Very confused by Columbia's admissions process

[hefty]

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Hi all,

I received my third acceptance letter from Columbia last night (as in, they've sent me a letter three times). The first two were quite similar, both offering me a spot in the MPH program (as far as I know, I applied to the 60-unit "Columbia MPH"). My newest letter let me know I've been accepted to the accelerated MPH, "contingent upon [my] acceptance into the dual partner school."

What?

I'm getting weird vibes from Mailman. Before receiving this bizarre letter, I'd spoken to the financial aid office about when I could expect to hear about my $ situation (three weeks after receiving my offer, I still hadn't been contacted). They didn't have a clue who I was, even after I provided them proof of my acceptance. Is this an indication of how they treat their master's students? When application season started, Mailman was absolutely my top choice school. I still want it to be, but I can't help feeling jerked around by them. I'm even beginning to feel like a chump for spending $800 on next week's admit day.

 

[ccboston]

I would just call whoever is listed as your faculty contact in the acceptance letter.

I do think their process is a little weird, what with orgsync and 2 different mailman websites with slightly different information (UGH!). I think it comes with the fact that they are re-doing alot of their systems and yup, it's causing confusion for us.

 

[jt09]

Your situation sounds super weird and the websites do leave something to be longed for, but my experience at the admitted students was very positive and it was well-organized. Not worth $800 though...

 

[hefty]

Your situation sounds super weird and the websites do leave something to be longed for, but my experience at the admitted students was very positive and it was well-organized. Not worth $800 though...

Thanks for this. I've been feeling like I'm losing my mind, it's all so strange.

I'm glad to hear the visit day was a good experience. I'm west coast and only got my (first...) acceptance last week, so that's where the $800 came from. I'm very much considering canceling before I lose the money because choosing Mailman wouldn't be the wisest financial decision for me. I went to ucla's admit day and remember thinking the same thing - excellent day, but possibly not worth it if I wasn't already 30 minutes away.

May I ask if you'll be enrolling? How did the professors seem in person?

 

[jt09]

Yup, I am enrolling in epi. The faculty in the department were very warm, welcoming and excited, but I only spoke with one in particular. She was the director of the global health certificate and an epi faculty member. She was extremely helpful with all of my questions and seemed like a fun professor too, you know, the "kooky" kind. The remarks from the deans were good too, not boring, but very general of course. It didn't seem like they interacted with students much (could be wrong) but they do seem extremely committed to public health and education.

I would definitely keep my money if I were you though. You can call them over the phone and ask them to mail you all the papers and stuff. Most of them were just general things about the school though. The only super useful thing we got physically was an outline of the curriculum, which maybe you could get online anyway. Also a flash drive, but mine is read-only and it won't let me re-format it...

 

[hefty]

Yup, I am enrolling in epi. The faculty in the department were very warm, welcoming and excited, but I only spoke with one in particular. She was the director of the global health certificate and an epi faculty member. She was extremely helpful with all of my questions and seemed like a fun professor too, you know, the "kooky" kind. The remarks from the deans were good too, not boring, but very general of course. It didn't seem like they interacted with students much (could be wrong) but they do seem extremely committed to public health and education.

I would definitely keep my money if I were you though. You can call them over the phone and ask them to mail you all the papers and stuff. Most of them were just general things about the school though. The only super useful thing we got physically was an outline of the curriculum, which maybe you could get online anyway. Also a flash drive, but mine is read-only and it won't let me re-format it...

Congrats on making your decision! Bummer about the flash drive though 😉

The main reason I was planning to go was to hear the financial aid office's talk. Would you mind telling me a bit about it? I think you've convinced me to cut my losses and cancel the trip -- I appreciate it, thanks for your insight.

 

[EpiBird]

Yup, I am enrolling in epi. The faculty in the department were very warm, welcoming and excited, but I only spoke with one in particular. She was the director of the global health certificate and an epi faculty member. She was extremely helpful with all of my questions and seemed like a fun professor too, you know, the "kooky" kind. The remarks from the deans were good too, not boring, but very general of course. It didn't seem like they interacted with students much (could be wrong) but they do seem extremely committed to public health and education.

I would definitely keep my money if I were you though. You can call them over the phone and ask them to mail you all the papers and stuff. Most of them were just general things about the school though. The only super useful thing we got physically was an outline of the curriculum, which maybe you could get online anyway. Also a flash drive, but mine is read-only and it won't let me re-format it...

Columbia has a great reputation (Chelsea Clinton went there and she could have literally gone anywhere, and I think she teaches there, a testament to the school having loyal alumni). I didn't apply as the comments on the board have been kinda heterogenous in terms of student experience, definitely a big plus to hear that the global health program has helpful faculty.

Application snags happen at every school, it seems that Columbia is having computer problems?

The only school that seems to have consistent admissions misunderstandings and problems is BU. School seems to have a fair, but not stellar, reputation, but haven't seen students speaking up about how they love the school, similar to how Columbia gets mixed reviews though it is higher ranked.

The only way to really know about the school is if applicants could visit for a couple days, sit in on classes, and have face time with prospective mentors.

Kinda wished I applied to Columbia!

 

[jt09]

Congrats on making your decision! Bummer about the flash drive though 😉

The main reason I was planning to go was to hear the financial aid office's talk. Would you mind telling me a bit about it? I think you've convinced me to cut my losses and cancel the trip -- I appreciate it, thanks for your insight.

I wasn't there for the whole talk, but from what I saw it wasn't extremely useful if you already know about loan stuff. They emphasized looking at outside funding and referred us to a link on the website. They also said that they do get more funds from the government in the summer, but not to count on it, and certainly not this year. Scholarships have all been awarded and there is a waitlist already, chosen by them. You can also request a $2300 work study award once the time gets closer.

I am accepting the offered federal direct loans and covering the rest with grad plus loans. It certainly is a lot of debt, but hopefully the loan forgiveness program for public service sticks around. If it does, then 10 years of income-based payments isn't too bad, especially compared to people who have a lot of unforgiveable loans from undergrad and professional school.