Application/Glide Year

Students begin the process of applying to medical school as they finish the required premedical course work. Generally, it requires a full year between the submission of applications to medical school and matriculation. This year is know as the “Application Year” or “Glide Year.” Activities during this period vary by student. During this period, Postbacs are required to be enrolled for Maintenance of Status, unless they are enrolled in elective course work at Columbia.

Interview Feedback
As a part of the medical school application process during the glide year, students may be invited for interviews at medical school interviews. We encourage our students to share their feedback with their fellow students by completing and submitting an  Interview Feedback Form after each interview.

Current students interested in reviewing interview feedback, should visit the password-protected
Interview Feedback page.

Glide Year Options
During the glide year, students should devote themselves to activities that affirm their interest in and commitment to a career in medicine. Some Postbac students find full-time employment in medical research, gaining wet lab experience. Others take an upper-level biology course or two. Additionally, Postbac students may also wish to continue or return to service as a volunteer in a clinical healthcare setting. Frequently, Postbac students manage some combination of elective study, research, and healthcare work.

Note: Students should plan to be in the United States and be available for interviews from late September until April of the application year. If students are out of the country during the application year, it is advisable to let schools know this when he or she submits their application.

The following is a sampling of positions Postbac students have held during their Application Year:

• Research Assistant in cardiovascular research, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA
• Research Assistant, Planned Parenthood Leave of Massachusetts
• Research Assistant, Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• Producer and Medical Editor, Dr. Mehmet Oz’s XM satellite radio program for Oprah and Friends
• Director, Project Esperanza: Osteoporosis Prevention and Bone Mineral Density Screening
• HIV Corps Intern, Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia
• Special Projects Manager, The Pancreas Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center

Taking Additional Courses
Postbac students who plan to take additional courses do not have to take them at Columbia University so long as they have completed the required curriculum of premedical studies.

Exception: Preveterinary students frequently take several required science courses beyond organic chemistry and biology during the application year. If the required subject for veterinary school is taught at Columbia University, students take it here. If the course is not offered, the prevet must petition the Premedical Committee for permission to take it elsewhere.

Course Recommendations
A separate biochemistry course is required by more than a dozen schools and recommended by at least six dozen more (consult the MSAR chart for a list). Biochemistry is offered at Columbia during the fall semester only. Some medical schools, however, recognize that Contemporary Biology (BIOL F2401/2402) provides good exposure to biochemistry and will therefore exempt applicants from their requirement. It is difficult to give general advising about additional courses and their usefulness. Students should consult their advisor.

Advising
Throughout the application year, students should consider it their responsibility to keep their advisor informed about the progress of applications. Students should also regard it as their right to consult with their advisor about upcoming interviews and effective strategies to pursue after all applications are in.