2018-2019 Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

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oil_rig said:
Sorry for double comment, but also have a question on this secondary Q:

3. If you have graduated from college, please briefly summarize what you have done in the interim. (300 words)

I've been working full-time and essentially already answered this question in a Work/Activities entry on my primary...would it show bad taste if I essentially copy/paste that Experience Description in here? I'm trying to rewrite it, but there's only so many ways I can describe my job lol, at the same time I don't want to come off as lazy for copy/pasting....
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I'm in the same boat. I don't want to copy/paste, but I also don't want to restate things in my primary. I'm planning to speak broadly about/summarize what I've been up to in ~100 words...worked in tech, volunteered, etc. Hopefully it won't be interpreted as laziness - I just don't see a need to be redundant.
 
RE: What challenges do you expect to arise from living and working in a complex urban environment? How will you meet them?

If I am already living in a "complex urban environment" and love it (one of many reasons I want to go to P&S is because of its location) - can I answer it like so? Or should I talk about how I overcame these challenges? Only thing I can think of that I don't like about NYC is housing...
 
roadtosurgeon said:
RE: What challenges do you expect to arise from living and working in a complex urban environment? How will you meet them?

If I am already living in a "complex urban environment" and love it (one of many reasons I want to go to P&S is because of its location) - can I answer it like so? Or should I talk about how I overcame these challenges? Only thing I can think of that I don't like about NYC is housing...
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I agree talking past tense about your experienes are fine but relate them back to NYC. Also maybe try to highlight something that might be different about NYC from your current location. Or a challenge you will face in med school that has to do with an urban environment. If you already have lived in a big city for a while then definitely state that but try not to just leave it at.
 
oil_rig said:
Sorry for double comment, but also have a question on this secondary Q:

3. If you have graduated from college, please briefly summarize what you have done in the interim. (300 words)

I've been working full-time and essentially already answered this question in a Work/Activities entry on my primary...would it show bad taste if I essentially copy/paste that Experience Description in here? I'm trying to rewrite it, but there's only so many ways I can describe my job lol, at the same time I don't want to come off as lazy for copy/pasting....
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For a prompt like this don't worry about filling the whole space. Say what you did and that's it. Don't copy and paste because it will look lazy if they catch on, but it's okay to repeat content. Also you should ideally have had more going on than just your job unless you're working 80+ hours a week (ie. Keep up with volunteering), but if not what's done is done. Don't be afraid to talk about hobbies or something of the sort that you were able to focus a little more on being out of school
 
For the "passport style photo," do y'all think they specifically mean a headshot on a plain white background? Or do you think they just mean a headshot in general? I want to use the photo I have from my senior portrait photos since I use that for stuff like linkedin, but it was taken outside so the background is my school's academic quad
 
Hawkenthesky said:
For the "passport style photo," do y'all think they specifically mean a headshot on a plain white background? Or do you think they just mean a headshot in general? I want to use the photo I have from my senior portrait photos since I use that for stuff like linkedin, but it was taken outside so the background is my school's academic quad
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I emailed them this exact question a few days ago lol. My picture was in front of a dark curtain and they said it was fine, so I'm assuming as long as you are sure the background is professional, you should be fine.
 
Anyone else still have their LoR's listed as "Not Received"? Most of my schools have them by now, but Columbia is still giving me the incomplete status on that.
 
diesel17 said:
Anyone else still have their LoR's listed as "Not Received"? Most of my schools have them by now, but Columbia is still giving me the incomplete status on that.
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I'm in the same boat as you LORs not received.
 
aleezard21 said:
I'm in the same boat as you LORs not received.
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Interesting. Yeah, I've been submitted since last week. Perhaps they only download them from AMCAS if they feel like they need them, sometime later in the review process.
 
diesel17 said:
Anyone else still have their LoR's listed as "Not Received"? Most of my schools have them by now, but Columbia is still giving me the incomplete status on that.
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Yes, me too! I've also been submitted since last week. Hmm...
 
diesel17 said:
Anyone else still have their LoR's listed as "Not Received"? Most of my schools have them by now, but Columbia is still giving me the incomplete status on that.
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I emailed them and they said they just haven’t gotten them from AMCAS yet and to follow up in a week if they still haven’t received them!
 
KinneyMinney said:
I emailed them and they said they just haven’t gotten them from AMCAS yet and to follow up in a week if they still haven’t received them!
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I called and asked what the deal is with them not having my recommendations, as P&S claims they receive them within 24-48 hours of being uploaded to AMCAS - and mine were submitted longer ago than that. The person I spoke with said they have been having a problem downloading from AMCAS the recommendations for "some people" - which is disconcerting b/c it might mean that even though I submitted my secondary very early, there are still people getting processed ahead of me just because P&S didn't have a problem with getting their stuff from AMCAS.
 
Richard White said:
Did you end up leaving the "Anything Else?" question blank? I'm trying to think of some ideas for a "Why Columbia" response but I don't want it to be corny...
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If you're passionate about the school or its location, go for it. Be honest with yourself though.
 
enduring_operation said:
I called and asked what the deal is with them not having my recommendations, as P&S claims they receive them within 24-48 hours of being uploaded to AMCAS - and mine were submitted longer ago than that. The person I spoke with said they have been having a problem downloading from AMCAS the recommendations for "some people" - which is disconcerting b/c it might mean that even though I submitted my secondary very early, there are still people getting processed ahead of me just because P&S didn't have a problem with getting their stuff from AMCAS.
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I'm not done being processed either at Columbia. But no need to really worry yet, Columbia isn't even rolling admissions.
 
enduring_operation said:
I called and asked what the deal is with them not having my recommendations, as P&S claims they receive them within 24-48 hours of being uploaded to AMCAS - and mine were submitted longer ago than that. The person I spoke with said they have been having a problem downloading from AMCAS the recommendations for "some people" - which is disconcerting b/c it might mean that even though I submitted my secondary very early, there are still people getting processed ahead of me just because P&S didn't have a problem with getting their stuff from AMCAS.
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wait whaaaat? I thought everyone was still incomplete cuz of LORs? My recs have been in since early May and I submitted the secondary 6/30. Should I call?
 
dodolol21 said:
wait whaaaat? I thought everyone was still incomplete cuz of LORs? My recs have been in since early May and I submitted the secondary 6/30. Should I call?
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Idk, it could have just been the language the guy used - "some people" - and I didn't clarify what he meant by that. My *hope* is that they will do most of the sorting by date of secondary submission rather than date of total file completion, but I have nothing to base that on.
 
Just got an email from P&S Admissions:

Dear enduring_operation,

Thank you for your question. We are currently having issues with letters of recommendation from AMCAS. We expect the problem to be solved by the end of this week.

Please don't hesitate to reach back out to us if you have any further questions.
 
itsalwayssunny96 said:
I'm not done being processed either at Columbia. But no need to really worry yet, Columbia isn't even rolling admissions.
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Yes - P&S is not rolling admissions, but non-rolling admissions doesn't mean non-rolling interviews. In other words, they don't decide whom to admit until they've interview everyone they're going to interview, but they almost certainly invite some people to interview before they've read everyone's file. So, submitting early can make a difference on whether you're interviewed, and hence whether offered a spot.
 
altblue said:
If you're passionate about the school or its location, go for it. Be honest with yourself though.
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Eh, I have nothing really important to say so I left it blank. Anything else they want to know about me they will find out during my interview!

Also, for the whole thread: yes for me the LORs are not listed as "received" so I guess it is just a problem from their end.
 
I feel like I am responding to the questions very matter of fact-ly... if that makes sense. I find the questions to be specific and direct, is anyone feeling the same about their responses? should the responses be (or is it expected rather for them to be) to the point?
 
br2pi5 said:
I feel like I am responding to the questions very matter of fact-ly... if that makes sense. I find the questions to be specific and direct, is anyone feeling the same about their responses? should the responses be (or is it expected rather for them to be) to the point?
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Yes, I don't think they are looking for extensive amounts of personal statement type reflection
 
br2pi5 said:
I feel like I am responding to the questions very matter of fact-ly... if that makes sense. I find the questions to be specific and direct, is anyone feeling the same about their responses? should the responses be (or is it expected rather for them to be) to the point?
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Depends which ones. The gap year info, work during college, extra curricular, and parents occupations I kept to the point. But the challenges in NYC i was direct but also put in some reflection on my background and how I'll use to help me navigate the environment. Also included a diversity type essay for addl info which had more reflection as well.
 
Someone mentioned these questions (at least some) are optional. Anyone know for sure?
 
Are we supposed to select something for Question 15?

"Columbia University hosts eight pipeline programs – the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP), NERA-MedPrep, the State Pre-Enrichment Program (S-PREP), the Summer Public Health Scholars Program (SPHSP), Strategic Testing Application Techniques (STAT), Narrative Medicine, Summer Program for Under-Represented Students (SPURS) and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)."

Kinda confused as to what exactly this question is asking. Thanks for your reply in advance!
 
oodlesofnoodles said:
Are we supposed to select something for Question 15?

"Columbia University hosts eight pipeline programs – the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP), NERA-MedPrep, the State Pre-Enrichment Program (S-PREP), the Summer Public Health Scholars Program (SPHSP), Strategic Testing Application Techniques (STAT), Narrative Medicine, Summer Program for Under-Represented Students (SPURS) and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)."

Kinda confused as to what exactly this question is asking. Thanks for your reply in advance!
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You can leave it blank if you didn’t participate in any of those programs
 
Still incomplete due to LoR's, submitted 7/4. All my other schools have received them.
 
submitted 7/7 and still not complete due to LORs not being received. i emailed last week and haven't heard back.
 
I wonder how many calls they've received so far about LORs.:laugh:
 
Orthopedics101 said:
Incoming M1 to P&S. Let me know if you guys have any questions.
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Hey thanks for being here! The P&S website is a bit lackluster so I would appreciate if you could tell us some more about the school.

1) Why did you settle on Columbia?
2) What kind of student do you think would thrive best at Columbia? (I'm sure there's no narrow answer here)
3) I know P&S is a highly-regarded institution with I'm sure excellent research opps. for students, but are there any other things that make it stand out?

Thanks in advance!
 
oil_rig said:
Hey thanks for being here! The P&S website is a bit lackluster so I would appreciate if you could tell us some more about the school.

1) Why did you settle on Columbia?
2) What kind of student do you think would thrive best at Columbia? (I'm sure there's no narrow answer here)
3) I know P&S is a highly-regarded institution with I'm sure excellent research opps. for students, but are there any other things that make it stand out?

Thanks in advance!
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Hey, I’ll try and answer your questions to the best of my ability since I haven’t started yet.

1) Columbia was the perfect fit for me in terms of proximity to family and friends and type of environment and curriculum I’ve found that I wanted in a school. It was also one of my cheapest options and will be yours as well if you get accepted (due to that vagelos money)

2) I don’t think there’s one particular type of student that will thrive at Columbia which is why I like it so much. It is such a diverse school that tries to cater to you as an individual from the clubs and resources that are available to you to the individual mentoring that you can receive. Columbia does it’s best to make sure all types of people are included and can thrive.

3) the P&S club, it’s location in Washington heights which is an extremely diverse neighborhood of NYC that allows for a very diverse patient population, pass/fail and no internal ranking, Presbyterian as its affiliated hospital. Those are just some of the factors that make Columbia unique.
 
Lucca said:
common wisdom on the forum is send back within two weeks of receipt, but I dont think anyone knows how much this does or does not matter. Probably matters more at schools that review as soon as an app is complete. A good secondary sent after 10 days >> a poor secondary sent in 24 hours, no doubt about that
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My app isn't even verified but I have a secondary, should I worry about the 2-week thing?
 
oil_rig said:
Hey thanks for being here! The P&S website is a bit lackluster so I would appreciate if you could tell us some more about the school.

1) Why did you settle on Columbia?
2) What kind of student do you think would thrive best at Columbia? (I'm sure there's no narrow answer here)
3) I know P&S is a highly-regarded institution with I'm sure excellent research opps. for students, but are there any other things that make it stand out?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I'll add a couple points for the last question. P&S is distinguished by its students' strong sense of camaraderie. The school is both a diverse and an incredibly cohesive community. You'll also hear about the P&S Club a million times when applying to and interviewing here, and it's true that it's special for its wide range of activities and opportunities. A final characteristic feature that I think is very important about P&S is that the clinical training here is extremely hands-on. It's a place where you are given a remarkable amount of ownership over patient care and where you truly learn by doing.
 
As a now 5+ year out Columbia grad (boy has it gone by fast), I would just like to emphasize a few things that are hopefully still relevant/true:
1) True pass fail for pre-clinicals, no internal secret rankings. Lets you master the material without wasting all your time looking for random factoids of no clinical consequence in order to break the curve. I was average all through pre-clinicals and spent time doing extra-curricular and research. Also tours.
2) AOA is computed in a relatively holistic manner. Those in the top 50% of clinical grades are evaluated individually based on their other details such as scores, research, and resume. I was not in the top 15% of clinical grades but was AOA anyways on the account of consideration of my other attributes.
3) Rotating through as many subspecialties as possible is a critical way to learn useful skills and explore unthought of career paths. Many people have switched because of these exposures. I also still thank whichever forgotten urology resident taught me how to overcome difficult foley placements.
 
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