2015-2016 Columbia University College of P&S Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Waitlisted and withdrew!! Good luck everyone :)
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Just curious, does anyone know if second look is just for students or can parents join too?
 
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Is Revisit a one day event? Also, if my parents and I want to tour NYC for a week before Revisit (#AsianSocaltourists), should we book a hotel in Washington Heights or closer to downtown?
 
phuynh94 said:
Is Revisit a one day event? Also, if my parents and I want to tour NYC for a week before Revisit (#AsianSocaltourists), should we book a hotel in Washington Heights or closer to downtown?
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When I visited, I stayed near Times Square because it's more central to everything you might want to see. I stayed at The Hotel @ Times Square.
 
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Has anybody from the waitlist been accepted yet?
 
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JL12345 said:
Has anybody from the waitlist been accepted yet?
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I think it'll be a while before they are able to process withdrawals and start taking people off the waitlist... anyone know when this started happening last year?
 
When is the best time to send in a letter to Dr. Nicholas reaffirming interest if you are placed on the waitlist?
 
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.
 
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phuynh94 said:
Is hosting provided to Revisit?
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Yup, I hope they have enough students hosting cause I wasn't able to get one for my interview :oops:

I seriously see you on all of the threads I follow!!!! See ya at second looks :p
 
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Anyone know if Columbia gives out any merit scholarships or if they are flexible with the amount of aid they give out?
 
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Smoove said:
Yup, I hope they have enough students hosting cause I wasn't able to get one for my interview :oops:

I seriously see you on all of the threads I follow!!!! See ya at second looks :p
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There are a lot of people who sign up to host for revisit (me included!).

NaijaBoy0912 said:
Anyone know if Columbia gives out any merit scholarships or if they are flexible with the amount of aid they give out?
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They do give out some merit scholarships and have been known to be somewhat flexible with aid (though maybe not the most flexible). Definitely something worth bringing up with both financial aid and admissions offices.
 
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Does anyone know if there is a fb page that has been made?
 
Thank you Columbia for signing me up for your MS in Nutrition Science newsletter asking if I'm interested in taking a "gap or glide year." :yeahright::yeahright:
 
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The NetPartner site now has clickable tabs. Has anyone been able to complete the "MD Activity Questionnaire"? Whenever I click it, I keep getting a 404 Not Found Error

Edit: whoops, was due on the 29th of Feb :bang:
 
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Think we'll get our finaid packages before revisit day and is there an FB group yet?
 
NaijaBoy0912 said:
Think we'll get our finaid packages before revisit day and is there an FB group yet?
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I had emailed Columbia about this, and was told that they hope to send finaid packages to those who RSVP Revisit before April 1st. (Otherwise, the financial aid counseling would be kinda...moot). I don't think there is a FB group yet!
 
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Hey Everyone! Just wanted to let ya'll know I've turned down my P&S offer so that frees up another spot :)!!! Good luck :)
 
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hms2020 said:
Hey Everyone! Just wanted to let ya'll know I've turned down my P&S offer so that frees up another spot :)!!! Good luck :)
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ew you went with HMS instead??


TOTALLY KIDDING congrats on your acceptance(s)!
 
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Just called the Office of Financial Planning regarding aid packages. The officers are working on it, and students who attend Revisit "should expect to be given or told" something." I forgot to ask if students who cannot attend Revisit should expect the same thing, but didn't want to call back and bother the lady some more haha. If anyone wants to follow up with another call, be my guest!
 
So I wasn't a super big fan of Bard Hall. Would any of the current students comment on what its like living there, and if there are housing alternatives during your first year (and how many people take advantages of such alternatives?).
 
applicant0704 said:
So I wasn't a super big fan of Bard Hall. Would any of the current students comment on what its like living there, and if there are housing alternatives during your first year (and how many people take advantages of such alternatives?).
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+1
Can someone give more info on 154 Haven (if incoming students are eligible to live there) and off campus apartments in Harlem (I'm even open to Bx and if I must, Bk)?
 
(total # of members in fb group - # of current med students) = 87... does columbia underaccept first then start picking people from WL?
 
applicant0704 said:
So I wasn't a super big fan of Bard Hall. Would any of the current students comment on what its like living there, and if there are housing alternatives during your first year (and how many people take advantages of such alternatives?).
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I wasn't looking forward to living in Bard, but I've actually loved living here. It's a pretty unique experience to live in the same building as 80% of your class, and it's something we take full advantage of. There's always someone to get food with, someone to get dinner with, someone to work out with, etc. Having a "cafeteria" and two gyms in the basement sure helps too.

There are plenty of off-campus alternatives - a couple people live in apartments in the Heights, or elsewhere in Manhattan/Bronx/Brooklyn even. I think first years are allowed to live in 154 Haven, though only in specific/special circumstances - I'm not sure about this, and maybe someone else can clarify.

Honestly though, despite my initial misgivings about living in Bard, I've really really enjoyed it here and I'd recommend it to most first years (exceptions being family circumstances and things of that nature. It's prob not a good idea to keep your husband/wife in Bard with you :D).

brobro2 said:
(total # of members in fb group - # of current med students) = 87... does columbia underaccept first then start picking people from WL?
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Alas, no, sorry. The admins of that group don't necessarily seek out accepted students and invite them - people typically ask to join, or else are asked by friends. I know for a fact Columbia has not under-accepted for the class of 2020, although they still expect some WL movement this year as always.
 
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applicant0704 said:
So I wasn't a super big fan of Bard Hall. Would any of the current students comment on what its like living there, and if there are housing alternatives during your first year (and how many people take advantages of such alternatives?).
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Bard isn't bad at all. As wolvie said above, about ~80% of your class will live there, and you'll be joined by PhD and MPH students (maybe dental and PT/OT too, idk), but you guys will be the majority. Obviously shared bathrooms and showers aren't ideal, but you get used to it very quickly and it doesn't seem like a big deal basically by the time you're done with orientation.

Hanging out on the roof, especially first semester (and first block) when you have egregious amounts of free time (comparatively) is amazing when it's warm out, there's a new ping pong table in the basement, the gym is right there (both of them), bard hall meal plan is only an elevator ride away, and you're extremely close to both Hammer and the new science education building, as well as the hospital. Plus it's cheap (for NYC), and people generally have enough space (rooms are like ~130 sq feet and the closets are big). I am a huge advocate for living in bard unless you are a nontrad with a family or other circumstances that require additional accommodation. Again, as the crazy person above me has said, people do live elsewhere. Some people live in nearby apartments, some people manage to get into the towers, some people live on the upper west side, and a few live in random faraway places in NYC.

ASK FOR A SINK IN YOUR ROOM it makes a huge difference and most rooms have them (maybe 1-2 per floor do not) but if you don't ask, there's a chance you won't get one (whoever talks to you about housing applications either at Revisit or over email will tell you where to write this - if they don't, there's like a box for comments or requests or something, so just write it in there).

So yeah, bard is not as bad as it first seems. It might be a step down, but I think it's still a great situation.

Here are my biggest complaints about bard:

  • I have had hot water problems exactly twice when showering here and they were the first two days of orientation. I have no idea what happened those days but that was not pleasant.
  • Sometimes the soap dispenser runs out of soap on a Friday and they don't replace it until monday - make sure you have a thing of soap in your room (or just go to a different floor)
  • The elevators take too long and the door close button doesn't work on the 1st floor
  • Sometimes there are random fancy CUMC parties in the lounge that we're not invited to (but we steal food anyway)

As you can see, these are pretty trivial problems. Maybe others have other issues they'd like to bring up.

@onceawolverine
 
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WedgeDawg said:
Bard isn't bad at all. As wolvie said above, about ~80% of your class will live there, and you'll be joined by PhD and MPH students (maybe dental and PT/OT too, idk), but you guys will be the majority. Obviously shared bathrooms and showers aren't ideal, but you get used to it very quickly and it doesn't seem like a big deal basically by the time you're done with orientation.

Hanging out on the roof, especially first semester (and first block) when you have egregious amounts of free time (comparatively) is amazing when it's warm out, there's a new ping pong table in the basement, the gym is right there (both of them), bard hall meal plan is only an elevator ride away, and you're extremely close to both Hammer and the new science education building, as well as the hospital. Plus it's cheap (for NYC), and people generally have enough space (rooms are like ~130 sq feet and the closets are big). I am a huge advocate for living in bard unless you are a nontrad with a family or other circumstances that require additional accommodation. Again, as the crazy person above me has said, people do live elsewhere. Some people live in nearby apartments, some people manage to get into the towers, some people live on the upper west side, and a few live in random faraway places in NYC.

ASK FOR A SINK IN YOUR ROOM it makes a huge difference and most rooms have them (maybe 1-2 per floor do not) but if you don't ask, there's a chance you won't get one (whoever talks to you about housing applications either at Revisit or over email will tell you where to write this - if they don't, there's like a box for comments or requests or something, so just write it in there).

So yeah, bard is not as bad as it first seems. It might be a step down, but I think it's still a great situation.

Here are my biggest complaints about bard:

  • I have had hot water problems exactly twice when showering here and they were the first two days of orientation. I have no idea what happened those days but that was not pleasant.
  • Sometimes the soap dispenser runs out of soap on a Friday and they don't replace it until monday - make sure you have a thing of soap in your room (or just go to a different floor)
  • The elevators take too long and the door close button doesn't work on the 1st floor
  • Sometimes there are random fancy CUMC parties in the lounge that we're not invited to (but we steal food anyway)

As you can see, these are pretty trivial problems. Maybe others have other issues they'd like to bring up.

@onceawolverine
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looking at the length of your response, I have only one thing to say:

#gunner
 
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applicant0704 said:
So I wasn't a super big fan of Bard Hall. Would any of the current students comment on what its like living there, and if there are housing alternatives during your first year (and how many people take advantages of such alternatives?).
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As someone who had planned on going to revisit, but caught the flu last second and had to cancel, what exactly made you dislike Bard? It was one of the reasons I wanted to revisit, so that I could see what the rooms look like (I didn't get to during interview day).
 
I was at revisit. Obviously living in a dorm isn't the dream but all the students here recommend living there first year cuz you get to be around your classmates and it makes it easier to be social! Plus if you live here first year you get to be in the lotto for the Towers (much nicer apartments) which I think >70% of the Bard folk end up getting in. If you don't win you can move off campus amd still be close and not pay a super high price. I stayed at Bard the last two nights and I think the social aspect of of it (along with the price) makes up for it being a dorm. It would be harder to live somewhere else and have to go go back and forth from bard to wherever you live to hang with classmates. That's just me though! If being around classmates isn't a big deal for you then that can justify not living at Bard too.
 
I wasn't at revisit. Could you comment a little on the student body? Did they seem happy and were they collaborative (or seem to be so)?

Also, how do students feel about living in Washington Heights? Is it a common trigger of complaints and distress or is it looked fondly upon?
 
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applicant0704 said:
I wasn't at revisit. Could you comment a little on the student body? Did they seem happy and were they collaborative (or seem to be so)?

Also, how do students feel about living in Washington Heights? Is it a common trigger of complaints and distress or is it looked fondly upon?
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I was just at revisit on Friday! I'm a senior in Columbia undergrad right now, and tbh I had almost completely written P&S off my list. The pre-meds in the undergrad are very intense and competitive, and the student body is not all that happy. I'd kind of expected P&S students to be the same (even though everyone told me otherwise) but I was really pleasantly surprised at revisit. All of the students there seemed very very happy and relaxed, they all have interests outside of med school, and I felt like I connected with a lot of the people there, both the current M1s and the accepted students.

As for Washington Heights, I think most of the students liked living there. Washington Heights is a very Dominican neighborhood, definitely has a more "El Barrio" feel, which I like, since I'm interested in working with immigrant/underserved populations. It is a little far from the rest of NYC, but public transit is very convenient. IMHO, people who complain about Washington Heights just don't want to live in a "poor" neighborhood/are the type of people who feel uncomfortable living in a community with people of color. So if you think that's something you'll mind, it's worth considering. But overall the area is very safe and has been largely gentrified by the school, so I wouldn't worry about safety or anything like that. Hope that helps!
 
Withdrew today. Goodluck to Waitlisters.

Gotta say, washington heights and NYC were the best place that I would liked to live for 4 years but... I must take my talents to the proverbial south beach.
 
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For those who didn't attend Revisit, I emailed the FinAid Office and was told that packages should be emailed at the end of this week. (NetPartner may or may not be working.) :)
 
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Does anyone have any information on how much waitlist movement there is historically? Thank you! :)


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phuynh94 said:
For those who didn't attend Revisit, I emailed the FinAid Office and was told that packages should be emailed at the end of this week. (NetPartner may or may not be working.) :)
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Do you know if merit aid would be reflected there?

Has anyone even been notified about merit aid?
 
justadream said:
Do you know if merit aid would be reflected there?

Has anyone even been notified about merit aid?
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The reply I received did not mention anything about merit aid, unfortunately. Best of luck to you, though!
 
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