CUNY Hunter vs. Columbia

[Lindyhopper]

I'm pretty familiar with Hunter's program but know next to nothing about Columbia. It seems like Hunter currently has some great teachers in their core courses. Including Drs. Adrienne Alaie for Gen Bio, Karen Philips for orgo, Marie Pierra for A&P. & the price is right.
I wonder what are people's experiences in the two programs.

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[kito]

I know lots of people who did both and found that Hunter is generally better regarded by its students.

 

[LoneCoyote]

A friend of mine was in the same boat back in 2001 and opted for Columbia. She went there and was very, very unhappy.... felt the classes were full of ultra-competitive people, the advising was bad, and that the whole thing was a big waste of money. She bailed after 1 semester (and a summer I believe) and finished the stuff up at Hunter and was much happier. Now, keep in mind this was several years ago, and from what I have been reading on this board it sounds like Columbia has a new administration and is trying to address some of these complaints. There are a number of Columbia threads you can read and probably get a better idea about this. Good luck with your decision


http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=125224&highlight=columbia

 

[Lindyhopper]

I have gotten several PMs asking me about Hunter and thought it best to post publicly my limited knowledge of their post-bacc & Bio MA programs.
The post-bacc is pretty traditional with evening & day offerings in Gen Chem, Orgo, Physics, Calculus, & Gen Bio. They also suggest additional bio course such as genetic and cell. The pre-med advisory committee will only write a LOR if one has taken six courses at Hunter. Some people who complete the program in May complain of delays because the committee letters are not written until Sept.
There are truly excellent teachers in Gen Bio (Dr. Adrienne Alaie) & Orgo (Drs Gromann & Karen Phillips). I have no real knowledge of the other teachers in the program. I would also suggest the year long A&P course. It is usually taken by pre-nursing, pre-PT, & pre-PA students but it is a remarkably comprehensive survey taught by the excellent Dr. Marie Pierra.
The Bio MA is a 30 credit masters with a comprehensive exam option. I believe instead of the the comprehensives one can op to due 24 class hours plus a six credit research thesis.
There are four core required courses offered in the evening. Fall; Molecular Bio taught by the excellent David Foster & the not so excellent Thomas Schmit-Glenwinkle. Genetics teacher TBA.
Spring; Cell strong team, & developmental taught by the excellent David Ortiz.
The grad program is welcoming to part-timers & non-Matrics. I get the feeling that if one has a BA & have taken the GREs (which can be taken on short notice and do not nec. require much prep) one can take the grad courses as a Non-matric. There have even been cases of people who show up in Fall take courses as NON-Matrics and apply for simulateous admission and graduation.
There are many academic enhancers hoping to use the grad courses to strenghten their med school app. Many often are also working in one of NYCs many research labs. I know several people who have gone on to Med school. But if one is going full time I think a special masters program is a more directed approach.
There is also a MA in phar research in conjuction with Mt. Sinai Med school.
The diverse student population is a great mix.
The bottom line is that Hunter is an affordable public, Non-matric friendly school that offers many fine teachers and opportunities in heart of NYC.

 

[hunterpostbac]

A few words on the Hunter program:

I have completed 2 semesters of bio + lab and 2 semesters of general chem + lab at Hunter. Next year I plan to do orgo and physics, then calculus in summer 2005. I went to Columbia for undergrad and did not find that it was worth the tuition, so I decided to take the cheap route with my postbac. That being said, I am extremely glad I chose Hunter over Columbia. I remain about $40,000 in debt for my undergrad education, which consisted mostly of grad student TAs pontificating at an equally pretentious audience of overgrown adolescents (the Columbia undergrad population). Hunter has provided me with no such debt, and I am continually impressed with the professors and students.

The Bio department at Hunter is excellent. Dr. Adrienne Alaie is one of the best professors I've ever had, and the labs were organized and informative. Many of the lab instructors to not speak English very well, which can be a problem, but the lab manual is so well written that you can get by pretty easily even if you get stuck with an instructor who can't communicate. Also, Dr. Alaie is very good about keeping her office hours, and can help out if you have any questions about the lab (she wrote the manual).

The Chem department leaves something to be desired, but as long as you seek out extra help you can avoid most pitfalls. My first semester professor was TERRIBLE (Boyston-White-- avoid avoid avoid!), so I found that I had to teach myself from the textbook. Second semester I had Prof. Quigley, who was very very good. The labs are generally a disaster (poorly written manual + non-English-speaking instructors), but not difficult. The key to learning Chemistry at Hunter-- as I said, is to go to office hours, ask questions, and keep asking until you find someone who can answer them.