2012-2013 Columbia University Application Thread

[aaerm]

I'm a current Columbia student and will have a room opening in my apartment June 1st, 3 blocks from the medical campus. It's a great apartment near the medical center and you'd be living with P&S folks. If you're planning to come to Columbia but aren't excited about dorm living, please get in touch!

Thanks!

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[med17]

this is from the AMCAS website:

10. Immediately upon enrollment in, or initiation of an orientation program immediately prior to enrollment at, a U.S. or Canadian school or program, each applicant withdraw his or her application from consideration at all other schools or programs at which he or she remains under consideration.

*If any date falls on a weekend/holiday the recommendation(s) will begin on the following business day.


I'm trying to figure out up until when I can still be eligible to get called off the waitlist. My White Coat Ceremony is 8/4, Orientation begins 8/5 and classes start 8/12.

What does "enrollment" mean?

 

[YankeeLion16]

this is from the AMCAS website:

10. Immediately upon enrollment in, or initiation of an orientation program immediately prior to enrollment at, a U.S. or Canadian school or program, each applicant withdraw his or her application from consideration at all other schools or programs at which he or she remains under consideration.

*If any date falls on a weekend/holiday the recommendation(s) will begin on the following business day.


I'm trying to figure out up until when I can still be eligible to get called off the waitlist. My White Coat Ceremony is 8/4, Orientation begins 8/5 and classes start 8/12.

What does "enrollment" mean?

In other words, once you start another medical school's orientation, you need to give up your other acceptances and waitlists.

 

[mmmcdowe]

this is from the AMCAS website:

10. Immediately upon enrollment in, or initiation of an orientation program immediately prior to enrollment at, a U.S. or Canadian school or program, each applicant withdraw his or her application from consideration at all other schools or programs at which he or she remains under consideration.

*If any date falls on a weekend/holiday the recommendation(s) will begin on the following business day.


I'm trying to figure out up until when I can still be eligible to get called off the waitlist. My White Coat Ceremony is 8/4, Orientation begins 8/5 and classes start 8/12.

What does "enrollment" mean?

I doubt that it is going to come down to a day, but I would go with the same assumption of 8/4.

 

[FijiGNR89]

Everyone get that email from Dr. Nicholas saying to look forward to wait list movement in the next few weeks?

 

[Narie]

Everyone get that email from Dr. Nicholas saying to look forward to wait list movement in the next few weeks?

yep.

 

[Soma50]

If I want to email Dr Nicholas directly, do I use the psadmissions email? O does he release his personal one?

 

[doc5]

When did you receive this email? Any personalization?

 

[obviouslyteal]

Everyone get that email from Dr. Nicholas saying to look forward to wait list movement in the next few weeks?

Still rooting for you guys!!

 

[impred]

is there anyone on the waitlist that didn't get the email? what time was it sent out?

 

[FijiGNR89]

If I want to email Dr Nicholas directly, do I use the psadmissions email? O does he release his personal one?

I would suggest writing them to the psadmissions email. I have been addressing him this whole time via that address. Then again, I'm on the waitlist, not accepted, so maybe you shouldnt listen to me.

In response to everyone else, there's no personalization...unless I'm the only one whose expressed enthusiasm for P&S and he sees that. I got the email at about 10:00 this morning.

 

[0953920]

I would suggest writing them to the psadmissions email. I have been addressing him this whole time via that address. Then again, I'm on the waitlist, not accepted, so maybe you should listen to me.

In response to everyone else, there's no personalization...unless I'm the only one whose expressed enthusiasm for P&S and he sees that. I got the email at about 10:00 this morning.

I got the e-mail two weeks ago and haven't heard anything... Did yours have a few grammatical mistakes?

 

[FijiGNR89]

No, no grammatical mistakes. How bad were they? Bad enough to be suspicious of legitimacy?

 

[0953920]

No, no grammatical mistakes. How bad were they? Bad enough to be suspicious of legitimacy?

Really minor, "expect" was spelt "except" lol. I'm not sure what to make of it at all.

 

[FijiGNR89]

Oh, that's nothing lol. I'm pretty sure this is another form letter sent out in response to any kind of an update. Nothing to be made of any of it.

 

[mmmcdowe]

If I want to email Dr Nicholas directly, do I use the psadmissions email? O does he release his personal one?

All email correspondences should be through psadmissions.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Really minor, "expect" was spelt "except" lol. I'm not sure what to make of it at all.

Nada.

 

[doc5]

Would someone mind posting the text of this email? Thanks!

 

[Narie]

Would someone mind posting the text of this email? Thanks!

Hey,

Sorry I don't want to post the exact text, but it would suffice to say that, if you updated them at some point after being on the alternate list, it thanked me for the update and also just said that the wait-list would begin to move in the coming weeks. I think that's all there is to it!

 

[FijiGNR89]

Hey,

Sorry I don't want to post the exact text, but it would suffice to say that, if you updated them at some point after being on the alternate list, it thanked me for the update and also just said that the wait-list would begin to move in the coming weeks. I think that's all there is to it!

Yeah that's all it was. Nothing special, or to be worried about if you haven't gotten one.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Fire up for revisit!

 

[med17]

Yeah that's all it was. Nothing special, or to be worried about if you haven't gotten one.

Wait so was this a mass email sent to everybody at once or is it being sent on a person by person basis when you send in an update? And who was it signed by? Dr. Nicholas or the Admissions Team?

 

[omsd]

Does Columbia accept AP credit for English? On the admissions website it says:

"If your undergraduate college has awarded you Advanced Placement (AP) credit in Chemistry, Physics or Biology we strongly suggest you take an additional year at the collegiate level."

Does that mean you don't have to take a year of college english for admission if you have AP english credit?

 

[Sophocles]

Does Columbia accept AP credit for English? On the admissions website it says:

"If your undergraduate college has awarded you Advanced Placement (AP) credit in Chemistry, Physics or Biology we strongly suggest you take an additional year at the collegiate level."

Does that mean you don't have to take a year of college english for admission if you have AP english credit?

I wouldn't try to walk a thin line. Regardless whether they accept it or not, if they strongly suggest you take an additional year, then you should do so.

Doesn't make much sense to say that you really want to go to Columbia but are trying to get in with the bare minimum-not saying that this is what you're doing; I'm just writing in general.

 

[omsd]

The additional year comment mentions nothing about English credit though: only bio, phys, chem credit

I mean I have a year of AP English credit and a semester of English college credit (in addition to a lot of other liberal arts, writing intensive classes), just not a second semester of English credit..

I know I should have probably just taken another English class, but it's not something I can really do now..

 

[mmmcdowe]

So pumped! One thing I'm curious about though - why are the family members/partners going on a separate tour/having separate sessions than the students on Day 2 (Saturday)?

It makes it a little awkward to time since our days start and end at different hours, and also one of the info sessions that seems useful to attend together (off campus/couples housing) is during the family tour!

There's just too many people to do that many tours at once. Also, it has been our experience that in the past families tend to have different questions and concerns than students, but students are welcome to join in on the family tour.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Does Columbia accept AP credit for English? On the admissions website it says:

"If your undergraduate college has awarded you Advanced Placement (AP) credit in Chemistry, Physics or Biology we strongly suggest you take an additional year at the collegiate level."

Does that mean you don't have to take a year of college english for admission if you have AP english credit?

I assure you that your admissions decision is unlikely to be swayed by AP English.

 

[MedicalAuthor]

Can someone give an idea of what the 6 months scholarly project lifestyle is like? I'm just wondering where that falls in the curriculum timeline and whether you are taking classes during it or just doing full-time research.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Can someone give an idea of what the 6 months scholarly project lifestyle is like? I'm just wondering where that falls in the curriculum timeline and whether you are taking classes during it or just doing full-time research.

It's four months long. You can do it whenever you want, though many people do it either early (to have something by application time) or during interview season. It is as much or as little as you make of it, but yeah you have no other obligations.

 

[RicoSalamandra]

When is financial aid coming out I need to knowwwwwwww

Guess we'll find out more details tomorrow though!

Can we get estimates tomorrow? Do you know?

 

[obviouslyteal]

Can we get estimates tomorrow? Do you know?

Hmm I don't think that happens but we do get the change to talk to the finaid people so at the very least we'll get an estimate of when aid comes out. Fingers crossed for the most info possible, as soon as possible!

 

[Sophocles]

Can we get estimates tomorrow? Do you know?

Spoke to fin aid on Monday and they said that as long as we have all of the info turned in, they would be able to give us an estimate-obviously it's not set in some though.

 

[RicoSalamandra]

Spoke to fin aid on Monday and they said that as long as we have all of the info turned in, they would be able to give us an estimate-obviously it's not set in some though.

Thank you! Hope to see some of you guys tomorrow

 

[obviouslyteal]

Spoke to fin aid on Monday and they said that as long as we have all of the info turned in, they would be able to give us an estimate-obviously it's not set in some though.

Oh awesome! Thank you for calling!

Excited for tomorrow

 

[Sophocles]

I probably should've posted the info sooner. Either way see you guys tomorrow or Saturday!!

 

[mmmcdowe]

Fin aid will be available Friday and also Sat morning

 

[med17]

I wonder how many accepted students drop because of financial aid?

 

[Sophocles]

I got to say that I can't complain of my fin aid, whatsoever. If I didn't have a family, my projected indebtedness would be around ~120k, which is completely reasonable. But, I could imagine that those with full-ride scholarships, in places that have a low COL, might find it harder to justify coming here. Nevertheless, the point of my post is that Columbia isn't frugal with their money. Also, they have institutional loans that have better interest rates and conditions than federal loans-always a plus.

 

[MedicalAuthor]

How was revisit

 

[obviouslyteal]

How was revisit

It was pretty fantastic, actually. I feel like 10x more enthusiastic about Columbia than I did before, I guess that's the point of these revisits!

Everyone just seemed so enthusiastic, the current students were all so happy, and it's clear that Columbia really prides itself on the enormous amount of support it gives to its students. Med school definitely seems like it would be super, super manageable and even fun here. The amount of funding and assistance given to student research is also astounding.

The admitted students there were pretty awesome as well, although I'd have to say that a large majority were still undecided, so hard to tell who would actually end up in next year's class. But a lot of people seemed to be heavily leaning CU by the end of the weekend...

Way to go Columbia, you've definitely won this girl over some!

 

[Sophocles]

It was pretty fantastic, actually. I feel like 10x more enthusiastic about Columbia than I did before, I guess that's the point of these revisits!

Everyone just seemed so enthusiastic, the current students were all so happy, and it's clear that Columbia really prides itself on the enormous amount of support it gives to its students. Med school definitely seems like it would be super, super manageable and even fun here. The amount of funding and assistance given to student research is also astounding.

The admitted students there were pretty awesome as well, although I'd have to say that a large majority were still undecided, so hard to tell who would actually end up in next year's class. But a lot of people seemed to be heavily leaning CU by the end of the weekend...

Way to go Columbia, you've definitely won this girl over some!

I agree with this post. I didn't really spend too much time at revisit because Columbia has been my number one for quite some time and I have other obligations (school, family, etc.). Regardless, the little bit of time I spent there, I encountered two types of students: one that was completely sold on Columbia and others that weren't really interested (they said they were weighing options but in reality I would occasionally hear them say that they wouldn't come here). I met a lot of students who said they were going to Stanford- I guess that Stanford is taking many of the candidates from Columbia; many students were deciding btw East/West coast. I also met a girl who went to JHU on Friday and showed up to Columbia on Saturday. She seemed really impressed by JHU and since it was really early in the morning, she didn't really have a strong opinion on Columbia either way. Other candidates talked about how UMich was bending over backwards for them, Hofstra took some students to a hockey game, etc. Pretty much, you could tell who were the people that bragging about the places they got into and how awesome the revisits at other places were. I wonder if they will include Columbia in the next revisit they go to?

I wish I would've met other students, but if this class is anything like the previous classes, then it should be very diversified and down to earth.

Anyone care to share their thoughts on Columbia's revisit and how it compares to others?

Pros/cons??

 

[tonguetalker]

I agree with this post. I didn't really spend too much time at revisit because Columbia has been my number one for quite some time and I have other obligations (school, family, etc.). Regardless, the little bit of time I spent there, I encountered two types of students: one that was completely sold on Columbia and others that weren't really interested (they said they were weighing options but in reality I would occasionally hear them say that they wouldn't come here). I met a lot of students who said they were going to Stanford- I guess that Stanford is taking many of the candidates from Columbia; many students were deciding btw East/West coast. I also met a girl who went to JHU on Friday and showed up to Columbia on Saturday. She seemed really impressed by JHU and since it was really early in the morning, she didn't really have a strong opinion on Columbia either way. Other candidates talked about how UMich was bending over backwards for them, Hofstra took some students to a hockey game, etc. Pretty much, you could tell who were the people that bragging about the places they got into and how awesome the revisits at other places were. I wonder if they will include Columbia in the next revisit they go to?

I wish I would've met other students, but if this class is anything like the previous classes, then it should be very diversified and down to earth.

Anyone care to share their thoughts on Columbia's revisit and how it compares to others?

Pros/cons??

Ive only been on one other revisit but imo, Columbia's was pretty lackluster in comparison.

 

[obviouslyteal]

Ive only been on one other revisit but imo, Columbia's was pretty lackluster in comparison.

What made it so lackluster? I thought it was pretty genuine, they really expressed how much they care for the students and gave us a good picture of what 4 years as a student would be like. I haven't yet attended any other revisits so maybe that's why I thought it was quite nice. Maybe I'm just low maintenance, ha.

 

[tonguetalker]

What made it so lackluster? I thought it was pretty genuine, they really expressed how much they care for the students and gave us a good picture of what 4 years as a student would be like. I haven't yet attended any other revisits so maybe that's why I thought it was quite nice. Maybe I'm just low maintenance, ha.

I mean I dont want to nitpick the whole weekend but in general I did not think it was as fun nor as many opportunities to meet current students. I also thought the talks by the faculty were kinda boring and I could have done without the lecture from 1997.

 

[FijiGNR89]

I agree with this post. I didn't really spend too much time at revisit because Columbia has been my number one for quite some time and I have other obligations (school, family, etc.). Regardless, the little bit of time I spent there, I encountered two types of students: one that was completely sold on Columbia and others that weren't really interested (they said they were weighing options but in reality I would occasionally hear them say that they wouldn't come here). I met a lot of students who said they were going to Stanford- I guess that Stanford is taking many of the candidates from Columbia; many students were deciding btw East/West coast. I also met a girl who went to JHU on Friday and showed up to Columbia on Saturday. She seemed really impressed by JHU and since it was really early in the morning, she didn't really have a strong opinion on Columbia either way. Other candidates talked about how UMich was bending over backwards for them, Hofstra took some students to a hockey game, etc. Pretty much, you could tell who were the people that bragging about the places they got into and how awesome the revisits at other places were. I wonder if they will include Columbia in the next revisit they go to?

I wish I would've met other students, but if this class is anything like the previous classes, then it should be very diversified and down to earth.

Anyone care to share their thoughts on Columbia's revisit and how it compares to others?

Pros/cons??

Keep it up, other schools! Take the students! Make spots for Fijis and naries and owls!

 

[OwlPower22]

Keep it up, other schools! Take the students! Make spots for Fijis and naries and owls!

 

[Sophocles]

+111111111111gazillion

I would much rather go to school with people who are in love with Columbia than go with people who attend because it was the highest ranked acceptance. Good luck to you guys!

 

[Narie]

Keep it up, other schools! Take the students! Make spots for Fijis and naries and owls!

 

[Soma50]

What are the chances there will be WL movement before May 15?

 

[pscolumbia]

What are the chances there will be WL movement before May 15?

A trickle sometimes begins in late april/early may, but the vast majority is on or after May 15th. Columbia accepts about 200 right away, so there is a "buffer" before they finally drop below their class size. I would send in any letters/updates by mid-april.

probably the majority of waitlist acceptances in mid-may.