Columbia vs New York University (NYU)

Columbia University and New York University, two prominent institutions in the heart of New York City, offer distinct educational experiences. Columbia, with an acceptance rate of 6.1%, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on research, while NYU, with an acceptance rate of 16.2%, is known for its vibrant campus life and its strength in the arts and social sciences. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, but they differ in their popular majors, with Columbia excelling in fields like engineering and computer science, and NYU excelling in areas like film and media studies. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details about these institutions, including graduation rates, student demographics, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Columbia University	New York University
Overview
Location	New York, New York	New York, New York
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	99.0%	94.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.1%	13.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $120	Undergraduate: $80 Graduate: $110
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1450 - 1570
ACT range	34 - 35	32 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%	23.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	9.0%
Total number of applicants	61,110	95,517
Total number of admissions given out	2,524	12,380
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,641	6,097
Yield rate	65.0%	49.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$90,882	$79,746
Average net price	$12,411	$50,991
Tuition	$60,514	$53,770
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,450 Meal plan: $6,000	Room/dormitory: $14,232 Meal plan: $5,450
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	53.0% Average amount $57,726	75.0% Average amount $25,047
Students receiving federal student loan	7.0% Average amount $5,511	25.0% Average amount $5,094
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $34,119	3.0% Average amount $37,948

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,832 Men 50.6% Women 49.4%	28,772 Men 41.8% Women 58.2%
Graduate students	24,944 Men 44.8% Women 55.2%	29,454 Men 42.4% Women 57.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	67.6%
International students	37.0%	30.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	13,071	13,063
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New York California New Jersey Texas Florida

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Computer and Information Science Public Administration and Social Service	Business Health Professions Computer and Information Science Engineering Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	97.4%	86.9%
Dropout rate	1.7%	6.5%
Transferred out	0.7%	5.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $193,362 Year 2: $180,752 Year 3: $230,020 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,427 Year 2: $170,426 Year 3: $179,305 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $153,730 Year 2: $160,605 Year 3: $167,216 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $133,851 Year 2: $143,033 Year 3: $166,695 Operations Research (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,312 Year 2: $114,503 Year 3: $148,040 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $108,903 Year 2: $103,078 Year 3: $135,658 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $115,222 Year 2: $127,993 Year 3: $131,926 Construction Management (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,322 Year 2: $110,878 Year 3: $125,926 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,569 Year 2: $109,659 Year 3: $119,899 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,223 Year 2: $100,127 Year 3: $118,332	Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $189,685 Year 2: $174,714 Year 3: $209,134 Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $178,151 Year 3: $180,551 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $148,198 Year 2: $145,543 Year 3: $162,625 Legal Professions and Studies, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $161,093 Year 2: $137,921 Year 3: $158,306 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,979 Year 2: $111,769 Year 3: $135,122 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,668 Year 2: $112,328 Year 3: $125,640 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $119,483 Year 2: $111,833 Year 3: $121,619 Real Estate (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $102,871 Year 2: $104,597 Year 3: $117,508 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $72,198 Year 2: $81,886 Year 3: $113,230 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $75,653 Year 2: $79,957 Year 3: $104,670

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Columbia

California Institute of Technology