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Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

New York, NY

Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit

⭐ Overall Impressions

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

4 out of 10

How you think you did?

No responses

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

No responses

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

No responses
💬 Interview Questions

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

none of the "tell me about yourself" stuff (yay!) The interviewer asked me a little about my research experience.

What was the most interesting question?

What do you think of the pharmaceutical companies that make such large profits off of their drugs?

What was the most difficult question?

If I wre to give you 5 minutes to design a health care reform plan that would change access to health care in a third-world country like Haiti, what would you do? Who would you ask for help from?
🤝 Interview Format and Logistics

How long was the interview?

30 minutes

How many people interviewed you?

1

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Open file

Was this interview in-person or virtual?

No responses

Where did the interview take place?

At the school
📍 On-Site Experience

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tour guide seem?

No responses

How do you rank the facilities?

No responses

What is your in-state status?

No responses

What were your total hours spent traveling?

No responses

What was your primary mode of travel?

No responses

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

No responses

What airport did you fly into?

No responses

Where did you stay?

No responses

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

No responses

How would you rate the hotel?

No responses

Would you recommend the hotel?

No responses

What is your ranking of this school's location?

No responses

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

No responses

What are your comments on where you stayed?

No responses
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

No responses

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

No responses

How did you prepare for the interview?

Read my application and the school's website, looked at other feedback on SDN.

What impressed you positively?

The high caliber of the students and the way they all stopped by the waiting room to talk to the interviewees and tell us all to come here, how many students remarked that they had turned down acceptances and even full scholarships at other reputable medical schools to come to Columbia, and definitely New York City!!

What impressed you negatively?

Bard Hall, the apartment/dorm for first-year students is not that great. But after a year you move to apartments in the Towers which are supposed to be really nice and rent is cheap for NYC. I also wasn't a huge fan of the area, although students said that it was safe if you are smart about it. The medical school itself was a little old, although the hospital was nice.

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

That classes can be really long (even as long as 9-5 some days when you have lectures and labs) but that students aren't all crazy studious and no personality types. Although the medical school is hard and the students work hard, I sat in on two classes and about 10 minutes into the third class the entire back row was either asleep or doing crossword puzzles. That made me laugh and humanized the students for me. Also I found out that Columbia can pretty much get you any kind of residency you want and that they send the most people every year into neurosurgery out of all medical schools in the US.

What are your general comments?

I thought New York City was the most amazing place, and that there is so much to be learned from going to school in such a great city. Students said that they could definitely take advantage of what the city has to offer. I also liked that the school was pass/fail for the first year. Perhaps it would have been nice if it were pass/fail for all years, but it goes to honors/pass/fail the second year and gets more and more divided. The curriculum sounds a little more tough than other schools I've interviewed at but this is a top-tier school. All in all, this is a top choice for me and I would love to go to school here!

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

No responses