Anyone going to Columbia in the Fall?

[jd2003]

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If so, where in the world are you going to live? Anyone find anything at a reasonable price?

 

[oneandonlylo]

I'm admitted, but not sure where I am going yet. If I go to Columbia, I will continue to live where I do now, in Queens. Sucky commute, by why move if its unnecessary?

 

[jd2003]

I'm not sure if I'm attending yet either - it's terribly $$$$. I'm coming from v. far away, and I'm dumbstruck at the exorbitant rent. I knew it was bad, but didn't know it was $2K/mo. bad...

Let me know if you have any insight on Manhattan housing. Thanks.

 

[sfnix]

i'm living on columbia's campus this summer and interning for the Dept of health. NYC's staggering "expensiveness" (yeah, it's a word...) has definitely made my slash columbia off my list of post bacs.

cheap options don't exist in manhattan. don't even try... there are a couple of housing options just for students such as EHS (educational housing services), but this will put you back into a dorm and they're still expensive. queens would be cool though, especially if you could get a nice place in like flushing. long commute, but nice and quiet.

cheapest option would be to move upstate (white plains maybe) and take the metro north to harlem 125th then the bus (BX15, M101, M60, and some others will do). This is still about a $20 commute or so daily, but beats the ridunkulous rent i paid for only 10 weeks in the city. also gets you out of the city for study time. as it turns out, NYC is loud as hell... all the time. i miss southern prices...

 

[SBHC]

I'm going to Columbia in the fall. I applied for campus housing but haven't heard back yet. It's by far the cheapest option and clearly, very convenient commute.

 

[SBHC]

when you're calculating off campus housing costs don't forget to include first/last/security, and cost of furnishing the place...adds up quickly.

 

[slugchology]

i currently live just outside city limits, so im just hoping to live along one of the subway lines and im shooting for as close to campus as possible.

how much you pay monthly is directly related to how thick your skin is as related to dealing with noise, people, and small rooms. i got pretty thick skin, so im looking to rent a room in an apartment for up to $850, utilities included. im just craigslisting it and asking people i know.

backup plan is to live in either queens, inwood, or the bronx (along the red line).

im also on the campus housing's waitlist, which im relying on 0% because i "hear" campus housing is less than guaranteed for postbacs, but i havent looked into those stats. anyway, if i cant find a place by the time the wait list process starts (mid august) then i'll go through campus housing and consider a $100-150 hit in rent for the security of mind from a dependable source of housing and closeness to campus.

anyway, as far as i understand the fluctuating market, reasonable places are out there from ~$700+, and you gotta be quick to grab em.

good luck to everyone

 

[oneandonlylo]

I know this was mentioned elsewhere but... has anyone actually heard much in terms of positives on the Columbia program? It's looking like I'm going to have to go as other options aren't working out, and I'm not terribly happy about it... there are a lot of negatives to read about. Anyone have a good experience?

 

[jd2003]

I know this was mentioned elsewhere but... has anyone actually heard much in terms of positives on the Columbia program? It's looking like I'm going to have to go as other options aren't working out, and I'm not terribly happy about it... there are a lot of negatives to read about. Anyone have a good experience?

I'm pretty iffy about it myself right now. However, I did just email admissions to ask some questions and I was told that 95% of last year's class matriculated to med school. She also said they did not keep stats on attrition rates (which I hear are quite high). I hear a lot of negatives - cost, admin problems, etc. - so you're right, any positives anyone has to offer would be very well received!

 

[oneandonlylo]

I'm pretty iffy about it myself right now. However, I did just email admissions to ask some questions and I was told that 95% of last year's class matriculated to med school. She also said they did not keep stats on attrition rates (which I hear are quite high). I hear a lot of negatives - cost, admin problems, etc. - so you're right, any positives anyone has to offer would be very well received!

Here's the thing... The 95% stat... when I went up to visit and to meet with someone to ask questions about the program, I was told that 95% of STUDENTS WHO GET COMMITTEE LETTERS are matriculating... this is not an overall state of everyone who enters the program, or even of everyone who stays in it. As for attrition rate, the number that I got was between 40-50%, which is pretty amazing.

As far as I am concerned, I recognize that the big thing the program has going for it is its reputation, and certainly if you do well in it, your ride to Med School should be pretty smooth. My issue with it has much more to do with what exactly the experience of being there is like. I would definitely prefer to be going to one of the other programs I was accepted to (USC) but it's not looking likely, and I'm not happy about it.

 

[tarex00]

yeah i'll be heading to columbia in the fall...I was at the PPS session on the 24th...I'll be living at 109th and broadway...I found a room in apt w some other cu students for 800 a month...it's tough to find places so I just jumped on it when I found it...

 

[juvz]

oneandonlylo you said 95% of STUDENTS WHO GET COMMITTEE LETTERS are matriculating

so how is the process of doing that? and doesnt that mean that those letters would be good for wanting to matriculate into fall 2008 med class? not the 2007?

yea and totally stupid question..whats attrition? seriously have never heard it before... and i have a pretty decent vocab..

 

[oneandonlylo]

oneandonlylo you said 95% of STUDENTS WHO GET COMMITTEE LETTERS are matriculating

so how is the process of doing that? and doesnt that mean that those letters would be good for wanting to matriculate into fall 2008 med class? not the 2007?

yea and totally stupid question..whats attrition? seriously have never heard it before... and i have a pretty decent vocab..

don't hold me to this, but I believe that getting committee letters has to do with the grades you get in your courses, etc. I think they are valid for whatever year that you wish to matriculate into, depending on whether or not you have a glide year or you link to avoid it.

Attrition, I believe, is just a nice way of saying drop-out rate, but I'm not sure whether or not it includes students who are asked to leave. Overall, I think, the idea is that only about half of the people who begin the program finish it.

 

[mynamewastaken]

don't hold me to this, but I believe that getting committee letters has to do with the grades you get in your courses, etc. I think they are valid for whatever year that you wish to matriculate into, depending on whether or not you have a glide year or you link to avoid it.

Attrition, I believe, is just a nice way of saying drop-out rate, but I'm not sure whether or not it includes students who are asked to leave. Overall, I think, the idea is that only about half of the people who begin the program finish it.

Hi all,
Just thought i'd jump in to help out a bit. I applied to the columbia program twice, was accepted twice, and ulitimately just couldn't do it....The more I spoke to people the more i realized what a risk this program was....everything said here is true...the main thing to mull over, however, is the fact that they only give you a committee letter if they think you have a solid chance at getting in...(i've heard different stats from people -3.5 or 3.6)....i've heard whether or not they give you a committe letter is completely subjective and the gpa cut off changes for some people (did relatively poorly as an ugrad so they expect you to be even higher than a 3.5)....bottom line...if you go there you HAVE to do well and most of the posts on this forum have been extremely negative. It appears that about half of columbia's post bacc students never end up applying to med school at all (due to drop out =attrition or not receiving a committee letter)....Not to freak everyone out but i distinctly remember reading a post by a columbia post bacc student who stayed in the program for 2 years and did "well" and at the last minute was not given a letter and had no idea...it was only after some amcas paper work didn't go through that she found out....just food for thought. I can't speak for the program, but plenty of people have and that's good enough for me. best of luck!

 

[oneandonlylo]

Has anyone taken the placement exams for Math and Chemistry yet? Any luck? How hard are they? Also, what specifically do they cover? I'm sceduled to take them tomorrow and I'm very nervous as I haven't even thought of most of this stuff in years. Help??

 

[DrBuffett]

If so, where in the world are you going to live? Anyone find anything at a reasonable price?

Hi,

I'm starting the Columbia postbac this fall and I'm staying put in New Jersey. It's a long commute, but I'll learn to study on the train.

My best advice for those still looking for cheap housing:

Take a look at the Fort Lee, NJ, area. It's safe, relatively inexpensive, and there is a shuttle that runs across the GW bridge every 10 minutes to the subway station (I think 168th street). It's $1 for the shuttle and then just a few stops on the subway. I have done a lot of looking around and that's the best location I can think of. #2 would be the Riverdale section of the Bronx, also closeby.

Good luck to all. Any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[DrBuffett]

Hey,

Is anyone who is planning on attending the Columbia program going to be working part time or full time while they do it? If so, what are you planning on doing?

I am just trying to get a feel for how difficult it is to balance a postbacc with working. Are there any alums out there who could provide some insight?

Thanks so much.

 

[oneandonlylo]

Anyone going to today's planning session?