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Acceptance Rate History

Columbia University in the City of New York Acceptance Rate: 4.9% in 2025 (2013–2025 history)

NY · Current rate: 4.9%

College Scorecard · IPEDSU.S. Dept. of Education

Columbia University in the City of New York admits the SAT 1510–1560 range — you might be closer than you think.

What is Columbia University in the City of New York's acceptance rate in 2025?

Columbia University in the City of New York's acceptance rate in 2025 is 4.9%, up from 4.0% in 2024.

Common Data Set 2025-2026

Regular Decision acceptance rate at Columbia University in the City of New York

Outside Early Decision, Columbia University in the City of New York admitted 2,127 of 53,743 applicants in the 2025-2026 cycle: 4.0%. That counts everyone who did not apply Early Decision.

Calculated from published counts · Common Data Set 2025-2026 · checked Oct 2026

How many applicants does Columbia University in the City of New York admit, and what is its acceptance rate?

In its 2025 admissions cycle, Columbia University in the City of New York admitted 2,946 of 59,611 applicants — an overall acceptance rate of 4.9%.

Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026

Does Columbia University in the City of New York's 2025 acceptance rate include early-round applicants?

Yes. The 4.9% rate is one whole-cycle figure covering all 59,611 applicants Columbia University in the City of New York received for 2025, early and regular rounds counted together; it is not the rate of any single round.

Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026

Year-by-Year Data

YearAcceptance RateApplicantsAdmitted
20254.9%59,6112,946
20244.0%60,1152,400
20234.2%57,6132,439
20224.0%60,8792,404
20214.1%61,1102,524
20206.7%40,4622,695
20195.5%42,8232,332
20185.9%40,5722,399
20176.4%37,6732,410
20166.8%37,0092,526
20156.6%36,9112,438
20147.0%32,9672,291
20137.4%31,8512,362

Source: IPEDS Admissions Survey (NCES) · College Scorecard

Cost

Sticker pricePublished cost of attendance — tuition, fees, housing and food. (AY 2023–24)
$89,472/yr
What families actually payAvg. for families receiving federal aid (AY 2023–24)
$21,590/yr
4-year totalSticker cost of attendance × 4 years. (AY 2023–24)
$357,888
Tuition(AY 2024–25)
$71,845/yr
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entryFormer students, federal earnings records. (measured 2020–21, entry cohort 2009–11)
$102,491/yr

The same school, two different prices

Family income under $30k: $4,570/yr · Family income over $110k: $50,621/yr (AY 2023–24)

Average paid by students receiving federal aid, by family income (College Scorecard). International students are not eligible for U.S. federal aid, so they are not in this cohort and typically pay closer to the sticker price.

High-income families typically pay closer to sticker.

Aid for international students

Columbia University in the City of New York awarded institutional aid to 244 international undergraduates, averaging $88,789 (2024-2025 Common Data Set).

These figures describe only the international students who actually received aid — not what a typical international admit can expect. International students outside this group pay the full sticker price.

Source: official Common Data Set filing

Admitted Student Profile

SAT Range · Middle 50% (25th–75th)

1510–1560

Common Data Set 2025-2026

Admitted students at Columbia University in the City of New York scored between 1510 and 1560 on the SAT (middle 50%).

Source: College Scorecard · U.S. Dept of Education

What this school weighs — Columbia University in the City of New York

Course rigor and GPA are not in this table. Nearly every school rates both at the top, so they tell you nothing about this one. These six are where schools differ.

Common Data Set 2025–26
Class rankVery important
Standardized test scoresConsidered
Application essayVery important
RecommendationsVery important
Extracurricular activitiesVery important
Character / personal qualitiesVery important

Columbia University in the City of New York Common Data Set 2025–26, section C7

How to read these numbers

  • The 2025 rate covers Columbia University in the City of New York's whole applicant pool — early and regular applications counted together in one figure. It is not the rate of any single round.
  • 1510–1560 is the middle half of admitted scores, not a cutoff: a quarter of admitted students scored below 1510, and a quarter scored above 1560.
  • The table above holds 13 reported years, 2013 through 2025. Across them Columbia University in the City of New York's rate ranged from 4.0% to 7.4%, so any single year is one point inside that range.

Each figure above describes a class a school already admitted in a completed cycle. It is a record of who was admitted, not a measurement of any one application.

Source: College Scorecard · IPEDS Admissions Survey (NCES) · U.S. Dept. of Education

Where do you stand?

School

Columbia University in the City of New York

Columbia University in the City of New York

SAT

4001510–1560

Middle 50% of admitted students scored 1510–1560.

This is SAT only — one slice of an application, not the whole of it.

Your odds at every school on your list — $9.99 through Nov 15 →

Trend Analysis

Columbia University in the City of New York's acceptance rate has decreased from 7.4% in 2013 to 4.9% in 2025, reflecting increased selectivity. The most notable shift occurred in 2021.

Analysis compiled from official data trends.

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Data sourced from IPEDS and College Scorecard. Does not represent endorsements or guarantee admission outcomes.