GPA, MCAT, activities, etc., I just don't get how a committee could sit down, say I'm unqualified to attend after only attempting to go at length to ask me two questions at my interview.
 
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mdeast said:
I'm totally understanding of a waitlist (heck, this is Columbia, it's competitive, I honestly wasn't expecting to get accepted outright) and maybe that's what I'll end up getting... but I just don't get the point of reviewing my app out of 8,000, inviting me to interview, asking me only two questions at my interview, telling me I won't be rejected and that I'm a great candidate....then rejecting me. It just seems like a waste of time for everyone. I don't sit here and claim to be an all star candidate, but I think I'm a sociably well adjusted and passionate enough person that my interview skills aren't going to be my downfall.
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You act as though this process makes any sense at all. UCSF was my top choice going into the process, and I think that I should be pretty competitive there. They love research, my graduate advisor holds a joint faculty position there, I know a ton about the school and have good reasons to like them, etc. They rejected me pre-secondary. I appealed, they sent me a secondary, and rejected me right away again. I'm over it, but I don't understand it even a little bit. You have to take this entire process with a grain of salt.
 
mdeast said:
Our mascot was a bit more squirrely.
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Oh, I know! (my current roommate and some neighbors went there). I also went to school in the area (think Owls and Quakers). Sorry for intruding on the conversation; it's just fun to see similar-ish people on SDN.
 
taciturngirl said:
Oh, I know! (my current roommate and some neighbors went there). I also went to school in the area (think Owls and Quakers). Sorry for intruding on the conversation; it's just fun to see similar-ish people on SDN.
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My highschool used to run with your track team mdeast, and taciturn girl - I currently work for the quakers, haha - small world!
 
taciturngirl said:
Oh, I know! (my current roommate and some neighbors went there). I also went to school in the area (think Owls and Quakers). Sorry for intruding on the conversation; it's just fun to see similar-ish people on SDN.
Click to expand...

Would that be Temple Owls or Bryn Mawr Owls?
 
benny345 said:
My highschool used to run with your track team mdeast, and taciturn girl - I currently work for the quakers, haha - small world!
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Ooo...then they ran with me! I do miss those runs.
 
taciturngirl said:
Heh, I did a postbac at BM, so all of my crazy undergrad shenanigans took place at Penn. I still have my mustard-stained Hey Day shirt...

Anonymity be damned apparently...I'll modify these posts later.
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No Crazy Shenanigans at BM?? I am going to go ahead and call your bluff...
 
taciturngirl said:
Heh, I did a postbac at BM, so all of my crazy undergrad shenanigans took place at Penn. I still have my mustard-stained Hey Day shirt...

Anonymity be damned apparently...I'll modify these posts later.
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My hs was across the street from bryn mawr - had my graduation there!
 
Sob. despite obsessive mailbox checking, no word yet... are only the acceptances going out express mail and all the waitlists/rejections are regular mail? Or am I just being crazy? I'm on East Coast canada so i thought i would have heard back by now... 🙁
 
Question123 said:
No way, Food Source is half for the memories...
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Please tell me you at least at some point got a $6 dollar pitcher of Yuengling at Roaches.

I'm hopping on a flight to the West Coast for my final interview, so no checking my mail until Monday. Le sigh. I just wanna hear something.
 
Rejected by mail in MD. Had a pretty unremarkable interview so I guess I'm not too surprised.
 
Finally the letter came! Waitlisted, highly ranked also.

Letter dated 3/5/2010
Letter postmarked 3/5/2010

Letter arrived Chicago IL on 3/11/2010 2pm CST
 
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Also received a WL letter today from both Bassett and Columbia. Wording is essentially the same on both letters FWIW.
 
panda, JTJ, and Frazzle, where are you all located?
 
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Waitlisted in northern CA, highly ranked.

Are all people on the waitlist "highly ranked?" If not, do people know how large the highly ranked pool is?
 
DoctwoB said:
Waitlisted in northern CA, highly ranked.

Are all people on the waitlist "highly ranked?" If not, do people know how large the highly ranked pool is?
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Looking back at the last few pages, it looks that there are some people who had letters saying "very highly ranked" (huybeme, alf911) and even one person who had a personal note from the dean (jimgard). If I were to speculate, and if differences between "highly ranked" and "very highly ranked" actually exist, I would guess the wait list would move in this order:

"very highly ranked" with a personal note--> "very highly ranked"--> "highly ranked."


Dunno. Simply mere speculation...
 
Got a waitlist letter with "very highly ranked" here. What to do, what to do...
 
i wish they would be honest about our chances instead of using doublespeak 🙄
 
Waitlisted today as well, "very highly ranked". Like everyone else, what does this MEAN?!

tjquinn
 
pelliper said:
i wish they would be honest about our chances instead of using doublespeak 🙄
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I don't think this is a Columbia issue. Frankly, they're right- if we've gotten this far, we're all very highly ranked applicants, and we're probably all capable of doing well at Columbia. And if we're not ranked, there's really no more information to give us.
 
so all waitlist letters are all worded the same? or is there a distinction between highly ranked and very highly ranked?
 
I think it's safe to assume they're worded the same.
 
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To Mmm, or anyone else who knows... do you know how the new curriculum will factor into students interested in doing an MPH (or MBA though I really care about the former)? Would we take after the first clinical year or before after the 18 month preclinical? I was curious b/c I haven't really seen how this would fit in and the MPH is a huge draw for me. Addmittedly, I'm waitlisted, but I still want to know while considering my options.

Thanks!
 
Question123 said:
To Mmm, or anyone else who knows... do you know how the new curriculum will factor into students interested in doing an MPH (or MBA though I really care about the former)? Would we take after the first clinical year or before after the 18 month preclinical? I was curious b/c I haven't really seen how this would fit in and the MPH is a huge draw for me. Addmittedly, I'm waitlisted, but I still want to know while considering my options.

Thanks!
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I am looking at MD/MBA. Although I'd love to see can wait for mmmcdowe's answer, I have been looking into it myself on the Columbia website-there are a few pdf files located on the link here http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/ps/affairs/dualdegree.html that are specific for each program, including the one you are looking at (MPH). From the looks of it, it is quite flexible, and starts after the clinical year. However, from what I have heard you can take 1 free class per semester at any School under the Columbia umbrella. I have to wonder if this means that you can lets say take the first semester to adjust, and then take 1 class (at night maybe) in the spring semester, and then one in the summer, 1 in the fall, etc to start building credits in your other school. That way, you could still maintain strong involvement in medicine instead of just working on your other degree program separately.

Hope this helps-in any case, I am going to second look weekend, and from the looks of it they will be talking about dual degree programs there. If you don't find your answer on these forums by then, PM me and I'll probably have something to tell you, since I am very interested in pursuing dual degree and thus will be sitting in on the sessions.
 
ElegantWeapon said:
I am looking at MD/MBA. Although I'd love to see can wait for mmmcdowe's answer, I have been looking into it myself on the Columbia website-there are a few pdf files located on the link here http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/ps/affairs/dualdegree.html that are specific for each program, including the one you are looking at (MPH). From the looks of it, it is quite flexible, and starts after the clinical year. However, from what I have heard you can take 1 free class per semester at any School under the Columbia umbrella. I have to wonder if this means that you can lets say take the first semester to adjust, and then take 1 class (at night maybe) in the spring semester, and then one in the summer, 1 in the fall, etc to start building credits in your other school. That way, you could still maintain strong involvement in medicine instead of just working on your other degree program separately.

Hope this helps-in any case, I am going to second look weekend, and from the looks of it they will be talking about dual degree programs there. If you don't find your answer on these forums by then, PM me and I'll probably have something to tell you, since I am very interested in pursuing dual degree and thus will be sitting in on the sessions.
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Thanks so much for the quick and thorough reply! Hopefully I'll get to join you next year!
 
tjquinn said:
Waitlisted today as well, "very highly ranked". Like everyone else, what does this MEAN?!

tjquinn
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It means the same as the mild wording changes one sees in letters from Dean Frantz after you send thank you letters to your interviewer.
 
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