Calling Columbia applicants for 2008

Awesome...greatnews businessdoc!!!!!! Congrats!!!!

Your next dosa!

P.S. The etmology thread got me so hungry, I told called my mom and begged for some masala dosa. Seems like you're getting that alot nowadays!

Geez...I think I am going to put up a dosa in my avatar now

businessdoc-do you know when your interviewer submitted his feedback?

Sorry about the ambiguity guys, I've been pretty busy. I'm a second year med student at Ohio State. My stats are: 3.87 GPA at private DC college, 750 GMAT, 2 years of scattered experience in biomedical research. Submitted Dec 10, invited to interview Jan 14, interviewed locally in Columbus on Jan 30, interview report submitted Jan 30th, application complete Jan 31st, admitted Feb 7th. Anymore questions, just ask. I'm not much of a blogger by nature, but I'm always willing to help and looking to get more involved with my future peers.

Congrats Businessdoc! That is great news! Are you going to matriculate Columbia? You could probably tell where my two cents lie. You should at least come to the Open House at the end of this month.

I agree

Congrats!

I just return from my interview, and I thought it was very tough, it took 1hour and a half, I'm not sure if that is good.

Started with my Resume, and he was always asking me why I made the moves instead of just listening to them. Later explored situations at work, experiences with diversity, what are my strength and what can I develop, what I would add to Columbia, why Columbia, what are my goals, a difficult situation I lived at work, and an Ethical Dilemma: when have I experienced one, what did I learn from it and what should I have done differently now. And then: if I was applying to other schools, and what schools, and what the rationale behind my applications ! I told the true, and then he asked me if I got into all of them what would I do, and... I didn't lie. At the end, he opened for questions, and at the very end, he asked again about the schools, and I couldn't help telling him that I was already accepted to 2 of them, but not telling which ones.

Once again I think I didn't have a great interview, I know that if I get into you guys will start thinking I'm a pessimist, but honestly, I may regret of how honest I was, but that's me, I even told him that I was applying RD because I really didn't know if CBS was my first option, and that's why I'm traveling now to USA to get to know the schools, cities, etc.

It was a very deep interview, with many "tricky" parts.

Now let's see, usually final decisions come from 1 to 2 weeks after interview.

Kwam,
Congrats on completing the interview. Usually, a long interview is a good sign; it means that they enjoyed it. Would you want to spend more time than you have to with some whom you do not like?

As for the other schools portion, I always believe in honesty, especially when it comes to the "which other schools are you applying to" question, but I would not have gone into as much detail if it can be avoided. Nevertheless, I don't think that is a deal-breaker by any means. In fact, I am sure he got along with you, since you are obviously a great interviewee, and I am sure he was impressed by the schools that you have been accepted to. There's a good chance that he will submit great feedback for all those reasons in hopes of drawing you away from the other tops school that you have been accepted to. I know if I were an interviewer, I would respect an interviewee's honesty regarding their school choice, and I would want to steal them away from other schools--that is if we have a good interview. Don't be surprised if you get in, Kwam!

And, yes, we will call you a pessimist!

The track is a bit different for MDs because of how long our training is. It is now standard practice for students to enroll in a combined MD/MBA program, where the student would do the first two pre-clinical years of coursework, then take a LOA to do the MBA component, then return to finish off clinical rotations. My case is different because while I had initially planned on just staying at OSU, my interests eventually led me to think that a program with a stronger emphasis on my field (healthcare management) would be both more educationally efficacious and professionally beneficial, and so I expanded my scope to check out other programs. As it was, I was only thoroughly impressed by the programs at Columbia and Kellogg, and so I've gotten caught up in the frenzy that is the B-School app process.

With regards to interviews, I think it's critical to pick the best fit for you as far as interviewer. Personally, I went through a good 6 or 7 matches before I found someone that I thought I would click with. I think it's almost better being able to appeal to the person on a personal level than professional, but at the very least someone that would be empathetic to your passion in whatever it is you want out of life. I clicked with my interviewer, and I think that enabled him to write a much more glowing report. So just keep that in mind, everyone who hasn't already interviewed.

Nice new avatar, businessdocs. I got it from the Facebook group. You should join if you have an account; there's over 200 members in the group already! It will be fun to meet everyone at the Open House.

I talk as though you will be matriculating. Will that be the case?

DJ , kwams coming to Chicago with us Hands off !!!

I'm thinking so, would anyone care to give an opinion on Columbia v.s. Kellogg? I am just trying to decide what would be a better choice. I'll be a doctor, so I don't have the exact same considerations as a hardcore Wall St. guy or anything to that effect.

I know virtually nothing about Kellogg, except that it is an amazing school and it is in Chicago. River could definitely weigh in on Kellogg more so than I can.

I can definitely tell you that whether you want to be in finance or marketing, or any other area of expertise, you will get the best of the best training and career placement at Columbia. So many applicants think that Columbia is strictly finance, but that is not the case. It is a top school in every area, and there will be no shortage of opportunities in whatever you want to do.

Ok I am well aware that I am becoming both unreasonable and possibly petulant. But yet another email from Linda Meehan telling me to look at some student blogs as featured in the Wall St. Journal...I get it, I get it, Columbia is great, Columbia is cutting edge, Columbia is all that and several bags of chips...
Now for the love of Pete gimme an interview!!!

uphillclimb,
I second your opinion. Enough is enough. Just send us the freakin interview.

lol...same here... Was excited till I saw the subject