COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

COLUMBIA

Established in 1754 as King’s College by Royal Charter issued by King George II, Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, research-intensive university offering degree programmes from undergraduate to post-doctoral level. Located in uptown Manhattan’s Morningside Heights, Columbia is an academic powerhouse with a global renown. As the oldest institution of higher learning in New York State and the fifth oldest in the United States, Columbia’s story is deeply intertwined with the birth of the nation – originally located in a small schoolhouse in lower Manhattan, its purpose was to train the future leaders of the British colonies but instead produced many of the revolutionary heroes of American independence with alumni including Founding Fathers: Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and Gouverneur Morris. Maintaining its tradition as an educator of American leaders, the college counts three former Presidents amongst its alumnus and another as a former President of the University. The university changed its name to Columbia College following the War of Independence and to reflect its patriotism to the republic and moved to its uptown location in 1897.

Whilst sometimes overshadowed by its Ivy League peers in the Big Three, Harvard, Princeton and Yale, Columbia is one of the most highly selective and academically challenging universities in the world with an international reputation. Undergraduates at Columbia College are required to undertake the university’s famous Core Curriculum which mandates a series of classes and compulsory reading for all Columbian students so that they may graduate with a broad intellectual education that focuses on holistic development of mind, body and character. The university’s various graduate schools are celebrated for their high research output which has profoundly advanced human knowledge and understanding.

As an ancient university, Columbia is known for its many unique traditions and customs. The university is an integral part of the history of old New York city and, alongside its sister school Barnard College, has played a seminal role in producing city, state and national leaders across politics, law, business and the arts.

contains affiliate links to ebay.com

The school has also played a significant role in the development of American sport, including the country’s favourite pastime of gridiron football. Columbia, alongside their Ivy League peers and rivals (such as Rutgers University), was one of the pioneers of the American football code. Indeed, Columbia played in one of the first intercollegiate football games in history against Rutgers in 1870. The Columbia Lions recorded a major sporting upset at the 1934 Rose Bowl, defeating Stanford 7-0. Columbia enjoys a fierce rivalry with Cornell (against whom they compete for the Empire State Bowl) and, to a lesser extent, Fordham University, New York University, Rutgers, Penn and Princeton.

Columbia is an extremely selective school with an acceptance rate of around 4% of all applicants (and bear in mind that applicants are typically only the highest achievers). Columbia applicants have an average GPA of 4.18 and will be expected to have excelled in at least one major sport and have achieved a high standard in additional extracurricular pursuits, particularly music.

Accreditations and Affiliations

INFORMATION

SCHOOL LOGO

ATHLETICS LOGO

FULL NAME

BROWN UNIVERSITY

NICKNAME

BROWN

FORMER NAMES

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE

CATEGORY

PRIVATE UNIVERSITY
RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

ESTABLISHED

1764

GENDER

CO-EDUCATIONAL

ADMISSIONS

BOARDING & DAY

AGES

14 – 18

GRADES

9 – 12

ENTRANCE CRITERIA

HIGH SCHOOL PLACEMENT TEST, REVIEW OF TRANSCRIPTS AND INTERVIEW

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

IN LINE WITH STATE AND NATIONAL STANDARDS

CURRICULUM

AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA WITH HONORS
ADVANCED PLACEMENT
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY PROGRAM

INSPECTION AUTHORITY

—

LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION

ENGLISH

FAITH / ETHOS

—

PEDAGOGY / PHILOSOPHY

—

CAMPUS

SUBURBAN / URBAN

HOUSES

—

CO-CURRICULAR

ACADEMIC DECATHLON
ASTRONOMY
CAMPUS MINISTRY
CHESS
DRAMA
JUNIOR STATESMEN OF AMERICA
MATHEMATICS
MOCK TRIAL
NATIONAL HONORS SOCIETIES
ROBOTICS
ROCK BAND
TAIKO
VARIOUS ACADEMIC SOCIETIES AND SOCIAL CLUBS

SPORTS

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL (SOCCER)
ATHLETICS (TRACK & FIELD)
BASEBALL
BASKETBALL
CROSS COUNTRY
ESPORTS
FOOTBALL (GRIDIRON)
GOLF
LACROSSE
SWIMMING & DIVING
TENNIS
VOLLEYBALL
WATER POLO
WRESTLING