The Columbia Difference

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons attracts a diverse student body. More than 28 percent of our students represent minority groups.

Although P&S students demonstrate a high level of academic achievement, entering medical school with average MCAT scores of 35.8 and an average GPA of 3.79, what truly sets them apart is their commitment: to one another, to the life of their school, to the advancement of the field, and to the world beyond medical school—be it in our Washington Heights community or in an impoverished nation thousands of miles away.

Students at P&S are remarkably active, involved, and socially committed. Our P&S Club sponsors some 70 extracurricular organizations, the most comprehensive of any student activities group in American medical education. Among the most recent graduating class, nearly one-third took a senior elective abroad, 65 percent of them in developing countries. Some 20 percent pursued an extra year for research, and 20 percent earned a second degree.