We ask first-year applicants to submit the Common Application, Coalition Application or QuestBridge Application with Columbia-specific questions, a secondary school report, two teacher recommendations and optional SAT or ACT scores (self-reported). The admissions process at Columbia is a holistic one, which means that every part of the application matters to help inform our judgment.

To be eligible to enroll as a transfer student at Columbia, an applicant must have completed, or be registered for, 24 points of credit (the equivalent of one year of full-time study) at another institution, as well as have earned a high school diploma or equivalent (by the application deadline). Candidates with more than four semesters of college coursework elsewhere are not encouraged to apply.