by our College Data Analytics TeamColumbia University in the City of New York is a private not-for-profit institution in New York, New York enrolling 8,973 undergraduates. It accepts 4% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 96%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #53 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Columbia University in the City of New York ranks #53 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.
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 1146 badges in the 2027 rankings.
Columbia University is ranked #53 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% 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.
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.
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.
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.
Learn more about Columbia University in the City of New York admissions.
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.
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 43%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
Columbia University in the City of New York has a freshmen retention rate of 98%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Columbia University the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 96%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
The current enrollment includes 8,973 undergraduates at Columbia University.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Columbia University in the City of New York.
The overall average net price of Columbia University is $17,140. 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.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $4,570 | $2,275 | $5,866 | $11,782 | $50,621 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/columbia |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/columbia |
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 | 16,170 | NA |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 1,794 | $81,069 |
| Computer Science | 916 | $121,540 |
| Computer Information Systems | 627 | $92,223 |
| Social Work | 625 | $51,895 |
| Economics | 594 | $73,902 |
| Public Health | 587 | $69,398 |
| Statistics | 489 | $92,259 |
| Nursing | 458 | $111,642 |
| Law | 457 | $193,362 |
68 students took at least one online class at Columbia University in the City of New York.
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.
Learn more about online learning at Columbia University in the City of New York.
Interested in comparing Columbia University? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
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.
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