COLLEGE PROFILE

Save

Columbia University

New York, NY

Students interested in this college are also interested in:

Harvard College, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, New York University, Princeton University

FRESHMAN ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Entrance Difficulty
Most Difficult: More than 75% of freshmen were in the top 10% of their high school class and scored over 1310 on the SAT I or over 29 on the ACT; about 30% or fewer of all applicants accepted.

High School Preparation
High School Graduation	High school diploma required and GED is accepted
High School Program	College preparatory program is required

High School Units Required or Recommended
Subject	Required Units	Recommended Units
English		4
Mathematics		4
Science		4
Foreign Language		4
Social Studies
History		4
Academic Electives		4

Examinations
Exam		Scores Due in Admissions Office
SAT or ACT	Required	February 1
SAT Only
ACT Only
SAT and SAT Subject Tests, or ACT
SAT Subject Tests Only	Required

ACT Writing Test Policy	Writing component required
Use of SAT/ACT Essay	Not reported

APPLYING FOR ADMISSION

Admissions Office
Address	116th Street and Broadway
City, State, Zip	New York, NY 10027
Phone	(212) 854-2522
Fax
E-mail	ugrad-ask@columbia.edu

Application Dates and Fees
Regular Admission Deadline	January 1
Application Fee	$80
Application Fee Waiver	Available
Regular Admission Notification	April 1
Accept Offer of Admission	May 1
Waiting List Used	Yes
Defer Admission	Student can defer admission
Transfer Admission	Transfer applications accepted

Early Admission
Early Decision Offered	Yes
Early Decision Deadline	November 1
Early Decision Notification	December 15
Early Action Offered	No
Early Action Deadline
Early Action Notification

Application Form
Common Application	Accepted, supplemental forms required
Universal College Application	Not accepted
Electronic Application	Available

Other Application Requirements
Interview	Not required
Essay or Personal Statement	Required for all freshmen
Letters of Recommendation	3 required for all freshmen
Other
Financial Need	Financial need is not a consideration in the admissions process

SELECTION OF STUDENTS

Factor	Very Important	Important	Considered	Not Considered
Rigor of Secondary School Record	X
Academic GPA	X
Standardized Tests	X
Class Rank	X
Recommendations	X
Essay	X
Interview			X
Level of Applicant's Interest				X
Extracurricular Activities	X
Volunteer Work			X
Particular Talent/Ability		X
Character/Personal Qualities	X
First Generation to Attend College			X
State Residency				X
Geographic Residence			X
Relation with Alumnus			X
Religious Affiliation/ Commitment				X
Ethnicity			X
Work Experience			X

PROFILE OF FALL ADMISSION

Overall Admission Rate	7% of 34,810 applicants were admitted
Women	6% of 18,771 applicants were admitted
Men	8% of 16,039 applicants were admitted
Students Enrolled	1,391 (58%) of 2,418 admitted students enrolled
Women	653 (56%) of 1,161 admitted students enrolled
Men	738 (59%) of 1,257 admitted students enrolled
Early Decision Admission Rate	19% of 3274 applicants were admitted
Early Action Admission Rate
Students Offered Wait List
Students Accepting Wait List Position
Students Admitted From Wait List

Grade Point Average of Enrolled Freshmen
Average GPA	Not reported
3.75 and Above	Not reported
3.50 - 3.74	Not reported
3.25 - 3.49	Not reported
3.00 - 3.24	Not reported
2.50 - 2.99	Not reported
2.00 - 2.49	Not reported

SAT Scores of Enrolled Freshmen
SAT Math	700-790 range of middle 50%
Score of 700 - 800	79%
Score of 600 - 700	20%
Score of 500 - 600	1%
Score of 400 - 500	0%
Score of 300 - 400	0%
Score of 200 - 300	0%
SAT Critical Reading	700-780 range of middle 50%
Score of 700 - 800	79%
Score of 600 - 700	19%
Score of 500 - 600	2%
Score of 400 - 500	0%
Score of 300 - 400	0%
Score of 200 - 300	0%
SAT Writing	700-790 range of middle 50%
Score of 700 - 800	79%
Score of 600 - 700	19%
Score of 500 - 600	2%
Score of 400 - 500	0%
Score of 300 - 400	0%
Score of 200 - 300	0%

ACT Scores of Enrolled Freshmen
ACT Composite	32-35 range of middle 50%
Score of 30 - 36	92%
Score of 24 - 29	8%
Score of 18 - 23	0%
Score of 12 - 17	0%
Score of 6 - 11	0%
Score of 5 or Below	0%

Other Qualifications of Enrolled Freshmen
High School Class Rank
National Merit Scholar	Not reported
Valedictorian	Not reported
Class President	Not reported
Student Government Officer	Not reported

1/20

What the School Says...

Founded in 1754, Columbia University occupies a 36-acre, self-contained, traditional campus located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Columbia enrolls approximately 4,500 undergraduates at Columbia College, 1,500 undergraduates at Columbia Engineering, and also encompasses more than a dozen graduate schools. Students come from over 90 foreign countries and choose among nearly 100 fields of study. Columbia provides access to all the resources of a world-class university as well as instant access to the world's financial, cultural, and communications capital: New York City.

What the School Says...

Columbia uses a holistic review process when evaluating applicants for admission; admission to Columbia is not based on a simple formula of grades and test scores. Instead, we consider a variety of factors: the student's academic record, extracurricular interests, intellectual achievements, and personal background. All first-year applicants must apply using the Common Application by November 1 for Early Decision admission or by January 1 for Regular Decision admission. We require the SAT and two SAT Subject Tests or the ACT with Writing. If submitting the SAT and applying to Columbia College, a candidate may take any two SAT Subject Tests; for Columbia Engineering, we require any mathematics test and Physics, Chemistry, or Biology. Students should not rush scores.

What the School Says...

We believe cost should not be a barrier to pursuing educational dreams, and we strive to make Columbia accessible to students from every socioeconomic background. For each admitted student, Columbia reviews a family's financial circumstances, determines financial need, and awards aid to meet all of that demonstrated financial need through grants and work-study. Loans are not a component of Columbia financial aid packages. Parents earning less than $60,000 a year (and with typical assets) contribute $0 towards their children's Columbia education. Parents earning between $60,000 and $100,000 (and with typical assets) have substantially lowered contribution requirements, and even parents earning over $100,000 still can qualify for significant financial aid from Columbia. We offer over $122 million in financial aid each year, and over half of our students receive some sort of financial assistance.

What the School Says...

About 100 undergraduate areas of study are offered at Columbia, in addition to a number of joint programs with other schools and colleges. These diverse areas of study are offered through Columbia's two traditional undergraduate divisions, Columbia College and Columbia Engineering. Even more opportunities exist with Columbia's many graduate and professional schools (in law, medicine, journalism, business, the arts, and more), as well as through joint programs with Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, Law School, and the Juilliard School. The Core Curriculum, founded in 1919, is an evolving series of small, Socratic-style seminars in the liberal arts that all students take, regardless of their choice in major. The communal learning, with all students encountering the same texts at the same time, is the Core Curriculum's distinctive feature.

What the School Says...

The Columbia campus is a park-like, self-contained, urban village located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. First-year students are required to live on campus, and housing is guaranteed for all four years; about 95 percent of undergraduates live in campus housing for all four years. Columbia fields 31 Division I Ivy League athletic teams along with dozens of club and intramural sports, and more than 500 student organizations. Living in the largest and most diverse U.S. city, Columbians take advantage of countless research, internship, cultural, and academic opportunities in New York City. CU Arts provides free or low-cost tickets to Broadway shows, museums, dance performances, and concerts.

What the School Says...

An international student body does not refer merely to the number of countries, ethnicities, or cultures represented, but it describes the tenor and character of a place. At Columbia young men and women from all over the world engage with each other in serious dialogue between cultures, nations, races, and religions in an environment where the world's leading scholars moderate and shape conversation. Our students choose from nearly 100 programs of study as well as over 500 student organizations, thousands of internship opportunities, and over 200 study abroad programs around the world to enhance their Columbia experience.

See who got in, who didn't & who's applying now. See the qualifications and admissions decisions of real students who applied to Columbia University.

**CLASS OF 2017** Profile of Students on COLLEGEdata
Interested in This College
	GPA		SAT			ACT
	UW	W	M	CR	W
Average	3.81	4.26	708	697	709	32
Low	2.70	3.00	410	500	480	19
High	4.00	5.00	800	800	800	36
YOU	?	?	?	?	?	?

Get Admissions Tracker Results

Take a Video Tour of This College

A portion of the College Profile data is provided under license by:
Annual Survey of Colleges 2012, copyright © 2012 The College Board. All rights reserved.
Peterson's Undergraduate and Undergraduate Financial Aid Databases,
copyright © 2012 Peterson's, a Nelnet company. All rights reserved.

Videos