Columbia vs Rice University

Columbia University and Rice University, two prestigious 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, while Rice, situated in Houston, Texas, is known for its strong engineering and science programs and its commitment to undergraduate research. With acceptance rates of 6.1% and 10.1%, respectively, both universities are highly selective, attracting top students from around the world. While Columbia's student body is more diverse, with 24% international students compared to Rice's 13%, Rice has a higher graduation rate of 94% compared to Columbia's 89%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences between these two esteemed universities and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Columbia University	Rice University
Overview
Location	New York, New York	Houston, Texas
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%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.1%	9.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $120	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $85
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1490 - 1570
ACT range	34 - 35	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%	46.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	29.0%
Total number of applicants	61,110	29,544
Total number of admissions given out	2,524	2,802
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,641	1,226
Yield rate	65.0%	43.8%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$90,882	$71,745
Average net price	$12,411	$18,521
Tuition	$60,514	$52,070
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,450 Meal plan: $6,000	Room/dormitory: $10,100 Meal plan: $4,700
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	53.0% Average amount $57,726	61.0% Average amount $51,036
Students receiving federal student loan	7.0% Average amount $5,511	9.0% Average amount $4,982
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $34,119	2.0% Average amount $24,340

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,832 Men 50.6% Women 49.4%	4,247 Men 51.5% Women 48.5%
Graduate students	24,944 Men 44.8% Women 55.2%	4,038 Men 63.9% Women 36.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	56.1%
International students	37.0%	25.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	13,071	3,533
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Texas California New York Florida Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Computer and Information Science Public Administration and Social Service	Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Social Sciences Physical Science
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%	92.3%
Dropout rate	1.7%	6.9%
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	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $122,770 Year 2: $129,481 Year 3: $145,256 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $128,659 Year 2: $127,993 Year 3: $134,258 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,801 Year 2: $83,915 Year 3: $92,763 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $87,989 Year 2: $72,884 Year 3: $81,590 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,400 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $76,594 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $49,840 Year 3: $61,295 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $50,231 Year 3: $59,421 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,232 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $52,284 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,009 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $46,363 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,474 Year 2: $30,119 Year 3: $45,615

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Columbia vs Rice University

Columbia University

Rice University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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