
At a Glance
New York, NY
Undergraduate Students: 8,830
Student to Faculty Ratio: 6:1
Acceptance Rate: 4%
Six Year Graduation Rate: 97%
Freshman Retention Rate: 99%
Notable Majors: English, History, Political Science, Economics, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Engineering
The Feel
In Morningside Heights area of Manhattan. Uncanny how enclosed and separate from the city the campus is for being in the middle of NYC. Mixture of architecture, very grandiose campus, much of it aligned in a big square.
The university is made up of two colleges, Columbia College and Columbia Engineering. Columbia College has had in place for centuries the distinguished Core Curriculum, which is essentially their liberal arts general education requirement. The Core is composed of 6 categories, including Greek philosophy and music. Classes in the core will never have more than 22 students.
Columbia has a partnership with Barnard College, located across the street, where students can take classes and eat in their dining facilities.
They have 31 NCAA Division I teams, but most of the sports facilities are located a half hour away. The campus has a gym that is actually underground.
95% of students live on campus all four years, which is crucial because the cost and difficulty of acquiring off campus housing.
Standout Points
The campus location is one of a kind, giving students quick access to the countless opportunities New York City has to offer, but remaining in a more low-key part of Manhattan.
Columbia has over 200 research centers, and over 1 billion dollars is spent on research every year.
Columbia offers 50 languages! Their options include Aramaic, Sanskrit, Hindi-Urdu, old Greek and modern Greek, and Finnish.
Most classes do not meet on Fridays in order to allow time for experiential learning.
Their library is among the top 5 largest university libraries in the country.
Columbia sits on the extremely rare list of colleges that meet 100% of demonstrated financial need and do not include loans as any part of their aid package, regardless of income. Households making less than $66,000 will not pay a dime, and households making less than $150,000 typically will not pay any tuition.
Fun Fact
Columbia was originally named King's College, which was one of nine chartered colleges in the American colonies.
Bottom Line Fit: For the ivy-league pursuer seeking a premiere New York City location, and who is enthusiastic about a centuries old liberal arts core curriculum.
Learn more about Columbia University!
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