Columbia University is as hard to get into as Harvard, Stanford, or MIT directly out of high school. With a sub-4% acceptance rate for first-years, Columbia is an extremely selective institution. However, unlike those other schools, Columbia is a bit friendlier to transfer applicants. To quantify this, between 400 and 500 transfer applicants are typically accepted each year. This is a significantly greater number of individuals than you’ll see at the aforementioned schools. The following blog will reveal the Columbia University transfer acceptance rate as well as other essential facts like the Columbia transfer deadline, the Columbia transfer requirements, and much more.
Below, we present the most current available Columbia transfer acceptance rate.
For entry in the fall of 2022, 3,008 students applied for transfer admission, and 341 were admitted. This means that the Columbia transfer acceptance rate is 11.3%.
If we break this down by gender, the acceptance rates are as follows:
For entry in the fall of 2021, there were 3,039 transfer applicants and 448 individuals were accepted. This means that the Columbia transfer acceptance rate was 14.7%.
Given that the transfer rates at some schools fluctuate wildly from year to year, it’s important to look at historical data. Although Columbia only publicizes transfer data for the 2021 admissions cycle and beyond, they do state that they typically admit fewer than 10% of transfer applicants each year.
For all academic programs, the Columbia transfer deadline is March 1, which is also the deadline for financial aid. Additionally, Columbia admits for the fall semester only.
All students must submit the following items as part of their Columbia University application:
In addition to the Columbia transfer requirements, students who have the best chance to gain admission have done the following:
The university states that successful students typically have at least a 3.5 overall GPA. However, in our experience working with Columbia applicants, you will need a 3.9 or better. This is not to say that your chances are nonexistent with a GPA below that mark, but a 3.9-4.0 GPA will give you the most favorable odds.
Please note: While the Coalition Essay in the Application Profile is not required for a complete transfer application, applicants will be asked to upload a 400-600 word essay on the Columbia Supplement to the Coalition Application responding to the following prompt:
Please explain why you are interested in transferring from your current institution. (The personal essay does not need to be specific to Columbia, but it should inform the committee why you wish to leave your current institution.)
Decisions come out by June 1. There are cases where the school notifies applicants earlier than that, but June is the latest they will notify individuals.
While the acceptance rate was 11.3% last cycle, that figure is under 10% in an average year. Still, the odds of gaining acceptance to Columbia are superior to those at other schools of its ilk. This is due, in part, just to the sheer volume of open transfer slots that the school has. That said, Columbia University will want to see a record of achievement (both inside and outside of the classroom) that knocks their socks off.
If you are looking for information on how to apply to Columbia as a first-year student, you may find the following blogs to be of interest:
Those searching for application info on other institutions may wish to visit our Dataverse pages:
A licensed counselor and published researcher, Andrew's experience in the field of college admissions and transition spans two decades. He has previously served as a high school counselor, consultant and author for Kaplan Test Prep, and advisor to U.S. Congress, reporting on issues related to college admissions and financial aid.
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