Columbia University
What Columbia University's own numbers say, from its Common Data Set 2024-25.
See your odds at Columbia University →All 3 insights at Columbia University PRO
Early DecisionColumbia University
Columbia University's ED number is inflated.
13% of Early Decision applicants get in, but that pool includes recruited athletes and legacies, admitted at far higher rates. Without them, our estimate is about 9.8%. Everyone else: 2.8%.
ED, as reported13%
ED, without hooks (estimate)≈9.8%
Everyone else2.8%
Source: Columbia University's Common Data Set 2024-25; hooked share is an estimate (A12)
MoneyColumbia University
Columbia University meets 100% of need.
The average need-based grant is $76,553 a year, against tuition of $70,170.
Average grant$77k
Tuition$70k
Source: Columbia University's Common Data Set 2024-25
Early DecisionColumbia University
51% of Columbia University's class is filled in Early Decision.
That leaves about 763 seats for 54,240 applicants outside ED.
Admitted Early Decision51%
Everyone else49%
Source: Columbia University's Common Data Set 2024-25
4 more things the data says PRO
- ED applicants were admitted at 13%, against 2.8% for everyone else: 4.7 times the rate.
- After ED, 763 of 1,558 seats were left for 54,240 other applicants: about one seat for every 71.
- Early Decision filled about 51% of the 2024-25 first-year class, less than most similar colleges.
- It reports meeting 100% of financial need for first-years who have need.
What students say PRO
From students' own posts on Reddit and admissions forums: self-reported, unverified, never used in your odds.
- Of admits who named a round, about 20 applied Regular Decision and about 8 Early Decision, so RD admits were more common in these posts.
- Most admits who shared scores reported an SAT of about 1470 to 1600 or an ACT of 33 to 36, with GPAs near 4.0.
- Many admits (about 25) did real research, often with a professor, with papers, abstracts, or conference talks.
- Many admits (about 20) founded a nonprofit, company, club, or app, rather than only joining one.
- Several admits won national or international competitions in math, science, or engineering, or led teams to finals.
- Students report waitlist admissions do happen, some as late as June, and Columbia made about 10% more offers than the year before.
- Students believe the Early Decision boost is smaller than people think, since the ED pool includes athletes and donor-connected applicants, and strong ED applicants were deferred or rejected.
- Students report international applicants who need aid face an uphill path, with Columbia need-aware and many ED deferrals, though some report full-ride offers.
- Students report some deferred applicants received a likely letter or a later admit after sending strong updates.
- Students report the supplements are five short essays of about 100 to 150 words, and advice is to focus on Columbia itself rather than New York.
Every number, year by year: Columbia University on Open College Data. Something wrong? Suggest a correction.