2011-2012 University of Colorado Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
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music2doc said:
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the admissions staff has actually seen this thread and is even a bit discouraged by the negativity as of late, along with their inability to "fix" the problems.
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The negativity is pretty intense at this point, which is discouraging, but I'm not sure it's unwarranted. Dean Winn was explicit at my interview day that they would try to get decisions out as soon as possible for everyone (ie first week of march).....waiting until the last couple days is not living up to that. I think a lot of us feel disrespected by the university for stringing us out this long, which leads to more nerves, and more negativity. It's especially the case because so many acceptances went out on that first week, so it seems like most people still waiting will be waitlist or rejected, which also leads to more nerves.

I agree with some others that if they just sent an e-mail to everyone waiting telling us that it will take longer than expected, we would not be so hostile towards CU and give them the benefit of the doubt.

I think this is all an inevitable outcome if you keep applicants in the dark for this long at a school which has rolling admissions.
 
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lalalaaaaaa said:
I agree with some others that if they just sent an e-mail to everyone waiting telling us that it will take longer than expected, we would not be so hostile towards CU and give them the benefit of the doubt.
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Dear god no!! If an email from CU showed up in my inbox right now, I would have a heart attack. And if it didn't have a decision in it... ... ... :boom:
 
I for one am disappointed at the application process. Colorado was a top choice school for me, but is now very low on my list. Waiting around is interfering with my work plans for summer/next year. Not to mention I need to figure out what my parents need to do to help me move. The point is that I can't wait around to hear from a school this long. If I interviewed half a year ago, then I expect there to be a notification in a timely manner. In other words, I've already chosen another school that seems to care about its class a little more. Consider my application to this school withdrawn.
 
wakeboarder1920 said:
I for one am disappointed at the application process. Colorado was a top choice school for me, but is now very low on my list. Waiting around is interfering with my work plans for summer/next year. Not to mention I need to figure out what my parents need to do to help me move. The point is that I can't wait around to hear from a school this long. If I interviewed half a year ago, then I expect there to be a notification in a timely manner. In other words, I've already chosen another school that seems to care about its class a little more. Consider my application to this school withdrawn.
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I hear your frustration wakeboarder. I feel the same way about CU's steady decline to rock bottom on my list. I've also picked a school to attend this fall that actually respects its applicants and displays that by getting back to them in a more timely manner. That and their admitted students day is actually two days and promises to be amazing!
 
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bassvp said:
You holding onto a spot for an extra couple months means that one individual may not HAVE their acceptance for another couple of months. I would argue that this person would not find your actions "negligible".
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Remember, there is a pool of waitlisted applicants behind the pool of accepted ones, not one specific applicant waiting behind me. My hanging on to an acceptance would force some unnamed and unknown applicant to wait whatever minuscule amount of time elapses between my hypothetical early withdrawal and the actual withdrawal of the person who withdraws next, which is pretty damn negligible compared to the TWENTY SIX WEEKS that Colorado has been keeping some interviewed applicants in limbo.

Colorado could also improve their customer service by over-accepting their class. Many schools accept 1.5x their class size on the statistically valid assumption that several students will decline the offer. It leads to less waitlist movement of course, but gives the students the information they want sooner.

bassvp said:
Also, how is an acceptance at Colorado a bargaining chip?
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If accepted to Colorado, I'll be sure & let this thread know how it all worked out in the second half of May.


Hate the game, not the player.
 
I just see how every passing week people become more torqued off around here. If I didn't have any intention of attending a school, it just seems rude to your fellow applicants to add to those weeks of waiting. Those will be weeks that you are causing someone else to have more anxiety. Not cool.
 
bassvp said:
I just see how every passing week people become more torqued off around here. If I didn't have any intention of attending a school, it just seems rude to your fellow applicants to add to those weeks of waiting. Those will be weeks that you are causing someone else to have more anxiety. Not cool.
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The CU acceptance belongs to him.
It holds value for him in that holding it can potentially cause other schools to give him more money.

He isn't holding it to spite the school or the other applicants, holding it still helps his own case.

I feel you can't fault a person for keeping their own possession if it still holds value to them, despite it having greater value to others. I could donate my old jeans to goodwill, but I don't because I still use them for dirty work, despite that 'dirty work' is a lesser value than it probably holds at goodwill.

I'm also in the waiting boat, so I understand the frustration, but this is why schools have a waitlist. It's my fault I don't have an acceptance yet, not the school or MT Headed.
 
I just found myself smiling a little reading how intense people are about this (I'm nervous too). You guys really want to be doctors, and that is awesome. Most of you will be, and that is even better. It sucks to feel strongly about things that drag us down, but this thing mostly brings us up and makes us better people (except for this relatively short period of time when we are filled with self doubt and worry). We're all on the way to being happy people that help other people. Also, I know how these sentiments sound, and I am not on any sort of mood-altering drug. Anyway, it was just a thought. Back to the arguing 🙂
 
Jimboruski said:
The CU acceptance belongs to him.
It holds value for him in that holding it can potentially cause other schools to give him more money.

He isn't holding it to spite the school or the other applicants, holding it still helps his own case.

I feel you can't fault a person for keeping their own possession if it still holds value to them, despite it having greater value to others. I could donate my old jeans to goodwill, but I don't because I still use them for dirty work, despite that 'dirty work' is a lesser value than it probably holds at goodwill.

I'm also in the waiting boat, so I understand the frustration, but this is why schools have a waitlist. It's my fault I don't have an acceptance yet, not the school or MT Headed.
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The original intent was to hold the acceptance to stick it to the school somehow.
 
bassvp said:
The original intent was to hold the acceptance to stick it to the school somehow.
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Or it was the original snide comment that didn't actually explain the full reasoning, which is how I read it. Either way, MT backed that comment up with good reasoning. I can't stand in the way of that.
 
bassvp said:
I just see how every passing week people become more torqued off around here. If I didn't have any intention of attending a school, it just seems rude to your fellow applicants to add to those weeks of waiting. Those will be weeks that you are causing someone else to have more anxiety. Not cool.
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Implicit in your statement is the assumption that CU will quickly send out another acceptance when someone withdraws. Much more likely is that they wait till a day or two after May 15th. They haven't given us any reason to expect promptness thus far, why do you think it will change?
 
FulfilledDeer said:
Or it was the original snide comment that didn't actually explain the full reasoning, which is how I read it. Either way, MT backed that comment up with good reasoning. I can't stand in the way of that.
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I guess I just have a tough time with someone coming on here and talking about their strategy with their multiple acceptances in pocket while other people are in genuine distress b/c they can't count on what their immediate future holds. That's all. I care about the individuals whether I know you as a particular person or whether you're a faceless pseudonym on an internet forum.

</rant>
<happy thoughts>
 
Shakespeare37 said:
Much more likely is that they wait till a day or two after May 15th. They haven't given us any reason to expect promptness thus far, why do you think it will change?
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This all depends on your reference frame. Let me explain... As we are all well aware, in CU adcom time, days become months for applicants. So that "day or two" wait you speak of will turn into a two month wait, and no one will hear back until August. There is only one explanation that is consistent with this observation, and it will surely ease all of our doubts about CU.

The only explanation is that the adcom office is located in a huge board-room-accelerator/space ship that allows the committee to travel at close to light speed. We're talkin' 0.8c! Once Dean Winn and the others enter the board-room-accelerator/space ship, and are traveling at such high speed, time passes much slower for them than it does for us applicants. So in their reference frame, they have made all the decisions for everyone in a matter of days. In fact, thinking they finished quickly, the adcom decided to have a big party to celebrate their efficiency. Unfortunately, they did not study special relativity, and they don't realize that we've been waiting to hear back for months!

This is the only plausible explanation for them to be this late. Turns out, the only person here to blame here is Einstein! Go figure!


EDIT: Now that we have an answer, lets all jump in a liquid nitrogen bath and chill out!

...also, did you ever wonder where that OOS tuition $$$ goes??? -->board-room-accelerator/space ship
 
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bassvp said:
I guess I just have a tough time with someone coming on here and talking about their strategy with their multiple acceptances in pocket while other people are in genuine distress b/c they can't count on what their immediate future holds. That's all. I care about the individuals whether I know you as a particular person or whether you're a faceless pseudonym on an internet forum.

</rant>
<happy thoughts>
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Again, try drawing out a diagram of an ordered pool of accepted applicants who will withdraw and a pool of ordered waitlist applicants. Then play with what happens if one student near the front of the "definitely going to withdraw" pool delays their own withdrawal for six weeks (April 1 -> May 15). The sum total of delay to the other waitlisters has to be six weeks of course, but this is going to be distributed amongst all of the waitlisters between the early hypothetical withdrawal and the later actual withdrawal. The delay for any one individual is only going to be a few days, distributed amongst many waitlisters.

If it looked like I wasn't qualified for medical school, my backup plan was to study Traffic Engineering. It's a fascinating topic that weighs the experience of the group vs. the experience of the individual (i.e. is it ethical to delay one motorist for an hour if it causes traffic to speed up by 10mph?). I find it somewhat analogous to the analysis of waitlists, such as the one soon to appear at CU.

Believe me I've thought about these issues and I'm confident that hanging onto my (hypothetical) acceptance, a situation that privatizes my gain while socializing the cost, is ethical even though it lends itself to prisoner's style dilemmas.
 
lalalaaaaaa said:
This all depends on your reference frame. Let me explain... As we are all well aware, in CU adcom time, days become months for applicants. So that "day or two" wait you speak of will turn into a two month wait, and no one will hear back until August. There is only one explanation that is consistent with this observation, and it will surely ease all of our doubts about CU.

The only explanation is that the adcom office is located in a huge board-room-accelerator/space ship that allows the committee to travel at close to light speed. We're talkin' 0.8c! Once Dean Winn and the others enter the board-room-accelerator/space ship, and are traveling at such high speed, time passes much slower for them than it does for us applicants. So in their reference frame, they have made all the decisions for everyone in a matter of days. In fact, thinking they finished quickly, the adcom decided to have a big party to celebrate their efficiency. Unfortunately, they did not study special relativity, and they don't realize that we've been waiting to hear back for months!

This is the only plausible explanation for them to be this late. Turns out, the only person here to blame here is Einstein! Go figure!
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👍 And we have the answer!
 
bassvp said:
I guess I just have a tough time with someone coming on here and talking about their strategy with their multiple acceptances in pocket while other people are in genuine distress b/c they can't count on what their immediate future holds. That's all. I care about the individuals whether I know you as a particular person or whether you're a faceless pseudonym on an internet forum.

</rant>
<happy thoughts>
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Yes, but such is life. To tiptoe around the issue would not make it go away. Some people will be holding multiple acceptances, some none.

And I appreciate that you care about me bassvp. 😉
 
My feeling is that even if MT Headed (or any applicant for that matter) is 100% positive that he will attend another school, he paid his hefty application fee and is at the very least entitled to an admission decision, however late it comes. Withdrawing at this point would deny him that right.
 
FulfilledDeer said:
Yes, but such is life. To tiptoe around the issue would not make it go away. Some people will be holding multiple acceptances, some none.

And I appreciate that you care about me bassvp. 😉
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FD, are you lacking acceptances? Because if you are, you can totally have one of mine!
 
music2doc said:
FD, are you lacking acceptances? Because if you are, you can totally have one of mine!
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Hah, I appreciate the offer. For a while it looked like CU would have been my only hope (and I mentioned as much in this thread) but in a move I still don't understand, Columbia accepted me. But thank you 🙂

StephBee said:
Just think, by Friday, there will be answers damnit! 😛
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I hate to burst your bubble, but technically (if they even decide to abide by their posted timeline) Saturday at 11:55 pm is the last point we could hear back.

I could be wrong about that, but I'm pretty sure it says March 31st. I'm just too lazy to check.
 
Joke's on everyone. The real reason Colorado takes forever is just an extended personality test. No true "crunchy granola" person would be sitting around obsessing over a decision they no longer have the power to influence. They would be out hiking, biking, skiing, rafting, and otherwise enjoying free time while it's still readily available.

Just kidding. But seriously, y'all, let it be what it is. None of us like waiting, but there's no use getting worked up about it. You've all worked crazy hard to get where you are. Pat yourself on the back and forget about stress until August. Best of luck!
 
dat240 said:
Joke's on everyone. The real reason Colorado takes forever is just an extended personality test. No true "crunchy granola" person would be sitting around obsessing over a decision they no longer have the power to influence. They would be out hiking, biking, skiing, rafting, and otherwise enjoying free time while it's still readily available.

Just kidding. But seriously, y'all, let it be what it is. None of us like waiting, but there's no use getting worked up about it. You've all worked crazy hard to get where you are. Pat yourself on the back and forget about stress until August. Best of luck!
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I have no idea what you're getting at, but I didn't even flinch when my mind registered that as "I won't hear back from CU until August".
 
FulfilledDeer said:
I have no idea what you're getting at, but I didn't even flinch when my mind registered that as "I won't hear back from CU until August".
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Honestly, with Columbia as an option, I'd probably take that over CU if I were you, anyway!

(Heck, if anyone from Colorado asks if you're going to "CU" you can still say yes!)
 
dat240 said:
They would be out hiking, biking, skiing, rafting, and otherwise...
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It's crazy how nice the weather has been!! I've been rafting more often than skiing in the past month, which is pretty much unheard of for March. I feel bad for my friend from NYC who thought this would be a good weekend to come out for a ski trip...
 
music2doc said:
Honestly, with Columbia as an option, I'd probably take that over CU if I were you, anyway!

(Heck, if anyone from Colorado asks if you're going to "CU" you can still say yes!)
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Yeah, I do feel supremely fortunate. However the decision isn't just up to me - CO would be much better for my wife, and besides, there's the money to think about. One of the reasons I feel so strongly about what's going on with CU is that I'm in-state. CO has been my home for most of my life and because CU is acting weird and annoying I'm going to be moving out of it.
 
FulfilledDeer said:
Yeah, I do feel supremely fortunate. However the decision isn't just up to me - CO would be much better for my wife, and besides, there's the money to think about. One of the reasons I feel so strongly about what's going on with CU is that I'm in-state. CO has been my home for most of my life and because CU is acting weird and annoying I'm going to be moving out of it.
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Exactly this.
 
FulfilledDeer said:
Yeah, I do feel supremely fortunate. However the decision isn't just up to me - CO would be much better for my wife, and besides, there's the money to think about. One of the reasons I feel so strongly about what's going on with CU is that I'm in-state. CO has been my home for most of my life and because CU is acting weird and annoying I'm going to be moving out of it.
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Since I don't have any acceptances to bargain with, I will trade you my i-pod for your Columbia acceptance. At first this might not appear to be a good deal, but actually, the i-pod is a much better value. First of all, the i-pod costs more than the Columbia secondary fee, so its more valuable than applying in the first place. Secondly, Columbia will cost you years of your life, significant stress, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. Whereas the i-pod simply brings you music, games, happiness, joy, and it will never judge you. Not to mention it looks like new (except for a couple scratches on the back, but it's not a big deal)! You can even download podcasts straight to it (wi-fi capabilities!), so the potential educational value is the same, if not better, than what Columbia has to offer (I'm sure there is even a Columbia med school podcast, so it's like med school for free, except you can be on the beach taking a vacation with all that money you saved!).
PM to complete the exchange. Thanks in advance!
 
lalalaaaaaa said:
since i don't have any acceptances to bargain with, i will trade you my i-pod for your columbia acceptance. At first this might not appear to be a good deal, but actually, the i-pod is a much better value. First of all, the i-pod costs more than the columbia secondary fee, so its more valuable than applying in the first place. Secondly, columbia will cost you years of your life, significant stress, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. Whereas the i-pod simply brings you music, games, happiness, joy, and it will never judge you. Not to mention it looks like new (except for a couple scratches on the back, but it's not a big deal)! You can even download podcasts straight to it (wi-fi capabilities!), so the potential educational value is the same, if not better, than what columbia has to offer (i'm sure there is even a columbia med school podcast, so it's like med school for free, except you can be on the beach taking a vacation with all that money you saved!).
Pm to complete the exchange. Thanks in advance!
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lol.
 
lalalaaaaaa said:
Since I don't have any acceptances to bargain with, I will trade you my i-pod for your Columbia acceptance. At first this might not appear to be a good deal, but actually, the i-pod is a much better value. First of all, the i-pod costs more than the Columbia secondary fee, so its more valuable than applying in the first place. Secondly, Columbia will cost you years of your life, significant stress, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. Whereas the i-pod simply brings you music, games, happiness, joy, and it will never judge you. Not to mention it looks like new (except for a couple scratches on the back, but it's not a big deal)! You can even download podcasts straight to it (wi-fi capabilities!), so the potential educational value is the same, if not better, than what Columbia has to offer (I'm sure there is even a Columbia med school podcast, so it's like med school for free, except you can be on the beach taking a vacation with all that money you saved!).
PM to complete the exchange. Thanks in advance!
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But is it a touch?
 
FulfilledDeer said:
But is it a touch?
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You bet it is! With a camera and everything. Skype works great!

...and just to sweeten the deal over StephiRoth, I will even throw in a white coat and stethoscope so you can still have all the respect of the image of being a physician without the hassle of training like one!

...and if you PM me within the next thirty minutes, you will also receive a forged med school diploma from Harvard (with frame!) to hang on your office wall. Impress your friends and family!
 
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FulfilledDeer said:
Aww, you guys make me sad I probably won't be classmates with you. 🙁
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.....well you definitely wont be in class with me at Columbia.... just finished polishing up that i-pod too.... hmmmm still didn't see that PM in my inbox, don't worry I'll extend that special offer just for you!

....seriously though, despite the grueling wait, this has been a fun thread. I would like to say that joking around with people in the same situation has made the wait easier, but in reality it's probably been made much more stressful lol
 
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lalalaaaaaa said:
.....well you definitely wont be in class with me at Columbia.... just finished polishing up that i-pod too.... hmmmm still didn't see that PM in my inbox, don't worry I'll extend that special offer just for you!

....seriously though, despite the grueling wait, this has been a fun thread. I would like to say that joking around with people in the same situation has made the wait easier, but in reality it's probably been made much more stressful lol
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lol, i feel exactly the same way
 
rmnanon said:
Why you gotta be punnin'? This thread is for serious conversations only 😉😛
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Come in DJ Freakflag.... rmnanon is right, we need serious answers! Aorta throw you into the fire of Mount Doom with gollum and the ring! In vein, we've prepared for a battle that never came! Deaf-initely craved the fight so badly that we began fighting amongst ourselves. The screaming and whaling would strike fear into the heart of any cave troll! You otter tell admissions to hurry, hope is nearly lost, you moose make haste!
BloodyBand-aid Out.
 
lalalaaaaaa said:
Come in DJ Freakflag.... rmnanon is right, we need serious answers! Aorta throw you into the fire of Mount Doom with gollum and the ring! In vein, we've prepared for a battle that never came! Deaf-initely craved the fight so badly that we began fighting amongst ourselves. The screaming and whaling would strike fear into the heart of any cave troll! You otter tell admissions to hurry, hope is nearly lost, you moose make haste!
BloodyBand-aid Out.
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I have no clue where you come up with this stuff, but it definitely helps pass the time!
 
Has anyone actually called the admissions office and asked what the hold-up is? I have a feeling they are going to break their promise and not let us know anything by the 31st. Pretty pathetic considering they ended interviews on 2/13. One school gave me a decision the day after I interviewed!
 
bjtwolve88 said:
Has anyone actually called the admissions office and asked what the hold-up is? I have a feeling they are going to break their promise and not let us know anything by the 31st. Pretty pathetic considering they ended interviews on 2/13. One school gave me a decision the day after I interviewed!
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Heh, I'd be curious if someone would actually do that.

I did have the same thought however - I was thinking of getting a pool going on how many days after the 31st they let us know.
 
I called the adcom office and the lady told me they will send out decisions on Friday the 30th. Looks like at least 2 more days of waiting, Good luck everyone.
 
bjtwolve88 said:
Has anyone actually called the admissions office and asked what the hold-up is? I have a feeling they are going to break their promise and not let us know anything by the 31st. Pretty pathetic considering they ended interviews on 2/13. One school gave me a decision the day after I interviewed!
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I went to the admissions office last Friday and the girl just said sometime this week (Friday would make sense to drag this out as long as possible)
 
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