Workshops and Information Sessions

Application Year Panel (Spring)

The Application Year Panel allows students to learn more about the application/glide year from a panel of their peers who are on the threshold of matriculation at medical schools. While all students are welcome, students preparing to submit applications to medical, dental, or veterinary school in the upcoming summer are especially encouraged to attend.

General Applicant Information Session (Fall)

The General Applicant Information Session is mandatory for students who are preparing to apply to medical, dental, or veterinary school with committee support upon completion of the orgo/bio year. This session will cover the internal application to the committee and the medical school application process and timeline.

Glide Year Planning Sessions (Fall and Spring)

Glide Year Planning Sessions provide students with information about a number of exceptional clinical and research opportunities, academic programs, and medical policy initiatives to consider for the Glide Year. Also discussed will be ways in which students can develop their own opportunities for the year. Separate sessions are held for orgo/bio year and first-year students in the fall and spring semesters.

Linkage Applicant Information Session (Spring)

The Linkage Applicant Information is mandatory for students interested in seeking nomination to apply to a linkage admission program at a medical or dental school. Topics to be addressed include the following:

• What is linkage?
• The pros and cons of linkage
• Choosing a linkage school
• The linkage application and nomination processes

Linkage Panel (Fall)

The Linkage Panel is an opportunity for current Postbac Premed students to learn from a panel of Postbac Premed alumni about their experiences as applicants to linkage admissions programs.

Medical School Interview Workshop (Fall and Spring)

The Medical School Interview Workshop provides orgo/bio year students with preparation for a successful medical school interview. Students will learn to define what they want to communicate to interviewers, and will learn how to highlight and connect their previous careers/experience and their interest in medicine. This workshop will lay the foundation for an interview complete with spontaneity, authenticity, confidence, and humor, with workshop participants practicing preparation and self-awareness.

MCAT Panel (Fall)

At the MCAT Panel, students will learn how their peers prepared for the MCAT exam and what the experience of taking it was like. All students are welcome, but those planning to take the MCAT in the current year are especially encouraged to attend.

Narrative Medicine Seminar (Spring)

The Narrative Medicine Seminar provides students with the opportunity to gain a more complete perspective on the illness experience. In this small-group, six-week, non-credit seminar in narrative medicine—an emerging interdisciplinary field that examines illness through stories of patients, doctors, and other medical professionals and caregivers—students will build their interpretive and communication skills through close reading and listening, discussion, and reflective writing. Students will study personal narratives, popular news, photographs, literature, and academic theory from a variety of authors and sources. The seminar is led by two Columbia University Master of Science in Narrative Medicine students.

Orgo/Bio Year Panel (Spring)

The Orgo/Bio Year Panel occurs late in the spring semester and is intended for GS students who plan to take organic chemistry and biology in the next academic year. A panel of GS students who are about to complete these courses will tell their peers what to expect and offer tips to success. Panelists will respond to questions like: "how difficult is it, really?"; "is it possible to work while taking orgo and bio?"; "is it possible to have any semblance of a social life?"

Personal Statement Writing Workshop (Fall and Spring)

Led by the Postbac Premed Program's Writing Consultant, the Personal Statement Writing Workshop instructs students on the dos and don’ts of writing the personal statement, a critical part of the common applications for medical, dental, and veterinary medical school. The workshop will address techniques that students can use to distinguish themselves from their peers and identify statement topics to avoid. It will also help them begin to brainstorm about their own statements.

Postbac 101 (Fall and Spring)

Postbac 101 is a weekly workshop series exploring the best practices and common pitfalls of medical school applicants. Sessions are designed to help new Postbac students learn how to present themselves as the most competitive applicants possible. Join the premed advising team each week and get started planning your application today.

Prevet Information Session (Fall)

The Prevet Information Session highlights topics of special interest to preveterinary students, including program planning, letters of recommendation, field experience, and the application process. The session is also a great opportunity for students to connect with their preveterinary peers.

Research Associates Programs Information Sessions (Fall and Spring)

The Research Associates Programs Information Session allows students to learn from physician-directors at New York-Presbyterian and Metropolitan Hospitals about opportunities to get involved in emergency medicine. Information sessions are generally held in the fall and spring.