2013-2014 Columbia University Application Thread

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YankeeLion16 said:
Current Bard resident here. I think it is great--at $700/ mo I get a room that has a sink, spacious closet (where I hang all of my dress clothing, store my dresser, keep my shoes, and extraneous stuff) that is literally a 5 minute walk to class and Milstein hospital. It is quiet, and you get used to dorm style showers/bathrooms very quickly.

Between the meal plan (which lets you take enough leftovers like chicken parm, skirt steak, and tilapia for an extra two or three meals) and free food from student events happening every day of the week, I am pretty much covered for the week. For breakfast I normally eat cereal, and when I'm not eating free food or leftovers from the meal plan, I get food from a number of delis/chipotle/dominican food restaurants. I also go food shopping at either of the two local supermarkets or travel 10 minutes to a great market called Fairway.

TL; DR Bard is great and I cook maybe once a week and never really feel the need to do so more than that, and I haven't heard of other people having issues competing for space in the Bard Kitchen.
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Heh, YankeeLion - nice username. Columbia undergrad?
 
Anyone here had any luck with In The Area emails?
 
nemo123 said:
They seem to be pretty receptive to them. From previous posts, it seems that if you send one, they'll look at your app and if they like you, you'll get an II right away.
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Thanks for the response. Fingers crossed!
 
nemo123 said:
They seem to be pretty receptive to them. From previous posts, it seems that if you send one, they'll look at your app and if they like you, you'll get an II right away.
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What if I have an interview at a school in New York in early February, should I email them now? or wait?
 
kimicurtis said:
What if I have an interview at a school in New York in early February, should I email them now? or wait?
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You could send one in now, telling them you'll be interviewing at another NYC school in February and they'll accommodate you that way even if they've only filled up to mid-January thus far (since if you send it in later, all the early February spots might be taken).
 
nemo123 said:
You could send one in now, telling them you'll be interviewing at another NYC school in February and they'll accommodate you that way even if they've only filled up to mid-January thus far (since if you send it in later, all the early February spots might be taken).
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This may seem like another silly question...but I saw somewhere that if you live relatively close to that area schools will just think your trying to get your app reviewed quickly and frown upon this. I live about 4.5/5 hours driving distance from NYC. Is this too close for me to email that I am in the area? LOL Please just tell me I am over-thinking this...
 
kimicurtis said:
This may seem like another silly question...but I saw somewhere that if you live relatively close to that area schools will just think your trying to get your app reviewed quickly and frown upon this. I live about 4.5/5 hours driving distance from NYC. Is this too close for me to email that I am in the area? LOL Please just tell me I am over-thinking this...
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I mean, considering that the whole point of "in-the-area" emails is supposed to be as a way to ease the burden of travel over long distances, 4 hours seems like it's not really far enough to warrant an email. Then again, if you'd be renting a car, booking a train, getting a hotel, or any of those things, and feeling particularly cost-sensitive at this point in the application cycle, I could see the logic in trying to minimize those expenses.
 
kimicurtis said:
This may seem like another silly question...but I saw somewhere that if you live relatively close to that area schools will just think your trying to get your app reviewed quickly and frown upon this. I live about 4.5/5 hours driving distance from NYC. Is this too close for me to email that I am in the area? LOL Please just tell me I am over-thinking this...
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Like @aspirantmed said, being 4 hours away by car might not be far enough to warrant an in-the-area email. Maybe you could add a sentence or two saying that you want to bundle your interviews to minimize travel expenses (and hotels). I think they should be fine with that.
 
I forget if they mentioned anything on the interview, but what are we supposed to do with our fall semester grades? I'm assuming they want them before the committee meets in the spring.
 
no, from what i have heard, adcoms will view them as an annoyance if you send them your grades. i guess if they differ drastically from your past performance, it cant hurt to send it
 
yankees26 said:
no, from what i have heard, adcoms will view them as an annoyance if you send them your grades. i guess if they differ drastically from your past performance, it cant hurt to send it
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This is bad advice. Whoever told you this, has given you bad advice. I have been told the same thing by some, but the vast majority of people have said "wait to send an update when you have your fall grades"
 
I'm gonna be interviewing in NYC Feb 26th, should I email Columbia even if I haven't been given an II?
 
RealReplicant said:
I'm gonna be interviewing in NYC Feb 26th, should I email Columbia even if I haven't been given an II?
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Go for it. You'll be in the area, and Columbia is receptive to them (though I think Columbia stop interviewing mid-February, but @mmmcdowe has said they have special interview days sometimes).
 
How long should an ITA email be? And what do you usually put in one?
 
Also got a II invite this afternoon.

There are no available dates past the first week of February.
 
Thanks! Super stoked. For anyone worried about applying late... I completed my application the last week it was due. (I'm Canadian so I didn't even think I had a shot at American schools, but I decided to go for it in the end).

Does anyone know how large the group is usually per interview day?
 
darks0ulz said:
Thanks! Super stoked. For anyone worried about applying late... I completed my application the last week it was due. (I'm Canadian so I didn't even think I had a shot at American schools, but I decided to go for it in the end).

Does anyone know how large the group is usually per interview day?
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mine was around 10
 
kimicurtis said:
Congratulations! So, there were no dates after feb 7?
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There weren't any available on the calendar after the 7th when I signed up for mine. This doesn't mean they for sure don't offer anything after then, but it might mean that after then would require special circumstances.
 
LVE said:
There weren't any available on the calendar after the 7th when I signed up for mine. This doesn't mean they for sure don't offer anything after then, but it might mean that after then would require special circumstances.
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darks0ulz said:
Also got a II invite this afternoon.

There are no available dates past the first week of February.
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Okay, thanks. Good luck guys!
 
hi all

hope all is well; do you happen to know the interview dates for the month of december? (for the md/phd)

thank you
 
Hey darks0ulz,
I'm in a similar situation (Canadian applicant). Do you mind sharing your stats?
 
Will it say at all in the application portal if you have been declined? Or do they only send out email or letter rejections?
 
MiracleAngel said:
Will it say at all in the application portal if you have been declined? Or do they only send out email or letter rejections?
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I think they sent out emails last year for pre-interview rejections in early March.
 
Last edited:
does anyone know how many ppl they interviewed this year and how many of those are usually accepted?

Thanks
 
yankees26 said:
does anyone know how many ppl they interviewed this year and how many of those are usually accepted?

Thanks
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My subscription to the MSAR has expired, but they interview roughly 1000 people and I think they accept (in the ballpark of) 200-300
 
yankees26 said:
does anyone know how many ppl they interviewed this year and how many of those are usually accepted?

Thanks
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They interview approximately 1000 applicants and accept about 200 outright in March (about half of which will go elsewhere). About 100 people come off the waitlist, of which ~50 will choose to attend. So in total, about 300 people are accepted.
 
II this morning. OOS, 4.0 / 34. Kinda intimidating how many people they interview and how few they accept compared to some other schools...
 
nemo123 said:
They interview approximately 1000 applicants and accept about 200 outright in March (about half of which will go elsewhere). About 100 people come off the waitlist, of which ~50 will choose to attend. So in total, about 300 people are accepted.
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Nemo! You must teach me. How/where are you calculating these numbers from? I would like to calculate my odds for a few schools I have applied to, hahaha -.-
 
So I understand that it's 'rolling admissions,' but does having an interview on the last interview day not bode well for any reason? Submitted 10/9, II 1/15. Also, any Columbia-specific interview pointers from people who have gained admission?
 
TheKMan1 said:
So I understand that it's 'rolling admissions,' but does having an interview on the last interview day not bode well for any reason? Submitted 10/9, II 1/15. Also, any Columbia-specific interview pointers from people who have gained admission?
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Columbia is not rolling admissions. I believe they make all decisions after their interview season.
 
TheKMan1 said:
Sorry, that's what I meant!
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I doubt a later interview hurts in any way since they don't start meeting to make decisions until February.

And as for pointers: Columbia was one of the most relaxed interviews I've had. Only a few typical questions like why medicine? And what are your strengths and weaknesses?
 
Are pre-interview update letters even worth it at this point? I really love this school, and I think I'm a good fit, but I loathe self-promotion and would rather not sink the agony into writing a letter about how great I am only to get a categorical rejection.
 
DrCharlemagne said:
Are pre-interview update letters even worth it at this point? I really love this school, and I think I'm a good fit, but I loathe self-promotion and would rather not sink the agony into writing a letter about how great I am only to get a categorical rejection.
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From my experience they are very receptive towards the update letters. I have sent three, and each time they wrote me back saying it was received. That being said, if you don't have anything to update, I wouldn't send an update letter. Update letters are not about how great you are - they are about what you have bee up to since you have submitted your application. Also, if you don't promote yourself no one will, so get up that courage to promote yourself. It's not being arrogant. There is a very clear line between being arrogant and confident.
 
DJ2MD said:
From my experience they are very receptive towards the update letters. I have sent three, and each time they wrote me back saying it was received. That being said, if you don't have anything to update, I wouldn't send an update letter. Update letters are not about how great you are - they are about what you have bee up to since you have submitted your application. Also, if you don't promote yourself no one will, so get up that courage to promote yourself. It's not being arrogant. There is a very clear line between being arrogant and confident.
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You're correct, I misspoke (mistyped?), and I guess I'm not asking after an update letter. I'm out of school and my work has not really produced anything extraordinary to update (I did just figure out how to make the LightCycler behave, but now I know all my qPCRs failed...). I guess a more accurate question would be whether a letter of interest would do much good.

And thanks for the encouragement. I'm not going into business or advertising for a reason; this whole application process has demonstrated that my skills do not trend toward selling myself.
 
Does anybody know the dates for second look weekend this year? I am leaving the country, but I'm hoping to avoid the second look weekend dates of my top choices just in case the stars align...
 
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