2010-2011 Columbia Application Thread

Started by ksmi117
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Plasticup said:
Just spotted a ridiculously embarrassing typo in my secondary application, but have already hit "submit" - know if there is any way to correct it? Could resubmitting overwrite my previous application?
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Plasticup said:
Does this club have any advice? I uploaded the wrong document to that "optional essay." Is there any way to change that? Do you think they could just tear the last page out of my file altogether - I don't even need an essay there, really.
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You could call or email the correction to the office.
 
I received a complete email on August 2nd but the status on the website never changed to say application complete. is anyone else in a similar situation? 😕
 
Acp2010 said:
I received a complete email on August 2nd but the status on the website never changed to say application complete. is anyone else in a similar situation? 😕
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Who told you the online status would change? The complete email shall do fine.
 
What exactly is entailed by "extracurricular activities?"

Are these activities done through the school, or just hobbies I do in my free time, or what?
 
CaptainSSO said:
What exactly is entailed by "extracurricular activities?"

Are these activities done through the school, or just hobbies I do in my free time, or what?
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If you are applying this cycle and you do not know what "extracurricular activities" are....God Bless You...

But "extracurricular" means anything outside the curriculum, which would be anything not related to your "regular" school work. Voluntary work, even if you set it through the school, would be extracurricular because it was not a requirement for your degree, or courses, etc..

(I hope i didn't sound like an ass..)
 
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BrainBuff said:
If you are applying this cycle and you do not know what "extracurricular activities" are....God Bless You...

But "extracurricular" means anything outside the curriculum, which would be anything not related to your "regular" school work. Voluntary work, even if you set it through the school, would be extracurricular because it was not a requirement for your degree, or courses, etc..

(I hope i didn't sound like an ass..)
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You did, but I appreciate the response. Thanks.
 
mmmcdowe said:
The class of 2014 is moving in this week and next. That means interview/tour season is coming 😍
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Yay! Do you know what opportunities that us 1st-years will have to help out on the upcoming interview process? I was a bit overwhelmed with all the info I got on my interview day so I don't really remember which specific duties were assigned to which current students.
 
FrazzleSnazzle said:
Yay! Do you know what opportunities that us 1st-years will have to help out on the upcoming interview process? I was a bit overwhelmed with all the info I got on my interview day so I don't really remember which specific duties were assigned to which current students.
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1st years are paired with second years at first to make the transition.
 
BrainBuff said:
If you are applying this cycle and you do not know what "extracurricular activities" are....God Bless You...

But "extracurricular" means anything outside the curriculum, which would be anything not related to your "regular" school work. Voluntary work, even if you set it through the school, would be extracurricular because it was not a requirement for your degree, or courses, etc..

(I hope i didn't sound like an ass..)
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You do sound like an ass. Keep your useless comments to yourself.
 
Does anyone know why the essays say "do not use return or enter"?

How am I supposed to separate paragraphs in the essay, and lines in the extracirricular section?
 
astrife said:
Does anyone know why the essays say "do not use return or enter"?

How am I supposed to separate paragraphs in the essay, and lines in the extracirricular section?
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Do use enter to separate paragraphs in your satisfaction essay. I think when they say do not use return or enter refers to the extracurricular, awards, and work responses where they want you to separate things by comma.
 
Just received my Complete e-mail. Does anyone know when the first interviews go (or went) out?

Oh, and I sent in my secondary on 8/1, and was complete on 8/24. Seems like that standard wait is about 3 weeks.
 
coreankim said:
Just received my Complete e-mail. Does anyone know when the first interviews go (or went) out?

Oh, and I sent in my secondary on 8/1, and was complete on 8/24. Seems like that standard wait is about 3 weeks.
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As far as I know they are still processing people before offering interviews. Fridays are often the big "decision' meetings of adcoms, with those decisions being sent out soon after.
 
Hey! I've read online elsewhere that the secondary application is my place to really show the institution why I choose them specifically. But there is no spot to do that on the Columbia application.

Should I include in the additional information a third essay as to why I want to go there or why I would be an excellent choice in their student body? I really don't want to write another essay...but who does, right?

Does anyone have any advice as to what Columbia or any admissions committee seeks when they offer you to put additional information? And please, I'm tired of "write anything that will tell them about yourself and 'fill in the gaps.' "

Hellllpppp😕
 
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playincold1003 said:
Hey! I've read online elsewhere that the secondary application is my place to really show the institution why I choose them specifically. But there is no spot to do that on the Columbia application.

Should I include in the additional information a third essay as to why I want to go there or why I would be an excellent choice in their student body? I really don't want to write another essay...but who does, right?

Does anyone have any advice as to what Columbia or any admissions committee seeks when they offer you to put additional information? And please, I'm tired of "write anything that will tell them about yourself and 'fill in the gaps.' "

Hellllpppp😕
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Write what you wish, but the optional essay is meant primarily for those with extraordinary circumstances rather than as a super secret way to find out how much kids want to come here. They will let you tell them in person that if your application is up to par.
 
mmmcdowe said:
...the optional essay is meant primarily for those with extraordinary circumstances...
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So, does this mean that It is better if I leave it blank? I feel that whenever there is an optional essay or something that is "if applicable," then I should fill it out. Doesn't it look lazy if I leave it blank. Do people usually fill in the additional comments?

Thanks for your previous response 😀
 
playincold1003 said:
So, does this mean that It is better if I leave it blank? I feel that whenever there is an optional essay or something that is "if applicable," then I should fill it out. Doesn't it look lazy if I leave it blank. Do people usually fill in the additional comments?

Thanks for your previous response 😀
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It's optional for those with extraordinary circumstances. It does not look lazy for someone without extraordinary circumstances not to post. It certainly looks better than posting something nonextraordinary just to fill the space. If you have something that you need to explain such as a spouse who is applying to medical school with you, a significant physical or mental disability, a past error that you need to explain, a complicated pathway to graduating undergrad that needs your details so that the adcom can figure out what happened, etc then that is what the optional essay is for. Do people use it to talk about why Columbia? Yes, it happens. Is that what the essay is sneakily trying to do? No, it is not. Besides, most of the people who do write why columbia there are going off of experience that they gleaned from the website and wikipedia. Since you haven't interviewed there yet letters of interest are pretty low value.
 
Does Columbia have a second application o check your app status on? When I log in to the secondary app, there is no status that I can see. Anyone?
 
essie91 said:
Does Columbia have a second application o check your app status on? When I log in to the secondary app, there is no status that I can see. Anyone?
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I know..It is kind of frustrating. There are a few schools I applied to that have the same computer format... No way to check status. If they choose to send you a message, you will get a pop up.... Otherwise, you will get an email confirmation, etc
 
For the collegiate activities, is it only activities that are associated with the university we attended? Or do we also include things like hospital volunteering here? Also, do we need to give information about the activities or just a straight up list of them?

Thanks
 
RickyJamesMD said:
You do sound like an ass. Keep your useless comments to yourself.
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Go and play with yourself. The poster appreciated my response, although he did acknowledged that I sounded like an ass, which I recognized.

Now, you keep your useless comments to yourself.
 
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BrainBuff said:
I know..It is kind of frustrating. There are a few schools I applied to that have the same computer format... No way to check status. If they choose to send you a message, you will get a pop up.... Otherwise, you will get an email confirmation, etc
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Thanks so much! Yes - those schools who all have that same format are really annoying because you can't check you status - oh well - I guess it's just part of the process. 😛
 
I just submitted the Columbia secondary and noticed that ONLY my first MCAT score is shown on the PDF that we can print out after submission. Does Columbia only consider the earliest MCAT score? I double checked my entries and I definitely entered my second MCAT score...😕
 
sml128 said:
I just submitted the Columbia secondary and noticed that ONLY my first MCAT score is shown on the PDF that we can print out after submission. Does Columbia only consider the earliest MCAT score? I double checked my entries and I definitely entered my second MCAT score...😕
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I don't know what the official policy is, but my interviewer commented on both of my scores so presumably they take both into account. However, one of my scores was "outdated" at that point, so that may have changed things slightly.
 
I logged in to my Columbia secondary site one week after submitting it, and for some reason it reads "Submission Status: Not Submitted" - It seems like my application was wiped clean? It shows me an empty application that wasn't even begun. Did this happen to anyone else?
 
Oh woa! I just realized that what happened was I used the PIN for another school's secondary (but with the same password) and was able to log into a fresh new Columbia secondary application! Multiple schools use this same program for secondary applications...but this shouldn't happen should it? Should I call the admissions office to tell them I mistakenly opened another secondary account with a different PIN provided to me by a different school?
 
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Dekans6 said:
Oh woa! I just realized that what happened was I used the PIN for another school's secondary (but with the same password) and was able to log into a fresh new Columbia secondary application! Multiple schools use this same program for secondary applications...but this shouldn't happen should it? Should I call the admissions office to tell them I mistakenly opened another secondary account with a different PIN provided to me by a different school?
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Exact same thing happened to me. I accidently used my Johns Hopkins PIN. It didn't seem to cause any problems.
 
KUNRD07 said:
Exact same thing happened to me. I accidently used my Johns Hopkins PIN. It didn't seem to cause any problems.
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Yes. Hopkins and Columbia use the same website for secondary applications. I had a bit of confusion over this too last year, which caused me to prematurely send an email to the site's tech support that I later found out was an unnecessary overreaction. Don't worry about it.
 
this issue bothered me... I used the same PIN and password for all (cause i think you're supposed to). however, that means they are all linked into the same program. Makes me think these schools probably do see what other schools you're applying to using this program.
 
Doodl3s said:
this issue bothered me... I used the same PIN and password for all (cause i think you're supposed to). however, that means they are all linked into the same program. Makes me think these schools probably do see what other schools you're applying to using this program.
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No, as far as I know it doesn't work that way. The first time schools see your other school options is when AMCAS releases near the end of the cycle for waitlist purposes. The website is just a business. It's like worrying that everyone who uses google mail can read your email. 😉
 
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