<p>I've been following this thread for awhile and although I found it annoying when people posted information about themselves to see if they will get in...I find myself doing the same right now. </p>
<p>So here is my story:</p>
<p>2 years out of High School with a 3.5 GPA and crappy SAT scores (1160)
Step father became ill and no longer could work, had to defer higher education. I had been doing clinical cardiology research since the start of HS and continued after to earn money to support the family. I've now been doing research for over 6 years, was heavily promoted to clinical researcher, became published author in medical journals, etc.
My recommendations are from the director of the first hospital I worked at and the second was from a MD I continue to work with. Both recommendations were phenomenal however I'm sure most applicants also have great recommendations. </p>
<p>Yale's Eli Whitney program rejected me; UPenn's program rejected me because I was too young (they usually want people 21 and over). </p>
<p>I believe my essay was good, it was compelling. I discussed that Columbia would be a great place for me and I can transfer over current research grants to continue my efforts at one of their facilities. My application was submitted 4/30. The end of this week will be approximately 7 weeks since I submitted the application. I was never invited for an interview, never received any phone calls. The website announced today that admission packets are being sent.</p>
<p>I know my High School record is very mediocre, but are my life experiences, (which GS value exponentially) compelling enough to warrant admission to GS? It also is not good that I have never attended a college or university. </p>
<p>If anyone has any experience with GS admissions I would greatly appreciate your input. Or I can send you some items about my application and see what you think. Any information would be greatly appreciated. As of now I don't have a backup plan if I get denied admission, so if someone honestly tells me I probably won't get in I can start to think of one. (Even though I shouldn't need that as an excuse to have a contingency plan!)</p>
<p>Have you called them? You need to be a bit more proactive.</p>
<p>I think your story, as you present it, can be compelling. If they reject you, I would look into taking some classes at another school to show the GS admin committee that you can handle college level classes. And then apply again next year.</p>
<p>es four:
I submitted my application 4/30 and also have not heard anything. I'm nervous as well that it isn't a good sign. I called the admissions office and they said my application is still being reviewed right now and I should get a decision in 1-2 weeks.<br>
This is slow torture...</p>
<p>I'm so unsure if I actually will get in, does anyone know the typical person who gets into the program that has never attended a college or university. It seems from here that a lot of people have previous coursework. This is not the case for me...
I think that will put me at a disadvantage</p>
<p>I too submitted my application several weeks ago and have heard nothing. Does it seem overly audacious to just show up at the admissions office and ask to speak with the dean? I want to go introduce myself but I feel like they may view this in a negative way.</p>
<p>I'm not sure...
I wrote an email to the dean of admissions to tell him about myself and some other circumstances about my application. I never received an email back. I'm starting to think it was a bad idea for me to send him an email.....</p>
<p>
[quote]
Does it seem overly audacious to just show up at the admissions office and ask to speak with the dean?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>DON'T do this! You'll wind up looking desperate and all sorts of pathetic. You will hear from them eventually. They know people are anxious, but marching into the office and demanding some face time isn't going to win you any brownie points.</p>
<p>"DON'T do this! You'll wind up looking desperate and all sorts of pathetic. You will hear from them eventually. They know people are anxious, but marching into the office and demanding some face time isn't going to win you any brownie points."</p>
<p>Do you think the email I sent will hurt me?</p>
<p>Sending an e-mail isn't as bad. If they don't want to be bothered with it they can always just delete it. The issue I have with what the other poster wants to do is the fact that he is blatantly imposing himself upon these people- that's not done. I'm sure the school is happy that their applicants are so interested, but appearing at their door unannounced isn't right. At least try to make an appointment. </p>
<p>To add one more thing- I didn't have an interview and didn't speak with anyone at the school until the day I got the call informing me that I was accepted.</p>
<p>I emailed Amy my essay on June 2nd and received the email from Kay, Assistant Director of Admission, on June 10th, but my status page had not been updated. Yeah, Amy had responded to my emails very swiftly but not to the last one that I sent on Friday last week. I reckon she took the day off.</p>
<p>Wow....you must of had an outstanding application to have heard that quickly.<br>
Thanks for providing the info, it is much appreciated.
Hopefully I will find out soon and be joining you at GS this Fall!</p>
<p>The wait is killing me, but it is all part of the process I suppose. Hopefully I have what it takes to get in!</p>
<p>so let me get this straight...some people get phone calls, some get emails, and the rest get packets in the mail? why can't they just stick to one method? Wow they did notify you promptly...That makes me kind of uneasy to have not heard yet.</p>
<p>I suppose everyone gets either a phone call or an email prior to receiving a packet by FedEx overnight, though I could be wrong.</p>
<p>Honestly, I was not expecting to hear from them so early. There are several reasons I can come up with why they hurriedly made a decision on my application.
1) I emailed Amy explaining my situation that I would have to commit to another school (top 15 including Ivies) for housing and registration reasons and would like to hear from GS by the end of June; however, I was told that they could not guarantee decisions by a certain date.
2) My application had been transferred from Columbia College on May 8th, along with other supplements. All I had to do was submit my eight pages long essay which I submitted at about 6pm on June 2nd. So my application might have been ready to be reviewed or have already been reviewed.
3) My high school GPA and ECs are excellent. (my cumulative college GPA is about 3.8)
4) I speak six languages fluently.
5) I really wanted to go to Columbia :)</p>
<p>I understand the wait is very stressful but I want to send my very best wishes to you all!</p>