2011-2012 Columbia Application Thread

[gutcheckmcat]

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVf0HRUfoLQ&NR=1

^^^ LOL. Columbia Med. students repping their school. Video based on the song "I'm on a boat". 😀

 

[mmmcdowe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVf0HRUfoLQ&NR=1

^^^ LOL. Columbia Med. students repping their school. Video based on the song "I'm on a boat". 😀

A few other class videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW4qB3Fcap8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhmc18p3uDY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9HPEMCdumc

 

[RogueUnicorn]

a cool little tidbit i learned from the admissions dean when i interviewed there - every year they reserve a few spots in the class to take in waitlisted candidates who aren't accepted anywhere else; the reason was that anyone who is waitlisted is definitely good enough to be accepted, and it would be a shame to lose out on potential physicians based on the whims of the application process. thought that was very humane, very reflective of the school and the admissions philosophy there

 

[chronicidal]

a cool little tidbit i learned from the admissions dean when i interviewed there - every year they reserve a few spots in the class to take in waitlisted candidates who aren't accepted anywhere else; the reason was that anyone who is waitlisted is definitely good enough to be accepted, and it would be a shame to lose out on potential physicians based on the whims of the application process. thought that was very humane, very reflective of the school and the admissions philosophy there

that sounds awesome

 

[StompingThis]

So does "collegiate extracurricular activities" mean academic ECs? Like research or tutoring on campus?

Or does it mean anything I did during college? Like IM sports?

Hoping for some clarification...

I didn't see the "collegiate extracurricular activities" prompt in my secondary. Where is it found?

 

[ncrassa]

That prompt has been deleted since it overlaps with the AMCAS most meaningful activities section.

 

[raltima07]

a cool little tidbit i learned from the admissions dean when i interviewed there - every year they reserve a few spots in the class to take in waitlisted candidates who aren't accepted anywhere else; the reason was that anyone who is waitlisted is definitely good enough to be accepted, and it would be a shame to lose out on potential physicians based on the whims of the application process. thought that was very humane, very reflective of the school and the admissions philosophy there

That is awesome

 

[Silverfalcon]

It's late at night and I'm lazy so... apologies if asked before.

Is there word count limit on the essays (including additional info)? Thank you. 🙂

 

[raltima07]

It's late at night and I'm lazy so... apologies if asked before.

Is there word count limit on the essays (including additional info)? Thank you. 🙂

750 characters with spaces

 

[luckyducky87]

I apologize if this has already been asked...

The Bassett program is something where you spend some portion of your med school years in Cooperstown (far from NYC), right? And admission for this operates entirely separately from the P&S admission which is the "normal" MD program? (as in, applying to OR not applying to either program doesn't influence your admission to the other program)

So if I select "I am applying to the MD only program," I only have to answer the one essay question about "why P&S" (and ignore the "What aspect of the Columbia-Bassett Program has the most appeal for you?")

 

[chronicidal]

a cool little tidbit i learned from the admissions dean when i interviewed there - every year they reserve a few spots in the class to take in waitlisted candidates who aren't accepted anywhere else; the reason was that anyone who is waitlisted is definitely good enough to be accepted, and it would be a shame to lose out on potential physicians based on the whims of the application process. thought that was very humane, very reflective of the school and the admissions philosophy there

this sounds like an incentive not to apply to many safety schools.

 

[joy14]

I apologize if this has already been asked...

The Bassett program is something where you spend some portion of your med school years in Cooperstown (far from NYC), right? And admission for this operates entirely separately from the P&S admission which is the "normal" MD program? (as in, applying to OR not applying to either program doesn't influence your admission to the other program)

So if I select "I am applying to the MD only program," I only have to answer the one essay question about "why P&S" (and ignore the "What aspect of the Columbia-Bassett Program has the most appeal for you?")

yes correct 🙂

 

[Uwish]

Haven't been verified yet but trying to get a jump on essays. Does anyone who is applying MD/PhD have the prompt(s) and would you share them here? May thanks.😍

 

[komikos]

I called the admissions office today and they said that you can submit your secondary without your letters and turn those in later on if you would like. Just in case anyone was wondering!

 

[sunshinelove]

Hello,

On my application, there is only one essay question that I can fill out, which is the "why P and S". I looked at my pdf version and I can clearly see that I have another essay question to answer (the extracurricular one) but I cannot find where to answer it on the application. Believe me. I am not ignorant. I have gone through my application hundreds of times and there simply isn't a place to answer that essay question. Does anyone else have this problem? This is so frustrating because I want to submit now but I can't!

Please help.

 

[bohbohyum]

Hello,

On my application, there is only one essay question that I can fill out, which is the "why P and S". I looked at my pdf version and I can clearly see that I have another essay question to answer (the extracurricular one) but I cannot find where to answer it on the application. Believe me. I am not ignorant. I have gone through my application hundreds of times and there simply isn't a place to answer that essay question. Does anyone else have this problem? This is so frustrating because I want to submit now but I can't!

Please help.

Others noticed this earlier and found out that this question has been deleted from the application. If you're nervous about it as I was, perhaps you can answer it in your uploaded document? That's what I did to be safe.

 

[252e77]

Hello,

On my application, there is only one essay question that I can fill out, which is the "why P and S". I looked at my pdf version and I can clearly see that I have another essay question to answer (the extracurricular one) but I cannot find where to answer it on the application. Believe me. I am not ignorant. I have gone through my application hundreds of times and there simply isn't a place to answer that essay question. Does anyone else have this problem? This is so frustrating because I want to submit now but I can't!

Please help.

Don't freak out - I thought I was crazy too. I called admissions, however, and was told the question had been deleted from the application because it was redundant with information provided on your primary (as others have noted as well if you look a little further back in this thread).

Best of luck.

 

[Xysti]

Haven't been verified yet but trying to get a jump on essays. Does anyone who is applying MD/PhD have the prompt(s) and would you share them here? May thanks.😍

Please describe your goals as a Physician/Scientist. Who are your role models?

They ask you to upload a document so I'm just going to go with a short one-page essay.

 

[Uwish]

Thanks very much for the MD/PhD prompt😍

 

[raltima07]

Don't freak out - I thought I was crazy too. I called admissions, however, and was told the question had been deleted from the application because it was redundant with information provided on your primary (as others have noted as well if you look a little further back in this thread).

Best of luck.

👍👍

 

[aik2107]

I remember there was an e-mail that we could send the photo through, but now there is just a mailing address. Does anybody know anything about this?

 

[Megan Rose]

Hey! I know you all might laugh at this, but I'm getting an interesting problem:

I just downloaded my final .pdf to view my completed secondary for P & S, and I noticed there is a question that appears in the .pdf that I can't seem to find on the online app! It is the question that appears first on the .pdf, "What collegiate activities did you participate in?" I have checked the online application several times, and can't seem to find the entry button or space for this question. In fact, I can't find the question at all.

I just can't seem to find this question on the app. Would any of you mind telling me where on the online application I can specifically click to find the section? I'm definitely missing something here...haha!

thanks in advance!
-Megan

 

[Megan Rose]

Hey! I know you all might laugh at this, but I'm getting an interesting problem:

I just downloaded my final .pdf to view my completed secondary for P & S, and I noticed there is a question that appears in the .pdf that I can't seem to find on the online app! It is the question that appears first on the .pdf, "What collegiate activities did you participate in?" I have checked the online application several times, and can't seem to find the entry button or space for this question. In fact, I can't find the question at all.

I just can't seem to find this question on the app. Would any of you mind telling me where on the online application I can specifically click to find the section? I'm definitely missing something here...haha!

thanks in advance!
-Megan

OPPS. Just read the above quote and saw it's been deleted! Thanks everyone.

 

[lookitisgood]

1 (required): In what collegiate extracurricular activities did you engage?
Please briefly discuss no more than three that have been most meaningful to you. (760 CHARACTERS)

I did not find this prompt on my secondary. Could you tell me where it is located?

Thanks

 

[Drop]

1 (required): In what collegiate extracurricular activities did you engage?
Please briefly discuss no more than three that have been most meaningful to you. (760 CHARACTERS)

I did not find this prompt on my secondary. Could you tell me where it is located?

Thanks

Ah jeez.

 

[joy14]

Ah jeez.

No offense but they should have sent an email telling us not to do that essay... i wasted time doing that essay when I could have submitted... what they are just waiting for us to figure it out or go on SDN and figure out?

 

[mmmcdowe]

Hey! I know you all might laugh at this, but I'm getting an interesting problem:

I just downloaded my final .pdf to view my completed secondary for P & S, and I noticed there is a question that appears in the .pdf that I can't seem to find on the online app! It is the question that appears first on the .pdf, "What collegiate activities did you participate in?" I have checked the online application several times, and can't seem to find the entry button or space for this question. In fact, I can't find the question at all.

I just can't seem to find this question on the app. Would any of you mind telling me where on the online application I can specifically click to find the section? I'm definitely missing something here...haha!

thanks in advance!
-Megan

IT's been deleted, that must be a remnant from the programing

 

[citrusguy2010]

For regular MD candidates:

1 (required): In what collegiate extracurricular activities did you engage?
Please briefly discuss no more than three that have been most meaningful to you. (760 CHARACTERS)

2 (required): What aspects of P and S are most interesting to you?

3 Optional comments section where applicant can upload a word document for "additional information that you would like to include with your application"

For MD: Columbia-Bassett candidates, there is an additional essay:

What aspect of the Columbia-Bassett Program has the most appeal for you?

Best of luck with your application !

umm is it just me or does question 1 not exist on the application?

 

[MilkIsGood]

read previous posts..

 

[citrusguy2010]

read previous posts..

my bad...

 

[Narmerguy]

I emailed Sammich to update the first thread so this confusion doesn't continue

 

[sharona1121]

Hey all,

How long did it take for CU to send you an e-mail with the secondary invite? I was verified on 7/29 and CU is one of only 2 schools that I haven't received an e-mail from, yet.

Thanks!

 

[aaa131]

Has anyone gotten an email from psa admissions asking which program you applied to? it asks for my amcas number and birthday, etc. i know they're having website issues but the only thing that's weird to me is that its on surveymonkey...

 

[percy]

Has anyone gotten an email from psa admissions asking which program you applied to? it asks for my amcas number and birthday, etc. i know they're having website issues but the only thing that's weird to me is that its on surveymonkey...

I would not fill that out without investigating much, much further...

 

[cowsgomuon]

I would not fill that out without investigating much, much further...

Yeah, I got this as well. The weird thing is that it makes you pick between MD, MD/PhD, and Bassett. There´s no way to say you want to apply to both MD and Bassett. I sent an email to the admissions office asking about it, and am not filling out the survey until I get an answer.

 

[Nymphicus]

Yeah, I got this as well. The weird thing is that it makes you pick between MD, MD/PhD, and Bassett. There´s no way to say you want to apply to both MD and Bassett. I sent an email to the admissions office asking about it, and am not filling out the survey until I get an answer.

I just called them, and they said to select Columbia-Bassett for both Bassett and regular MD. It is odd that they chose to use survey monkey, it doesn't seem very secure.

to call them, here is the link to P&S admissions
http://ps.columbia.edu/ps/education/admissions-office

 

[joy14]

Yeah, I got this as well. The weird thing is that it makes you pick between MD, MD/PhD, and Bassett. There´s no way to say you want to apply to both MD and Bassett. I sent an email to the admissions office asking about it, and am not filling out the survey until I get an answer.

I am applying for admission to the MD & Bassett Program

that's taken straight off the application...it's pretty clear to me...also even if you apply to bassett you are automatically considered for MD

 

[aaa131]

I just called them, and they said to select Columbia-Bassett for both Bassett and regular MD. It is odd that they chose to use survey monkey, it doesn't seem very secure.

to call them, here is the link to P&S admissions
http://ps.columbia.edu/ps/education/admissions-office

did you ask about the survey or just in general?

 

[cowsgomuon]

I just called them, and they said to select Columbia-Bassett for both Bassett and regular MD. It is odd that they chose to use survey monkey, it doesn't seem very secure.

Thanks for the info! Yeah, survey monkey is a little weird, but I guess it´s the quickest way for them to fix the problem with their app.

 

[luckyducky87]

How is everyone approaching the "what's interesting about P&S question"? Basically a "why Columbia" question? I've found it hard to not sound generic given such a short length limit, but I don't know how I feel about spending most of it pointing out some minor, odd things about the school to "stand out" either!!

 

[JSU]

Anyone know when interviews go out?

 

[mmmcdowe]

Anyone know when interviews go out?

Not for some time, from my understanding.

 

[Tep]

Not for some time, from my understanding.

I called admissions a few days ago and they said it was ~2-3 weeks before interview invites would be sent.

 

[Nymphicus]

did you ask about the survey or just in general?

I asked them what option I should pick on the survey to apply for both regular MD and Bassett.

 

[joy14]

I asked them what option I should pick on the survey to apply for both regular MD and Bassett.

edit. found answer above. sorry.

 

[gunj122]

For those of you with multiple MCAT scores, did all of your scores show up on the completed secondary application pdf? for some reason on my pdf, only my first MCAT shows up. anyone else having this problem?

edit: i looked at the HTML copy and it shows both my scores. i guess it's just another pdf error.

 

[babydragon]

1. If you received a fee waiver from AMCAS do you still have to print the voucher and mail it to Columbia?
2.

Also, photos are no longer required for the secondary application. If you are granted an interview a photo will be requested at that time.

I still see on the instruction page that a passport size photo is requested to be mailed. What's the final verdict?

 

[jhay]

Anyone know when interviews go out?

I called admissions a few days ago and they said it was ~2-3 weeks before interview invites would be sent.

For what it's worth, last year's interview offers started rolling in around Sept. 10th.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=10126280&postcount=432

 

[bohbohyum]

can someone please tell me how we know if our application is complete?

 

[canadian18]

can someone please tell me how we know if our application is complete?

They send you an e-mail.