Columbia University Medical School: Tuition, Acceptance Rate, Admissions ,Average Gpa and Getting into
All About Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Since awarding its first doctoral degree in 1767, Columbia University's medical school has been known quaintly as the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Today, the school, referred to affectionately as P&S, maintains a reputation for academic excellence and rigor. Applicants often ask about the school's location in Washington Heights, which is some sixty blocks uptown from the main campus ot the university. Although the neighborhood has a reputation for a lack of safety, the crime rate citywide has dropped significantly in recent years and security around the hospital and affiliated buildings is quite good. Thanks to New York City's legendary subway system, the medical school remains accessible to the social and cultural resources for which New York is famous.Columbia University Medical School Admissions Statistics:
Columbia Medical School Average GPA: 3.8
Columbia Med School Average MCAT: 522 (131 chemical & physical / 131 critical analysis / 131 biological & biochemical / 132 psychological, social)
Acceptance Rate %3.9
How much does Columbia Medical School usually cost?
The cost of tuition is full time $90.000-$115.000.
Preclinical Years
The first year starts oft with a weeklong orientation run by second year students. During this week, students meet their new classmates, see what may be their first Broadway show, and begin to realize that Columbia students are incredibly happy. The following week, classes begin in the form of lectures from 9 a.m. to noon or I p.m. The classes include Science Basic to the Practice of Medicine (SBPM), an integrated biochemistry and physiology course; Clinical Practice, which addresses the social, political, and economic aspects of medicine; Neuroscience; Neuroanatomy; and Human Development. In addition to lectures, there are small group sessions that meet for a few hours two afternoons per week.
About six weeks into the term, anatomy begins. Lectures take place each Monday and Thursday and are followed by a 4 hour lab scheduled until 5 p.m. Because anatomy groups, which consist of five students per cadaver, are free to work at their own pace, most people are out of lab early. The set up allows for instructors to be present to assist students who want to stay, while those who prefer to study on their own are not stuck in lab.
Medical School Tour: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Even after anatomy begins, students generally have Friday afternoons and one other afternoon per week off. For part of the year, this second afternoon is used to begin student exposure to clinical medicine through a clinical selective. These experiences allow students to work with a doctor in a chosen specialty. First year students also begin to develop interview skills through a class in psychiatric medicine.
The stress level for the first year runs in cycles with peaks that coincide with the weeklong exam blocks that occur about every six weeks. Although an honors/pass/fail grading system is now in place, the administration is exploring the possibility of instituting a simple pass/fail system. As the school has continued to attract stronger students, the atmosphere has become somewhat more competitive. Still, most exam preparation is done in small informal groups, and students often prepare study sheets and voluntarily put them on reserve in the library for the rest of the class. The Student Success Network (SSN) is a group of second-year students that offers review classes in SBPM. Anatomy and neuroscience are also available for free one on one tutoring.
Study space includes an aging four level library and an entire floor of the medical school building. Computer facilities at Columbia have improved significantly over the past few years, and most students take advantage of the computer resources to help prepare for exams and of course, check their e-mail.
Students can choose from a number of options for spending the three-month break between first and second year. Funding is available for research, but some students opt for nonmedical experiences while they get to know New York. Others travel to different areas of the country or abroad for exposure to clinical medicine.
The second year class schedule is lighter than the first. One afternoon per week is spent in the popular physical diagnosis class. Instead of a week of exams like the first year, there is an exam each Monday in a different class. The stress level does creep up toward the end of the year when students begin thinking about USMLE Step 1 and the block of final exams that determine second-semester grades. This exam block is only about a week prior to the USMLE. This turns out to be a blessing because it obviates the need for intensive review of those subjects. Columbia students traditionally shatter the national average for Step 1.
Clinical Years
Despite the recent merger of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital with the New York Hospital (Cornell University Medical School's major affiliate), the medical schools remain completely separate, and Columbia students rotate through the same hospitals now as they did prior to the merger. According to the administration, this is unlikely to change. In addition to the hospitals located at the 168th Street campus of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center (CPMC), the main affiliates are the Allen Pavilion (212th and Broadway), Harlem Hospital (506 Lenox Avenue), St. Luke's Hospital (West 114th Street), and Roosevelt Hospital (West 59th Street).
Columbia maintains a fixed schedule of required rotations for the third year and a completely elective fourth year. Groups of fifteen students rotate through ten 5 week specialty blocks. Rotations at CPMC are generally considered to be more rigorous than those at other sites. Clinical teaching is generally strong at all sites, with the exception of Harlem Hospital, which tends to be understaffed. Shuttles and New York's superior subway system make travel between sites relatively easy. One unique offering at Columbia is the opportunity during the third-year primary-care rotation to work on an Indian reservation in either New Mexico or Arizona. The psychiatry, neurology, and neurosurgery departments are especially strong, while primary care and family medicine are especially weak.
Fourth year consists of a back to the classroom month, a subinternship, and six other one month electives. This leaves two full months of vacation, which most students use to schedule residency interviews. The flexibility of the fourth year and the many fully funded international opportunities offered at Columbia combine to form one of the school's strengths. There are affiliated hospitals in London, Paris, Moscow, and Istanbul. In addition, the Society and Medicine Program and the Infectious Disease Department send more than a dozen students to perform rotations at sites in Asia, Africa, and South America.
Social Life
Extracurricular opportunities abound at Columbia. The admissions office makes an effort to put together a diverse class of people who not only are interested in nonmedical pursuits, but also excel in these areas. Once at Columbia, students can explore their extracurricular interests and discover new ones through the P&S Club, an umbrella organization that oversees more than thirty-five groups that sponsor activities in music, art, athletics, and drama and cultural, philanthropic, and academic interests.
Faculty, staff & students talk about what makes Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons a great place to be.
Faculty, staff & students talk about what makes Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons a great place to be.
The benefit of living in Washington Heights is the relatively inexpensive housing. Most single first year students live in the dorm style Bard Hall. One-room singles at Bard (sink included) are less than $500 per month. In the Bard basement is the wellequipped Bard Athletic Center, of which all students are automatic members. By second year, about half of the students move into two-, three-, or four bedroom apartments in the nearby Towers. Rent is slightly more than $500 per person per month for spacious rooms, two full bathrooms, and beautiful views of the city. Couples with or without children generally move directly into the Towers at the start of first year.
Mission and History: Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia Medical School offers students the opportunity to receive a top tier medical education while they enjoy New York City and explore interests outside of medicine.
Web https://www.ps.columbia.edu/
Web https://www.ps.columbia.edu/
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