2018-2019 Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

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Congrats on the II's everyone. Are you all applying regular MD? Has anyone heard back who applied for the PhD to MD 3 year program?
 
This is a general question but when IIs get sent out by email, do the emails get sent out once during the day, or do they trickle in to people's inboxes throughout the day? For my own general sanity over the next few weeks, it would be good to know if when I see people post about IIs that day, whether I should be compulsively checking my inbox every 5 minutes or just assume that if I didn't receive an email yet that day that it's not coming
 
Hawkenthesky said:
This is a general question but when IIs get sent out by email, do the emails get sent out once during the day, or do they trickle in to people's inboxes throughout the day? For my own general sanity over the next few weeks, it would be good to know if when I see people post about IIs that day, whether I should be compulsively checking my inbox every 5 minutes or just assume that if I didn't receive an email yet that day that it's not coming
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From what I've seen, it's kind of different for every school. But mostly leaning towards trickling. They love to make us go crazy!


Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Congrats to the first IIs! Let me know what questions you have; interview day is really chill so no need to stress out when you're here! To everyone still waiting: long cycle ahead!! We extend IIs through early February...

Edit: We extend IIs through early February (or at the least, through January)... No guarantees of course. Every cycle can be different
 
goldenhelicase said:
Congrats to the first IIs! Let me know what questions you have; interview day is really chill so no need to stress out when you're here! To everyone still waiting: long cycle ahead!! We extend IIs through early February...

Edit: We extend IIs through early February (or at the least, through January)... No guarantees of course. Every cycle can be different
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Do you know much about the bassett program? Are they usually slower in sending out interviews? I'm not sure how many people apply to it but I know they take a much smaller amount of people so wondering if they take longer to review.
 
freedoctor17 said:
Do you know much about the bassett program? Are they usually slower in sending out interviews? I'm not sure how many people apply to it but I know they take a much smaller amount of people so wondering if they take longer to review.
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All I know is those IIs usually come in their own batches! Their interview days are specific to those applicants. I also know if you apply Bassett and interview Bassett, you may not get that program but still make it into non-Bassett MD class. Will let my Bassett folks provide any more detail and correct me if I’m wrong!


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goldenhelicase said:
Congrats to the first IIs! Let me know what questions you have; interview day is really chill so no need to stress out when you're here! To everyone still waiting: long cycle ahead!! We extend IIs through early February...

Edit: We extend IIs through early February (or at the least, through January)... No guarantees of course. Every cycle can be different
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what should we expect from the interview? i've read somewhere that it's a single-faculty sorta deal...what types of things do they ask about?
 
younggotti said:
what should we expect from the interview? i've read somewhere that it's a single-faculty sorta deal...what types of things do they ask about?
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Traditionally it’s one faculty interview, but you may have a 4th year meet in addition. Always no promises, but they’re generally relaxed. Good chance your interviewer has already read your app. Mine was the most conversational (no question-after-question, answer-after-answer) of my cycle, but of course depends on your interviewer. If you’re ready to talk about yourself and your app you’ll be great!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
mmmcdowe said:
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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whats AOA
 
goldenhelicase said:
All I know is those IIs usually come in their own batches! Their interview days are specific to those applicants. I also know if you apply Bassett and interview Bassett, you may not get that program but still make it into non-Bassett MD class. Will let my Bassett folks provide any more detail and correct me if I’m wrong!


Sent from my iPhone using
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Thanks for being a resource for us during the application cycle. I'm sorry if this seems like a repetitive question, but do you know if the PhD-MD program also sends their II's out in a different batch?
 
For those of you who got IIs, 1) what date are you interviewing, and 2) are you all doing the student hosting or the Bard Hall room rental?
 
Kracin said:
did anyone with Columbia II talk to them about NYU II? Or any advice on if I should reach out to them first?
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I am sort of wondering this too. I have an NYU II scheduled and was wondering whether Columbia is receptive to "in the area" emails. Although I haven't gotten a Columbia II so i dont know if this would be appropriate, I'm just not sure of the etiquette here.
 
Rag1Rag2 said:
Thanks for being a resource for us during the application cycle. I'm sorry if this seems like a repetitive question, but do you know if the PhD-MD program also sends their II's out in a different batch?
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Of course!

Whether you mean PhD to MD (you already have a PhD) or the MD/PhD program, I believe both are also separate days.

Edit: likely separate batches, definitely separate interview days.
 
zimzamzoop said:
I am sort of wondering this too. I have an NYU II scheduled and was wondering whether Columbia is receptive to "in the area" emails. Although I haven't gotten a Columbia II so i dont know if this would be appropriate, I'm just not sure of the etiquette here.
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Kracin said:
did anyone with Columbia II talk to them about NYU II? Or any advice on if I should reach out to them first?
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I called Sinai, and checked the FAQ on Columbia and both are receptive from what I’ve gleaned so far. I went ahead and set them ITA updates. No II at either school yet but they both responded that they added it to my file
 
dodolol21 said:
I called Sinai, and checked the FAQ on Columbia and both are receptive from what I’ve gleaned so far. I went ahead and set them ITA updates. No II at either school yet but they both responded that they added it to my file
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Awesome, thanks for the heads up!
 
Do you guys know if it’s still appropriate to send an in the area email if you live on the east coast and are not a flight away (aka Boston). I have an NYU interview too, and was wondering if it would be seen negatively to send an ITA to Columbia/Sinai. I’ll have to take time off from work so it would be nice to do New York interviews at the same time, but it’s not like I’m coming from California or something...

(It is like a 4-5 hour bus tho)
 
bill2018 said:
Do you guys know if it’s still appropriate to send an in the area email if you live on the east coast and are not a flight away (aka Boston). I have an NYU interview too, and was wondering if it would be seen negatively to send an ITA to Columbia/Sinai. I’ll have to take time off from work so it would be nice to do New York interviews at the same time, but it’s not like I’m coming from California or something...

(It is like a 4-5 hour bus tho)
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They're gone be annoyed if ya'll send all these ITAs
 
they ask this when you try to do the $40 bard thing:
"Please provide the CUIMC contact for the department, program, or school:"
what is that?
 
Is it a bad idea to use the "anything else you want to tell us" space as an explanation for why I don't have a committee letter?
 
adirandack said:
Is it a bad idea to use the "anything else you want to tell us" space as an explanation for why I don't have a committee letter?
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Depends on the reason I guess, if the excuse is “I missed the deadline” then just don’t
 
dodolol21 said:
I called Sinai, and checked the FAQ on Columbia and both are receptive from what I’ve gleaned so far. I went ahead and set them ITA updates. No II at either school yet but they both responded that they added it to my file
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Sorry if this sounds harsh but ITA emails are a total waste of time regardless of whether or not the school claims to be "receptive." These are top 10 schools you are talking about; they are not going to be swayed about YOUR schedule. If they haven't gotten to your file yet, they aren't going to say "OMG move XXXX to the top of the file!! (S)He's already going to be in Manhattan!" And if they have looked at your file and you are in some sort of hold pile they aren't going to say "I know we were undecided about whether or not to send a II to XXXX yet but I mean (S)he is going to be downtown already at so let's just give one of our 900 interview spots anyway." Columbia, Cornell, NYU and Mt. Sinai all know that you'll come back if and when THEY decide to invite you.
 
Thinking of adding some reaches to my school list (done with majority of my secondaries).

Any chance here with a 3.75/515 and a ton of research (with a pub in the works)?
 
daisydukes99 said:
Sorry if this sounds harsh but ITA emails are a total waste of time regardless of whether or not the school claims to be "receptive." These are top 10 schools you are talking about; they are not going to be swayed about YOUR schedule. If they haven't gotten to your file yet, they aren't going to say "OMG move XXXX to the top of the file!! (S)He's already going to be in Manhattan!" And if they have looked at your file and you are in some sort of hold pile they aren't going to say "I know we were undecided about whether or not to send a II to XXXX yet but I mean (S)he is going to be downtown already at so let's just give one of our 900 interview spots anyway." Columbia, Cornell, NYU and Mt. Sinai all know that you'll come back if and when THEY decide to invite you.
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Do you have anything to actually back this up? While I agree with you that it won't be a gamechanger on your application, it certainly could allow the committee to give your application another look which is always good. Further, if applicants are indeed strapped for money throughout this already burdensome process, or if they have to miss significant time in school for interviews, then it is completely reasonable to send an ITA email (if you are truly far from the school and not just a 1 hour plane ride away or within driving distance). This has even been echoed by adcoms here on SDN who know much more about this process than you or I do. Anecdotally, I even know 2-3 people who sent ITA emails and got an II within a week. They were strong applicants and probably would have gotten II regardless, but either way it helped them coordinate their schedule to literally save on hundreds of dollars. Even if everything you say is true, why do you think all of these schools (many T20 included) even say they're receptive to ITA emails? If they're as useless as you claim, why wouldn't schools just say they don't accept them so they aren't bothered with extra emails? I think having a complete blanket statement like "ITA emails are a total waste of time regardless of whether or not the school claims to be receptive" is misleading especially given that most other sources imply they may be of at least some use.
 
zimzamzoop said:
Do you have anything to actually back this up? While I agree with you that it won't be a gamechanger on your application, it certainly could allow the committee to give your application another look which is always good. Further, if applicants are indeed strapped for money throughout this already burdensome process, or if they have to miss significant time in school for interviews, then it is completely reasonable to send an ITA email (if you are truly far from the school and not just a 1 hour plane ride away or within driving distance). This has even been echoed by adcoms here on SDN who know much more about this process than you or I do. Anecdotally, I even know 2-3 people who sent ITA emails and got an II within a week. They were strong applicants and probably would have gotten II regardless, but either way it helped them coordinate their schedule to literally save on hundreds of dollars. Even if everything you say is true, why do you think all of these schools (many T20 included) even say they're receptive to ITA emails? If they're as useless as you claim, why wouldn't schools just say they don't accept them so they aren't bothered with extra emails? I think having a complete blanket statement like "ITA emails are a total waste of time regardless of whether or not the school claims to be receptive" is misleading especially given that most other sources imply they may be of at least some use.
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There is no need to get so defensive and upset. You come to SDN for opinions, and I offered mine. If you only want validation for what you want to hear this is probably going to be a very long and paranoid year for you. My statements is not "misleading" it is my opinion based on having gone thru this process. I don't really care how many ITA emails you send. I am speaking anecdotally from being in and watching this process closely last year. If you read the messages above, you will see that most people are in fact trying to use ITA emails as a "nudge" button; a "hey look at me I"m still waiting!" rather than the situations you describe. Like the person in BOSTON who thinks they should send an ITA email for NEW YORK??? Come on. The schools that state that they are receptive likely do that for real hardship cases like crossing coasts or I even remember one applicant last year that was living abroad. But because there are applicants who try and use ITA emails to push their way into an interview, I'm sure ad comms view them skeptically just like they do letters of intent.
As far as you stating that the ad comms on here encourage sending them, I've only seen them say they don't hurt if the school says they accept them.
 
Unlimited Apps said:
Thinking of adding some reaches to my school list (done with majority of my secondaries).

Any chance here with a 3.75/515 and a ton of research (with a pub in the works)?
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Bump, LzM 73 and pub in the works here too so, current/former students had luck with stats like ours?
 
Detective SnowBucket said:
Bump, LzM 73 and pub in the works here too so, current/former students had luck with stats like ours?
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Did you check the msar? I think if you're above the 25% it's definitely reasonable and if you're above 10% it might be worth it as a reach.
 
Hi everyone, sorry if I'm late to the game but I also received an II last Friday. LizzyM 71
akv97 said:
For those of you who got IIs, 1) what date are you interviewing, and 2) are you all doing the student hosting or the Bard Hall room rental?
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I signed up for a student host and Bard since I'm staying for 2 nights.
 
Twinkle786 said:
Depends on the reason I guess, if the excuse is “I missed the deadline” then just don’t
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It's more of a "my school requires 12 months of consecutive ER volunteering and community service and I had less than that because I chose to do research overseas during the summer leaving me with 8-9 months instead of 12" kind of reason.
 
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