Incredible people at Columbia!

[jargon124]

I just had my Columbia interview this morning - it went well as I think all Columbia interviews do - and I gotta say the school is so top notch. The students are really amazing - I stayed with a host that was probably one of the coolest med students I have ever met or even heard of. He basically doesn't study except a few days before the exams - and he never goes to class - just my learning style All the students I met were completely laid back and seemed so happy. The guy living next door to us was basically a genius (and I use that word sparingly) - he had perfect MCATs (that's right, folks - as in 45T). Oh, and by the way, he also has an MBA from Hahvud. Geez -I was thinking the whole time - even if I got in - which seems more unlikely by the minute, do what the hell would I be doing here? I also liked Columbia's neighborhood - most people don't I guess but I did - I just don't see any negatives at all for P&S.

As for living accomodatins, second years have it made. The apartments for them are nothing short of incredible. The view out my hosts' window was awesome. Bard Hall, however, where the first years pretty much have to stay, is not nearly so nice. But as they said, you gotta suck it up for a year...

Also, and this I thought was really funny - I was talking to another interviewee and it came up that Im going to NYU tomorrow - and he was telling me about how one of his MD/PHD interviewers made the comment "we could swallow NYU med whole and not even burp".

Anyway, I'm still in NYC staying at a friend's place who is undergrad at NYU - Just thought I'd check in with the SDN peeps...Goodnight all.

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[choker]

that comment about nyu, that was from a columbia interviewer? does that mean that nyu's facilities are tiny compared to columbia's or does that mean that he thought nyu was just a much more inferior school.

dick comment to make, i must say.

 

[jargon124]

Choker - it wasn't my interviewer who made the comment about NYU, but I assume that it was said in a teasing manner - to some extent anyway. There's no question that Columbia students (faculty as well from what it looked like) know that they are part of a great program - the best in NYC. Students I talk to, when I asked them if there were any rivalries btw the NYC schools, often replied "not really, but you assume they went to (insert NYU, Sinai, Einstein, or even Cornell here) because they didn't get in here". And for the most part I suspect that's true. By the way, the interviewer was referring specifically to the fact that NYU's program is smaller in size than P&S's - not the facilities or quality of the program as far as I know.

 

[grasshopper]

Not to be argumentative, but . . . .regarding the first post, I was under the impression that nobody got about a 43 because of the verbal high=13 thing. Or did he mean 13-15 or whatever that designation is? Probably. OK, so that's pretty amazing. While we're in the arrogant ivy-league mentality, can I ask why he didn't go to Harvard? I don't know much (haven't even gotten an interview at Harvard), but I've talked to some people that say that people at Harvard, at least, think that basically everybody who *can* go there does. Any opinions?

 

[choker]

with med school, to a certain extent location matters more than rep. chances are, you'll stay in the same location for your residency (because of the connections you make through your school). also, columbia and harvard have completely different curriculums. if you dont feel like teaching everything to yourself and want a much more structured lecture-based curriculum, then columbia is better suited for you. also, if you look at harvard's stats, they only have about a 75% yield, meaning that a whopping 25% of accepted applicants told harvard to shove it.

given the choices and given my strong geographic preference, if accepted to columbia, i would immediately withraw all my other apps to the other med schools, including harvard. but that's just my taste.

 

[brandonite]

Originally posted by grasshopper:
•Not to be argumentative, but . . . .regarding the first post, I was under the impression that nobody got about a 43 because of the verbal high=13 thing. Or did he mean 13-15 or whatever that designation is? Probably. OK, so that's pretty amazing. While we're in the arrogant ivy-league mentality, can I ask why he didn't go to Harvard? I don't know much (haven't even gotten an interview at Harvard), but I've talked to some people that say that people at Harvard, at least, think that basically everybody who *can* go there does. Any opinions?•••

Firstly, some people do quote the 13-15 as a 15 when giving out their scores. Some schools do count it as a 15 in their averages. Depends on the school. I was lucky (and it was luck, trust me ) enough to score that, and I usually report mine in a range when giving out my stats. Just me, though.

As to Harvard... I have some pretty good stats and ECs, so I think I have a shot there. But they aren't my first choice. That would be Duke. Things could change when I get there. If you're interested in why, you might want to go read some interviewfeedback.com reports on Harvard. They seem stuck up and arrogant, and that's the general impression I've been getting from them too. HMS seems very interested in keeping their reputation, whereas Duke actually seems to care about their students.

As to Columbia... I applied to Cornell, but not Columbia. Cornell seemed to have better research opportunities for the field that I'm interested in, especially with their close ties to Rockefeller and SKI. So, I'd respectfully disagree that Columbia is the top school in NYC. But to each his own.

And best of luck, jargon! I'm beginning to regret not applying to Columbia after that!

 

[Jamier2]

Originally posted by grasshopper:
•Or did he mean 13-15 or whatever that designation is? Probably. OK, so that's pretty amazing.•••

Actually, they did give 13s, 14s, and 15s in the past. I don't know just how long ago they went to the 13-15 grade, but I'd say it's definitely conceivable that someone in med school now has a 15 verbal score. Another tidbit, AAMC's page says that they're changing the verbal next year so that you can once again get 13, 14, or 15 on it.

 

[Milhouse Van Houten]

i interviewed at both columbia and nyu, and the honest truth is that i would go to nyu first. nyu has a great reputation in probably the best area known to man. columbia has the best reputation known to man in the crappiest area ever. there is absolutely nothing to do there. bard hall is so bad, it's ridiculous. you have to eat out for every meal. oh yeah, and i can't stand their arrogance. the comment about swallowing nyu whole attests to that point. i went to ucla for undergrad over yale because quality of life was a big factor for me. it's very presumptuous to think that anyone at nyu, einstein, mt. sinai, or cornell is only there because they didn't get into columbia. that's like people at yale assuming i went to ucla because i couldn't get into yale-wrong!

 

[choker]

when did you interview with nyu?

have you gotten a decision yet?
im anxiously waiting for that email "right before or right after christmas"

 

[Katie]

After reading this I am actually considering it a blessing that I didn't have the stats to apply to Columbia! who needs to be around people who put down kids and profs from other schools all the time, and I am not impressed by someone just because they were able to do well on a standardized test (if you can show me that this kid was incredible with patients or a great listener or very good-looking in addition to his 45 MCAT then I'd be impressed ). My classmates at Tufts may have gotten below a 30 on the MCAT (at least a decent number that I know did, including yours truly) and been waitlisted/ultimately rejected from our state schools and/or the Ivies. But my classmates come from fantastic undergradate institutions, are for the most part decent, positive people, and will be fine doctors just like those graduating from Columbia, NYU, Nebraska, or DO schools.

 

[dnt107]

I must say that as a first year med student at NYU and as someone who interviewed at Columbia, I have a couple of things to say. In the course of random conversations with people, I would say that I am aware of maybe fifteen peoples' options when they were choosing medical schools (all NYU students). Part of the reason I know so many peoples' options by the way is that many of us have been counting our blessings that we came here over somewhere else because we couldn't be happier.

Anyway, of those fifteen people, I count about 5 or 6 that turned down Columbia to come here. They cited location and student body as well as the fact that they didn't feel that their education was at all inferior to that at Columbia. In fact, some even argue that clinical training at Bellevue (NYC's huge public hospital) is an unmatched opportunity to learn in a very hands on way. I can also count about 5 or 6 who didn't get in to Columbia, and I am one of those students. I was so shocked that I met all these students who turned down Columbia because I honestly probably would have gone there if I got in. I was so obsessed with the damn US News report and reputation etc.

The truth is that NYU will not close any doors for you, the match list is incredible and they are building a 12 story brand new research building next year because they are making a big push for research here. The student body is amazingly talented and just as important to me, they are incredibly socially ept and fun. It was a blessing in disguise that I didn't get into Columbia and I would urge others to not consider NYU as an inferior med school. Nothing against Columbia, I was actually very impressed with the student body and the match list, but I feel that I fit in better here.

Cheers and wish me luck on my head and neck exam tommorrow!

MS1 NYU

 

[choker]

hey DNT107, i recently interviewed at nyu and really loved it. i am wondering, what is the concensus at nyu about sinai. i am wondering how you would compare the schools. i know there is an old thread on this somewhere, but i want to hear your opinion on it.

thanks

 

[Scooby Doo]

I am also wondering that choker. Even though I haven't heard from NYU yet.
I met one person at Sinai from California who turned down Columbia for Sinai and I found that interesting...
Never did go into too much detail on why he did it..he just kinda shrugged it off...He seemed to not be all there.. haha

 

[dnt107]

Sorry I didn't get to this earlier, but I just wanted to say that i feel like sinai gets a lot of respect in nyc. its a very solid school. of course nyu now owns sinai (in other words they merged), but the hospital is excellent and the school is very solid. I went there for interview and I thought it was an outstanding group of very down to earth students. It has a very solid reputation in New York city, but I would say it is less connected and recognized nationally compared to the other 3 schools in manhattan. I get the impression that they aren't as loaded with the big stats as far as the grades and gpas go as columbia, cornell, or nyu, but they have students who are very caring and well rounded. (i'm no expert, just an impression)

I don't know if they are as socially active as the nyu crowd, and I like the location at nyu better, but the dorms are really nice at sinai and central park is a stone throw away. clinical opportunities at nyu are probably better, but facilities at sinai probably edge out our faciilites because they are newer.

I know one guy who would have gone to sinai over nyu if he got in. i personally liked nyu better, mainly for the clinical thing and the location, but i would be totally happy at sinai i'm sure.

 

[rikkitikki]

This is now more like a nYC med school post. I would have picked Sinai over NYU- nicer living conditions and newere facilities- people seemed niceretc.

 

[Thewonderer]

I wonder why the Columbia med student who has MBA from Hav-vhad even bother to go back to school (med school in this case)..... His life is pretty much set. Also, why did the MCAT score come up in the conversation?

My interview experience at Columbia was less than stellar. I came all the way for one single interview that lasted for 20 minutes (and the interviewer started off by saying..."I know you fairly well from your file. So you got any question for me?"). That was a bummer. I did see a couple students who stuck their heads into the room and bestowed how great the school was! They were really excited and nice people, but other schools have some of those students around as well. Also, it seems that the school is a Harvard/Yale alumni club....literally.

Cornell seems to get shafted by people on this board. This is unfortunate because out of the three schools I interviewed in NYC back then (Mt sinai, columbia and cornell), cornell seemed to be the best in terms of reputation/hospital/location/$$$$/financial aid combined together. I don't understand why... Cornell is also affiliated with the Rock and Sloan-Kettering.

Ultimately, the schools are all very similar... great reputation for all of them. I would really pick one based on its location....and Cornell (not Columbia) would stand out.