Columbia vs Notre Dame

Columbia University and the University of Notre Dame stand as two distinct beacons of higher education, each offering a unique blend of academic excellence and vibrant campus life. While both institutions share a commitment to providing students with a transformative educational experience, they differ in several key aspects. Columbia, located in the heart of New York City, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs, including highly regarded offerings in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Notre Dame, nestled in the charming town of South Bend, Indiana, is known for its strong Catholic tradition, its focus on undergraduate education, and its competitive programs in engineering, business, and the sciences. With acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates varying significantly between the two universities, prospective students are encouraged to explore the detailed comparison table provided on this page to determine which institution best aligns with their academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Columbia University	University of Notre Dame
Overview
Location	New York, New York	Notre Dame, Indiana
Campus setting	City: Large	Suburb: 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		Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.1%	15.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $120	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $75
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1410 - 1550
ACT range	34 - 35	32 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%	33.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	36.0%
Total number of applicants	61,110	23,642
Total number of admissions given out	2,524	3,562
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,641	2,059
Yield rate	65.0%	57.8%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$90,882	$78,347
Average net price	$12,411	$30,513
Tuition	$60,514	$58,336
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,450 Meal plan: $6,000	$16,304
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	53.0% Average amount $57,726	57.0% Average amount $46,306
Students receiving federal student loan	7.0% Average amount $5,511	30.0% Average amount $4,134
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $34,119	12.0% Average amount $8,564

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,832 Men 50.6% Women 49.4%	8,973 Men 51.6% Women 48.4%
Graduate students	24,944 Men 44.8% Women 55.2%	4,166 Men 56.5% Women 43.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	93.1%
International students	37.0%	12.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	13,071	6,919
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Illinois California Texas Indiana New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Computer and Information Science Public Administration and Social Service	Business Engineering Multidisciplinary Studies Social Sciences Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	97.4%	95.9%
Dropout rate	1.7%	3.9%
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	Business Administration, Management and Operations (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $124,439 Year 2: $123,601 Year 3: $135,572 Finance and Financial Management Services (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $89,269 Year 2: $89,674 Year 3: $126,773 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $120,074 Year 2: $108,092 Year 3: $123,182 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $87,638 Year 2: $85,243 Year 3: $110,135 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $80,593 Year 2: $89,968 Year 3: $105,831 Mathematics and Statistics, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,224 Year 2: $80,273 Year 3: $99,815 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $84,618 Year 2: $86,375 Year 3: $95,904 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,178 Year 2: $74,307 Year 3: $92,866 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,118 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $87,393 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,070 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $85,821

Compare Similar Colleges

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Columbia vs Notre Dame

Columbia University

University of Notre Dame

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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