Columbia University: Overview, Entry requirements, Scholarship & funding, Campuses undefined Student life

Columbia University was founded in 1754 as King's College by royal charter of King George II of England. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York and the fifth oldest in the United States.

Controversy preceded the founding of the College, with various groups competing to determine its location and religious affiliation. Advocates of New York City met with success on the first point, while the Anglicans prevailed on the latter. However, all constituencies agreed to commit themselves to principles of religious liberty in establishing the policies of the College.

In 1897, the university moved from Forty-ninth Street and Madison Avenue, where it had stood for forty years, to its present location on Morningside Heights at 116th Street and Broadway. Seth Low, the president of the University at the time of the move, sought to create an academic village in a more spacious setting. Charles Follen McKim of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White modeled the new campus after the Athenian agora. The Columbia campus comprises the largest single collection of McKim, Mead & White buildings in existence.

The architectural centerpiece of the campus is Low Memorial Library, named in honor of Seth Low's father. Built in the Roman classical style, it appears in the New York City Register of Historic Places. The building today houses the University's central administration offices and the visitors center.

To be considered for admission to Columbia, you must be comfortable with rapid and idiomatic spoken English. There are several different ways to demonstrate that you are proficient in English on your application.

Your home language is English.
Your primary language of instruction at school has been English for the duration of your secondary school career.
You earned one or more of the following subsection scores:
1. 650 or higher on either the Critical Reasoning or Writing sections of the SAT before March 2016
2. 700 or higher on the Evidence Based Reading and Writing section of the redesigned SAT (beginning in March 2016)
3. 29 or higher on the English or Reading sections of the ACT
4. English Language Proficiency requirement: TOEFL 100 (Internet-based test) and 600 (paper-based test); IELTS minimum score of 7.0; DET (Duolingo English Test) minimum score of 120

We believe cost should not be a barrier to pursuing one’s educational dreams, and a Columbia education is possible for students from families of all sorts of socioeconomic backgrounds. Columbia admits a large number of international students who apply for and receive a substantial amount of financial aid. We guarantee to meet 100% of all admitted first-year students' demonstrated financial need for all four years, regardless of citizenship.