Columbia vs UChicago

Columbia University and the University of Chicago, two prestigious institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Columbia, located in the heart of New York City, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs, with popular majors including computer science, economics, and political science. The University of Chicago, situated in the vibrant Hyde Park neighborhood, is known for its rigorous academic environment and its strengths in fields such as economics, social sciences, and physical sciences. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, student demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

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

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.1%	6.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $120	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $90
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1510 - 1580
ACT range	34 - 35	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%	49.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	35.0%
Total number of applicants	61,110	37,974
Total number of admissions given out	2,524	2,460
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,641	2,053
Yield rate	65.0%	83.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$90,882	$84,126
Average net price	$12,411	$33,727
Tuition	$60,514	$59,256
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,450 Meal plan: $6,000	$17,685
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	53.0% Average amount $57,726	52.0% Average amount $48,412
Students receiving federal student loan	7.0% Average amount $5,511	6.0% Average amount $5,265
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $34,119	2.0% Average amount $37,860

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,832 Men 50.6% Women 49.4%	7,636 Men 52.2% Women 47.8%
Graduate students	24,944 Men 44.8% Women 55.2%	11,196 Men 55.1% Women 44.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	37.0%	28.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	13,071	4,584
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Computer and Information Science Public Administration and Social Service	Business Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	5:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	97.4%	95.9%
Dropout rate	1.7%	1.7%
Transferred out	0.7%	N/A
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: $181,006 Year 2: $171,510 Year 3: $219,263 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $159,677 Year 2: $159,442 Year 3: $178,485 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $93,918 Year 2: $91,211 Year 3: $142,172 Statistics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $119,416 Year 2: $116,083 Year 3: $131,549 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,094 Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $105,545 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $82,564 Year 2: $85,637 Year 3: $96,012 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,684 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $91,550 Public Policy Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,121 Year 2: $70,083 Year 3: $82,672 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $81,753 Year 2: $72,022 Year 3: $81,130 Public Policy Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,165 Year 2: $52,663 Year 3: $73,510

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Columbia vs UChicago

Columbia University

University of Chicago

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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