Columbia vs Duke University

Columbia University and Duke University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences to their students. Columbia, located in the heart of New York City, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs, with strengths in the humanities, social sciences, and business. Duke, situated in Durham, North Carolina, is known for its strong undergraduate focus, interdisciplinary approach, and research opportunities, particularly in the fields of engineering, medicine, and the natural sciences. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in terms of acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Columbia University	Duke University
Overview
Location	New York, New York	Durham, North Carolina
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	99.0%	98.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.1%	5.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $120	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $95
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1468 - 1558
ACT range	34 - 35	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%	47.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	46.0%
Total number of applicants	61,110	49,703
Total number of admissions given out	2,524	2,927
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,641	1,744
Yield rate	65.0%	59.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$90,882	$79,860
Average net price	$12,411	$27,297
Tuition	$60,514	$58,085
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,450 Meal plan: $6,000	Room/dormitory: $9,164 Meal plan: $6,862
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	53.0% Average amount $57,726	46.0% Average amount $50,731
Students receiving federal student loan	7.0% Average amount $5,511	20.0% Average amount $4,537
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $34,119	3.0% Average amount $22,957

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,832 Men 50.6% Women 49.4%	6,883 Men 48.4% Women 51.6%
Graduate students	24,944 Men 44.8% Women 55.2%	10,737 Men 45.5% Women 54.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	37.0%	21.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	13,071	5,718
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
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	Business Health Professions Engineering Legal Profession Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	97.4%	95.9%
Dropout rate	1.7%	4.0%
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	International Business (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $151,472 Year 2: $213,978 Year 3: $201,782 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $155,031 Year 2: $168,098 Year 3: $200,300 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $143,622 Year 2: $148,189 Year 3: $163,560 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $163,977 Year 2: $138,342 Year 3: $159,598 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $115,135 Year 2: $106,898 Year 3: $134,542 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $123,138 Year 2: $116,541 Year 3: $124,406 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $108,817 Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $117,262 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $94,699 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $112,646 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,661 Year 2: $91,078 Year 3: $108,736 Economics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $104,348

Compare Similar Colleges

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Columbia vs Duke University

Columbia University

Duke University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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