Admissions & selectivity
Columbia University in the City of New York Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at Columbia?
Columbia’s reported acceptance rate is 4.0%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 4.0%
Source: College Scorecard · Fall 2024 admissions. Acceptance rates can change from year to year; this figure does not predict the current or next admission cycle.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
Columbia University in the City of New York admitted 4.0% of applicants, a figure far below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Columbia students report?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported an SAT range of 1510 to 1560 among enrolled students who submitted scores. 50% of the entering class submitted SAT scores.
The ACT composite for enrolled submitters ran from 34 to 35; 17% submitted ACT scores. The same source lists an average high-school GPA of 4.25 among enrolled first-year students, from the 99.9% who reported one.
Among the 25% of the entering class that reported a class rank, 94% placed in the upper tenth and 99% in the upper quarter of their high-school class. Applicants can weigh their own scores against its SAT and ACT ranges, 1510–1560 and 34–35, remembering these describe enrolled submitters, not admission cutoffs.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Columbia. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
50% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1510
- Median
- 1540
- 75th percentile
- 1560
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
17% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 34
- Median
- 35
- 75th percentile
- 35
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: Columbia University in the City of New York Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at Columbia?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 22.7%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 33.0%
- First-year retention
- 98.0%
Retention source: College Scorecard; full-time first-year retention.
About these student measures
The entering-student group includes part-time entrants as well as other attendance patterns.
Pell Grant recipients make up 22.7% of Columbia University in the City of New York's 8,973 undergraduates, and an estimated 33.0% of students enter as transfers or part-time students. The undergraduate body is shaped by a 4.0% admission rate, far below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 4,909 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 453 admitted, and 357 enrolled. The composition suggests a student body assembled through selective first-year admission alongside a sizable transfer pathway.
Applicants who receive Pell Grants or who are considering transferring should prepare a strong academic record and treat the transfer route as a real, though narrow, entry point.
The first-time, full-time cohort at Columbia University in the City of New York persists and completes at rates well above the medians for comparable institutions. 98.0% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.4%.
The six-year graduation rate is 96.1%, compared with a peer median of 68.8%. Pell Grant recipients in that cohort complete at 83.0%, which is 13.1 percentage points below the overall rate.
The gap is a data point a prospective student should weigh alongside the headline completion figures. An enrolled student can expect high rates of persistence and completion, though the outcomes for Pell recipients differ from the overall picture.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Admission rates describe past applicants, not an individual’s chance of admission; confirm requirements and deadlines with the institution.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.