2012-2013 Columbia University Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Members don't see this ad.
hurlygrly07 said:
I tried this with another NYC interview earlier this month.. here was the reply...

Dear ____,

Thank you for your email and update. Should the Admissions Committee decide to grant you an interview, we will try to accommodate the date you have provided.
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

P&S Admissions
Click to expand...

Gonna have to use this one.
 
mmmcdowe said:
Yes, no, yes, yes.
Click to expand...


Oh, okay then I guess I am not in such a bad shape. Because I am only involved in one club and one sports during the school year, and I am just a member of both the club/sport. I thought "extracurricular" activities refer to clubs/sports.

I do have plenty of shadowing experiences during the school year, 2 years of research experience, and plenty of summer volunteer hours (including 3-week volunteer in Africa).

That should be at least "okay" if not better in terms of extracurricular activities right?
 
For non-rolling schools (like Columbia, Harvard, Penn, Cornell, Yale, Duke), does it matter when you submit your secondary at all? Don't they offer interviews only after all applications are in at the secondary deadline in November? I'm confused, what's the hype behind applying as early as possible for these places? Thanks
 
Last edited:
wheewer said:
For rolling schools (like Columbia, Harvard, Penn, Cornell, Yale, Duke), does it matter when you submit your secondary at all? Don't they offer interviews only after all applications are in at the secondary deadline in November? I'm confused, what's the hype behind applying as early as possible for these places? Thanks
Click to expand...

These are non-rolling schools- schools with rolling admissions admit students as the app cycle progresses, hence there are fewer spots later in the cycle. NON rolling admissions means they announce all of their decisions at once. However, these schools obviously (look at threads for some of the schools you listed) offer interviews before they have all their apps in, so perhaps you have a better shot at an ii if your app is in their hands earlier.
 
hurlygrly07 said:
I tried this with another NYC interview earlier this month.. here was the reply...

Dear ____,

Thank you for your email and update. Should the Admissions Committee decide to grant you an interview, we will try to accommodate the date you have provided.
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

P&S Admissions
Click to expand...

What exactly do you say in an ITA email?? Thanks!
 
tonguetalker said:
What exactly do you say in an ITA email?? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Just explain why you are requesting it. If you live in NJ, they are unlikely to be as sympathetic. You don't have to name schools, just say you have an interview/obligation in the area etc.
 
mmmcdowe said:
Just explain why you are requesting it. If you live in NJ, they are unlikely to be as sympathetic. You don't have to name schools, just say you have an interview/obligation in the area etc.
Click to expand...

Would it be presumptuous to send one out before they have started to grant interviews? I have on one Wednesday and another on Friday so getting one Thursday between then would be perfect!
 
What is the surrounding environment like? Columbia is in Harlem...dangerous/not really?
 
embracethepain said:
What is the surrounding environment like? Columbia is in Harlem...dangerous/not really?
Click to expand...

Its in Washigton Heights actually. Not the best place, especially at night. During the day its completrly and absolutely safe. Student/resident parking is very close to the hospital and is guarded and well lit so theres no worry there. Basically it gets shady as you go further north and further east from the hospital. Nothing horrible and the direct surrounding area has enough traffic to keep it from being dangerous. However there is a homeless shelter directly across the street from the med school and some less then savory individuals sometimes hang out in front of it. Once again its not that bad. During the day its perfect. Absolutely nothing that would stop me from attending the medical school if accepted.

Not a med student there, just know the med center area decently well.
 
futureczar said:
Its in Washigton Heights actually. Not the best place, especially at night. During the day its completrly and absolutely safe. Student/resident parking is very close to the hospital and is guarded and well lit so theres no worry there. Basically it gets shady as you go further north and further east from the hospital. Nothing horrible and the direct surrounding area has enough traffic to keep it from being dangerous. However there is a homeless shelter directly across the street from the med school and some less then savory individuals sometimes hang out in front of it. Once again its not that bad. During the day its perfect. Absolutely nothing that would stop me from attending the medical school if accepted.

Not a med student there, just know the med center area decently well.
Click to expand...

I'm looking to apply to columbia in the coming cycle and also have a job offer from the med center, so figured this would be the best place to ask. Is living in morningside and commuting to med center a bad idea? I did hear about the homeless shelter and I heard it gets really sketch there.
 
futureczar said:
Its in Washigton Heights actually. Not the best place, especially at night. During the day its completrly and absolutely safe. Student/resident parking is very close to the hospital and is guarded and well lit so theres no worry there. Basically it gets shady as you go further north and further east from the hospital. Nothing horrible and the direct surrounding area has enough traffic to keep it from being dangerous. However there is a homeless shelter directly across the street from the med school and some less then savory individuals sometimes hang out in front of it. Once again its not that bad. During the day its perfect. Absolutely nothing that would stop me from attending the medical school if accepted.

Not a med student there, just know the med center area decently well.
Click to expand...
I worked there for two summers, and I pretty much agree with this. You wont want to venture too far away from the main campus, but the area itself is entirely safe. And this is coming from a tiny 21 year old girl 😉
The buildings themselves are beautiful, especially the Milstein hospital, and the rest of their facilities are absolutely amazing too. There are tons of places to get food, and culturally it is very diverse. Also, you are right next to the GW bridge should you want to head to Jersey, and there is a subway stop on campus for the A, C, and 1 trains.
 
accmd said:
I worked there for two summers, and I pretty much agree with this. You wont want to venture too far away from the main campus, but the area itself is entirely safe. And this is coming from a tiny 21 year old girl 😉
The buildings themselves are beautiful, especially the Milstein hospital, and the rest of their facilities are absolutely amazing too. There are tons of places to get food, and culturally it is very diverse. Also, you are right next to the GW bridge should you want to head to Jersey, and there is a subway stop on campus for the A, C, and 1 trains.
Click to expand...

I'm a tiny 21 year old girl too, so I feel kind of good about that. I guess I'm concerned more about winter when it's dark a lot of the time. Did you live by yourself in an apartment? I'm apt hunting too...lots of reeeeallly teeeeny tiny studios for 2k! holy moly.
 
@mmmcdowe: Do you know if Columbia is friendly to Canadians? I have read rumours on premed101 that international students without connections get waitlisted/rejected 🙁
 
embracethepain said:
I'm a tiny 21 year old girl too, so I feel kind of good about that. I guess I'm concerned more about winter when it's dark a lot of the time. Did you live by yourself in an apartment? I'm apt hunting too...lots of reeeeallly teeeeny tiny studios for 2k! holy moly.
Click to expand...
I lived with my brother who has an apartment in White Plains, which is about a 30-40 min commute by car. I drove into the city, but I would not recommend it since parking is hard to find and expensive. I know Columbia has student housing, and you are given priority based on how far you currently live. But I agree, NYC real estate is outrageous!
 
Claudin said:
@mmmcdowe: Do you know if Columbia is friendly to Canadians? I have read rumours on premed101 that international students without connections get waitlisted/rejected 🙁
Click to expand...

Very friendly, Canadians are considered on the same basis as US students, rather than as internationals.
 
embracethepain said:
I'm looking to apply to columbia in the coming cycle and also have a job offer from the med center, so figured this would be the best place to ask. Is living in morningside and commuting to med center a bad idea? I did hear about the homeless shelter and I heard it gets really sketch there.
Click to expand...

Some people do that, it isn't a bad commute. Only about 10 minutes on the subway and you get off right in front of the medical center. I have friends who live down there and even further away even. A couple even live in Jersey and commute across the bridge.
 
accmd said:
I lived with my brother who has an apartment in White Plains, which is about a 30-40 min commute by car. I drove into the city, but I would not recommend it since parking is hard to find and expensive. I know Columbia has student housing, and you are given priority based on how far you currently live. But I agree, NYC real estate is outrageous!
Click to expand...
all medical students are guaranteed on-campus housing.

re: safety, with all due respect to everyone here, my experience is that the area around cumc comes across as scary or unsafe mostly to the generally white upper-middle class suburbanites that make up a large portion of the premed/med student body. washington heights esp. around the medical campus is quite safe. you might be sketched out by a homeless person, but that doesn't necessarily make that person a threat.
 
RogueUnicorn said:
all medical students are guaranteed on-campus housing.

re: safety, with all due respect to everyone here, my experience is that the area around cumc comes across as scary or unsafe mostly to the generally white upper-middle class suburbanites that make up a large portion of the premed/med student body. washington heights esp. around the medical campus is quite safe. you might be sketched out by a homeless person, but that doesn't necessarily make that person a threat.
Click to expand...

By on campus you mean morningside area? Sorry I'm not very familiar with the area.

I agree with your second statement. I think I will just get used to not being sketched out by everyone on the street after a few weeks.
 
embracethepain said:
By on campus you mean morningside area? Sorry I'm not very familiar with the area.

I agree with your second statement. I think I will just get used to not being sketched out by everyone on the street after a few weeks.
Click to expand...
no i mean right by the medical school, there's a dorm for first years and sweet apartment-style housing the following years. actually much to the chagrin of a lot of us the morningside (undergrad) campus housing is off-limits to med students =/
 
Washington Heights in general is not the safest place, but from what I hear the Columbia campus is in fact safe. The good news is there is a subway stop right on campus so if you need to go somewhere late at night for example, then you won't really have to walk through any bad areas.

EDIT: woops, I see mmmcdowe already addressed this.
 
mmmcdowe said:
Very friendly, Canadians are considered on the same basis as US students, rather than as internationals.
Click to expand...

That's very encouraging to hear! Do you personally know any Canadians in your class?
 
Irish Football said:
That is surprising. I actually know the area quite well and while the numbers may show it has become more safe, I still would not be comfortable walking around the heights at night.
Click to expand...
that's fine, but it's my opinion that this is more of a function of your comfort with the population of WaHi than their propensity to harm.. i hope you don't take this as an attack on your character (i certainly don't intend it to be), but being outside of one's comfort zone != unsafe.

*n.b. this is still an urban neighborhood and it would behoove anyone anywhere to be smart about personal safety
 
RogueUnicorn said:
that's fine, but it's my opinion that this is more of a function of your comfort with the population of WaHi than their propensity to harm.. i hope you don't take this as an attack on your character (i certainly don't intend it to be), but being outside of one's comfort zone != unsafe.

*n.b. this is still an urban neighborhood and it would behoove anyone anywhere to be smart about personal safety
Click to expand...

You're probably right.
 
Does anyone know if it may be possible to change your program selection/apply to multiple programs after you have submitted your secondary?
 
speakwhales said:
Does anyone know if it may be possible to change your program selection/apply to multiple programs after you have submitted your secondary?
Click to expand...

I'm sure if you contact them they will be able to assist you or at least give you a definite answer. I imagine the answer is yes.
 
For anyone who is wondering about Columbia sending out II's, my friend just told me that he received an II from Columbia today.
 
^ I'm so scared... I feel like it will come any day now ............
 
justhanging said:
Why are you scared? Shouldn't you be happy or excited, if your expecting an II?
Click to expand...

Scared of rejection lol. Columbia is a reach for me. Refreshing my inbox like crazy.
 
Last edited:
I think they call for invites or at least last year they did. So no need to refresh ur inbox
 
heisenbergbb said:
i guess that means silent rejection for me 😡
Click to expand...

nah, i don't think so, I definitely feel a II coming (I got solid stats for a URM: 3.75/36S coming from an ivy) and I haven't heard anything (complete on 8/15)
 
I also have pretty solid stats, 3.9/36 with two summers of research in one of their surgery departments and a letter from a VERY important faculty member 😉 Yet, no II yet. CHILLLLLLLLL it is so early and today was only the first day they sent interviews out!
 
accmd said:
I also have pretty solid stats, 3.9/36 with two summers of research in one of their surgery departments and a letter from a VERY important faculty member 😉 Yet, no II yet. CHILLLLLLLLL it is so early and today was only the first day they sent interviews out!
Click to expand...
and I met Dr. Oz there which basically guarantees my acceptance 😉 😉 so be patient! hahaha
 
Out of this whole internet forum only one member and one member's friend received II's?😳 not good...
 
macho07 said:
Out of this whole internet forum only one member and one member's friend received II's?😳 not good...
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry. I believe they give about 1000 interviews so I anticipate that many more of us will be visiting Columbia to make our case 😀
 
heisenbergbb said:
i guess that means silent rejection for me 😡
Click to expand...

What? No.... I don't think you can make that assumption about any school at this point.

kuntash said:
I wouldn't worry. I believe they give about 1000 interviews so I anticipate that many more of us will be visiting Columbia to make our case 😀
Click to expand...

Closer to 1200. I would also point out that a lot more people are reading rather than posting. Many choose not to advertise their II's publicly.
 
mmmcdowe said:
Closer to 1200. I would also point out that a lot more people are reading rather than posting. Many choose not to advertise their II's publicly.
Click to expand...
word. in fact i just got an ii myself yesterday.

i think they're reducing the interviews down closer to 1k this year?
 
RogueUnicorn said:
word. in fact i just got an ii myself yesterday.

i think they're reducing the interviews down closer to 1k this year?
Click to expand...

I'm confused.. Is this a joke? (your status says med student??) I'm not very good with internet sarcasm...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

wysdoc
2024-2025 Columbia (Vagelos)
8 9 10 11 12
Replies
579
Views
220K
monetary_bear
M
wysdoc
2024-2025 Missouri - Columbia
2 3 4 5 6
Replies
283
Views
49K
homeadelove
homeadelove
wysdoc
2024-2025 South Carolina - Columbia
2 3 4
Replies
178
Views
46K
Lil Car's Son
Lil Car's Son
chilly_md
2024-2025 Boston University
21 22 23 24 25
Replies
1K
Views
265K
an2five
A
wysdoc
2023-2024 Missouri - Columbia
4 5 6 7 8
Replies
364
Views
74K
laceratedfish
L
Top