Columbia 2011: Anyone else considering/admitted/attending?

[hogfish]

Long time lurker, first time post!

I just got my admission package from the Columbia Postbac Premed program. Assuming I can get my finances in order (and in this case, that's a tall order), I will be attending starting in the Fall. Is anyone else in the same boat?

For those considering the program: I've read a number of horrendous posts about the Columbia program and a few positive ones, so given this questionable reputation (especially on these forums) I was wondering what your thoughts were when choosing or considering Columbia?

Just wanted to discuss some of these points in the 11th hour before I mail in my deposit check. Also I'd love to meet some of my future classmates before shipping off to the city!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[mm855752]

hey buddy, im considering Columbia as well. Its between NYU and Columbia. I applied to both, finished the application process this week, so just waiting to hear back from them.

How long did it take you to hear back from them after your application was complete?

Also do you know exactly how much tuition is exactly for Columbia? Like how much is a year?

 

[hogfish]

Hey there,

After you submit the application (and get the CUID/PID) you can check the status of your transcripts. My transcripts were taking a while to show up as "received" so I called and they were nice, expedited it, and then it only took about three weeks to receive the acceptance package (Fedex).

Tuition will depend on whether or not you are coming in with any of the required courses. I will have none, zero, zip (including English as I did AP for English 1 and 2) so I will have to take everything. You can use the curriculum page and tuition calculator to determine what your own expenses will be; mine are going to end up being about $40,000 per year for two full years (yikes!).

I don't know about NYU but I gather the costs are significant as well. I considered NYU but settled on Columbia because of a few faculty members I would love to work with. Have you weighed the pros/cons of each? I'd be curious to hear what you were thinking!

Best of luck

 

[hogfish]

PS I would suggest checking out some of the other recent threads that discuss Columbia/NYU. This one is probably the most informative thread focused on Columbia, with some nice varying points of view (despite OP's original question, it ends up being all about Columbia lol). There are also a few NYU vs Columbia threads. Since SDN search is pretty limited (dare I say, terrible?) you can try something like this

 

[Jelloh]

I'm planning to take one postbac class in the fall just to like, dip my toes in, since I'm not ready to up and quit working yet, and I'm wavering back and forth about whether I should do it at Columbia or Hunter. I went to Columbia (loved it) and worked at Hunter (didn't hate it but...) so I'm worried I'm letting my warm+fuzzy feelings about Columbia and my pre-existing comfort with the neighborhood/social life/etc. get in the way of making a more logical/finance-based decision.

anyway I know at Hunter, taking one random class and then applying to the postbac program formally is pretty standard. but does anyone know about Columbia, if say, I registered for just gen chem or something in the fall and then later formally applied to the postbac program?

 

[mm855752]

based on the financials, it seems NYU and Columbia; are the same $$.

Why im leaning more towards NYU:
-Ive heard some horror stories about some classes for PostBacc which were supposedly ridiculously brutal and people worked their assess of and only received sub par grades. Im looking to get all A's and that kind of freaked me out.
-Ive heard the administrative side of Columbia is a hassle and advising sucks? I dont no.

BUT, ever since i saw the Post-Bacc Graduation Ceremony for Columbia this year, on youtube. I can't believe how "legit" and structured it seems! Especially the speeches from some of the faculty were amazing.

Now im really contemplating if I should do Columbia or NYU!

In NYU this was my plan:
Fall 2011: Physics 1, Chem 1, Bio 1
Spring 2012: Physics 2, Chem 2, Bio 2
Summer 1: Orgo 1
Summer 2: Orgo 2

*Hopefully based on my business classes: I wont need Calculus, Stats, or any English classes.

I Just graduated undergrad this past month. I want to attend Post-Bacc FULLTIME. I already got a place in the city lined up for me.

 

[hogfish]

Does anyone know about Columbia, if say, I registered for just gen chem or something in the fall and then later formally applied to the postbac program?

Hey Jelloh, this doesn't sound like a problem but I would call and ask (admissions advisors were surprisingly helpful over the phone, a little slow over email). The program is for people who've taken 'none or few' of the medschool prereqs, so as long as you're still in the 'few' category, you'd probably be fine.

I considered Hunter too (it's been near the top of the usnwr best value list for the past few years, and for good reason). It really depends on what your goals are. I want to maximize my chances of getting into a research heavy med program and while the advantage of coming out of Columbia might be marginal compared to Hunter, for me it's enough to justify the expense. If price is your first concern, Hunter is the way to go - and it's got a good program to boot!

And hey mm,

-Ive heard some horror stories about some classes for PostBacc which were supposedly ridiculously brutal and people worked their assess of and only received sub par grades. Im looking to get all A's and that kind of freaked me out.

I've read a number of posts on this site that basically get at this same point. I think the question is - can you be in the top 50% - or top 30% - of the large 'weeder' courses? I believe the courses are curved to around ~b (this can be found in other posts), so if you're in the top 50% of all your classes, and top ~30% in most (for those A's and A-'s), you'll do fine. The competition can be stiff - Columbia undergrads didn't get to where they are by slacking off thus far.

Also, some complaints were about teaching style of a couple professors (bio comes to mind), but you'll probably find tough teachers (and disgruntled students) at any large program. Not sure how NYU fares in this regard, but I'd imagine it's similar.

-Ive heard the administrative side of Columbia is a hassle and advising sucks? I dont no.

I have too! This was an initial concern of mine, though reading over the posts this seems to be a less frequent complaint in recent years. The most criticism I've seen was about the advising, but I've also read reviews full of praise (I think this is one area where you get out of the relationship only as much as you put in to it). That said, NYU may/may not invest more resources in this department, so I'd check that out if this is a big concern.

My plan is the traditional 2 year -slow- route. I know those summer courses seem very appealing but the impression I've gotten is that medical schools may look down on them for core courses like organic chem. I could definitely be wrong, but I'd check that out before you set anything in stone. I also plan to use the summers and really the full two years to get as much research and clinical experience as I can; you're competing against traditional med school candidates, many of whom have been volunteering for three years by the time they apply.

PS what neighborhood are you considering? I want to be around morningside (I visited and it's awesome) but I think prices might push me up to washington heights.

Good luck to both of you!

 

[mm855752]

Delete please

 

[Jelloh]

I went to an info session last week and the program sounds pretty good. Still wavering if it's worth the money, but I might apply for spring semester.

Anyone else? Input, experiences?

 

[CUpostbacc]

Hello!

I'm a current 2nd year postbac student at Columbia who was also deciding between NYU and Columbia after being accepted to both last year.

I eventually decided on Columbia for a number of reasons, and I am very glad that I did.

The postbac premed-specific advisement at Columbia was a great draw for me; and now I can speak from experience that it is one of the most valuable resources I have on campus. Having an advisor that knows the specifics of the pre-med curriculum like the back of her hand means that she can also predict (before I find out the hard way) how much I can handle in terms of schoolwork/volunteering/etc so that I don't get in over my head. She has helped enough students figure out how to get to where they need to be academically in order to increase their chances for med school acceptance that she is able to give me very specific and honest advice about what I need to do and when. Meetings with my advisor are totally invaluable!

I also was drawn by the prestige of Columbia. As far as I understand through meetings with various members of med school acceptance committees, medical schools are well aware of the rigors of the program, and when they see that you attended the oldest postbacc program in the country, they know that you weren't babied for two years- you were working HARD for those A's (or B's )

The classes are tough. Most curves are set around a B, B+. Some classes are harder than others, but unfortunately there is no real way to get a guaranteed A. It's as simple as: if you work hard, you'll be fine. If you slack off, you'll probably be disappointed. That's about it.

There are plenty of groups that a lot of the postbaccs are involved in (Premedical Association, Social Justice Medicine, intramural pre-med sports teams!, etc.) that make it easy to get involved, do some great volunteer work, meet friends, and feel like you are a pre-med, not just in "science and math grad school."

Finally; the goal of these programs is to simply get you in to a medical school. Columbia has a 90% average medschool acceptance rate for first apps. That was impressive to me, and was pretty much the only statistic that mattered when it came time to make my final decision.

Good luck with applications and decisions!!!!