Columbia University in the City of New York
A Manhattan Ivy where every College student takes the century-old Core Curriculum while New York City serves as the extended campus.
- Acceptance rate
- 4.9%
- Class of 2029 (entered fall 2025), Columbia College and Columbia Engineering
- Students
- 35,386
- 9,285 undergraduates
- International
- 21%
- of students
- Student–faculty
- 6:1
- ratio
- Tuition
- $72,800
- 2026-27
About Columbia
Columbia was founded in 1754 as King's College and is the oldest institution of higher education in New York State. Its main campus, a Beaux-Arts quad designed by McKim, Mead & White, fills about six city blocks in Morningside Heights in upper Manhattan. Around it sit 17 graduate and professional schools, including the law school, the business school and the Graduate School of Journalism, where the Pulitzer Prizes originated.
First-year applicants choose one of two undergraduate schools: Columbia College, the liberal arts college, or Columbia Engineering (The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science). College students share the Core Curriculum, a set of small seminars in literature, philosophy, art, music and science that has run for about a century; engineering students take part of it too. A third college, the School of General Studies, serves students returning after a break in their education, and Barnard College, an affiliated women's college, is across Broadway.
Columbia suits students who want a traditional campus and a shared intellectual core but also want New York's internships, museums and industries on their doorstep. Many courses in the graduate and professional schools are open to undergraduates, and the admissions office reports that over 90% of students complete at least one internship or research experience.
In lumine Tuo videbimus lumen
“In Thy light shall we see light” — university motto
Why students choose Columbia
The Core Curriculum gives every Columbia College student the same seminar-based grounding in literature, philosophy, art, music and science, a shared set of courses that has run for about a century.
Families earning under $150,000 with typical assets pay no tuition, those under $66,000 are expected to contribute nothing, and aid packages contain no loans.
New York City is part of the education: the Arts Initiative gives free entry to more than 20 museums, and the Work Exemption Program funds unpaid or low-paid internships and research.
Undergraduates study alongside 17 graduate and professional schools, many of which offer courses and opportunities specifically for undergraduates, plus research in centres such as the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute.
Admissions
Class of 2029 (entered fall 2025), Columbia College and Columbia Engineering
About 1 in 20 applicants is admitted
2,946 admitted from 59,611 applicants
Middle 50% of admitted students scored in this range.
Middle 50% of admitted students scored in this range.
Early Decision: 819 of 5,868 applicants admitted (about 14%). 15,380 applicants were international, of whom 407 were admitted. 1,797 first-years enrolled.
Typical entry requirements
| Columbia College (recommended preparation) | 4 years English, 4 years math, 3-4 years history/social studies, 3-4 years lab science, 3-4 years of one world language; most admits took five academic courses per term |
|---|---|
| Columbia Engineering (recommended preparation) | 4 years math through calculus, 4 years lab science including chemistry and physics, 4 years English, 3-4 years history/social studies, 2-3 years world language |
| International curricula (IB, A levels, national exams) | All curricula accepted; final external exam results must be submitted if required to graduate |
| English language | IELTS 7.5 · TOEFL iBT 105 TOEFL iBT 105 for tests taken on or before January 20, 2026; band score 5.5 on the revised TOEFL from January 21, 2026 (MyBest scores not accepted). Duolingo 135; Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency 191. Exemptions apply, including for qualifying SAT or ACT section scores. |
Deadlines
- Early Decision Binding Next deadline · In 26 daysNovember 1, 2026
Also the QuestBridge National College Match deadline. ED financial aid application due November 15; decisions mid-December; admitted students respond by mid-January.
- Regular Decision Non-binding In ~3 monthsJanuary 1, 2027
Financial aid application due February 15; decisions late March; reply by May 1.
Columbia says the listed dates are based on typical cycles and may vary slightly; applications for fall 2027 are open.
How to apply
Common App, Coalition Application on Scoir, or QuestBridge; Columbia-specific application questions; secondary school report with transcript, counselor recommendation and school profile; midyear report; two teacher recommendations (engineering applicants need one from a math or science teacher); $85 fee or waiver. No interviews.
What admissions looks for
- Academic potential, intellectual strength and the ability to think independently.
- Character, maturity, motivation and curiosity, and whether you are likely to make productive use of four years at Columbia.
- A rigorous curriculum: most admitted Columbia College students took five academic courses every term of secondary school.
- Why Columbia's particular experience, including the Core and New York City, fits you, which the Columbia-specific questions are designed to reveal.
Tips for applying to Columbia
- 1 Pick your school carefully: you apply to either Columbia College or Columbia Engineering, not both, and engineering applicants should show calculus and physics preparation.
- 2 There are no interviews, so the Columbia-specific questions carry the weight of explaining your intellectual interests and why the Core Curriculum suits you.
- 3 If you are testing, decide before you submit: once you answer 'yes' to having scores considered you cannot withdraw them, and Columbia superscores by section.
- 4 International applicants who need aid should know admission is need-aware for them, and strong early decision candidates needing aid may be deferred to regular decision; you cannot request aid later if you do not apply for it at admission.
- 5 Non-native English speakers can add an optional InitialView or Vericant video by November 15 (ED) or January 15 (RD).
What are your chances?
Sign up to see your personalized admission chances for Columbia University in the City of New York
Sign up to see your chancesCosts & financial aid
2026-27 · figures in USD
Columbia is need-blind for US citizens, permanent residents, refugees, DACA and undocumented students, and need-aware for other international applicants; it meets 100% of demonstrated need for all admitted first-years regardless of citizenship, without loans. Families with incomes under $150,000 (typical assets) pay no tuition.
- Tuition-free
- Family income under $150,000
- $0 expected parent contribution
- Family income under $66,000
- $76,503
- Average first-year grant
- 21%
- Incoming first-years receiving Pell Grants
- $79,375
- Average award for international aid recipients
- $2,000
- Start-up grant for low-income first-years
Academics
Academic calendar: Semesters
The Core Curriculum
About a century old, it puts all College students through shared small-seminar courses in literature, philosophy, art, music and science.
Columbia Engineering
Undergraduates are admitted directly into the engineering school and the Engineering office highlights research opportunities with faculty from early on.
Dual BA programs (School of General Studies)
General Studies hosts joint bachelor's programs with Sciences Po, Trinity College Dublin, City University of Hong Kong, Tel Aviv University and the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Columbia Startup Lab
Highlighted by admissions as one of the newer ventures where undergraduates can take ideas beyond the classroom.
Eric H. Holder Jr. Initiative for Civil and Political Rights
A civil rights initiative named for the College alumnus who became US Attorney General, open to undergraduates.
Research
- The Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute is one of the research centres admissions highlights for undergraduates.
- Havemeyer Hall, home of Columbia chemistry, is an American Chemical Society National Historic Chemical Landmark; Columbia chemist Harold Urey won the 1934 Nobel Prize for the discovery of deuterium.
- The Graduate School of Journalism is where the Pulitzer Prize was born.
Schools & faculties
- Columbia College
- The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
- School of General Studies
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- Columbia Law School
- Columbia Business School
- Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
- Graduate School of Journalism
- School of International and Public Affairs
- Mailman School of Public Health
- Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
- Columbia Climate School
Columbia's admissions office reports that over 90% of students have at least one internship or research experience during their time at Columbia.
Student life
Housing is guaranteed for all four years, first-years must live on campus, and nearly all undergraduates do, in options ranging from corridor-style halls on the main quad to suites and apartments a few minutes' walk away. The campus feels like a small college town inside Manhattan: students gather on the Low Library steps and the lawns, and the city is a subway ride away. Traditions include the Varsity Show, the Tree Lighting on College Walk and Bacchanal, the student-run spring music festival.
- Four-year housing guarantee, with special-interest communities including brownstone housing.
- Columbia Arts Initiative: free entry to more than 20 New York museums and access to Broadway tickets.
- Traditions: the Varsity Show, the College Walk Tree Lighting and the Bacchanal spring festival.
- Ivy League athletics as the Columbia Lions.
Housing. Housing is guaranteed for four years and required for first-year students.
Location
Columbia's main campus is in Morningside Heights in upper Manhattan, a residential neighbourhood of restaurants, cafes and shops steps from the Hudson River and bordered by Central Park, Morningside Park and Riverside Park. The rest of New York is a short bike, bus or subway ride away. It is expensive and busy, but students get the whole city as a resource.
Nearest airport: LaGuardia Airport (LGA); JFK and Newark also serve New York
Notable alumni
- BO Barack Obama44th President of the United States (B.A. 1983)
- AH Alexander HamiltonFounding Father and first US Treasury Secretary (attended King's College)
- RB Ruth Bader GinsburgUS Supreme Court Justice (Columbia Law School)
- WB Warren BuffettInvestor and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (M.S., Columbia Business School)
- IA Isaac AsimovScience fiction author and biochemist (B.S., M.A., Ph.D.)
- MA Madeleine AlbrightFirst woman to serve as US Secretary of State (M.A., Ph.D.)
- KB Kathryn BigelowFirst woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director (M.F.A.)
- KM Kate McKinnonEmmy-winning comedian and actor (B.A. 2006)
Frequently asked questions
Is Columbia need-blind for international students?
No. Columbia is need-blind for US citizens, permanent residents, refugees, DACA and undocumented students, but other international applicants are reviewed need-aware. It does meet 100% of demonstrated need for every admitted student, with no loans.
Does Columbia require the SAT or ACT?
Not for fall 2027 entry: Columbia College and Columbia Engineering are test optional for the 2026-27 cycle. A testing requirement returns for the 2027-28 cycle, with waivers for applicants facing hardship.
What SAT score do you need for Columbia?
There is no cutoff, but students who entered in fall 2025 had a middle 50% SAT range of 1510-1560 and ACT range of 34-35.
Does Columbia do interviews?
No. Interviews are not part of Columbia's application process, so your essays and Columbia-specific questions do that work.
How much does Columbia cost?
The 2026-27 budget is $99,774, including $72,800 tuition, $4,160 fees and $19,650 for housing and food. Families earning under $150,000 with typical assets attend tuition-free.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
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