We accept first-year applications from students who are hoping to enroll full time at Columbia College or Columbia Engineering . Our admissions staff reviews each application holistically and with care in order to understand what each candidate might contribute to our undergraduate community . Our goal is to identify the applicants we believe will make the most of this experience—both during their time here, and throughout their lives.
First-year applications for Fall 2025 are now available.
Columbia accepts either the Coalition Application on Scoir or the Common Application . We will also accept the QuestBridge Application from QuestBridge Finalists. These applications include:
In addition to the Coalition Application and the Common Application, you must also respond to Columbia-specific questions to provide the Committee on Admissions with a fuller sense of you as a person—including your academic, extracurricular and intellectual interests. These questions allow us to better understand your intellectual curiosity, habits of mind, love of learning and sense of self. These questions also allow the Committee on Admissions to learn more about you in your current community and why you feel Columbia’s distinctive experiences in and out of the classroom would be a good fit for your undergraduate education.
Columbia requires two teacher recommendations. These recommendations must come from teachers who taught you in academic disciplines. For applicants to Columbia Engineering, one of the teacher recommendations must come from a math or science teacher.
Application Fee or Fee Waiver
An $85 nonrefundable application fee is required as part of an application to Columbia University. We are unable to refund the application fee under any circumstances. Submit payment online using an electronic check or Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express credit card. Payment (or fee waiver) is due at the time that you submit your application.
If paying the application fee is a significant financial burden for your family, we encourage you to request an automatic fee waiver through your admission application. You can determine your fee waiver eligibility today using our fee waiver form .
Columbia is test-optional for first-year applicants to Columbia College or Columbia Engineering. Please review our standardized testing policy for additional details, as well as our English language proficiency requirement if applicable.
Supplementary Materials
Supplementary materials are not a required part of our admissions process—but there are occasions where they can enhance our understanding of your application. (In other words, it’s completely up to you if you’d like to include these materials.)
Deadline for Early Decision applications and QuestBridge National College Match applicants
November 15: Early Decision financial aid application deadline
Deadline for Early Decision financial aid applications
Mid-December: Release of Early Decision admissions and financial aid decisions
Admissions and financial aid decisions released online to Early Decision candidates
January 1: Regular Decision application deadline
Deadline for Regular Decision applications
Early January: Response deadline for Early Decision applicants
Early Decision response deadline
February 15: Regular Decision financial aid application deadline
Deadline for Regular Decision financial aid applications
Late March: Release of Regular Decision admissions and financial aid decisions
Admissions and financial aid decisions released online to Regular Decision candidates
May 1: Response deadline for Regular Decision applicants
Regular Decision response deadline
May 15: Request deadline for enrollment deferral
Enrollment deferral request deadline
Late June: Final transcript deadline for incoming students
Final transcript due for incoming students
A Columbia admissions officer talks about how we review applications and the philosophies that guide our work.
The first-year application is for students who plan to enroll full time in either Columbia College or Columbia Engineering .
If you’re a current college student, explore our Transfer , Combined Plan and Visiting Student programs. If you’re a potential applicant to Columbia College and you’ve taken a break of more than a year in your education (with the exception of those in mandatory military service) you should, instead, consider Columbia University's School of General Studies . The same is true for all students who wish to attend a part-time program. (If you’re interested in attending Columbia Engineering but have taken a break as described above, just apply as a first-year.)
If you have already submitted and then withdrawn an application during this application cycle, you are not eligible to reapply until the next application cycle.
Interviews are not a part of the application process . Please see the announcement from May 18, 2023.
All applicants should review our Accuracy & Authenticity statement prior to submitting their application, as a ll applicants to Columbia University must confirm on their application that they understand and agree to adhere to the above expectations.
For questions about undergraduate admission and the application process, please visit our online FAQs. If you still can't find your answer, please contact us.
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.
Columbia College: Columbia College has no explicit number of unit requirements for admission, but applicants must present evidence that they are prepared for college work in the humanities, mathematics, social sciences, foreign languages and natural sciences. Accordingly, Columbia College strongly recommends the following secondary school preparation:
Students who plan to become scientists, engineers, physicians or dentists should be as solidly grounded in mathematics and the sciences as their high school schedules and curricula have permitted. The study of mathematics, at least through pre-calculus, is strongly advised wherever possible.
Modifying the preparatory program just outlined—by taking more work in some subjects and less in others — is not only acceptable but may be desirable in individual cases. The vast majority of successful applicants to Columbia College have taken five academic courses per term for all four years of secondary/high school.
Columbia Engineering: The School of Engineering and Applied Science prescribes no standardized course of study for secondary school students applying for first-year admission. However, the Engineering curriculum is heavily driven by physics and calculus, so Columbia Engineering strongly advises these courses within the following recommended academic preparation:
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.
We understand that students personally affected by natural disasters, community disturbances or other extenuating circumstances may have challenges in completing their applications on time; they are invited to email us at ugrad-ask@columbia.edu if their application will be arriving late.
