Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, New York
- Private nonprofit
- City
- 8,973 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 4%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $15,370per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 96%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $109,43010 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Every Columbia College student takes the Core Curriculum, shared courses including Literature Humanities, Contemporary Civilization, Art and Music Humanities, and Frontiers of Science. It dates to 1919. Engineering students take a shorter version.
Source: Columbia Core Curriculum
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 4%About 1 in 25 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1510–1580Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 34–35Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Columbia University in the City of New York's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2024–25, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
- Admit rate in this report
- 4%2,325 admitted of 60,247 first-year applicants
- Early decision admit rate
- 13%795 admitted of 6,007. Early decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1510–156044% of first-years sent SAT scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 34–3617% of first-years sent ACT scores
- Top 10% of their class
- 94%100% were in the top quarter.
Early applicants often include recruited athletes and students who knew this was their first choice, so a higher early rate doesn't mean applying early raises any one student's odds by that much.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
- Class rank
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Activities
- Character and personal qualities
Important
- A talent or ability
Considered
- Test scores
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Where you live
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
Not considered
- Interview
- Living in the state
- Religious affiliation
- Showing interest in the school
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Columbia University in the City of New York's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Columbia University in the City of New York Common Data Set 2024–25. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $15,370full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $92,198sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $74,180Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 96%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 98%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $109,43010 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $20,500federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 8,973Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 25%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 25%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Fordham University Bronx, NY — admits 59%
- University of Rochester Rochester, NY — admits 40%
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY — admits 63%
- Syracuse University Syracuse, NY — admits 46%
Also worth a look
- Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN — admits 6%
- University of Chicago Chicago, IL — admits 4%
- Stanford University Stanford, CA — admits 4%
- Emory University Atlanta, GA — admits 11%
- Harvard University Cambridge, MA — admits 4%
- Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO — admits 12%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Columbia University in the City of New York, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.