Hiya. I am currently finishing up my first year in Columbia's program. At this point, I would say I have mixed feelings. I find the classes very hard, and there is an incredible amount of work, but I'm doing well so far, so I guess I can't complain about that. The group of students who comprise the postbac community are wonderful -- they are supportive and cohesive and are by far the best part of my experience thus far. I've found that both the TA's and the professors are mixed... sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't. There is a website, CULPA, that will help you find out info on professors before you register for their classes, but sometimes there are no "good" options and you have to take the course with someone either way. I know students who have left the program (which is known to have a very high attrition rate) for financial, personal reasons etc. The students who remain seem to me likely to find a high level of success in applying to med schools. Price is definitely an issue, but if you're deciding betwteen NYU and Columbia only I guess that's not too much of an issue. I have some serious issues from an administrative point of view, which you can read about if you search through the forum archives (way too extensive to retype).
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. (PS I went to undergrad at NYU so I can answer some general questions about the school if you have them, but not so much about the postbac program)
