2009-2010 Columbia University Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
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hasslefree said:
Not sure of that argument because if they withdrew then they probably didn't ask for aid or get sufficient aid to go to the school
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while i'm with you on this general idea, i don't think your reasoning here is correct. yes, there's a smaller likelihood of aid for waitlistees, but it's not because of what you just posted. people withdraw for all kinds of reasons, not just because they didn't get enough money.
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Not sure how it works at Columbia, but a financial aid officer at one school said that it was very important for all waitlisters to have their financial aid forms in, so that they could be 'packaged' ASAP when being pulled off the list. That way, when it's July and they give you a week or less to decide, you can have that financial info w/in a day.
 
premad said:
Not sure how it works at Columbia, but a financial aid officer at one school said that it was very important for all waitlisters to have their financial aid forms in, so that they could be 'packaged' ASAP when being pulled off the list. That way, when it's July and they give you a week or less to decide, you can have that financial info w/in a day.
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yeah that would make sense. but...

1. they didn't give us/send us links to/whatever any of the forms
2. it appears that they don't give you a week or so to decide-- you're offered a place in the class on the spot, and that offer almost seems contingent upon whether you're ready to commit

now that i think about it, it kind of bothers me that columbia does it that way. hm.
 
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I think many schools do consider strongly those students who have already started on financial aid. If you haven't elected to send them your FAFSA (or the supplemental application....say....NeedAccess, I'm not sure what Columbia does), it might be a sign that you aren't as interested/serious about attending. I wouldn't send in individual tax returns, etc. because no one in the office wants that if you're not accepted. But, at least make sure they got your FAFSA. I know there was a thread in the Pitt waitlist discussion that talked about Pitt even sending out an email about this (i.e. it seemed advantageous for everyone to let them know they were still serious about attending by getting financial aid forms in).
 
mdeast said:
I think many schools do consider strongly those students who have already started on financial aid. If you haven't elected to send them your FAFSA (or the supplemental application....say....NeedAccess, I'm not sure what Columbia does), it might be a sign that you aren't as interested/serious about attending. I wouldn't send in individual tax returns, etc. because no one in the office wants that if you're not accepted. But, at least make sure they got your FAFSA. I know there was a thread in the Pitt waitlist discussion that talked about Pitt even sending out an email about this (i.e. it seemed advantageous for everyone to let them know they were still serious about attending by getting financial aid forms in).
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I agree but I can't help not to believe that discretionary money (grants and scholarships rather than loans) is given out more to the people they out righted accepted rather than those accepted off the WL...one of the things people have to weigh is getting money from a school they are accepted at or waiting for an acceptance to a WL school and getting no money... everyone that's been through this have unanimously said better to not have debt when you're done... if you do great at state school (less or no debt) and you can get a great residency.... big fish little pond theory everyone keeps telling me.
 
dw2158 said:
yeah that would make sense. but...

1. they didn't give us/send us links to/whatever any of the forms
2. it appears that they don't give you a week or so to decide-- you're offered a place in the class on the spot, and that offer almost seems contingent upon whether you're ready to commit

now that i think about it, it kind of bothers me that columbia does it that way. hm.
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Definitely fill out fasfa. You should also fill out Needaccess. Those are the two forms that Columbia will require of you.

Also, the people who are being offered acceptances on the spot tend to be the ones that made it abundantly clear that they would accept a spot in the class above all other offers. They aren't trying to strong arm you when they offer you an acceptance on the spot, they are fulfilling your wish. Thus, not being offered an acceptance on the spot does not mean you won't get one in the mail.
 
dw2158 said:
yeah that would make sense. but...

1. they didn't give us/send us links to/whatever any of the forms
2. it appears that they don't give you a week or so to decide-- you're offered a place in the class on the spot, and that offer almost seems contingent upon whether you're ready to commit

now that i think about it, it kind of bothers me that columbia does it that way. hm.
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I think if you asked about financial aid, they would have to give you time to decide. I think AAMC still recommends at least a week for decision off of the waitlist. That is a very fair thing to do, and I don't think you'd be at fault for it.

Also, I think waitlisters can often get lucky. Suppose Columbia has a scholarship grant they gave to an accepted student to entice them to enroll. That student goes elsewhere.

Now do they...
(1) Give it to a student who is already accepted/enrolled from the initial batch.
(2) Give it to a waitlistee to also entice them to enroll.

I'd choose option 2 personally. You might not have gotten that scholarship if you were among the initial group of acceptances (where you might be competing with students who have 40 MCAT scores, 4.0 GPA and have been accepted to seven Top 10 schools).

Haha, and I don't know why I'm still posting on this thread, but I always get tempted. Trying to look at the glass half full perspective for you. Hope you end up where you like the best. See you at Sinai on Friday ;)
 
mdeast said:
I think if you asked about financial aid, they would have to give you time to decide. I think AAMC still recommends at least a week for decision off of the waitlist. That is a very fair thing to do, and I don't think you'd be at fault for it.

Also, I think waitlisters can often get lucky. Suppose Columbia has a scholarship grant they gave to an accepted student to entice them to enroll. That student goes elsewhere.

Now do they...
(1) Give it to a student who is already accepted/enrolled from the initial batch.
(2) Give it to a waitlistee to also entice them to enroll.

I'd choose option 2 personally. You might not have gotten that scholarship if you were among the initial group of acceptances (where you might be competing with students who have 40 MCAT scores, 4.0 GPA and have been accepted to seven Top 10 schools).

Haha, and I don't know why I'm still posting on this thread, but I always get tempted. Trying to look at the glass half full perspective for you. Hope you end up where you like the best. See you at Sinai on Friday ;)
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Your reasoning is enticing for the WL student... but I think absolutely erroneous ..they'd go with option 1 givng it to the initially accepted student... I have already heard from friends who had acceptences at other top 10 schools that they have asked for more aid than their initial pkg and in some cases their pkg improved... the pie money is finite therefore that amount of money has to be less available for the WL group... unfortunately being realistic best aid pkg is probably for people outright accepted and not the WL group because those are the people that want most hence they weren't WLed
 
Well, usually schools offer more money out than they plan to give, with the expectation that some students will withdraw. So, if someone with a scholarship pulls out, its also possible that they wouldn't offer it to anyone. Also, the admissions office really doesn't have a lot of say in the matter of financial aid. It goes to a few other departments (office of diversity, office of financial aid) for evaluation, so in the end it also matters how much THEY want you.




mmmcdowe the downer I know :D
 
mmmcdowe said:
Definitely fill out fasfa. You should also fill out Needaccess. Those are the two forms that Columbia will require of you.

Also, the people who are being offered acceptances on the spot tend to be the ones that made it abundantly clear that they would accept a spot in the class above all other offers. They aren't trying to strong arm you when they offer you an acceptance on the spot, they are fulfilling your wish. Thus, not being offered an acceptance on the spot does not mean you won't get one in the mail.
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yeah, i did fafsa and needaccess already (submitted them before i found out i was WLed). and that's a good point about on-the-spot acceptances. i didn't 100% commit in my letter to them, so i hope i wouldn't end up in that position.

mdeast said:
Haha, and I don't know why I'm still posting on this thread, but I always get tempted. Trying to look at the glass half full perspective for you. Hope you end up where you like the best. See you at Sinai on Friday ;)
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woot! honestly, i think the only reason i'm hanging onto columbia is that it's columbia. after doing a lot of thinking, and reviewing a lot of information i've gotten recently, i think sinai is probably better for me... but i'm not totally sure. anyway, excited for friday!!
 
Hopefully we hear something soon...Last year there were people on 4/21 4/24 4/27 4/29 and 5/04 who got in off the waitlist.

Does anyone (mmmcdowe :) ) know if this year's waitlist is expected to move normally/ quickly/ slowly?
 
Mailinator said:
Hopefully we hear something soon...Last year there were people on 4/21 4/24 4/27 4/29 and 5/04 who got in off the waitlist.

Does anyone (mmmcdowe :) ) know if this year's waitlist is expected to move normally/ quickly/ slowly?
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Too soon to tell according to Dean Nicholas, they never get a lot of withdrawals until closer to May 15th..
 
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hasslefree said:
When you got in last year off the WL was it an email, call or snail mail?
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I got accepted on the phone, but it wasn't a call to tell me about an acceptance. I called Dean Frantz to tell him about something I wanted to add. I had just sent an update and this was big enough that I felt it was worth telling them pre-May 15th. How you are informed of your decision is variable on your situation and what you have been doing to get off. I can't really say much more than that because Dean Nicholas might be doing things differently. Dean Frantz seemed to prefer snail mail, in person, or on the phone, but Dr. Nicholas may very well send out acceptances by email (followed by a formal letter in the mail). I personally would guess not, but who knows?
 
mmmcdowe said:
I got accepted on the phone, but it wasn't a call to tell me about an acceptance. I called Dean Frantz to tell him about something I wanted to add. I had just sent an update and this was big enough that I felt it was worth telling them pre-May 15th. How you are informed of your decision is variable on your situation and what you have been doing to get off. I can't really say much more than that because Dean Nicholas might be doing things differently. Dean Frantz seemed to prefer snail mail, in person, or on the phone, but Dr. Nicholas may very well send out acceptances by email (followed by a formal letter in the mail). I personally would guess not, but who knows?
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As usual thanks for your personal info... but basically for this year no idea how contact for WL will be :eek::xf:
 
mmmcdowe said:
I got accepted on the phone, but it wasn't a call to tell me about an acceptance. I called Dean Frantz to tell him about something I wanted to add. I had just sent an update and this was big enough that I felt it was worth telling them pre-May 15th. How you are informed of your decision is variable on your situation and what you have been doing to get off. I can't really say much more than that because Dean Nicholas might be doing things differently. Dean Frantz seemed to prefer snail mail, in person, or on the phone, but Dr. Nicholas may very well send out acceptances by email (followed by a formal letter in the mail). I personally would guess not, but who knows?
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So incredibly anxious any WL news today?????
 
sickandtired said:
So incredibly anxious any WL news today?????
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You gotta wait til May 15th (or a little bit after) to be seriously worrying. Despite many things, most people hold onto their acceptances until May 15th at which point their final decision is made. Columbia won't know how many spots they have until all of those withdrawals go through. So, be patient. Under 3 weeks til May 15th!
 
mdeast said:
You gotta wait til May 15th (or a little bit after) to be seriously worrying. Despite many things, most people hold onto their acceptances until May 15th at which point their final decision is made. Columbia won't know how many spots they have until all of those withdrawals go through. So, be patient. Under 3 weeks til May 15th!
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Thank you for the needed "get a grip" talk but on last years thread movement had already occurred
 
sickandtired said:
Thank you for the needed "get a grip" talk but on last years thread movement had already occurred
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True. My point being though, most movement takes place after May 15th. This is true of all US medical schools. I'd worry more then, rather than now.
 
sickandtired said:
Thank you for the needed "get a grip" talk but on last years thread movement had already occurred
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My hope is that it is not a fluke year where only several people get taken off the list. I know this happened at JHU last year--only 3 got off the WL....
 
Mailinator said:
My hope is that it is not a fluke year where only several people get taken off the list. I know this happened at JHU last year--only 3 got off the WL....
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seriously, there is no sense in even thinking about this right now! relax. and i say this as a fellow waitlistee :rolleyes:
 
See part of the problem is that only a fraction of people who get off waitlist or get 2nd interviews are on or post on SDN, so it really is hard to gauge that by SDN numbers alone. May 15th is when most waitlist movement starts, any current waitlist movement is with the cautious anticipation of waitlist movement in May. Very little so far, like one or two if I remember correctly.
 
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dw2158 said:
seriously, there is no sense in even thinking about this right now! relax. and i say this as a fellow waitlistee :rolleyes:
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Well, I need something to worry about after the stock market closes each day. Why not the Columbia waitlist? hahah
 
Mailinator said:
Well, I need something to worry about after the stock market closes each day. Why not the Columbia waitlist? hahah
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needing something to worry about is generally a sign of bigger problems :laugh:
 
Mailinator said:
Well, I need something to worry about after the stock market closes each day. Why not the Columbia waitlist? hahah
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yeah...today was not a good day for the stock market. I day trade for fun at work sometimes. This will be increasingly more difficult in school when I have no income or time. lol .
 
mdeast said:
yeah...today was not a good day for the stock market. I day trade for fun at work sometimes. This will be increasingly more difficult in school when I have no income or time. lol .
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That's exactly my concern. I'm might switch to longer term stocks in med school, but for now short term is what I like :)
 
Has anyone received anything back after sending a 2nd letter post-waitlist?

Also, has anyone had any luck getting through to either dean when calling the office? If so, how did the conversation go? I'm tempted to make my first call soon...

Keeping my :xf: for all of us :)
 
dw2158 said:
i'm pretty sure second interview --> acceptance.
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For some people, they aren't offered an acceptance on the spot, but find out later. I'm pretty sure you are right though....unless the dean isn't impressed with the person.
 
dw2158 said:
i'm pretty sure second interview --> acceptance.
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I'm afraid that this isn't the case. :( A good sign, but not a guarantee. They do quite a few second interviews, more than they have spots to give out for sure. Just in the last few weeks I've seen as many as 2-3 in a given day. That doesn't count phone ones. There are also the numerous people who interviewed with the Deans. They also get off waitlist.
 
mmmcdowe said:
I'm afraid that this isn't the case. :( A good sign, but not a guarantee. They do quite a few second interviews, more than they have spots to give out for sure. Just in the last few weeks I've seen as many as 2-3 in a given day. That doesn't count phone ones. There are also the numerous people who interviewed with the Deans. They also get off waitlist.
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does this mean that if you didn't interview with a dean and have not been offerred a second interview that you're pretty much out of luck?
 
For accepted students, do we have to send a check by May15th..or 14th to officially accept Columbia's offer?
 
mmmcdowe said:
To allow the Deans to have personal contact with as many applicants as possible and for a second chance to sell yourself.
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a little use of logic tells me that since i didnt get a second interview and didnt interview with a dean, they they basically dont want to have further personal contact with me, nor do they want to give me a second chance to sell myself :mad:
 
pelliper said:
a little use of logic tells me that since i didnt get a second interview and didnt interview with a dean, they they basically dont want to have further personal contact with me, nor do they want to give me a second chance to sell myself :mad:
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Chill out, it's still early. Most people won't give up their seats until just before the 15th, so anything before that is premature.
 
pelliper said:
a little use of logic tells me that since i didnt get a second interview and didnt interview with a dean, they they basically dont want to have further personal contact with me, nor do they want to give me a second chance to sell myself :mad:
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I see little logic and much anxiety ;)

They might not need to interview again, perhaps your interviewer gave you great marks with lots of details and they feel that there is no reason for it. In that case, perhaps they are simply waiting for more information or for a spot to come open that you fit into. They might be waiting until later due to overflow. They might be waiting for more enthusiasm on your part (I don't recall if you sent in letters or a request for a 2nd interview). As someone said, it is very early in the waitlist season. Have patience and faith in yourself as an applicant.

Once again, to emphasize, not everyone who has already interviewed with a Dean is rejected. Not everyone who is offered a second interview is accepted. Not everyone who wants a second interview is given one. Not everyone who isn't given one is rejected.
 
mmmcdowe said:
I remember how much fun the admissions process can be.
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would anyone be able to find out how many have been accepted off the alternate list so far? looks like there's only one from SDN..just wondering if there are more
 
Does anyone know when orientation starts?
Also, is there still space in Bard?
 
Had a 2nd interview today with Dr. Nicholas. I was given a fat envelope and welcomed aboard. I was prepared for a far more serious encounter. I received an e-mail from Dr. Nicholas on April 26th asking me to schedule a second interview. He said when they scheduled me they intended it to be more like an interview but that in the past few days some spots had opened up and he was happy to give me the offer in person. Sounds like there is some room for a few more WLers! Good luck to those who still need it.
 
bluebeard said:
Does anyone know when orientation starts?
Also, is there still space in Bard?
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Orientation starts August 23rd - they have a link up to the orientation website on the 2014 facebook group.

I don't think they've sent out the Bard assignments yet...
 
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