Got Interview at Cornell--Want Interview at Columbia at the Same Time . . .

[jankanator]

I have scheduled an interview at Cornell, but have not yet heard anything from Columbia. Ideally, I would only have to go to NYC once since I really don't have the money to visit the same city twice. Has anyone had an experience like this? I guess I'm basically trying to think of a way to see if they can make a decision earlier. I'm going to email Columbia but wonder how I should word things. Thanks for any help!

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[joyful]

I have scheduled an interview at Cornell, but have not yet heard anything from Columbia. Ideally, I would only have to go to NYC once since I really don't have the money to visit the same city twice. Has anyone had an experience like this? I guess I'm basically trying to think of a way to see if they can make a decision earlier. I'm going to email Columbia but wonder how I should word things. Thanks for any help!

You should just let them know of your situation and that you would appreciate it if they could take into account your schedule if they decide to give you an interview--the few medical schools I've talked to are very accommodating and nice.

 

[ajt2003]

You should just let them know of your situation and that you would appreciate it if they could take into account your schedule if they decide to give you an interview--the few medical schools I've talked to are very accommodating and nice.

I agree - however, depending on your time crunch, you might want to call...emails can be selectively ignored sometimes.

Big congrats, btw - and good luck!

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I agree - however, depending on your time crunch, you might want to call...emails can be selectively ignored sometimes.

Big congrats, btw - and good luck!

I agree; I arranged all my NY schools within two trips but everyone was extremely accomodating. Good luck!

 

[wends]

I emailed columbia to let them know that i would be coming in feb for interviews and to take that into account if they will give me an interview. havent heard back, this was mid december. should i call or is it just that they are non-rolling?

 

[DianaLynne]

Good luck with that. Now I've had two interviews in the NYC area and each time I've emailed and called Columbia to see if I could get something together. Neither time did they ever get back to me. The second time I was told that my file was still in the committee. It sure would've been nice to do Cornell & Columbia together, my travel budget is wearing thin. (I'll be at Cornell this Wednesday!)

 

[DrDarwin]

I am thinking about trying to squeeze Cornell and Harvard into one trip. I would love to get Columbia in there too, though Yale would also be a nice option since it lies between NYC and Boston. But neither Yale nor Columbia has invited me to interview. Because I was not complete at Columbia until mid-December, Yale seems like the better bet. Has anyone interviewing in NYC contacted Yale about application/interview status?

 

[Sarikate]

I was in the same predicament about a month ago, coming all the way from Alaska for East Coast interviews, and a couple of schools - including Columbia - said they were still reviewing my application. Two others were able to accommodate me for an interview that week. Definitely call and say, "I am planning a trip to NYC on this date, and I was wondering if I could schedule an interview for that time if Columbia is considering me for one."

 

[jankanator]

Thanks for all the advice. I called them and got an attitude-laced response of "well, if you don't know if you have an interview, we don't know either." They did say I could email them and they would put my travel information in my file. I guess I just have to hope something comes of that.

I too am pondering the Yale situation. I've made the trip from Yale to NYC by train and I don't remember it being too bad. A friend of mine whose Yale app was complete about a week and a half before mine got an invite before Christmas. I'm hoping this means I'll hear from them soon.

Also, the main reason for working on the Columbia situation is that I don't think they give you any kind of option--just a message to the effect of "Hi, congrats, this is your interview day."

I'll let you know if anything happens. Good luck guys.

 

[DrDarwin]

Thanks for all the advice. I called them and got an attitude-laced response of "well, if you don't know if you have an interview, we don't know either." They did say I could email them and they would put my travel information in my file. I guess I just have to hope something comes of that.

I too am pondering the Yale situation. I've made the trip from Yale to NYC by train and I don't remember it being too bad. A friend of mine whose Yale app was complete about a week and a half before mine got an invite before Christmas. I'm hoping this means I'll hear from them soon.

Also, the main reason for working on the Columbia situation is that I don't think they give you any kind of option--just a message to the effect of "Hi, congrats, this is your interview day."

I'll let you know if anything happens. Good luck guys.

I don't understand why it should be so hard for Columbia to determine whether to grant an applicant an interview. They inteview half their applicants anyway. Maybe 80% of applicants have been interviewd thus far and now only 20% are being interviewed. Someone wrote that Columbia is apparently sending out virtually all acceptances in mid-February, so it would not be surprising if there are minimal interview spots left. In any case, essentially nothing can be gleaned by calling an admissions office because the receptionist who answers the phone has no bearing on any admissions decisions and is certainly not aware of recent status changes. Of course, s/he can always provide the ever-enlightening "Your file is being reviewed by the admissions committee, and you will be contacted when..." 😴

 

[CarleneM]

I don't understand why it should be so hard for Columbia to determine whether to grant an applicant an interview. They inteview half their freaking applicants anyway. Maybe 80% of applicants have been interviewd thus far and now only 20% are being interviewed. Someone wrote that Columbia is apparently sending out virtually all acceptances in mid-February, so it would not be surprising if there are minimal interview spots left. In any case, essentially nothing can be gleaned by calling an admissions office because the receptionist who answers the phone has no bearing on any admissions decisions and is certainly not aware of recent status changes. Of course, s/he can always provide the ever-enlightening "Your file is being reviewed by the admissions committee, and you will be contacted when..." 😴

just to clarify, this year columbia is not interviewing half its applicants. this is the first year they are using the AMCAS application and as a result, they have way more applicants than previous years. They told us when i was there that they are still interviewing around 1000 but have many more applications to sort through this year. Normally they get around 2000 applicants. Good luck to those still waiting for an interview! Oh also i don't think they send out all their acceptances by mid-february so there's still hope...

 

[paco]

I just got my cornell invite (YAY) and I was just wondering the same thing... Seeing as how I submitted the columbia app the day of the deadline, I guess there's no hope...

 

[jankanator]

My email to Columbia was successful! They gave me an interview the day before my Cornell one. It arrived in a letter. I guess there is some hope for the reputedly ruthless adcoms.

Now I wonder if I can rope Yale into the fold . . .

 

[DrDarwin]

My email to Columbia was successful! They gave me an interview the day before my Cornell one. It arrived in a letter. I guess there is some hope for the reputedly ruthless adcoms.

Now I wonder if I can rope Yale into the fold . . .

email worked for me as well 👍

 

[jankanator]

DrDarwin,

Any luck with Yale? I emailed them today.

 

[Dr. Donkey]

I don't get Cornell. I called them on the phone about my status like 2 months ago, and they were like, "nothing yet, but make sure to call us and let us know if you're in the area" (said with quite a bit of enthusiasm). I'm wondering if this is the magic stroke for getting an invite. Do you guys think they would give someone an invite they wouldn't normally give one to just because they said they were in the area? BTW, I realize that the above mention was for a Columbia interview, but I heard the same thing happen several times for Cornell.

 

[DrDarwin]

DrDarwin,

Any luck with Yale? I emailed them today.

Unfortunately no. I emailed Yale last week, and I was thanked for the message and told that the information would be added to my file (at least they were nice about it 🙂). I am thinking about informing them that I will be in Boston two weeks later. I am pretty content as is, though, because I managed to arrange Cornell and Columbia interviews on consecutive days.

 

[davidus]

Maybe the best week of my life. Got Cornell and Harvard last week and scheduled them back to back (good ol' chinatown bus fare war has forced greyhound and peter pan to cut fares, too). Then called up Columbia yesterday, learned that they were still reviewing me and sent an email with my itinerary (as they asked) that they would "put into my file." Woke up this morning and found an invite to Columbia that was scheduled for the day before my cornell interview... Whee! Best of all, JetBlue didn't even charge me for pushing my flight to NY back one day.

 

[jankanator]

How easy is it to get between Harvard and Yale? I wasn't really considering this pairing, but maybe that's an option too. DrDarwin, or anyone else, I'd be interested in hearing how this is best accomplished.

Also, any idea what days Yale interviews?

 

[TexasSnow]

I have the exact same problem--- except trying to get an interview at Cornell. I e-mailed Cornell and told them about my plans to NY. Unfortunately, I received a 'dear applicant' e-mail telling me to wait for an invite.

Which I guess is better than a rejection......

Anyway, congrats to everyone who managed to reschedule their interviews and good luck in NY!!!

 

[jankanator]

I just got the Yale invite today. To answer my own question, they interview MWF. For anyone that got an invite, when was the earliest you could schedule a day? The person to schedule with was out today so I'm still holding out on buying my plane ticket in hopes of a little coordination!

Also, any word on how to get between Yale and Harvard? Is there a train? I mapquested it and it was 2-3 hours driving. DrDarwin, are you doing this?

Thanks for any help.

 

[DianaLynne]

Wow. Sounds like you guys are seriously scoring big points. I still haven't heard from Harvard or Columbia and have already been in the area twice.

 

[bidster]

Also, any idea what days Yale interviews?

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays...with three different "shifts" running on each day (you can choose to start early morning, mid-morning, or late-morning depending on how many slots are available for each shift.)

 

[DrDarwin]

I just got the Yale invite today. To answer my own question, they interview MWF. For anyone that got an invite, when was the earliest you could schedule a day? The person to schedule with was out today so I'm still holding out on buying my plane ticket in hopes of a little coordination!

Also, any word on how to get between Yale and Harvard? Is there a train? I mapquested it and it was 2-3 hours driving. DrDarwin, are you doing this?

Thanks for any help.

Congrats on the invite. Because I already booked my NYC flight, I will likely try to schedule my Yale interview (if granted) before my HMS interview. There are train stations in both Boston and New Haven, which provides a convenient mode of transportation between the two. Check out www.amtrak.com for more details.

 

[jankanator]

So just an update . . .

I was able to get the Yale interview scheduled after Columbia and Cornell. Next week will be a three stop marathon. The woman I spoke with at Yale was extremely nice and accomodating.

The only thing that sucks is my damn ticket cost $400! The day before it was only $160! So much for my big savings. And after my flight this week got delayed and delayed and then cancelled, making me miss an interview, the little faith I had in air transportaion is disappearing quickly!!

Just please let me make it to NYC next week.

 

[davidus]

So just an update . . .

I was able to get the Yale interview scheduled after Columbia and Cornell. Next week will be a three stop marathon. The woman I spoke with at Yale was extremely nice and accomodating.

The only thing that sucks is my damn ticket cost $400! The day before it was only $160! So much for my big savings. And after my flight this week got delayed and delayed and then cancelled, making me miss an interview, the little faith I had in air transportaion is disappearing quickly!!

Just please let me make it to NYC next week.

Can you hotwire it?