Columbia University Ivy League
New York, NY · Official website ↗
International students should also budget for health insurance, visa and travel costs not shown here.
Quick summary
| Cost per year | about $92,198 per year (tuition, housing, food, books — U.S. Department of Education figure) + flights and visa. Four years cost roughly four times this if prices stay the same; colleges usually raise prices every year. |
|---|---|
| Money from the college | Need-based aid: yes, but asking for it can affect the admission decision. Merit scholarships: none. No named scholarship is confirmed open to international students yet. |
| Chances of admission | extremely selective: about 1 in 25 applicants is admitted. Middle half of admitted students scored SAT 1510–1580. |
| Application deadlines | not yet determined |
| Where and how students live | New York, NY · Large city · summer highs about 29°C, winter lows about -2°C · 8 km from LGA airport |
| Housing | not yet determined |
| Working while studying | not yet determined |
| After graduation | not yet determined |
Plain-language summary of the verified details below. Where it says “not yet determined”, we have not found it on an official page yet.
Financial aid & requirements for international students
| Aid & admission for international applicants | Need-aware for international applicants The college may consider an international applicant's ability to pay when deciding admission. Sources (1)“international students are evaluated in a need-aware manner”undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu ↗ · checked 2026-11-11 |
|---|---|
| Meets full financial need | Yes — meets the full demonstrated need of admitted studentsSources (1)“Columbia is committed to meeting 100% of the demonstrated need of all admitted first-year students, regardless of citizenship.”undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu ↗ · checked 2026-11-11 |
| Merit scholarships | No — aid is based on need, not meritSources (1)“All financial aid at Columbia is need-based, and there are no merit scholarships awarded for academics, athletics or other talents.”undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu ↗ · checked 2026-11-11 |
| Forms for international aid applicants | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
| Must request aid when applying? | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
| SAT / ACT policy | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
| English proficiency | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
| Conditional admission / English pathway | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
Deadlines (fall 2027 entry)
| Application deadlines | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
|---|---|
| Financial aid deadline | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
Dates as published by the college; check the official page for time zones and supporting-document deadlines.
Costs for international students
| Student health insurance | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
|---|---|
| Proof of funds for the I-20 | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
Earnings by field of study
| Field | After 1 year | After 4 years |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Engineering | — | $194,365 |
| Computer Science | $135,612 | $188,265 |
| Operations Research | $125,285 | $167,572 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | — | $143,332 |
| Economics | $97,674 | $137,710 |
| Mathematics | $55,980 | $117,252 |
| Mechanical Engineering | $92,862 | $111,491 |
| Civil Engineering | — | $108,246 |
| Sociology | $59,638 | $101,536 |
| Political Science and Government | $72,705 | $100,245 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | — | $99,679 |
| Statistics | $98,912 | — |
Median yearly earnings of graduates of this college's bachelor's programme in each field, 1 and 4 years after finishing. Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (retrieved 2026-11-11). Only graduates who received U.S. federal student aid are counted, so international students are not included.
Location
| City / state | New York, NY |
|---|---|
| Setting | Large city |
| Nearest major airport | LaGuardia Airport (LGA), about 8 km in a straight line |
| Map | View on OpenStreetMap ↗ |
Setting from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard); airport from OurAirports (public-domain data).
Climate
| Warmest month (Jul) | average high 29°C (85°F) |
|---|---|
| Coldest month (Jan) | average low -2°C (28°F) |
| Precipitation per year | 1,258 mm |
| Snowfall per year | 76 cm |
Month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °C | 4° | 6° | 10° | 17° | 22° | 26° | 29° | 28° | 25° | 18° | 12° | 7° |
| Low °C | -2° | -1° | 2° | 8° | 13° | 18° | 21° | 20° | 17° | 11° | 6° | 1° |
| Rain mm | 92 | 81 | 109 | 104 | 101 | 115 | 117 | 116 | 110 | 111 | 91 | 111 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at the New York Cntrl Pk Twr, Ny Us weather station, about 3 km from campus. Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals.
Cost, admission rate, test-score ranges and earnings come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (retrieved 2026-11-11). SAT range adds the 25th/75th-percentile section scores, so it is approximate. Scorecard earnings are for federal-aid recipients.