Columbia University has released admissions statistics for the Class of 2029. Unlike many of its Ivy League counterparts (including, most recently, Harvard University), Columbia has opted to share some of the raw numbers with all of our prying eyes. However, those seeking a fuller picture of the Columbia Class of 2029, including a sense of student demographic data, will be left wondering.

Columbia University Class of 2029 in a Historical Perspective 

Out of a pool of 59,616 applicants, 2,557, or 4.29%, were accepted to the Class of 2029, marking a slight decrease in applications and an increase in the acceptance rate from last year’s 60,248 applicants and 3.86% acceptance rate. Columbia hasn’t set an admissions record since the Class of 2026, when a record-low 3.73% of applicants were admitted to this New York City-based Ivy League school. Not that any of us are particularly surprised — Columbia has been mired in a torrent of terrible PR, including a year of jeopardizing the safety of Jewish students, which was most recently punctuated by the institution’s capitulation to Trump administration demands. Their lackluster showing this year just underscores the notion that you can’t turn a blind eye to rampant antisemitism, run your university like a war zone, and think potential applicants won’t notice! Columbia’s administration, now under the leadership of a third president in a single year, has been an utter disgrace to American higher academia.

Columbia University Admission Statistics (Class of 2029 – Class of 2007)

Columbia University Class Year	Overall Acceptance Rate	Regular Decision Acceptance Rate	Regular Decision Applications Accepted	Regular Decision Applications Received	Early Decision / Action Acceptance Rate	Percent of Class Filled by Early Applications	Early Decision / Action Applications Received	Early Decision / Action Applications Accepted	Expected Number of Students to Enroll	Total Applications Received	Total Applications Accepted
Class of 2029	4.29%	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	5,872	NYP	NYP	59,616	2,557
Class of 2028	3.86%	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	6,008	NYP	1,450	60,248	2,327
Class of 2027	3.99%	2.81%	1,444	51,393	14.65%	44.39%	5,733	840	1,454	57,126	2,284
Class of 2026	3.73%	2.96%	1,603	54,072	10.31%	43.60%	6,305	650	1,492	60,377	2,253
Class of 2025	3.90%	3.20%	1,708	54,116	10.10%	43.50%	6,435	650	1,492	60,551	2,237
Class of 2024	6.10%	5.10%	1,815	35,766	15.10%	46.80%	4,318	650	1,390	40,084	2,465
Class of 2023	5.10%	4.30%	1,540	36,108	14.60%	46.80%	4,461	650	1,390	42,569	2,190
Class of 2022	5.50%	4.30%	1,564	36,118	15.90%	46.80%	4,085	650	1,390	40,203	2,214
Class of 2021	5.80%	4.60%	1,534	33,303	15.90%	46.80%	4,086	651	1,390	37,389	2,185
Class of 2020	6.00%	4.80%	1,572	32,772	17.60%	44.60%	3,520	621	1,390	36,292	2,193
Class of 2019	6.10%	4.80%	1,590	32,877	18.70%	45.40%	3,373	632	1,390	36,250	2,222
Class of 2018	7.00%	5.50%	1,641	29,654	19.70%	46.80%	3,298	650	1,390	32,952	2,291
Class of 2017	6.90%	5.60%	1,710	30,405	19.20%	43.20%	3,126	601	1,390	33,531	2,311
Class of 2016	7.40%	6.00%	1,792	28,730	20.40%	45.40%	3,088	631	1,391	31,818	2,363
Class of 2015	6.90%	5.70%	1,792	31,712	19.50%	45.10%	3,217	627	1,391	34,929	2,419
Class of 2014	9.20%	7.60%	1,765	23,195	21.20%	45.40%	2,983	631	1,391	26,178	2,396
Class of 2013	9.80%	8.20%	1,857	22,587	22.50%	45.90%	2,841	639	1,391	25,428	2,496
Class of 2012	10.00%	8.40%	1,672	19,997	23.10%	44.20%	2,582	597	1,350	22,597	2,269
Class of 2011	10.40%	8.50%	1,616	18,914	24.50%	44%	2,429	594	1,350	21,343	2,210
Class of 2010	11.40%	9.60%	1,686	17,565	25.60%	43.80%	2,275	582	1,330	19,840	2,268
Class of 2009	12.40%	10.50%	1,680	15,964	26.40%	43.30%	2,156	570	1,317	18,120	2,250
Class of 2008	12.80%	10.80%	1,654	15,322	28.90%	42.10%	1,939	560	1,330	17,261	2,214
Class of 2007	12%	9.60%	1,429	14,939	31.70%	43%	1,805	572	1,330	16,744	2,001

Profile of Columbia Admits to the Class of 2029

According to a press release from Columbia Undergraduate Admissions, the Columbia Class of 2029 includes students from all 50 states as well as American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and 115 countries. Moreover, “approximately half of admitted students thus far have been offered financial aid.”

We don’t yet know much else about this crop of admitted students beyond the fact that we know Jewish student applications to the Columbia Class of 2029 were — surprise, surprise — down big time . We don’t know how many are the first in their families to attend college, how many are male versus female, or what the racial demographics look like. However, all of this information should be forthcoming in the federally mandated Common Data Set. This noticeable lack of admissions data is a sobering reminder that a new age of elite college admissions is upon us, one in which highly selective institutions are far less willing to share much about their admissions statistics for fear of drawing undue scrutiny.

Test-Optional Strategy Backfires at Columbia

One thing to note about this admissions cycle is that Columbia did not require applicants to submit standardized tests, opting instead for a test-optional policy that was once the norm for elite institutions searching for a way to make sense of pandemic-era learning losses, but which has quickly been reverted to a test-mandatory status quo at most institutions, with Columbia being the exception. Our point is that Columbia still had a lackluster year in spite of the fact that its applicant pool was most likely inflated with “squeakers,” which is Ivy Coach’s affectionate term for those sneaky students who try (and typically fail) to secure admission to an academically-rigorous school by taking advantage of test-optional policies.

If Columbia were to, say, go the route of Dartmouth and other Ivies and revoke their test-optional policy, one could anticipate an even further decline in applicant numbers and a subsequent hike in acceptance rate. Oy vey — no wonder Columbia didn’t want to roll the dice on this possibility as its reputation continues to be tarnished by a culture of student repression!

Getting Started with Ivy Coach on Columbia University Waitlist

If you’re interested in optimizing your case for admission after being placed on the dreaded waitlist to the Columbia Class of 2029 or to get yourself started with Ivy Coach to help your child put together the best application possible for Columbia admission sometime in the future, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form. We’ll be in touch to delineate our services. Ivy Coach’s very own Jen Duran, a former Columbia University admissions officer, will lead your admissions journey.