Columbia University in the City of New York Overview
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The city atmosphere of New York makes it a great place for students who enjoy having lots of educational and entertainment options.
What Is Columbia University in the City of New York Known For?
- Students who want to work more closely with their professors have an easier time at Columbia since the student to facuty ratio is 6 to 1.
- The student loan default rate at Columbia is 2%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
- The doctor's degree is the highest award offered at Columbia.
- In 2017-2018, 47% of the faculty were full-time.
- After graduation, Columbia bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $83,300 a year. That's about 104% more than their peers at other schools.
- The average Columbia student graduates in 4.1 years. That's better than the national average of 4.4 years.
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Columbia University in the City of New York Rankings
According to our 2021 analysis, Columbia is ranked #63 out of 2,320 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation. It is also ranked #6 out of 149 schools in New York.
Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.
Columbia has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.
Rank | Ranking Name | Share |
---|---|---|
#29 | Best Master’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#36 | Best Doctor’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#38 | Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Columbia.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards Columbia has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#1 | Best Colleges for English Language & Literature | College Factual |
#2 | Best Colleges for Foreign Languages & Linguistics | College Factual |
#3 | Best Colleges for History | College Factual |
#4 | Best Colleges for Social Sciences | College Factual |
#15 | Best Colleges for Biological & Biomedical Sciences | College Factual |
#28 | Best Business Schools | Business Degree Central |
Where Is Columbia University in the City of New York?

Contact details for Columbia are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | West 116 St And Broadway, New York, NY 10027 |
Phone: | 212-854-1754 |
Website: | www.columbia.edu |
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/columbia |
Twitter: | https://twitter.com/columbia |
How Do I Get Into Columbia?
You can apply to Columbia online at: https://www.columbia.edu/content/admissions-offices
Admission Requirements for Columbia
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | recommended |
High School Rank | recommended |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | required |
Recommendations | required |
SAT or ACT Scores | required |
TOEFL | recommended |
How Hard Is It To Get Into Columbia?
Approximately 49% of accepted students are men and 51% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 7%, and the acceptance rate for women is 6%.
Average Test Scores
About 59% of students accepted to Columbia submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 700 and 780. Math scores were between 710 and 790.
Can I Afford Columbia University in the City of New York?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Columbia, approximately 11% of students took out student loans averaging $9,845 a year. That adds up to $39,380 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at Columbia is 1.8%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Columbia University in the City of New York Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 22,861 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 7,666 full-time undergraduates at Columbia, 53% are male and 47% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Columbia University in the City of New York students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 1,370 |
Black or African American | 532 |
Hispanic or Latino | 1,027 |
White | 2,710 |
International Students | 1,395 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 632 |
Geographic Diversity
New York students aren't the only ones who study at Columbia University in the City of New York. At this time, all 50 states and the District of Columbia are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 144 countries are represented at Columbia. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and South Korea.
Online Learning at Columbia University in the City of New York
The following chart shows how the online learning population at Columbia has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 7th most popular in New York for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2017-2018.
Online Growth Rankings of Columbia
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Columbia University in the City of New York was 66.2%. This is the #426 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Columbia regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of Columbia majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
Major | 1-Year Growth Rate |
---|---|
Applied Mathematics | 12% |
Biomedical Engineering | 22% |
Computer & Information Sciences | 5% |
Computer Science | 5% |
Environmental Engineering | 14% |
Materials Sciences | 18% |
Mathematics & Statistics | 12% |
Operations Research | 6% |
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at Columbia ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at Columbia.
When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.
Columbia University in the City of New York Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By Nandaro under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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