MD/PhD Secondary: Columbia

[Argle Bargle]

PhD-Specific Questions:
1. What academic honors have you received (e.g., prizes, scholarships, fellowships, honor societies)? (5000 characters)
2. Have you ever applied to Columbia before?
3. Have you ever been dismissed or suspended from an academic institution? (If so, please explain fully in your personal statement.)
4. Are you currently applying anywhere else at Columbia?
Do you plan to pursue a PhD in Biomedical Engineering?
Do you plan to pursue a PhD in Epidemiology?
5. Have you discussed your application with a member of the Columbia Faculty or Staff?
6. What are your major research interests? (20 word limit)
7. PhD goals (5000 character limit)
8. Additional information (5000 characters)

"Basic Information."
1. What were you majors and minors?
2. If you took time off from your undergraduate studies, please briefly summarize your reasons for doing so.
3. From which languages can you translate scholarly material into English?
4. In what collegiate extracurriculars did you engage? (400 characters)
5. Did you work for compensation during college during the year or the summer? (400 characters)
6. If you have graduated from college, please briefly summarize what you have done in the interim. (300 words)
7. What challenges do you expect to arise from living and working in a complex urban environment? How will you meet them? (300 words)
8. Is there anything else you would like us to know? (3oo words)
9. Did you complete a PostBaccalaureate pre-medical program?
10. Do you have a parent or sibling who graduated from or is affiliated with Columbia University?
11. Please describe your parents' occupations: (100 characters)

Experiences: can copy and paste from AMCAS as long as the prompt/character limit fits.

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[carpediem22]

Does anyone know if we are allowed to copy/paste from our AMCAS for the experiences portion?

This is a lot

 

[shh-pthway]

Does anyone know if we are allowed to copy/paste from our AMCAS for the experiences portion?

This is a lot

I think this section might be like Penn's MSTP secondary. Its purpose--I assume-- is to summarize research experiences quickly. Think description part is pretty flexible so long as you do not botch your writing.

 

[smiley buckeye]

What are PhD goals???

 

[Argle Bargle]

I think this section might be like Penn's MSTP secondary. Its purpose--I assume-- is to summarize research experiences quickly. Think description part is pretty flexible so long as you do not botch your writing.

Sorry for forgetting to mention this until now--I called Columbia to ask about it. It sounds like the activities section is basically just a resource for them, and it's just fine if we copy/paste. I have no idea why they (and all the other schools) can't collaborate with AMCAS to waste our time less, but yeah, you can copy and paste as long as it's the same question.

I also asked about "PhD goals." I tried to get a more specific response, but they didn't have any additional guidance beyond acknowledging that there were a variety of ways to interpret the question, and that "What are your goals for the PhD?" was a good way of interpreting the prompt broadly. Not that that really narrows anything down.

 

[smiley buckeye]

Haha I'm actually glad you didn't get a great answer, because I filled it up with career goals and if they said it was supposed to be only about grad school, I would have to go cry in a corner (since I submitted yesterday)

 

[shh-pthway]

For PhD goals, there's flexibility for sure, but I would also think about addressing the question: "Why MD/PhD and not just MD?" (Yale asks this directly). What will the PhD allow you to do (or how will it enhance your training/ development) that a MD-only would not? I think the question is trying to assess your reasoning for wanting to earn a PhD and make sure one is not just going for the free tuition/ prestige of MSTP.

 

[smiley buckeye]

But isn't that exactly what the first aMCAS mdphd question asks

 

[carpediem22]

For PhD goals, there's flexibility for sure, but I would also think about addressing the question: "Why MD/PhD and not just MD?" (Yale asks this directly). What will the PhD allow you to do (or how will it enhance your training/ development) that a MD-only would not? I think the question is trying to assess your reasoning for wanting to earn a PhD and make sure one is not just going for the free tuition/ prestige of MSTP.

Yeah this isn't exactly the point of the question. If they wanted that they would've just wrote "Why MD/PhD?" I think that one sentence reiterating your AMCAS answer is fine, but probably the question is more aimed at what you want to do with the PhD. Which is a slight variation of the AMCAS answer.

 

[carpediem22]

Sorry for forgetting to mention this until now--I called Columbia to ask about it. It sounds like the activities section is basically just a resource for them, and it's just fine if we copy/paste. I have no idea why they (and all the other schools) can't collaborate with AMCAS to waste our time less, but yeah, you can copy and paste as long as it's the same question.

I also asked about "PhD goals." I tried to get a more specific response, but they didn't have any additional guidance beyond acknowledging that there were a variety of ways to interpret the question, and that "What are your goals for the PhD?" was a good way of interpreting the prompt broadly. Not that that really narrows anything down.

Should the experiences just be research experiences or...?

 

[shh-pthway]

Yeah this isn't exactly the point of the question. If they wanted that they would've just wrote "Why MD/PhD?" I think that one sentence reiterating your AMCAS answer is fine, but probably the question is more aimed at what you want to do with the PhD. Which is a slight variation of the AMCAS answer.

I think we are in agreement, but just using different semantics. By saying "what you want to do with the PhD", you are addressing why you would like the dual degrees and not MD-only. One can write he or she wants to be an investigative physician in AMCAS prompt, but a MD-only can very well be an investigative physician. I believe the point of the secondary question is to delve deeper into the specifics of PhD goals than what was written in AMCAS essay.

 

[Argle Bargle]

Should the experiences just be research experiences or...?

Don't know, but I personally would include anything that's remotely relevant to your candidacy as an MD/PhD candidate. Although since the prompt specifics academic and/or relevant work experiences, I would stick with things that fit those specific categories. Still, if you went to college, that could be a lot.

 

[carpediem22]

Don't know, but I personally would include anything that's remotely relevant to your candidacy as an MD/PhD candidate. Although since the prompt specifics academic and/or relevant work experiences, I would stick with things that fit those specific categories. Still, if you went to college, that could be a lot.

I called and asked.. I was told mostly research-specific or anything relevant.

 

[carpediem22]

What did you guys write for "additional information" in the PhD section? I used the one on the first page to put information about interview scheduling, but the PhD one I'm guessing is supposed to be more about the PhD. Publications?

 

[Morpheo]

I emailed admissions for some clarification about the PhD goals and Additional Information sections. Here's what they said:

"In the PhD goals portion, you should focus on what type of research you want to do for your PhD. Additional information, is just that. Anything that you think the Admissions Committee should be aware of that wasn't already covered in the application."

Hope this helps.

 

[neurotroph]

Since they mention prizes, would a conference award for a poster count as an academic honor?