Columbia vs University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (UMich)

Columbia University and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, two prestigious institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Columbia, located in the heart of New York City, boasts a lower acceptance rate, a more diverse student body, and a higher graduation rate. On the other hand, Michigan, situated in Ann Arbor, offers a wider range of undergraduate majors, a larger student population, and a lower cost of attendance. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into specific details and discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.
Columbia University logo

Columbia University

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor logo

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Overview

Location New York, New York Ann Arbor, Michigan
Campus setting City: Large City: Midsize
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Public
Calendar system Semester Trimester
Degrees offered Undergraduate and Graduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 99.0% 97.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 4.1% 20.2%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $85

Graduate: $120
Undergraduate: $75

Graduate: $75
SAT range 1470 - 1570 N/A
ACT range 34 - 35 N/A
Students submitting SAT score 43.0%
Students submitting ACT score 28.0%
Total number of applicants 61,110 79,743
Total number of admissions given out 2,524 16,071
Admitted students who chose to enroll 1,641 7,290
Yield rate 65.0% 45.4%
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 Required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $90,882
In state: $32,272

Out of state: $69,326
Average net price $12,411 $19,205
Tuition $60,514
In state: $15,850

Out of state: $52,904
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $9,450

Meal plan: $6,000
$12,592
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
59.0%
Average amount $16,326
Students receiving federal student loan 7.0%
Average amount $5,511
24.0%
Average amount $5,311
Students taking out private loans 2.0%
Average amount $34,119
3.0%
Average amount $21,796

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 8,832
Men 50.6% Women 49.4%
32,282
Men 48.8% Women 51.2%
Graduate students 24,944
Men 44.8% Women 55.2%
17,996
Men 49.4% Women 50.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Moderate
Low
Out-of-state students N/A N/A
International students 37.0% 15.7%
Campus local/setting City: Large City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity 13,071 11,629
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
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
  • Engineering
  • Health Professions
  • Business
  • Public Administration and Social Service
  • Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio 6:1 12:1
Institutional accreditation Middle States Commission on Higher Education Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 97.4% 93.7%
Dropout rate 1.7% 5.7%
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
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $185,139
  • Year 2: $178,741
  • Year 3: $197,723
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $209,842
  • Year 2: $168,125
  • Year 3: $177,935
Law (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $146,285
  • Year 2: $139,927
  • Year 3: $151,208
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $139,794
  • Year 2: $140,166
  • Year 3: $148,785
Dentistry (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $118,208
  • Year 2: $112,215
  • Year 3: $137,273
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $78,398
  • Year 2: $97,071
  • Year 3: $123,926
Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $100,643
  • Year 2: $94,281
  • Year 3: $117,745
Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $102,847
  • Year 2: $116,354
  • Year 3: $116,465
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $96,171
  • Year 2: $99,772
  • Year 3: $107,831
Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $91,194
  • Year 2: $84,653
  • Year 3: $101,999

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 University Columbia vs California Institute of Technology California Institute of Technology
Columbia University Columbia vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
Columbia University Columbia vs Samuel Merritt University Samuel Merritt University
Columbia University Columbia vs University of Southern California University of Southern California
Columbia University Columbia vs Yale University Yale University
Columbia University Columbia vs Georgetown University Georgetown University
Columbia University Columbia vs University of Chicago University of Chicago
Columbia University Columbia vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
Columbia University Columbia vs University of Notre Dame University of Notre Dame
Columbia University Columbia vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
Columbia University Columbia vs University of Maryland-College Park University of Maryland-College Park
Columbia University Columbia vs United States Naval Academy United States Naval Academy
Columbia University Columbia vs Boston University Boston University
Columbia University Columbia vs Brandeis University Brandeis University
Columbia University Columbia vs Harvard University Harvard University
Columbia University Columbia vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Columbia University Columbia vs Wellesley College Wellesley College
Columbia University Columbia vs University of Michigan-Ann Arbor University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Columbia University Columbia vs Washington University in St Louis Washington University in St Louis
Columbia University Columbia vs Dartmouth College Dartmouth College
Columbia University Columbia vs Barnard College Barnard College
Columbia University Columbia vs Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Columbia University Columbia vs Cornell University Cornell University
Columbia University Columbia vs Jewish Theological Seminary of America Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Columbia University Columbia vs Manhattan College Manhattan College
Columbia University Columbia vs Molloy College Molloy College
Columbia University Columbia vs The New School The New School
Columbia University Columbia vs New York University New York University
Columbia University Columbia vs St. John's University-New York St. John's University-New York
Columbia University Columbia vs Duke University Duke University
Columbia University Columbia vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Columbia University Columbia vs University of Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania
Columbia University Columbia vs Brown University Brown University
Columbia University Columbia vs Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University
Columbia University Columbia vs Rice University Rice University
Columbia University Columbia vs University of Virginia-Main Campus University of Virginia-Main Campus
Columbia University Columbia vs Stanford University Stanford University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Alabama at Birmingham University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Arizona University of Arizona
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of California-Davis University of California-Davis
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Colorado Boulder University of Colorado Boulder
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Connecticut University of Connecticut
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Delaware University of Delaware
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Florida State University Florida State University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Florida University of Florida
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Indiana University-Bloomington Indiana University-Bloomington
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Iowa State University Iowa State University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Iowa University of Iowa
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Kansas University of Kansas
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Kentucky University of Kentucky
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Maryland, Baltimore University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Maryland-College Park University of Maryland-College Park
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs United States Naval Academy United States Naval Academy
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Harvard University Harvard University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Saginaw Valley State University Saginaw Valley State University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Western Michigan University Western Michigan University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Jewish Theological Seminary of America Jewish Theological Seminary of America
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Texas Tech University Texas Tech University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Brigham Young University Brigham Young University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor UMich vs Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University