College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

Columbia University in the City of New York Comprehensive Profile

981 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
4% Acceptance Rate

Find out more about how Columbia University in the City of New York ranks, how diverse it is, what majors it offers, and other essential facts below.

Want to know more about a specific stat? Just click on its tile, and you’ll go to a page that goes more in-depth on that subject. You can also use the links below to go directly to any section on this page.

* Rankings

How Does Columbia University in the City of New York Stack Up?

#56 Best Colleges in Nation
#3 Best Colleges in NY
Columbia University in the City of New York ranking badge

2026 Best Colleges Rankings

College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.

Columbia University in the City of New York was awarded 981 badges in the 2026 rankings.

National Standing

Columbia University is ranked #56 out of 3,449 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2026 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!

Columbia University is also ranked #3 on the Best Colleges in New York list.

See all of the rankings for Columbia University in the City of New York.

How Difficult Is Admission to Columbia U in the City of New York?

4% Acceptance Rate
4% Of Accepted Are Women
45% Submit SAT Scores

Getting Accepted

With an acceptance rate of 4%, Columbia University is one of the most selective schools in the country. Good grades and high test scores alone may not be enough to get you into the school, so do your best to submit a stellar application.

Standardized Test Scores

About 45% of students accepted to Columbia University submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 740 and 780. Math scores were between 770 and 800.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Columbia University in the City of New York  ( 740 to 780 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Columbia University in the City of New York  ( 770 to 800 )
200
800

Columbia University received ACT scores from 18% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 34 and 35.

ACT Composite Scores for Columbia University in the City of New York  ( 34 to 35 )
1
36

Learn more about Columbia University in the City of New York admissions.

Instructors at Columbia University in the City of New York

6 to 1 Student to Faculty
42% Full Time Teachers

Class Sizes

The student to faculty ratio at Columbia University is an impressive 6 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.

Full-Time Instructors

Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.

The full-time faculty percentage at Columbia University in the City of New York is 42%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  42 out of 100
0
100

Student Success Metrics for Columbia University in the City of New York

97% Freshmen Retention
95% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshman Success

The freshmen retention rate of 97% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Columbia University in the City of New York enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  97 out of 100
0
100

Academic Completion

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Columbia University for first-time, full-time students is 95%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  95 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Columbia University in the City of New York.

Diversity Profile of Columbia University in the City of New York

8,899 Undergraduate Students
47.4% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
49.4% Percent Women

The current enrollment includes 8,899 undergraduates at Columbia University.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Columbia University in the City of New York.

Cost of Attending Columbia University in the City of New York

$16,772 Net Price
14% Take Out Loans
$37,560 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of Columbia University is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for Columbia University

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$6,342 $4,975 $5,195 $15,368 $44,695

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Columbia University, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student 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 University, approximately 14% of students took out student loans averaging $9,390 a year. That adds up to $37,560 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 1.9%. 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. Get more details about paying for Columbia University in the City of New York.

What Do Columbia U in the City of New York Alumni Earn?

$102,491 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Columbia U in the City of New York make about $102,491 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future Columbia U in the City of New York graduates since it is 108% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.

See which majors at Columbia University in the City of New York make the most money.

Location of Columbia University in the City of New York

New York State
8,899 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

Columbia University in the City of New York is an private not-for-profit institution found in New York, New York. New York is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of Columbia University in the City of New York.

Location of Columbia University in the City of New York

Contact information for Columbia U in the City of New York are given below.

Contact Details
Address: West 116 St and Broadway, New York, NY 10027
Phone: 2128541754
Website: www.columbia.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/columbia
Twitter: twitter.com/columbia

Columbia University in the City of New York Majors

25 Majors With Completions
32,832 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 25 majors graduated from Columbia University in the City of New York. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 16,416 NA
Management Sciences & Methods 1,686 $81,069
Computer Science 919 $120,704
Computer Information Systems 739 $92,223
Public Health 616 $69,334
Social Work 562 $51,895
Economics 528 $73,902
Law 523 $193,362
Nursing 520 $111,650
Statistics 504 $92,259

Learn more about the majors offered at Columbia University in the City of New York along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Online Study Options at Columbia University

1% Take At Least One Class Online
0% Take All Classes Online

Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.

68 students took at least one online class at Columbia University in the City of New York.

Learn more about online learning at Columbia University in the City of New York.

Similar InstitutionsInterested in comparing Columbia University? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*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.

References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options