Columbia University is a private institution in New York, NY with an acceptance rate of 4% and 6,597 students. The middle 50% of admitted students score 1510–1580 on the SAT. The average net price after financial aid is $20,869 per year.
About Columbia University
A private 4-year urban university in New York, NY.
Columbia University is a college in New York, NY. It enrolls roughly 6,597 students. The most recent acceptance rate is 4%. Admitted students typically score between 1510 and 1580 on the SAT.
Your chances at this school
What admitted students look like here. Sign in to see how your own profile compares.
Columbia University is a reach school for the average admitted student profile. A reach for almost every applicant, including very strong ones.
What strengthens an application here
- SAT scores of 1510 to 1580The middle half of admitted students scored in this range. A score in the upper part of it strengthens an application.
- Depth in one or two activitiesSustained commitment, a leadership role, or a result in a few activities says more than a long list of memberships.
Your chances estimate is based on your academic profile and activities — it is a guide, not a guarantee of admission. Decisions weigh essays, recommendations, and fit factors that aren't in the data.
Admissions
What it actually takes to get into Columbia University. Test scores, GPA, application requirements, and deadlines.
Admitted student profile
Range shown is the middle 50%.
This school doesn't require test scores, so these ranges reflect only students who chose to submit — applicants who submit tend to have higher scores. The real admitted range likely runs lower. Don't rule yourself out on scores alone.
Application requirements
- Personal essay required
- Portfolio (SlideRoom)
- 2 teacher evals
- Counselor rec required
- Mid-year report
- Test-optional
- $85 application fee
- Accepts fee waiver
Deadlines (2026-27)
- Early Decision
- Nov 1, 2026
- Regular Decision
- Jan 1, 2027
Source: Common App 2026-27 requirements grid (verified Aug 2026). Always confirm on the college's own site.
Cost & financial aid
Published costs can be misleading. Here's what families actually pay at Columbia University after grants and scholarships.
Net price by family income
Average amount paid out of pocket — tuition, fees, and room & board minus all grant aid.
Net price represents the average cost after grants and scholarships for students receiving federal financial aid.
Academics & majors
Where students at Columbia University concentrate, and how the classroom experience scales.
Student body
Who attends Columbia University. Enrollment, diversity, and where students come from.
Race & ethnicity
- White28%
- Asian23%
- Hispanic18%
- Black8%
- Two or more races7%
- International16%
Gender
- Female50%
- Male50%
Outcomes after graduation
What Columbia University graduates do next — and what they earn.
Is it worth it?
Earnings, debt, and price side by side — context for the cost-vs-payoff question, not a ranking.
- Median earnings
- $102k
- Typical debt
- $18.8k
- Avg. net price
- $20.9k/yr
- These numbers reflect who enrolls, not the value the school adds. A college's earnings can look high simply because it admits wealthier, higher-scoring students — not because of what happens there.
- Earnings vary far more by major and career path than by school. A school-wide median blends engineers and artists into one number that may match no real student.
- Federal earnings and debt figures cover only students who received federal aid, so they leave out full-pay students and can skew the picture.
- Net price is an average across aided students and debt is the median for borrowers only — many students borrow nothing. Your actual cost depends on your own aid package.
What this means
$102k is well above the national bachelor's-graduate median at the 10-year mark, and a 95% graduation rate puts Columbia University in the top tier nationally.
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