sorry to burst your bubble, but i and everyone i know that wrote frantz a thank you letter got something like that with the "strongly in mind" statement. one of my friends even got two (exact same letter with some words switched). my neighbor was on the P&S adcom a few years ago and here's the process they go through:
your interviewer IS on the adcom, which is made up of about 15 doctors. after your interview, they each write a little evaluation about your application and file it away. in mid january, the committee all meets, they all go over everyone's files, and they all sit around and discuss everyone and they all recommend what action to take to frantz. frantz then sits back, and personally decides who gets in and who doesn't. bare in mind that even though he has final say, he pays enormous attention to the committee recomendations, and almost always does what the concensus recommends.
according to my neighbor, your interview cant make or break you at columbia (unless, he said, you are very nervous). i dont think it counts as much as at other schools; it just gives the interviewer a context to interpret your application and ask about red flags.
anyway, i love columbia and sent them a letter of intent. a batch of acceptances goes out in early feb. and another, smaller one goes out in mid march. many people put on and taken off waitlist.
good luck to you all.
