Hi all, since my post about a week ago I've received many, many PMs from you. At first I tried to reply to each one to the level of detail of your questions, but soon I realized they were all about the same things essentially. So I've compiled a list of FAQs below. Hopefully that'll relieve some of your anxiety.
1. Housing and living:
- I recommend the Towers. Try not to get the other ones. Tower 1 and 2 are student shares, meaning 2 bedrooms, unfurnished, full kitchen, 1 full bathroom. They are recently renovated and look like new. View is fantastic-- you might get an unhindered view of the Hudson River, New Jersey and the George Washington Bridge if you are lucky. There are doormen to all three towers to enhance security-- very nice ppl! They pick up and hold onto your packages that are delivered, so online shopping is super easy. Tower 3 has more 3/4 ppl suites, but they are furnished. If you don't like your bed, you can substitute with your own. Maintenance also comes as beckoned so anything that displeases you, they'll try to make it better. Living with ppl isn't so bad. Everyone is busy and I barely see my roommates (I live with 2 others at the moment). You don't necessarily live with all PH students-- one of my roommates is over 25 (she worked for a few years) and now is in dental school, and the other one is fresh from undergrad and doing a PhD in molecular bio. A third just moved out and was in her last year of PT. Mine is $811 per month and no it is larger than box (much larger actually, exceeded my expectations). Utility is about $25 per month. Internet included but no cable. Cost of living increases exponentially the further you go down south on Manhattan.
- It is very convenient, max 10 minutes to all my classes. I sometimes come back in between classes to drop off stuff, or I just head to the library. Library has computer rooms and study areas open 24 hours (including private study rooms you can book), so I sometimes come back home at 3am and it is safe.
-It is a 15-min subway ride to the main campus. Butler Library is also open 24 hours, and sometimes we study there. It's just that sometimes subway rides can be a hassle.
-Regardless of whether you live around the area, school provides free shuttle service 3 times a week to Fairway, which is huge, and has lots of fresh produce and it's cheap.
-Free shuttle to main campus at various hours of day, and to Harlem Hospital.
-Free admission to a 20+ museums including MoMA. CUArts has offers about cultural events around the city. As a student I believe you can also get orchestra seats to the Metropolitan Opera for 20 bucks.
-You get 1000 pages of printing per term on the CUMC campus (not on the main campus).
-You get to use the CUMC gym for free, but not the ones at the main campus.
2. Classes:
- Classes are not hard to understand -- it's grad school, so a lot of reading is expected. If you are consistent in work ethics, you'll be okay. There is grade inflation, and Mailman gives out letter grades so the most you can get is A+. You can have 2 semestered courses (6 credits) to be pass/fail.
-Profs are very friendly and accommodating. I'm friends with my TAs.
-People are generally very supportive. If you need help, simply ask and you can definitely collaborate on a hard assignment.
-HPM specific: the management track will NOT change this upcoming year. The policy track will. I'm not sure how much though
But either way, I've heard from several profs that although there are structural changes to the programs, the courses will stay similar. You'll probably still be learning a lot of the same stuff as ppl have in previous years, just packaged more effectively.
-Management track: it is quite b-school, but since it's all focused on healthcare, it's all very relevant and fits well together. But I find ppl in my classes to be less "hardcore" than ppl at b-schools, and they really do care and want to make a difference in healthcare, so it's not just about money. A lot of ppl are pre-meds in HPM, others want to do consulting, others want to work with providers, gov't, payers, etc. We have at least 2 Mailman-hosted career fairs (one per semester) and employers come to recruit (Tower Watson, Deloitte, McKinsey, NYCDOHMH, Harlem Health Promotion Center, etc etc).
-PhD: if you want to do a PhD program after, consider Effectiveness and Outcomes Research (EOR). It is the 3rd track within HPM and very small, but very heavy on quant research and I believe you do need to write a thesis.
-Switching tracks within your department: not very difficult. Just talk to track coordinator and go through the process.
-Switching departments: more difficult. It really depends on how full the dpt is. If you can't do it the first semester, typically you can take courses from the other dpt and then switch at the beginning of the 2nd one. The problem with management track though is that courses are cumulative, so if you don't get in at the very start of your program, you won't be able to switch after.
-I personally think all departments at Columbia are strong in their own ways. Epi is very strong, so is HPM and ppl just love PopFam. I'm not sure about EHS or Biostat because they're more research oriented, versus things like Management and SMS Health Promotion tend to be more hands-on and applied.
-Admission rate issue: PH programs simply tend to have a higher acceptance rate than most. That doesn't mean you're not smart, or the degree isn't worth anything. It's all about what you need it for, and what you can get out of the experience.
-Funding for Canadians: you may get OSAP (I got $200/week which is the max amount you can get). I think it's harder to get other sources of funding.
3. Friends:
-Don't worry. It is public health after all. We are all very friendly ppl
It's a bit hard to make friends with ppl in other departments because besides the core courses, you don't really see them a lot. Make use of orientation week-- that's when you'll get the most exposure to various departments and friendships usually are long-lasting.
4. New York:
-Amazing food, so many places to visit, just tons of fun! Occasionally you might bump into one or two famous ppl. I have a lot of random encounters in NY -- I think it is a rather extroverted city, so if you put yourself out there and are friendly, then you never really know what crazy stories you might walk away with. I am more introverted myself, so I've discovered a ton of book cafes and stuff where I can just sit and enjoy an afternoon reading.
-You never run out of things to do here! Open your heart and open your mind, and it'll be worth it.
