Columbia secondary...

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This is the longest secondary in the history of secondaries. What the f#%$@# did we pay AMCAS for if they are just gonna make us put all the same info again??!?!!? You know, I am probably gonna get rejected from them promptly, which is going to make the sting of wasting my time on this rediculous application all the more painfull. Sorry for ranting, I just can't believe this S@$#$ sometimes!

 

[Dr. N]

I would agree with you that it is the longest secondary! What was the most surprising is that they ask you to enter all your course work, just like AMCAS. Strange. But I am done with it... took me about week 😳

This is the longest secondary in the history of secondaries. I want to mail them a copy of my AMCAS with a picture of me giving them the finger. What the f#%$@# did we pay AMCAS for if they are just gonna make us put all the same info again??!?!!? You know, I am probably gonna get rejected from them promptly, which is going to make the sting of wasting my time on this rediculous application all the more painfull. Sorry for ranting, I just can't believe this S@$#$ sometimes!

 

[ssk123]

This is the longest secondary in the history of secondaries. I want to mail them a copy of my AMCAS with a picture of me giving them the finger. What the f#%$@# did we pay AMCAS for if they are just gonna make us put all the same info again??!?!!? You know, I am probably gonna get rejected from them promptly, which is going to make the sting of wasting my time on this rediculous application all the more painfull. Sorry for ranting, I just can't believe this S@$#$ sometimes!

They will not reject you promptly. Instead, they will probably interview you because they give nearly everyone who applies an interview.

 

[cottagepepper]

They will not reject you promptly. Instead, they will probably interview you because they give nearly everyone who applies an interview.

That's odd....really? hmmm... do you know that for sure?

 

[uclabruin2003]

They will not reject you promptly. Instead, they will probably interview you because they give nearly everyone who applies an interview.

i think that may be true for last year when they were not amcas...but you never know about this years class. they could be more selective in terms of interviewees

 

[iamgoaloriented]

Apparently they interview about half of the people who apply (so says the MSAR), and according to a lot of people Dean Franz is a jerk (although that's only what I have heard), so if you want to give them the finger there is the good chance you will be able to do so in person.

Yeah, their secondary infuriated me, although to be honest I was more annoyed with school like U Penn, whose secondaries take like 45 seconds but cost you $75. Mayo literaly sends you an email and says send us a check if you want us to consider you any further. At least for Columbia you are giving them more information to pick you as opposed to other candidates.

 

[Haybrant]

what is the due date for the columbia secondary?

 

[synapse lapse]

See I have FAP, so I don't have to pay the secondary fees, or else that would anger me too. THe due date is Oct 15, which is the reason it is so infuriating. Anyhow, I was just really angry, I really love Columbia a lot, I just can't believe that they expect you to basically redo an AMCAS and then make it due as soon as Oct 15th. Sometimes this process just gets to you .....

 

[katec12345]

Don't forget sending them transcripts, despite having to enter coursework on AMCAS and on their application.

 

[sunsweet]

Don't forget sending them transcripts, despite having to enter coursework on AMCAS and on their application.

u dont have to send transcripts. just send ur photo w/amcas id on back

 

[pjm]

I suspect that because this is Columbia's first year in AMCAS, they are using both systems just in case AMCAS doesn't work out for them. Next year they will probably clean up the app.

Take advantage of the extra sheet of paper they let you attach electronically; you can use this to include things that the secondary and AMCAS both missed.

 

[Dr. N]

Don't forget sending them transcripts, despite having to enter coursework on AMCAS and on their application.

do you know if there is any way to check on the website if they received my transcripts?

 

[Dr. N]

u dont have to send transcripts. just send ur photo w/amcas id on back

oh yes you have to. read your secondary carefully

 

[i77ac]

oh yes you have to. read your secondary carefully

i read it again, and it only mentions LOR's and a passport pic. where are you getting this?

 

[UCBShocker]

According to my understanding, you only have to submit your transcript if you have been accepted to the medical college, not for them to consider your application.

 

[palminator2003]

For full clarification, is this all that has to be sent via snailmail after submission of the secondary?:

Photo w/AMCAS ID
Transcript
Your Committee Letter
(a check, if you don't pay by credit card)

 

[medstylee]

columbia's secondary is the same this year as it was last year. although it's now participating in amcas, there's no difference at all really. the only thing that will change as a result of that is the number of people that apply. therefore, sadly, they'll probably be interviewing less than half of the applicants this year. i remember last year that a lot of really well qualified applicants here on sdn opted not to apply to columbia based on the fact that it was not amcas. so, those types of applicants will most likely be applying this year. in any case, i didn't think dr. frantz was a jerk when i interviewed with him last year. although, i really did not appreciate the way he encouraged us waitlistees to continue to write letters, meanwhile it turned out that he had dropped us from consideration without telling us until much later. i dunno, i'm reapplying, but it's not on the top of my last like it was last year. i have a real sour taste left over in my mouth from last year. good luck to whoever really wants to go there.

 

[palminator2003]

i read it again, and it only mentions LOR's and a passport pic. where are you getting this?

Page 2 of the instructions for the secondary.

 

[Jack_Adam]

Just FYI

I called Columbia and asked them about the transcript since we had to submit them to AMCAS, who then sends it out to all the med schools to which you applied. I was specifically told that you ONLY need to send in your final transcript if you are accepted. For now, though, the one submitted through AMCAS is all they need. No need to go through transcript requests again! 🙂

 

[SarahGM]

See I have FAP, so I don't have to pay the secondary fees, or else that would anger me too. THe due date is Oct 15, which is the reason it is so infuriating. Anyhow, I was just really angry, I really love Columbia a lot, I just can't believe that they expect you to basically redo an AMCAS and then make it due as soon as Oct 15th. Sometimes this process just gets to you .....

This is just a guess here, but I would venture to say this may be left over from last year's application. This is the very first year that Columbia is not associated with AMCAS.

Also, keep that in mind when looking at MSAR. I would expect the application rate to go up this year, now that people can just apply through AMCAS for an additional 30 dollars.

P&S is a fabulous school- we love it here. Good luck to everyone!

 

[Dr. N]

This is just a guess here, but I would venture to say this may be left over from last year's application. This is the very first year that Columbia is not associated with AMCAS.

Also, keep that in mind when looking at MSAR. I would expect the application rate to go up this year, now that people can just apply through AMCAS for an additional 30 dollars.

P&S is a fabulous school- we love it here. Good luck to everyone!

I called my advisor and asked to send my commity letter to Columbia as soon as possible because of their early deasline. She called Columbia the same day and they told her that they will extending deadline to Nov 1.

 

[iamgoaloriented]

I think you guys are right about expecting more applicants this year. The MSAR says that there were 2544 last year, which is pretty low for a school like Columbia, so it must be because they weren't AMCAS. They still interviewed over 1000 people though, which hopefully will still be the case this year.

 

[SarahGM]

I think you guys are right about expecting more applicants this year. The MSAR says that there were 2544 last year, which is pretty low for a school like Columbia, so it must be because they weren't AMCAS. They still interviewed over 1000 people though, which hopefully will still be the case this year.

Regarding this: my advisor is a member of the admissions committee (in the sense that he does interviews and he understands the process pretty well) -- he was saying that in the past, in the preAMCAS days, it was a lot more obvious who was really interested in Columbia, because it DID take that extra time, money and effort to put in the application. This year it's going to be that much harder to weed through and find people who are genuinely interested and didn't just put Columbia on the list because it's only $30 more. I would strongly recommend being very upfront about liking Columbia if it's one of your top choices, because I know that Dr. Frantz and the adcom really want to put together a class who is excited about being there. My advisor also said that there are generally no numbers cut-offs like at other institutions... the adcom is more interested in putting together a class that has more to offer (read: personality and well-roundedness) than just top scores and GPAs. So- be yourself, keep your own interests, and if you really like Columbia... by all means be vociferous about it! Best of luck. Feel free to PM with questions, etc.