Columbia

[synite]

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what are all your thoughts on P&S?

Students love it, obviously...they only pick those who do. Happiness seems pretty high. The class is pretty IvyLeague dominated...no one can deny that. Not sure if students have a reputation for being super-social. However, they certainly dont have a reputation for being hardcore/competitive. Am I wrong though? Curriculum is pretty traditional, but I think it works perfectly for those who like structure in their learning. Seems like there's lots of scheduled class time though, like 20-25 hrs/week. Apparantly all pre-clinical evaluations will be P/F starting next year. Also, not sure how much small group sessions are emphasized. Early clinical exposure is built it, which is great. The hospital system it topnotch in that it lets students see a wide range of situations. Not sure how much hands-on training is available. Faculty advising/guidance/mentoring is very good. Research is topnotch. But definitely seems like students make their own way through the curriculum (not known for lots of handholding). The surrounding area is iffy...dont know much about Washington Heights. nice thing is that the subway stop is right there for access to midtown/lower manhattan.

other opinions would be cool...and hopefully current students will post too :wink:

 

[alice]

i'll happily add my 2 cents:

going to p and s is great training for pretty much anything you want to do. the only downfall, according to my dad who claims to be an expert on everything, is that it costs 'an arm and a leg'. the students are awesome and social (when i went for my interview they brought me out drinking the night before), it's still technically manhattan and for all you go out in med school, it's close enough. upper west side is pretty easy to get to. the connections, clinical opportunities, research opportunities -- all top notch. and as you may have noticed in your interview, they care about a lot more than just a bunch of statistics - the entire community is made up of interesting and varied people.

people who did ivy undergrad aren't all bad. and the fact that students love it shouldn't be taken lightly. what a nice buffer to the stresses of med school - a bunch of happy enthusiastic friends??

sign me up!

 

[Scooby Doo]

First, you should change the title of the thread to something like "Let's share thoughts on Columbia around the campfire and eat s'mores"



Cost: I think it's going to cost roughly the same no matter where you go unless you get a huge need based scholarship or you go to a state school.

I am concerned about food. After all, that's one of the things that matters most in life. Do people EAT OUT every day? Like breakfast, lunch, and dinner? I seem to remember there not being a kitchen and nowhere to really put any food in the rooms. Sooo...how in the hell do you survive? Eating out is good and all, but it will get expensive and it sure as hell isn't all that healthy!

 

[trout]

Hey synite I am obviously biased because I columbia is my first choice (I liked the well roundedness of both the faculty and students and if I have to spend four years somewhere, hopefully I will find some time to do something other than medicine 🙂 For example, the person I interviewed with wrote an opera!!!!) as a result I will definately be going there this fall however, someone put this website up before and I thought it was pretty interesting and informative:

<a href="http://www.amsa.org/resource/cardev/medresults.cfm" target="_blank">http://www.amsa.org/resource/cardev/medresults.cfm</a>

I don't know how the surveys were taken but they are current medical students...I found it interesting hope it helps!

 

[Scooby Doo]

Does anyone know if the Columbia dorm rooms have ETHERNET connection???

 

[SMW]

OK, now I can get in on this discussion! 🙂 I too am concerned about food -- who would have guessed Scooby is a health nut? :wink: , have heard stories about the arrogance of some students (although my host wasn't like that at all), and like the well roundedness of the faculty and student body. But I'm wondering if it's a good place for someone interested in primary care. What does your dad say about that, alice?

trout, great site, but Columbia's results are based on only 3 students' replies! It does make me wonder all the more about primary care. Plus 35 hours per week in class!!! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

 

[trout]

sorry smw to tie up space on this site tried to pm you but my computer is acting funny and ate the message...here is a web site with the trend for "specialties" at columbia
<a href="http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/ps/memos/spch0000.html" target="_blank">http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/ps/memos/spch0000.html</a>

I agree with you about only 3 post and kinda negative , this surprised me because the first time I looked at it I was looking at columbia vs. cornell and the students seem so much "happier" at cornell but then someone else posted on this site that the cornell students they meet were miserable...I guess we will have to go back and see. The one person I know who goes to columbia loves it, and the one person I know who goes to cornell loves it.....so...

 

[souljah1]

OK I think I can help all of you out a little bit. I am certain that the towers (apartments) are all geared up with ethernet connections and am fairly certain that Bard Hall (dorms) do as well. Housing sucks for the first year, but it seems most MIIs are able to get into the towers where living is a little better. You have a kitchen, pretty nice view, etc.

Food: Washington Heights absolutely sucks for food. On Broadway there are a few restaurants but you are very far from the restaurants and eateries that have given NYC its reputation as a haven for diversified food options. Yes the subway is right there, but you are talking atleast 20 minutes to anywhere fun and exciting.

I live in Washington Heights and I am currently a grad student at P&S so I have been scoping out the campus, listening in on med student conversations, etc.. They seem to be pretty cool people on average. I've come into contact with quite a few dicks, but I've also met some really nice people as well. The gym sucks. There are a few treadmills, weak amount of freeweights, very few machines, and one dinky basketball court where the competition is weak. They do have IM leagues but they don't appear to be all that vigorous. You do have access to CU's main campus (only 52 blocks away) and they have a pretty sweet gym.

As far as the hospital goes, it is really great for exposure to all sorts of ****. CU is a great speciality/high tech school, but if you are intersted in touchy feely primary care or holistic approaches to health care forget it. Notice CU doesn't even rank in the top 50 for primary care, but for specialties and research its the bomb.

I don't think they provide too much financial aid by way of grants, but I'm not sure about that. I'm used to the UC system *CA resident* so I think the tuition in insane over here. CU does really heavily on its name and I know I've met a handfull of students who came here largely for that reason. If I had my pick for any school in NYC, I would choose Sinai or Cornell, but that is just me.

I congratulate all of you who were excepted into Columbia. You are on your way to accomplishing your goals and that is a very good thing indeed. I hope that my factoids have helped some of you. Again, this is a perspective of a graduate student at P&S. I'm not a med student here, but I have picked quite a few of their brains and listened in on many conversations quite a bit.

Oh yeah, I think you have exams every other monday during your second year.

 

[Scooby Doo]

About the gym and food ordeal....

How easy is it to jump on the subway and get down to the main Columbia gym?

I would be planning on going there about 5 days a week or so. Say I get all ready to workout, then leave the school. How long does it take to get from Bard Hall to the entrance of the gym at Columbia undergrad? estimated....like 10 minutes? 20 minutes? 30 minutes? etc etc....

Also, do most people get a month long pass for the subway at columbia? Do you get any discounts on it?

 

[souljah1]

Scooby dog,

ok. you are all suited up and ready to go. You leave Bard Hall and walk 5 minutes to the subway station. You go down the stairs and then take the elevator down to the 1 line going south. That was 2 more minutes. You take the subway 5 stops (10 minutes or so) and then walk about 3-5 minutes to the gym. So what does that add up to be...Lets say 20 minutes including the wait for the subway. There are also some food options down near the main campus that are pretty good. Wanting to go there 5 days a week is possible, but you might want to settle for goofing around at the Health Sciences gym 1 or 2 of those days. I only say that b/c CU has a lot of lecture time (the most in nyc i've heard).

As far as subway fares go. You can get a monthly pass for somewhere around 60-65 bucks for unlimited rides. There are also unlimited week passes and buy ten get 1 free jammies as well.

Washington Heights feels very safe to me. I don't think it is that bad at all, I just think it is very boring. But...with a little incentive you can make the most of living in nyc.

hope that helps you scooby. by the way, i enjoy your posts. you get me laughing sometimes. what about the ucs? you set on going to the east coast?

hope that helps.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Souljah,

Thanks for the post 🙂
Yea, I spend about 10 to 15 minutes walking to the gym here anyways. So 20 minutes isn't too bad. Since I would be eating out it would be easy just to go to the gym, and then get food down at the main campus, then go back and get ready for going out on the town...oh wait...study? hmm..maybe on the weekends 🙂 It will probably end up being about 4 or 5 days a week (which will include saturday and sunday hopefully). Then maybe during the week I will just stay at the basement in Bard Hall.

Sounds good about the passes. I would be worried about losing mine. When I was in New York, I kept making the mistake of putting my pass through the electronic thing, then realizing there was a friggin metal gate in front of it!!!!!! I did that on three separate occasions! I guess I am just an idiot 🙂 haha

Thanks for the compliments 🙂

The UC's...Bah! Humbug! I don't know what is wrong with them! Got put on hold for interview at half of them and then got rejected from the other half. So who knows...I guess I better warm up to the idea of going to the east coast 🙂

 

[KoStarringMe]

My ex-boyfriend goes to Medical school there...he totally loves it! It doenst seem as hardcore as some of the other medical schools. Congrats to those who got in!

 

[KoStarringMe]

My ex-boyfriend goes to Medical school there...he totally loves it! It doenst seem as hardcore as some of the other medical schools. Congrats to those who got in!

 

[souljah1]

Scooby,

Well coming to NYC to go to Columbia isn't so bad. Sorry to hear about the UC-Scooby hinderance. They are pretty strange. I'm waiting to hear results from UCSF and UCI. UCLA has my secondary, UCSD put me on hold for an interview, and UCD rejected me flat out 🙄

So far I've been accepted to Einstein and waitlisted at NYU. All the other schools are taking there sweet old time.

Sounds like going to the gym won't be so bad for you, especially if you are counting weekends. Also, so you know, the A train runs express to downtown and gets you to Penn station in 22 minutes. So, if you want to go to midtown/downtown the A is the way to go.

Glad to be some help. Keep it real, dog.

 

[trout]

There is also a free shuttle that runs from the campus to the medical school!!!

 

[Trek]

I don't see the bitchin about the gym at P&S. Got a bench, a squat rack and some hefty free weights. Where's the beef? The only problem was that I never saw a single person rerack the weights when they were done- a huge turn off for me (call me shallow, but i think it reflects terribly on a person when they don't take the time out to be courteous to the next person). --Trek

 

[Scooby Doo]

Yes Trek,

I completely agree. But I am definitely a cardio person and I like to socialize and meet other people at the gym. This is why I would love to go to the undergrad campus and workout. Meet some new people in New York and make new friends...and enlarge my harem..oops...I didn't mean to say that :wink: ....But seriously Trek, Yea....when people don't rerack that 25 pounds on the bench...it just gets annoying. Especially for you since you always need to ask me to help you get them off so you can MAX OUT by benching the bar. 🙄 🙄 🙄 😀 😀 😛

 

[grasshopper]

OK,I apologize for barging in here, but I've been actually going to class all day instead of watching all the wonderful Columbia threads. Although that would've been more fun. Anyway, relevant to this one: so I swim. Undergrad I get a good hot breakfast at the cafeteria and then swim every morning 8 am in an indoor 25 meter pool. THe question: can I take my pool with me? No, really, though, are the pool facilities at Bard any good (specifically, how long?), or is there a good indoor one available at the main campus?

 

[grasshopper]

Oh, and speaking of food (this should be called the Columbia personal health thread): is the lunch/dinner @ Bard thing any good? Is there like a salad bar type of thing, or is it prepackaged, or what? I hope it's not all spicy tuna wrap and diet coke again . . .

 

[Scooby Doo]

Grasshopper,

You get that email I sent you?

My guess is you will have to take the subway with me to the undergrad gym to find a pool! 🙂

 

[trout]

P&S Student Handbook, 2001-2002
XI. SHOPPING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Dining

BBQ's - 166th & Broadway. Great barbecued chicken, hamburgers, etc.

Blimpie - 4055 Broadway (170-171 St.) 923-5606. 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. 6 ft. heros, catering, lunch specials. Free delivery. Open 24 hours.

Boleros - 3920 Broadway (164-165 St.) 523-9500. Argentinian Restaurant. Open 6 a.m. - 12 midnight.

Broadway Donut & Ice Cream - 4005 Broadway 543-0600.

Carrot Top - Broadway below 165th St. 927-4800. Great sandwiches, the best carrot cake and muffins, and open atmosphere. Open 24 hours.

Como's Pizza - 4035 Broadway above 169th St. 928-7867. Eat-in or carry-out pizza & heroes.

Coogan's - Broadway & 169th St. 928-1234. Delivery. One of the nicest places - good food, pleasant bar. Karaoke and daily specials.

Domino's Pizza - 736 W. 181st. 781-3700. Free delivery.

El Presidente - Broadway and 165th St. 927-7011. Spanish and American food. Open 24 hours.

El 27 de Febrero - St. Nicholas above 173rd St. Great Spanish food.

Empire Szechuan Noodle House - 4041 Broadway. 568-1600. Expensive but good. Will deliver.

Famous Famiglia - 4007 Broadway (168th St). "New York's favorite pizza." 927-3333 Open til midnight 7 days.

Fresh Baglery - 168th St. & Broadway. Assorted bagels, sandwiches, coffee.

Galicia Restaurant - 4083 Broadway - 172nd St. Excellent Spanish food.

Hill Top Restaurant - Ft. Washington & 181st St. 781-4130. American food. Free delivery.

ok...my boss is going to fire me soon so this will be my last post for a while (at least until monday!)

it is out of the student handbook...it has shopping and descriptions of some places to get food (no clue on how accurate)
<a href="http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/ps/affairs/handbook/" target="_blank">http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/ps/affairs/handbook/</a>

 

[grasshopper]

bump, and didn't they tell us on the tour they were in the process of cafeteria at the dorm there, anyway? or was that another school? Anybody heard how they do the food thing at Bard makeshift cafeteria? Also, what have you all heard about this elusive second look thing?

 

[souljah1]

Bonecutter,

You are acting like I am hating on Columbia and that is not the case. I said in my post that I've met some great people and some not so great people. The fine eating places I'm talking about are not all expensive i.e many of the restaurants on the lower east side, nolita, etc..My comments on primary care stand. I gave you guys much props on the high tech stuff (what has give CU a great repuation) and I give much respect to PH for providing you guys with an awesome teaching hospital.

The gym does suck, no way around it. I kind of am like Scooby in that I like to go to the gym for the social interaction and the Bard basement doesn't provide much for that. The weight lifters club, etc....I don't know much about that, but I am the type of person that would rather have access to a nice gym..

The invitation basketball games. Invite only makes me think that you agree with me that, in general, the competition is weak. I would love to get an invite with you so I can see what you are talking about. Is it only for med students are can grad students play as well? I've been playing ball since I was 8 and love it. I would really appreciate the invite, so I can finally play some real games. Don't get me wrong, everytime I go to Bard there are always one or two guys who can play, but the majority of the games are muddled with double dribbles, hacks, and all sorts of theatrics.

 

[reesie0726]

Is there a private gym near the school like ny sports club or crunch or ballys or something? Or is the nearest one down in harlem on 125th st.? I know that alot of students at nyu and cornell join outside gyms.

 

[SicVic]

hey about basketball-what is the deal with only on "invite"! c'mon.
I love playing bball and I love visiting stony Brook gym for a nice pick up game - The great thing is you get to play with a range of peeps (those who are really good and those who not so good)
Anyways- at another post I was suggesting an intermural matchup between the four med. sch. in NYC (hey can be a great idea to raise money (for a cause) or something - or plain fun)

P.S: No matter how you guys try to deconstruct Columbia - this fall they will have no problem filling up their seats - If you know that is the place for you then - why try convincing yourself for the 20th time if you will be happy there!!!
Hell people go to worse medical schools -and having a great time ...Others go to a well accomodating med sch and they seem to find something bad to say about their experience.

As for me - I know where I am going to attend is not perfect in every nook and corner - but I am truly privileged to have the opportunity and I will make sure that I have a great time during the last four years of bliss.

For those who got into Columbia- Well Done!!

😎

 

[grasshopper]

So are those normally summer things? Does pretty much every school do this?