Columbia’s admissions process is largely the same for all students regardless of from where they are applying.  A great deal of information about our admissions requirements may be found on the Application Process section of our website.  Below we have provided notes specifically for international students to help you navigate the application process. 

For financial aid for international students, please click here.

New York City is home to millions of people, scores of unique neighborhoods and dozens of languages.

What does Columbia look for in a candidate?

We look at a variety of information to help us inform our decision on a candidate, including:

• The student’s curriculum and grades – we hope to see that a student is challenging herself or himself with a rigorous course load
• The context of a particular candidate, including family, secondary school, community, interests and access to resources
• The quality of a student’s involvement in activities beyond the classroom
• The character and personality of a candidate, and the impact she or he will make on our diverse, fully residential campus
• The candidate’s fit for the distinctive Columbia experience, which includes the Core Curriculum; a both traditionally collegiate and unmistakably urban campus life; and an Ivy League school where curious thinkers come to grow

Who evaluates the applications?

Columbia follows a committee-based approach, and thus every application is read in its entirety by at least two admissions officers and often more, before a final decision is rendered; no student is admitted to Columbia without a full discussion of the candidate by multiple officers.

All prospective students and their families should be aware that the Columbia University Office of Undergraduate Admissions does not authorize or work with any independent agents anywhere in the world for our recruitment efforts.

How does the Admissions Committee distinguish among candidates?

The admissions process at Columbia, as at many of our peer institutions, is a “holistic” one, taking into careful consideration a variety of aspects of a student. We do not rely on your standardized testing and grades alone and instead look at all parts of your application to help inform our judgment. We read your personal statements to try to understand who you are and what your motivations are for going to college. We read carefully your teacher recommendations to understand who you are in the classroom and what you offer to your classmates.

Every part of the application matters. In the end our goal is to find the students who are the best fits for Columbia. Each year, there are many more qualified applicants that apply than there are places in our class. Within the qualified pool of applicants, it is the job of the admissions committee to get to know all students and select those that the committee believes will take greatest advantage of the unique educational experience offered at Columbia and will offer something meaningful in return to the community.

Testing for International Students

English Proficiency Examination

To be considered for admission to Columbia, you must be comfortable with rapid and idiomatic spoken English. If your home language is not English and if your primary language of instruction has not been English for at least five years, you are required to take an English proficiency examination. Both of the examinations listed here are given all over the world, several times a year; you must take the examination no later than December of the school year in which you are applying:

1. TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). You are urged to visit www.toefl.org as quickly as possible for more information on this examination. A minimum score of 600 (paper-based test) or 100 (new Internet-based test) is necessary for admission to Columbia. Your score must be reported directly to Columbia by the testing service, using report code 2116.
2. IELTS (International English Language Testing System). You are urged to visit www.ielts.org as quickly as possible for more information on this examination. A minimum score of 7.0 is necessary for admission to Columbia. Your score must be reported directly to Columbia Undergraduate Admissions.
3. If you have a 650 on the Critical Reasoning or Writing sections of the SAT, you are exempt from taking an English proficiency examination.

SAT and ACT Testing

Most international students submit SAT scores. If you take the ACT in place of the SAT you must take the ACT with writing if possible in your country. SAT Subject Tests are required of all candidates.

Please refer to the testing section of Frequently Asked Questions for our policy regarding testing.