NEW here, and question about Columbia

[OPNYDR]

Hello to all,
I'm new here and just trying to get some info. I interviewed at Columbia on the 24th of Feb. (I applied really late) and still haven't heard back. During my interview, the interviewer asked that I send in pictures of dentures that I made, literature on research I'm involved with, and a letter from the dental lab and office that I worked in (which I overnighted as soon as I got back to CA). Also, during my interview, she kept the magazine that I brought to show them (I was on the cover, past business). Does this all mean good news, or don't get my hopes up?

Thanks

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[burmafrost]

It means both – it’s good news, but at the same time, don’t get your hopes up. Since it’s late in the cycle, the class is most probably full. You may be one of the top applicants on the wait list. If I were you, you should follow up with them every 2 weeks and keep your fingers crossed. Admissions is one tricky process. Sorry to hear about that – you seem like a great applicant... only if you applied earlier.

Hello to all,
I'm new here and just trying to get some info. I interviewed at Columbia on the 24th of Feb. (I applied really late) and still haven't heard back. During my interview, the interviewer asked that I send in pictures of dentures that I made, literature on research I'm involved with, and a letter from the dental lab and office that I worked in (which I overnighted as soon as I got back to CA). Also, during my interview, she kept the magazine that I brought to show them (I was on the cover, past business). Does this all mean good news, or don't get my hopes up?

Thanks

 

[OPNYDR]

How should I keep in contact with them? Email or phone? How long did it take for those of you who got in to get your letter of acceptance? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[LadyxJC]

If you interviewed on Feb. 22, I would give it some more time. From what I know, they usually wait till a certain date to send out the results to all the applicants who interviewed since the last time they mailed out the results. I don't know I could be wrong... or maybe it's different now since it's late in the game but that's how I think it is. So depending on when that date is, some people have to wait a while and others get their letter within a couple of weeks. I think it's a good thing that they show interest in you but at the same time, it can also mean that they need additional proof to be convinced. Best of luck

 

[OPNYDR]

I did have the dentures, magazine, and paperwork of the research at the interview, she just said that she wanted pictures of the dentures and a copy of everything so she could present it at the admission meeting the following Friday.

I read on here that people from the same interview date as mine were already waitlisted or rejected. Do they wait until the end to send acceptance letter?

LadyxJC, How long after your interview did you get your acceptance letter?

 

[scentofj]

I interviewed on 3/3 and still have not heard anything back yet. To those who have already been accepted, does the acceptance letter come in a big envelope?

 

[drhobie7]

Hello to all,
I'm new here and just trying to get some info. I interviewed at Columbia on the 24th of Feb. (I applied really late) and still haven't heard back. During my interview, the interviewer asked that I send in pictures of dentures that I made, literature on research I'm involved with, and a letter from the dental lab and office that I worked in (which I overnighted as soon as I got back to CA). Also, during my interview, she kept the magazine that I brought to show them (I was on the cover, past business). Does this all mean good news, or don't get my hopes up?

Thanks

My take on this is as follows: the interviewer saw this stuff and was shocked...in a good way. Holy crap a pre-dent who made dentures! Was on the cover of a magazine! Who the hell is this person? They must be lying. The interviewer probably just wanted to see if all this impressive stuff was true. Don't stress. You're money and you don't even know it!

 

[ohcdc]

hey i was at the interview too, i haven't heard anything yet either...

 

[LadyxJC]

LadyxJC, How long after your interview did you get your acceptance letter?

I had to wait a month and a half. That's probably the longest you have to wait because I know people who interviewed the week before I did heard within 2 weeks... when they mailed out the letters for Dec. 1.

 

[fightingspirit]

Hello to all,
I'm new here and just trying to get some info. I interviewed at Columbia on the 24th of Feb. (I applied really late) and still haven't heard back. During my interview, the interviewer asked that I send in pictures of dentures that I made, literature on research I'm involved with, and a letter from the dental lab and office that I worked in (which I overnighted as soon as I got back to CA). Also, during my interview, she kept the magazine that I brought to show them (I was on the cover, past business). Does this all mean good news, or don't get my hopes up?

Thanks

you're a shoe in as they say. dont worry....be happy

 

[burmafrost]

How should I keep in contact with them? Email or phone? How long did it take for those of you who got in to get your letter of acceptance? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Call them AND e-mail them. And if you really want to get in, write them a letter (yes the kind you put a stamp on) saying that you are still interested and they will probably put it in your file so when they look at your file next time, they’ll see your letter of interest. There’s plenty of people on the waitlist, it’s these little things that give you that edge.

 

[OPNYDR]

So as exited as I was getting with some of your replies, and I thank you all for them, unfortunately I received my wait list letter today. What now? I remember Dr. McManus telling us if we received a wait list spot, to write him a letter that really shows that we really want to go to Columbia, and he would see to it that we got in.

How should I write that letter without seeming too desperate?

 

[scentofj]

OPNYDR, if you don't mind, can you tell me when your waitlist letter was dated?

 

[fightingspirit]

So as exited as I was getting with some of your replies, and I thank you all for them, unfortunately I received my wait list letter today. What now? I remember Dr. McManus telling us if we received a wait list spot, to write him a letter that really shows that we really want to go to Columbia, and he would see to it that we got in.

How should I write that letter without seeming too desperate?

i totally understand columbia's behavior. it is a school that has a good name and many flaws in the education. as a result, mcmanus and the other supersmart columbia admin members know very well that a whoooole lot of applicants are just interested in gettin an acceptance letter so tht they 'd hang it on the wall or show it to their parents and friends, as oppsed to being truly interested in attending. keep in mind that most accepted applicants do not end up enrolling at columbia. therefore, at this stage of the game, the adcom is desperte to fill the class entirely without undermining their admission standards. (columbia would be stupid to accept all the not seriously-interested-24AA and reject the truly-interested 20s and 21AAs). why did i say all of this?

well, it is to explain to you that THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH GIVING COLUMBIA THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU REALLY ARE DESPERATE FOR THEM. seeing your desperation for THEM and not any other d-school would help you get accepted. write a professional letter that shows your enthusiasm and be honest and do not exagerate.

goood luck

P.S: columbia has been having a hard time this cycle. they'd accept the 23s and 24s and then those would turn them down for penn or their state schools....

 

[ScorpiORTHO]

i totally understand columbia's behavior. it is a school that has a good name and many flaws in the education. as a result, mcmanus and the other supersmart columbia admin members know very well that a whoooole lot of applicants are just interested in gettin an acceptance letter so tht they 'd hang it on the wall or show it to their parents and friends, as oppsed to being truly interested in attending. keep in mind that most accepted applicants do not end up enrolling at columbia. therefore, at this stage of the game, the adcom is desperte to fill the class entirely without undermining their admission standards. (columbia would be stupid to accept all the not seriously-interested-24AA and reject the truly-interested 20s and 21AAs). why did i say all of this?

well, it is to explain to you that THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH GIVING COLUMBIA THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU REALLY ARE DESPERATE FOR THEM. seeing your desperation for THEM and not any other d-school would help you get accepted. write a professional letter that shows your enthusiasm and be honest and do not exagerate.

goood luck

P.S: columbia has been having a hard time this cycle. they'd accept the 23s and 24s and then those would turn them down for penn or their state schools....

Who are you? and what are your sources?

 

[OPNYDR]

scentofj, the letter was dated the 20th of March.

As to everybody else, I wrote a letter which will do one of two things;
1) Get me in, or
2) They will laugh.

Once I hear back either way, I will post the letter. I believe that it is very original, and wouldn’t want somebody stealing the idea.

Hope to hear from them soon.

 

[WonderY]

P.S: columbia has been having a hard time this cycle. they'd accept the 23s and 24s and then those would turn them down for penn or their state schools....

I got a 25 DAT, 3.9 GPA (not boasting) and I chose Columbia over Upenn and my brand new state-of-the-art state school. Therefore, your statement is a generalization.

 

[fightingspirit]

I got a 25 DAT, 3.9 GPA (not boasting) and I chose Columbia over Upenn and my brand new state-of-the-art state school. Therefore, your statement is a generalization.

off course it is a friggin generalization. do you expect me to actually go to columbia, roam through their files, examine the stats and have rock solid facts? my generalization is, like all other generalizations, a broad statement. this means that there are exceptions to it (you, and other people like you are some of those exceptions). sorry i forgot to use the friggin used and abused expression tend to...i should have said "students with high DATs are tending to ...blah blah this year" ...big friggin deal..i did not use tend to.....

frankly, i am sick and tired of people being extremely literal in their interpretations and criticizing the use of generalizations. it's a friggin online forum and one cannot help but generalize to make statements. how can you make statements and have a friggin opinion if you get thrown **** at everytime you make a generalization? and how can you be someone if you dont have statements or opinions? sorry, i forgot to use the "howevers", the "probably", the "tend to" and the "most likely".....sorry that i have frigggin opinions. from now on, i will be opinionless and completely bland. in fact, i will no longer post on this forum.

to those who have been offended by my "generalizations", i am sorry and i wish you the best of luck in d-school and in this society that throws s-h-i-t at you when you speak your mind in a straightforward way devoid of censorship and subterfuge....

 

[fightingspirit]

Who are you? and what are your sources?

my sources are the FBI and the CIA. and my opinions are not backed by mere common sense or logic. they are backed by d-school classified information i receive from the CIA on a daily basis. are you satisfied? if not, then go grab a fork and stick it in your left eye.....

 

[WonderY]

i didn't even read half of your defensive post.

SDN is usually a great source for students, but sometimes, posters like spirit just crack me up....to the OP...read the posts...but don't believe everything you read...especially when a pre-dent is claiming that a dental school is having a tough time.

 

[GolferGirl]

I got a 25 DAT, 3.9 GPA (not boasting) and I chose Columbia over Upenn and my brand new state-of-the-art state school. Therefore, your statement is a generalization.

I'm assuming that you are from Maryland...hence, I am debating between Columbia and Maryland right now. And I have to decide really soon. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[WonderY]

I'm assuming that you are from Maryland...hence, I am debating between Columbia and Maryland right now. And I have to decide really soon. Do you have any suggestions?


Hi,
Yes I'm from Maryland. I felt more comfortable at Columbia, it has a more family-oriented environment. Also, Baltimore turns me off because it's in such a horrible neighborhood...my HS friend got murdered right across from Hopkins, and Hopkins is in a better area than Maryland Dental. Also I've lived here my whole life, so it's time for a change. I love New York City..(though I know Columbia isn't exactly in Manhatten, but it'll do.) and it'd be cool to live here for a few years. Location is also what made me choose it over Penn. After a lot of thinking, I'm not sure if I want to specialize, so I'm actually just choosing the school based on the life experiences that I'm going to get out of it.

I personally don't think it matters where you go to school, just go where you think it's right. Personally, Columbia just felt right.

 

[Dukie]

I'm assuming that you are from Maryland...hence, I am debating between Columbia and Maryland right now. And I have to decide really soon. Do you have any suggestions?


Hi,
Yes I'm from Maryland. I felt more comfortable at Columbia, it has a more family-oriented environment. Also, Baltimore turns me off because it's in such a horrible neighborhood...my HS friend got murdered right across from Hopkins, and Hopkins is in a better area than Maryland Dental. Also I've lived here my whole life, so it's time for a change. I love New York City..(though I know Columbia isn't exactly in Manhatten, but it'll do.) and it'd be cool to live here for a few years. Location is also what made me choose it over Penn. After a lot of thinking, I'm not sure if I want to specialize, so I'm actually just choosing the school based on the life experiences that I'm going to get out of it.

I personally don't think it matters where you go to school, just go where you think it's right. Personally, Columbia just felt right.

I don't know where in MD you are from, but I am also from MD, and there is no way that Hopkins is in a worse area than the dental school. The dental school isn't in a great spot, but it has gotten somewhat better due to its proximity to both the football and baseball stadiums.

That beind said, I agree that you should go where you feel comfortable. In the end, it doesn't matter all that much, so go where you will feel happiest and that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.