2014-2015 Columbia University College of P&S Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Is everyone a "highly regarded applicant"?

And I guess there are actually people getting rejected?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Rejected pre-II this am. Went to my spam folder somehow. Had to laugh at this wording choice "The Committee on Admissions and I regret to inform you that we will not be able to act favorably on your application for admission to our next entering class"...just say I got rejected guys! hahah
 
Just saw an email from an hour ago, waitlisted too. (Still no word from Bassett, but that doesn't seem like a good sign.) Congratulations to everyone who was accepted!
 
Last edited:
waitlisted as well by portal update. does anyone know when waitlist movement starts? Is it after April 30?
 
I checked last year thread and it seems like they don't give out post-interview rejections...

Also, since nobody seems to be getting calls today, perhaps if we haven't heard anything by now, we are waitlisted?
 
I checked last year thread and it seems like they don't give out post-interview rejections...

Also, since nobody seems to be getting calls today, perhaps if we haven't heard anything by now, we are waitlisted?
There didn't seem to be any last year, but there were the year before and also if you're on MDApps, it has some folks who have interviewed and were rejected this cycle.

I think there's no way they could release all 1000+ decisions at once, so it's just coming out over the course of the day... hold on, you'll get your decision soon enough.
 
I checked last year thread and it seems like they don't give out post-interview rejections...

Also, since nobody seems to be getting calls today, perhaps if we haven't heard anything by now, we are waitlisted?
Since the waitlist decisions are released online and acceptances via phone call, I would think the opposite. It would be easier to release all (or a large portion) of the waitlist decisions today, but acceptance calls could continue through today and tomorrow.

As @ConsultantMD said, they do seem to give out some post-interview rejections based on MDApps...but it does seem to be a massive waitlist.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
About the size of the waitlist: (This info comes from previous Columbia Med students)

About 1200+ interviewees
About 200 initial acceptances
About 800 waitlisted (of which about 100 will get an acceptance later)
Roughly 200 rejections.

Since none of this info comes directly from the adcom, I have no idea how reliable it is.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Accepted this morning - on portal. No call - but I can't say for sure whether or not they did try to call due to a change of numbers issue.
 
Is there an accepted students Facebook page?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
About the size of the waitlist: (This info comes from previous Columbia Med students)

About 1200+ interviewees
About 200 initial acceptances
About 800 waitlisted (of which about 100 will get an acceptance later)
Roughly 200 rejections.

Since none of this info comes directly from the adcom, I have no idea how reliable it is.

What were the assumptions you made to get at the 100 acceptances offered off the waitlist?

I reasoned it out as about 40% of the class gets in off the waitlist (highball?). Given that the class size is 170, thats about 68 seats that'll be accepted by people on the waitlist. Assuming that there is about a 60 percent chance that someone offered a spot off the waitlist ends up taking it (this is a complete guess), I arrive at a little over a hundred spots being offered.

Afterthought: I guess this post is more for my own sanity than it is to really clarify something.

Can anyone speak to the accuracy of these assumptions? Or sternly tell me to relax and stop agonizing over numbers? Either would help :).

#PreMedNeuroticism
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Has anyone received a post-interview rejection yet?
 
What were the assumptions you made to get at the 100 acceptances offered off the waitlist?

I reasoned it out as about 40% of the class gets in off the waitlist (highball?). Given that the class size is 170, thats about 68 seats that'll be accepted by people on the waitlist. Assuming that there is about a 60 percent chance that someone offered a spot off the waitlist ends up taking it (this is a complete guess), I arrive at a little over a hundred spots being offered.

Afterthought: I guess this post is more for my own sanity than it is to really clarify something.

Can anyone speak to the accuracy of these assumptions? Or sternly tell me to relax and stop agonizing over numbers? Either would help :).

#PreMedNeuroticism

I arrived at roughly that number as well, since last year, 325 were admitted, with (I think) about 212 admitted initially, leaving 113 admitted off the WL. I don't remember the 212 source though, it might not have been credible.
 
I arrived at roughly that number as well, since last year, 325 were admitted, with (I think) about 212 admitted initially, leaving 113 admitted off the WL. I don't remember the 212 source though, it might not have been credible.

Here's the official Columbia info sheet; you're correct... 325 were admitted. No info about waitlist rates or post-interview rejections, though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
What were the assumptions you made to get at the 100 acceptances offered off the waitlist?

I reasoned it out as about 40% of the class gets in off the waitlist (highball?). Given that the class size is 170, thats about 68 seats that'll be accepted by people on the waitlist. Assuming that there is about a 60 percent chance that someone offered a spot off the waitlist ends up taking it (this is a complete guess), I arrive at a little over a hundred spots being offered.

Afterthought: I guess this post is more for my own sanity than it is to really clarify something.

Can anyone speak to the accuracy of these assumptions? Or sternly tell me to relax and stop agonizing over numbers? Either would help :).

#PreMedNeuroticism

As I said, my numbers mainly came from guesses/ rumors including by some Columbia med students. It's really not the most credible source. The ballpark figures seem to fit roughly though, so I feel it is as good of a guess as any.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
As I said, my numbers mainly came from guesses/ rumors including by some Columbia med students. It's really not the most credible source. The ballpark figures seem to fit roughly though, so I feel it is as good of a guess as any.


I distinctly remember at interview weekend that they said that roughly 30% of the class winds up coming from the waitlist.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
About 200 people are accepted right away and a 100 waitlist spots are offerred (but some of those people don't end up coming hence the class typically being about more than half initially accepted and less than half waitlist), about 600-800 people are on the waitlist.
 
Is anyone having trouble accessing the secondary application page? Whenever I try to load apply.med.columbia.edu, the connection times out and I get a message saying the server isn't responding. Is it just me?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Is anyone having trouble accessing the secondary application page? Whenever I try to load apply.med.columbia.edu, the connection times out and I get a message saying the server isn't responding. Is it just me?

I am having the same problem
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
If we are waitlisted should we still send in financial aid application things?
 
Waitlisted and withdrew last Friday. Interviewed early November. Congrats to all those who got in!
 
It is definitely not working for me either.
The website is still down. I don't remember there was any notice about scheduled maintenance and it has been down for three days. I am going to ask.
 
I called the office earlier today and got the answering machine. Only just realized today is president's day, the office is probably closed. Will call again tomorrow
 
Accepted by phone call on February 11th. Interviewed 1/13. Congratulations to everyone else that has been accepted and good luck to the people on the waitlist!
 
Bassett update: The regular MD waitlist goes for Columbia-Bassett as well, the office confirms.

For those following along and applying in the future, the Bassett program is amazing! There hasn't been much posted about it on SDN, but there is a little in the Medical Schools: In Summary document and much more on their website.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
For people wait listed, can movement happen at any time or is it not until after April 15?
 
Anyone still waiting on a decision post-interview? IE not been contacted via phone or waitlisted yet via email or portal?
 
Anyone still waiting on a decision post-interview? IE not been contacted via phone or waitlisted yet via email or portal?

I mean there's me, but you already knew that.
 
For people wait listed, can movement happen at any time or is it not until after April 15?

The handout said that waitlist movement is not expected to start before the April 30th deadline for holding multiple acceptances.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Question:
So I sent a thank you letter and got one back in response from Dean Nicholas. It was very nice, but I assumed it was a form letter. What do other people think? Did ya'll get one too?!
yeah i got one too... what did yours say at end of it? was it like "may i personally say i would like to see you here" or something very nice sounding like that? cause that's what i got and i was all like "omg that's amazing I'm in!" and then I got waitlisted : / #stillholdingouttho
 
Hi Does anyone have specifics about waitlist movement?

- if the waitlist is unranked, who decides who gets in?
- is movement definitely not till April 30?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Hi Does anyone have specifics about waitlist movement?

- if the waitlist is unranked, who decides who gets in?
- is movement definitely not till April 30?

I would imagine the admissions committee decides, but not sure how many people are involved in each individual decision. As far as the numbers go, what has been circulated on here is that ~800 people are placed on the waitlist and ~100 of those are accepted off of it. There will likely be very little if any waitlist movement before April 30th.

BTW, I just got waitlisted this morning.
 
I checked last year thread and it seems like they don't give out post-interview rejections...

Also, since nobody seems to be getting calls today, perhaps if we haven't heard anything by now, we are waitlisted?
This isn't true, there are definitely rejections
 
Hi guys! Long-time lurker here. Does anyone know if Columbia offers any merit based scholarships? Based on the admissions packet, it looks like everything is need based (except for those special inter-school scholarships), but I could've sworn I met students who were receiving merit-based aid. I'd absolutely love to go here but the cost is killing me right now, I'm just wondering if I have a shot at some scholarship $$$
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Are there any current students circling this thread who would be willing to answer PM questions about on-campus vs. off-campus housing?
 
Top