COLUMBIA admits 2,269 of 22,579 for Class of 2012

CC More Selective Than Ever

By Niyati Roy

PUBLISHED APRIL 1, 2008

On Monday afternoon, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions sent out the much-awaited admission packages that had been causing sleepless nights for more than 22,000 hopefuls from across the country and the world.

Columbia College received a total of 19,116 applications, a 5.7 percent increase from last year�s numbers, and admitted only 1,660. The overall admit rate of 8.7 percent is the lowest ever in the College�s history.

The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science experienced a similar surge in the number of applications received, admitting 609 students out of a pool of 3,463, for an admit rate of 17.6 percent. The combined admit rate for CC and SEAS was 10 percent.

�As the application pool increases, we get to sculpt the class more,� Director of Undergraduate Admissions Jessica Marinaccio said. She added that it has been �an unpredictable year because of the elimination of early decision programs by Harvard and Princeton.�

This year, early decision admits accounted for 27.4 percent of CC�s incoming class of 2012, and for 23.3 percent of SEAS�s incoming class. Marinaccio remarked that with other Ivy League schools getting rid of their early decision programs, the challenge is now to entice people to come to Columbia.

Admission officials called the class of 2012 one of the most diverse Columbia has ever seen.

�Every year I�m amazed by the quality of students and the diversity of voice and experience,� Marinaccio said.