2015-2016 Columbia University College of P&S Application Thread

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Dr. Retractor said:
I believe a stipend in which you got paid (ie money into your bank account) for doing research would count as employment, but just a grant that goes to you or your PI to be used for research would not.
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Yep, I'll talk about it then! Part of the award goes to me as a stipend, while another fraction of the award is given to my PI for research overhead
 
Consensus on work for compensation? 300 words seems like a lot to just list the activities, but I've already addressed them in the AMCAS. Are y'all leaning toward a concise list or real description?
 
bluetovah said:
Consensus on work for compensation? 300 words seems like a lot to just list the activities, but I've already addressed them in the AMCAS. Are y'all leaning toward a concise list or real description?
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Mine are in AMCAS, just wrote bullet points pointing out the jobs.
 
mojanglez said:
id say it depends on how many things you've done for compensation. since i only have two. i wrote a paragraph describing each and then stated at the end how much i worked weekly.

however if you have multiple entries then youd probably be better off listing them all with a brief sentence describing each and your time commitment
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i'd still say that if AMCAS has good descriptions already, shorter is sweeter.
 
What're you guys using the "anything else" essay for? Leaving it blank? A "Why Columbia" essay? Diversity? Challenge?
 
dopedamine said:
What're you guys using the "anything else" essay for? Leaving it blank? A "Why Columbia" essay? Diversity? Challenge?
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mojanglez said:
im deliberating between turning it into a diversity/how can i contribute to this med school essay, or leaving it blank. placing higher priority in ensuring that i target their complex urban environment prompt from the right angle
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Last year, I did not write another essay for this prompt. I do not think they are expecting you to, but I am only speculating.
 
Submitted and complete 7/7. I'd really like to visit the Columbia University College of Surgeons & Surgeons in their complex urban environoment muy hispanohablante.
 
mojanglez said:
whats the logic behind that? in the case i mentioned above, in the eye of the person reading your secondary, he/she has no idea with how much depth you went into something on your AMCAS, all they see is your secondary responses. so im just reminding you that if you think shorter is sweeter in spite of it being on your AMCAS, thats fine, but dont feel that way due to.
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I agree with mojanglez - considering the differences in character length between AMCAS and the secondary, it doesn't seem that they want a wordy answer.

Submitted today 7/7!! Good luck everyone!!!!
 
From previous threads, apparently its purpose is to explain inconsistencies in your academic record and that sort of thing. I think the general mentality is writing anything else there won't hurt you, but it will likely be disregarded, assuming it's read at all, so it probably won't help you much either.
 
starlite911 said:
From previous threads, apparently its purpose is to explain inconsistencies in your academic record and that sort of thing. I think the general mentality is writing anything else there won't hurt you, but it will likely be disregarded, assuming it's read at all, so it probably won't help you much either.
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Just wondering, how loosely defined is an academic inconsistency. If I were to have averaged 3.5's the first two years then averaged 3.9/4.0 the last two years of college, is that just improvement or an inconsistency, especially if I never received anything below a B- all four years?
 
dopedamine said:
Just wondering, how loosely defined is an academic inconsistency. If I were to have averaged 3.5's the first two years then averaged 3.9/4.0 the last two years of college, is that just improvement or an inconsistency, especially if I never received anything below a B- all four years?
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I would say it's just improvement associated with adapting to college workload, and that there is absolutely no reason to elaborate on it, unless you were dealing with something the first two years that prevented you from reaching your "full potential"
 
question - for all of these essays, are you guys just leaving a line in between paragraphs?
 
Can I apply for the regular MD (4 yr) and the 3yr MD (for PhD holders) programs at the same time?

Got this extra essay in the secondary for the 3 yr PhD-to-MD program:
17. Please discuss future expectations for research during your medical career.
 
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ehh.. I already submitted and put a line in between paragraphs... oh well. Best of luck to everyone 🙂
 
y123 said:
Can I apply for the regular MD and the 3yr MD programs at the same time?

Got this extra essay in the secondary:
17. Please discuss future expectations for research during your medical career.
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??? Did you apply to just the MD only program? I don't remember seeing this question...
 
phuynh94 said:
??? Did you apply to just the MD only program? I don't remember seeing this question...
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We were asked to choose from the following four programs. Regular MD program and the 3 year MD program are two different programs.
  • Regular MD Program
  • Columbia-Bassett track
    This popular and highly-competitive medical school degree track allows a limited number of Columbia students to experience their 18 month basic science curriculum at P&S and all Major Clinical Year rotations at Bassett Healthcare, with a mixture thereafter. The Columbia-Bassett program provides students a deep understanding of physician-patient relationships through a longitudinal curriculum, while also emphasizing intensive training in the science of healthcare performance improvement.
  • 3 year MD for PhDs
    Students in this program enter medical school with a PhD in biomedical science. The curriculum is designed for these students to complete the MD degree requirements in three years.
  • MD/PhD
 
just submitted, but took me a while to realize I had to put N/A in the empty text boxes or it wouldn't mark it as complete!
 
Anyone having trouble uploading their CV? I get a error about there not being enough space. I even tried submitting as a text file, which was only 11KB....
 
barr07 said:
Anyone having trouble uploading their CV? I get a error about there not being enough space. I even tried submitting as a text file, which was only 11KB....
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having the same problem... also getting a 500 error on the photo upload...
 
So the photo is purely to confirm identity for interviews?
Do adcoms see the photo as they are looking over an app?
 
Was anyone who was having difficulty uploading the photo figure out what they were doing wrong? I think they might be having difficulty with the servers?
 
Make sure the photo is no bigger than 2 by 3 and is a JPEG. And maybe try uploading at a weird hour when everyone isn't trying?
 
ChillDawg said:
So the photo is purely to confirm identity for interviews?
Do adcoms see the photo as they are looking over an app?
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I wanted to make a statement so I sent a photo with this pose:
 

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nsharma23 said:
Make sure the photo is no bigger than 2 by 3 and is a JPEG. And maybe try uploading at a weird hour when everyone isn't trying?
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Didn't try the weird hour thing yet, but if my jpeg gets any smaller the admin will think I sent them a photo of a thumb.
 
almostthere321 said:
Didn't try the weird hour thing yet, but if my jpeg gets any smaller the admin will think I sent them a photo of a thumb.
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My photo was resized automatically and accepted. It was just a simple iPhone snap with soft retouching heh
 
WELL, just got an automated system-wide email that they’ve fixed these finicky problems with the secondary. Everything works now according to them
 
G.NA said:
WELL, just got an automated system-wide email that they’ve fixed these finicky problems with the secondary. Everything works now according to them
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Yup no more errors here! Thanks everyone for your suggestions though.
 
I feel like the work and extracurricular questions are really redundant with my primary... Should I be going into as much detail as space allows or just do brief descriptions? I don't want to be going on and repetitive if they just want a quick summary, but don't want to leave out important information either.

Also, my CV would be redundant with both these questions and my primary. Is it okay to not submit one?
 
It's 400 characters, so I literally just listed my extracurriculars. There wasn't room to do otherwise, IMO. For work, I listed my experiences as well, but since there we had 300 words, I elaborated on 2 experiences I didn't have room for on my primary.

I uploaded a CV, simply because I had one. I wouldn't spend the time making one if you don't have it though, as it is pretty redundant.

ls2412 said:
I feel like the work and extracurricular questions are really redundant with my primary... Should I be going into as much detail as space allows or just do brief descriptions? I don't want to be going on and repetitive if they just want a quick summary, but don't want to leave out important information either.

Also, my CV would be redundant with both these questions and my primary. Is it okay to not submit one?
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ChillDawg said:
So the photo is purely to confirm identity for interviews?
Do adcoms see the photo as they are looking over an app?
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Attractiveness is an essential factor in obtaining admission to our program. The class averages about an 8.5/10 hotness. Starting as an average of 9/10 and declining slightly over the 4 yrs as vigor of workload increases reaching a minimum hotness trough around 3/4 of the way through the major clinical year.

Also plz ask me any questions about P&S, I'm a 3rd year regular M.D. 🙂
 
Dingo Mango said:
Attractiveness is an essential factor in obtaining admission to our program. The class averages about an 8.5/10 hotness. Starting as an average of 9/10 and declining slightly over the 4 yrs as vigor of workload increases reaching a minimum hotness trough around 3/4 of the way through the major clinical year.

Also plz ask me any questions about P&S, I'm a 3rd year regular M.D. 🙂
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i'm a shoo-in then :3
 
Dingo Mango said:
Attractiveness is an essential factor in obtaining admission to our program. The class averages about an 8.5/10 hotness. Starting as an average of 9/10 and declining slightly over the 4 yrs as vigor of workload increases reaching a minimum hotness trough around 3/4 of the way through the major clinical year.

Also plz ask me any questions about P&S, I'm a 3rd year regular M.D. 🙂
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Funny, but really, when do adcoms look at pictures?
If they have an applicant's picture on hand as they're browsing through their application, it would definitely behoove the applicant to pick an attractive picture.
Now then, when do adcoms see the picture?
 
ChillDawg said:
Funny, but really, when do adcoms look at pictures?
If they have an applicant's picture on hand as they're browsing through their application, it would definitely behoove the applicant to pick an attractive picture.
Now then, when do adcoms see the picture?
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I've seen conference rooms at admissions offices and they have a big projector in the room. I assume it is most useful for post-II discussions so interviewers and staff can remember what the candidates did
 
G.NA said:
I've seen conference rooms at admissions offices and they have a big projector in the room. I assume it is most useful for post-II discussions so interviewers and staff can remember what the candidates did
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Kk, so pick your best selfie, got it. 😉
 
ChillDawg said:
Kk, so pick your best selfie, got it. 😉
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If we hashtag in our secondaries does it count against the character count?
Also, does anyone know if they prefer a certain filter. I'm looking good in Hefe but should I play it a little more bold?
 
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