Regular Decision
Admissions application: Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Financial aid application: Saturday, February 15, 2025
How to Apply
Ready to find out where Columbia Blue might take you? Here, you’ll find all the resources you need to understand the admissions process and to get ready to build a complete, authentic and compelling application. We look forward to getting to know you.
Important Deadlines
Combined Plan
Admissions application: Saturday, February 1, 2025
Financial aid application: Saturday, March 1, 2025
Transfer
Admissions application: Saturday, March 1, 2025
Financial aid application: Saturday, March 1, 2025
Visiting Student Program
Fall 2025 admissions application (priority): Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Fall 2025 admissions application (final): Sunday, June 15, 2025
None of the above? No problem.
You can still apply to Columbia—just apply through these other undergraduate programs instead.
Columbia's Commitment to Diversity
It is important for all applicants to understand that, beyond academic excellence and preparedness, there is no one factor that determines whether they will receive an offer of admission. We do not admit students based on any single factor or to fill quotas. Rather, each application is assessed holistically based on the entirety of its substance and context. To that end, we encourage all prospective students to use their application as an opportunity to present the best and most complete version of themselves. Our dedication to academic excellence in all its facets is intrinsically tied to our commitment to diversity in its many expressions. This interplay forms a cornerstone of our academic mission.
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What matters to Columbia is your ability—not your ability to pay.
The Columbia experience is open to individuals from every imaginable background. In fact, it depends upon them—and the diverse perspectives they bring to our campus.
alumni:
This is a time to discover who you are and who you want to become. It is an exciting adventure. Take a deep breath. Let it out. Relax. Begin. Enjoy.
Jessica
Marinaccio
Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid
How to Apply FAQs
What is Columbia looking for when evaluating students for admission? What are the criteria for admission?
The Columbia University first-year class of College and Engineering students is chosen from a large and diverse group of applicants. Columbia employs a holistic approach in assessing candidates in order to evaluate which students are the best matches for Columbia's unique educational experience.
In the process of selection, the Committee on Admissions considers each applicant's academic potential, intellectual strength and ability to think independently. The Committee also considers the general attitudes and character of the applicant, special abilities and interests, maturity, motivation, curiosity and whether they are likely to make productive use of the four years at Columbia.
Should I apply Early Decision?
If Columbia is your first-choice school — and you are willing to make a binding commitment to attend if admitted — we encourage you to consider applying Early Decision. Learn more about the Early Decision process.
How do I apply for financial aid?
The financial aid application process collects information about your family's income, assets, family composition and other circumstances. All requirements and submission instructions are detailed on the Financial Aid & Educational Financing website. Learn more about affordability and aid at Columbia.
May I apply to both Columbia College and Columbia Engineering?
No. Applicants to Columbia must choose either Columbia College or Columbia Engineering.
Being here
Being at Columbia feels like being at the center of everything. It’s a beautiful, walkable campus in a comfortable, welcoming residential neighborhood, tucked away in a corner of one of the world’s greatest cities.
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A proud tradition of intellectual exploration
Columbia has been a place of deep intellectual curiosity and wide-ranging academic inquiry since 1754. Across departments, schools, centers and institutes, Columbians at every level are driven by an abiding passion for discovery.
Visit
Whether you want to get to know the neighborhood in person or from the comfort of your own home, we’ve got you covered.
Our Community
Columbia is home to a vibrant, curious, welcoming community of students and faculty, drawn together from every walk of life and corner of the world.
FAQs
Whether it’s finding the right program for you or navigating the application and financial aid process, we’ve got the answers you need.