Columbia DAT scores 22+ ONLY

[Dr.BadVibes]

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How can you guys look at competition as a positive thing? I understand by you saying that it makes you work harder, but do you need competition to motivate you to work harder?

I view competition as an added stressor and somethng that would just frustrate me. My classmates and I are all in on this together, and we help each other out anytime. There is so much camaraderie in my class, its amazing.

Someone spends their entire weekend typing out notes on a test, and they will send it out to everyone without hesitation. People make practice tests for themselves and send it out. If a prof tells a student a tip or two about an upcoming test informally, the student will email our entire class and share the info. Before any test, my email is always full of my classmates sending each other stuff to help each other out.

In preclinic, if a classmate is having a problem, they will have no problem finding someone to help them out (trust me, Ive been in that position aplenty of times). Im sure tons of other schools have the same type of camaraderie.

I came from probably the #1 most competitive undergrad in the world and I hated every second of it. I was always miserable. I knew that at a school like Columbia, there would be mad competition and thats why I never liked the atmosphere there (cause I was used to it) and dont understand why anyone would wanna be submerged in it. 99% of the class wants to specialize and most of the kids are probably the ones that spent their entire undergrad fighting profs for extra points left, right and centre just so they can get an A....heaven forbid they ever get a B. 😱

At a school such as mine, most people go there and become general dentists. There is a small group that wanna specialize, everyone knows who they are and everyone roots them on, because they study like mad and they deserve it. We dont see each other as threats like they do at other "competitive" schools.

My overall point is that there is not one positive thing about being in a competitive atmosphere during dental school. Its just added stress on an already stressful 4 years.

 

[Audio]

How can you guys look at competition as a positive thing? I understand by you saying that it makes you work harder, but do you need competition to motivate you to work harder?

I view competition as an added stressor and somethng that would just frustrate me. My classmates and I are all in on this together, and we help each other out anytime. There is so much camaraderie in my class, its amazing.

Someone spends their entire weekend typing out notes on a test, and they will send it out to everyone without hesitation. People make practice tests for themselves and send it out. If a prof tells a student a tip or two about an upcoming test informally, the student will email our entire class and share the info. Before any test, my email is always full of my classmates sending each other stuff to help each other out.

In preclinic, if a classmate is having a problem, they will have no problem finding someone to help them out (trust me, Ive been in that position aplenty of times). Im sure tons of other schools have the same type of camaraderie.

I came from probably the #1 most competitive undergrad in the world and I hated every second of it. I was always miserable. I knew that at a school like Columbia, there would be mad competition and thats why I never liked the atmosphere there (cause I was used to it) and dont understand why anyone would wanna be submerged in it. 99% of the class wants to specialize and most of the kids are probably the ones that spent their entire undergrad fighting profs for extra points left, right and centre just so they can get an A....heaven forbid they ever get a B. 😱

At a school such as mine, most people go there and become general dentists. There is a small group that wanna specialize, everyone knows who they are and everyone roots them on, because they study like mad and they deserve it. We dont see each other as threats like they do at other "competitive" schools.

My overall point is that there is not one positive thing about being in a competitive atmosphere during dental school. Its just added stress on an already stressful 4 years.

Did you by any chance happen to have attended U of T for your undergrad? 😀

 

[uclaguy]

Dr. BadVibes,

Can you please refrain from coming on to Columbia forums and bashing on Columbia without any true evidence. You don't go to Columbia, so how can you have a feeling for what Columbia is like?

Hearsay is not what truly goes on. Common hearsay about Columbia is we have bad clinical training. Wrong!!! Just because we have a good medical science background does not mean our clinical education is bad. In fact my roommate is a 4th year and he is working his a** off in the clinic. Our school emphasizes the strong medical science background because that is what separates us from many of the dental schools in the nation.

In terms of competition, I guess you are right some people do not like competitive environments, so maybe Columbia is not your cup of tea. However, I know that not everyone at our school is aiming for honors. In my opinion half of the class is just out there to pass.

All of the great things you said about Temple are happening at Columbia, as well. I hope they are happening throughout the rest of the country.

It would be awesome if you would talk more about the positive and negative things about Temple rather than spend all your time bashing on Columbia. I hope that in the future, the number of posts you have on Columbia forums declines and the number of posts on Temple forums increases.


Have a great day. 🙂

 

[StarGirl]

Dr. BadVibes,

Can you please refrain from coming on to Columbia forums and bashing on Columbia without any true evidence. You don't go to Columbia

He doesn't go to Columbia because he didn't get in. (We've established this long long long ago).
He bashes us cause he didn't get in. No need to worry about his useless words.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

He doesn't go to Columbia because he didn't get in. (We've established this long long long ago).
He bashes us cause he didn't get in. No need to worry about his useless words.

hey sweetheart...why do you guys from Columbia always think that when someone says something negative about Columbia, its obviously because the person got rejected and is bitter? arent we being a little too pretentious here?

Well anyways StarGirl, as a SDN veteran you should know that no, I did NOT get rejected and YES I did reject the opportunity to attend your lovely school.

I just think my words speak the truth.....cant you admit it? And by the way uclaguy, its not hearsay...its coming from the mouths of people of your own school!!!! Did you read page 2 of this very thread??!?!?!? Or how about that thread about COlumbia's clinical training where actual Columbia grads ADMIT that their clinical training blows. Same words were mentioned to me at my interview from actual Columbia students. SO where is this concept of hearsay coming from?

 

[StarGirl]

hey sweetheart...why do you guys from Columbia always think that when someone says something negative about Columbia, its obviously because the person got rejected and is bitter? arent we being a little too pretentious here?

Well anyways StarGirl, as a SDN veteran you should know that no, I did NOT get rejected and YES I did reject the opportunity to attend your lovely school.

i certainly remember that you didn't get in...
I'm a student at columbia, i am certain I know MORE than you do. The clinic here is awsome, simple as that.

 

[dentister]

hey sweetheart...why do you guys from Columbia always think that when someone says something negative about Columbia, its obviously because the person got rejected and is bitter? arent we being a little too pretentious here?

Well anyways StarGirl, as a SDN veteran you should know that no, I did NOT get rejected and YES I did reject the opportunity to attend your lovely school.

I just think my words speak the truth.....cant you admit it? And by the way uclaguy, its not hearsay...its coming from the mouths of people of your own school!!!! Did you read page 2 of this very thread??!?!?!? Or how about that thread about COlumbia's clinical training where actual Columbia grads ADMIT that their clinical training blows. Same words were mentioned to me at my interview from actual Columbia students. SO where is this concept of hearsay coming from?

No affense, but did you really get accepted by Columbia?
Maybe you can pull out some proof so they won't bash you anymore.

 

[StarGirl]

No affense, but did you really get accepted by Columbia?
Maybe you can pull out some proof so they won't bash you anymore.

either way, i'll bet I'll do more than Temple's grad requirement in crowns, bridges (15 total teeth), RPDs and CDs (5 arches total, which is A HUGE JOKE cause I have more than 3 times that in the works and still don't have enough points to graduate even if I could finish it ALL) before I graduate in May.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

i certainly remember that you didn't get in...
I'm a student at columbia, i am certain I know MORE than you do. The clinic here is awsome, simple as that.

I love it how you know what happened to me and I didnt? How does that work? Why are u guys so suprised that I got accepted to Columbia? Do you guys actually believe its hard to get accepted to Columbia? Its really not that much of an accomplishment.

Anyways, I really dont know how to prove to you that I got accepted. I didnt keep anything from my application time....perhaps you can goto Dr.MacManus and ask him...Im sure he has records. I can describe the building to you if that would help? And everyone knows that Columbia doesnt interview many people, so most people who interview get accepted.

Also you guys did say that Columbia likes people who goto name schools, and my undergrad is rated the #1 university in Canada every year since the rankings started. Although I think it means nothing because I didnt learn much at my undergrad and I really hated it, mostly everyone from my undergrad who applies to Columbia dental gets accepted. I dont know what more I can say.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

I'm a student at columbia, i am certain I know MORE than you do. The clinic here is awsome, simple as that.

but Im just going from what students told me when I interviewed. Also, you can look at this thread that is only a few days old where Columbia grads admit that their clinical training is piss-poor:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=232805


Still not happy sweetheart?

 

[nnjh]

Badvibes;
Why ur infatuation w/ our school? For me, its boils down to a simple fact. Most of us who applied to Temple, as a safety school(not trying to bash Temple, just being frank here), got accepted and chose not to go. This years freshmen have a gpa of 3.5 and a dat of around 22. We have a enrollment yield that is remarkably high. No doubt they also chose to come here after careful consideration among the many acceptances.

People who are insecure feel the need to cut others down and toot their own horn(Temple's great big patient pool). Be happy with your decision. Temple is OK

 

[BallDontLie]

OK, this thread is getting pretty ridiculous. I think most of us here are trying to learn more/get a feel for what it is like at Columbia from students that have firsthand experience there. That's tough to do when all I see here is people bashing each other's school. Dr.BadVibes, i dont know why you're so infatuated with criticizing Columbia. I don't see why a dental student like yourself is going out of his way to bash a school he doesn't even attend. Honestly, I'm getting tired of hearing from you because it seems you dont have anything useful to say about columbia. So please, stop posting in this thread so we can hear from people that know what theyre talking about...from people that actually go to Columbia.

and on that note, im goin to bed 😴

 

[cowsgomoo]

Despite the very high DAT average (21.7 for class of 2009) and GPA average (3.4), Columbia puts a lot of weight in your academic courseload, UG school, and other criteria such as research and volunteer. If a student is very strong in those categories, he/she will get an interview invite with below a 22. However, starting about 2-3 weeks ago, Dr. McManus did say that they are receiving so many applicants this year (more than 50% more than my year) that they are putting the average student cutoff at 22 DAT for interviews. So if you got an interview with a 21 or 20, you probably have lots more to offer on your app, or you applied earlier in the cycle.

This year our class is full of really amazing students. To have next year have even higher academic standards baffles me. Good luck to all the applicants! Hope to see you in orientation next year!

Hey got a question on the UG school part. Does this factor in for an acceptance too. I am asking because I don’t go to a fancy top 50 school and was wondering if my chances are still good. I think I am being overly paranoid but I think it’s going to get worse and Dec. 1st rolls around.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

Im not infatuated with Columbia at all. If you've noticed, I post about all the schools that I interviewed and accepted to (Columbia, BU, Temple, Tufts, NYU), and that Ive researched a great deal (because I wanted to make a really informed decision about what school I went to).

I speak my opinions on these schools from what Ive gathered, which are not always negative....I say VERY positive things about Tufts which I think is an AMAZINGG school.

And I ALWAYS tell people to get the facts themselves and see for themselves and to talk to many students from the schools.....but be careful cause you dont wanna get skewed opinions on their school from students such as StarGirl who will never say anything negative about Columbia....

I have noticed one thing about people from Columbia. When you throw facts and a strong argument to them and have their back against the wall, they will either:

(a) become the pretentious people that they are and blame your negative comments towards Columbia on the obvious fact that you didnt get accepted, so you are bitter 🙄

(b) ignore every valid point you've made and continue on with their rhetoric

or (c) resort to incessant name calling

Its odd that the above criteria can also be used towards Republicans

 

[v&andy_yankee]

the flame war should have stopped with this:

Dr. BadVibes,

Can you please refrain from coming on to Columbia forums and bashing on Columbia without any true evidence. You don't go to Columbia, so how can you have a feeling for what Columbia is like?

Hearsay is not what truly goes on. Common hearsay about Columbia is we have bad clinical training. Wrong!!! Just because we have a good medical science background does not mean our clinical education is bad. In fact my roommate is a 4th year and he is working his a** off in the clinic. Our school emphasizes the strong medical science background because that is what separates us from many of the dental schools in the nation.

In terms of competition, I guess you are right some people do not like competitive environments, so maybe Columbia is not your cup of tea. However, I know that not everyone at our school is aiming for honors. In my opinion half of the class is just out there to pass.

All of the great things you said about Temple are happening at Columbia, as well. I hope they are happening throughout the rest of the country.

It would be awesome if you would talk more about the positive and negative things about Temple rather than spend all your time bashing on Columbia. I hope that in the future, the number of posts you have on Columbia forums declines and the number of posts on Temple forums increases.


Have a great day. 🙂

Please, BV, just be considerate. Pretend that we are one of your old granny patients who are just damn stubborn and think our grandkid (in this case, our school) is the best. You love Temple and think that's the right school for you; well we also love Columbia and think it's the right school for us. Neither of us is right/wrong, to each his own. We don't come into the Temple threads to **** on Temple, so try to be courteous and do the same for here. Had the OP asked "SchoolX vs. Columbia, which one is better?" then you do have all rights to come in and bash Columbia. But is it really necessary to bash it in every thread, including ones that are simply titled "CU DAT 22+?" Again, it's all about being courteous and not being an as$hole.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

Just for the record, I dont Love Temple at all.

Also, I had no intentions to come to this thread to bash Columbia....I just wanted to comment on the whole concept of competitiveness. I wouldve commented on it whether it was a Columbia thread or not.

But then StarGirl came with the low blow and intiated the flame war. Anyways, Ive said all my points and lets avoid going in circles. Carry on with your original 22+ DAT for Columbia discussion.

 

[EyeAmCommi]

I am asking because I don’t go to a fancy top 50 school and was wondering if my chances are still good.

I don't think it will. Your DAT scores might show that you are ready for anything d-schools can dish out.

 

[cowsgomoo]

I don't think it will. Your DAT scores might show that you are ready for anything d-schools can dish out.

Yeah hopefully it is enough. Or maybe I need to get a 29.

 

[fancymylotus]

Yeah hopefully it is enough. Or maybe I need to get a 29.

here we go again 🙄

 

[dat_student]

Yeah hopefully it is enough. Or maybe I need to get a 29.

You at least need to get a 30.

 

[cowsgomoo]

here we go again 🙄

Sorry if I said something wrong but i really want to go to Columbia.

 

[Sephisabin]

Sorry if I said something wrong but i really want to go to Columbia.

There were people at my interview who weren't from top 50 schools. I did start to wonder when people started saying they went to Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins though... Don't sweat it, with a GPA and a DAT like that, you're the real thing.

 

[oldboy]

Don't sweat it, with a GPA and a DAT like that, you're the real thing.

Kinda like coca-cola except better, like pepsi

 

[DieselKJ]

My 21 AA got me an interview...even though it's not till Feb 10th lol

 

[Sephisabin]

Kinda like coca-cola except better, like pepsi

Exactly!

 

[JessicaSimpson]

Exactly!

huh? what is like coke but better?

anyway, how many people does Columbia interview each year?

 

[rajmahal1980]

Hey guys I need some advice about Columbia. My application was completed there last week so I'm a bit late in the cycle.

Is it a good idea to go take a tour? I live in San Diego but have a brother in NYC so I might go soon. If I get an interview it probably won't be until February.

Also I know that Columbia takes people with sub 3.0 GPAs but I'm sure not too many. Do you think I have a shot being a late applicant with a sub 3.0 GPA?

 

[oldboy]

anyway, how many people does Columbia interview each year?

256...matriculate 75-80

 

[BallDontLie]

How many interview before Dec.1? And of those, how many do they accept? Do they try to fill their class in December, or do they hold a good number of seats for people with later interviews?

 

[JessicaSimpson]

256...matriculate 75-80

thanks. So how many people does Columbia interview each week? I'm just trying to figure out why it's backed up until February already.

It seems like they are interviewing a lot more than 256 (which would be bad! smaller % of interviewees getting acceptances) or they interview a really small number of ppl each week.

 

[BallDontLie]

thanks. So how many people does Columbia interview each week? I'm just trying to figure out why it's backed up until February already.

It seems like they are interviewing a lot more than 256 (which would be bad! smaller % of interviewees getting acceptances) or they interview a really small number of ppl each week.

They interview 10-15 each week, every Friday.

 

[dat_student]

thanks. So how many people does Columbia interview each week? I'm just trying to figure out why it's backed up until February already.

It seems like they are interviewing a lot more than 256 (which would be bad! smaller % of interviewees getting acceptances) or they interview a really small number of ppl each week.

around 40 students / month 🙂 256 / 40 = 6.4 months but since each month is 4 weeks + a few days it probably takes around 6 months to interview 256 applicants. They started mid-september. So, by the end of March of next year they will have interviewed 256 applicants.

I can't wait to see Dr. McManus. 😉 He seems to be a very nice person.

 

[JessicaSimpson]

around 40 students / month 🙂 256 / 40 = 6.4 months but since each month is 4 weeks + a few days it probably takes around 6 months to interview 256 applicants. They started mid-september. So, by the end of March of next year they will have interviewed 256 applicants.

I can't wait to see Dr. McManus. 😉 He seems to be a very nice person.

I wish schools would have more interview days each week ... it is really annoying to have one or two important interviews much later than those at other schools. Don't schools realize that maybe they need to compete with other schools that are interviewing people earlier?

 

[drengineer]

From what I've heard, Columbia doesn't reject a lot of people after interviews.
They either get accepted or get placed on the wait list.
I'm so glad to have interviewed with Columbia.

 

[DieselKJ]

Only 256 😱 are you sure about this? If this is true then I am one lucky s.o.b.

 

[asd]

i thought that they interview every other Friday.

 

[dat_student]

i thought that they interview every other Friday.

no every Friday 😉

 

[Gurl21]

[

 

[Gurl21]

Hey guys I need some advice about Columbia. My application was completed there last week so I'm a bit late in the cycle.

Is it a good idea to go take a tour? I live in San Diego but have a brother in NYC so I might go soon. If I get an interview it probably won't be until February.

Also I know that Columbia takes people with sub 3.0 GPAs but I'm sure not too many. Do you think I have a shot being a late applicant with a sub 3.0 GPA?

You may have a shot, I have a sub-3.0 GPA but a 24 DAT and I got invited to interview at Columbia. I see that you have a high DAT also, so you may get an interview. Good luck

 

[Sephisabin]

You may have a shot, I have a sub-3.0 GPA but a 24 DAT and I got invited to interview at Columbia. I see that you have a high DAT also, so you may get an interview. Good luck

Raj,

Score! We found someone else to join our High DAT/Low GPA club!

 

[Gurl21]

Raj,

Score! We found someone else to join our High DAT/Low GPA club!

Haha yes, my overall gpa is 3.1 and science gpa is ~2.9.

BTW Sephisabin, did you already interview at Columbia, or is it coming up? If it's coming up congrats and good luck!

 

[Sephisabin]

Haha yes, my overall gpa is 3.1 and science gpa is ~2.9.

BTW Sephisabin, did you already interview at Columbia, or is it coming up? If it's coming up congrats and good luck!

I interviewed there last friday (11/4), but thanks!

 

[rajmahal1980]

Just got an interview invite for Columbia! So excited, will call tomorrow and find out interview date.

The funny thing is I was just about to email Dr. McManus regarding my status. Then for some reason I got up and checked my mail box even though our mail normally arrives 2 hours later. How strange, maybe I was meant to go to Columbia..lol

 

[drengineer]

good going Raj!!!

 

[Audio]

Just got an interview invite for Columbia! So excited, will call tomorrow and find out interview date.

The funny thing is I was just about to email Dr. McManus regarding my status. Then for some reason I got up and checked my mail box even though our mail normally arrives 2 hours later. How strange, maybe I was meant to go to Columbia..lol

Congrats, even though I'm getting snubbed by Columbia 😀

 

[Sephisabin]

Just got an interview invite for Columbia! So excited, will call tomorrow and find out interview date.

The funny thing is I was just about to email Dr. McManus regarding my status. Then for some reason I got up and checked my mail box even though our mail normally arrives 2 hours later. How strange, maybe I was meant to go to Columbia..lol

Haha, it only took them a week to invite you from the time they received you application... could that mean something?

 

[rajmahal1980]

Haha, it only took them a week to invite you from the time they received you application... could that mean something?

Yeah I was pretty suprised. Well I emailed Dr. McManus a while ago and he said he was looking forward to receiving my application, so maybe that's why.

 

[fancymylotus]

Just got an interview invite for Columbia! So excited, will call tomorrow and find out interview date.

The funny thing is I was just about to email Dr. McManus regarding my status. Then for some reason I got up and checked my mail box even though our mail normally arrives 2 hours later. How strange, maybe I was meant to go to Columbia..lol

 

[rajmahal1980]

I just scheduled my interview for Feb 10. I hope this isn't too late. 🙁

 

[dat_student]

I just scheduled my interview for Feb 10. I hope this isn't too late. 🙁

I told you. Wait for more surprizes 😉