• A Message From The Deans
• Mission of the School
• About the School and University
• Undergraduate Studies
  • Undergraduate Programs
  • Undergraduate Tuition, Fees and Payment
  • Financial Aid for Undergraduate Study
  • Undergraduate Admissions
• Graduate Studies
• Faculty Administration
• Departments and Academic Programs
• Undergraduate Minors
• Interdisiplinary Courses and Courses in Other Divsions of the University
• Campus and Student Life
• Scholarships, Fellowships, Awards, and Prizes
• University and School Policies Procedures, and Regulations
• Directory of University Resources

Undergraduate Admissions

Admission as a First-Year Student

Each autumn The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science enrolls approximately 300 highly qualified men and women, chosen from a wide range of applicants. All become full, active participants in a rich and diverse university setting. Therefore, the Admissions Committee is interested in achievements not only in mathematics and science, but also in other fields: English, the social sciences, languages, and the arts. Considerable value is placed on personal qualities and attributes like diversity of interests, special abilities, maturity, motivation, curiosity, and independence. Secondary school records and recommendations are carefully evaluated to ascertain the content and difficulty of the applicant's preparatory studies and the degree to which this preparation correlates with standardized tests. Of importance also is the candidate's participation in extracurricular or community activities. Here the emphasis is placed on the depth and significance of involvement rather than on the number of activities. For its final selection, the School seeks students with unique achievements and talents as well as diverse economic, social, and geographic backgrounds.

Accordingly, the School of Engineering and Applied Science prescribes no standardized course of study for secondary school students applying for first-year admission. The School does, however, strongly recommend the following academic preparation:

• 4 years of mathematics (preferably through calculus)
• 1 year of physics
• 1 year of chemistry
• 4 years of English
and recommends as well:
• 3 years or more of a foreign language
• 3 or 4 years of history and social studies

The Application Process

Students are strongly encouraged to apply online. You may also download a paper copy of the application. If you do not have access to the Internet, please call the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 212-854-2522 to request an application.

Part 1 of the application should be filled out and submitted as early as possible along with the $70 application fee or an official fee waiver request.

All parts of the application must be postmarked no later than the first business day following January 1. (See below for Early Decision deadlines.)

Decision letters are mailed out in early April.

The Early Decision Program

Candidates for whom Columbia is the first choice may apply under the Early Decision Program. In order to qualify for this program, all application materials must be postmarked by November 1.

In mid-December, Early Decision applicants receive notice of their acceptance, denial, or deferral to regular decision status. Applicants admitted under the Early Decision program are obligated to accept Columbia's offer of admission and must withdraw their applications at other colleges if they are provided with a financial aid package that enables them to attend Columbia.

Required Standardized Testing

Please visit the admissions website for the standardized testing requirements. You must register with the appropriate testing agency well in advance of the date on which you wish to be tested. Please note that scores reported to Columbia's School of General Studies (2095) will not reach our office and will not be considered for evaluation. Columbia reserves the right not to evaluate a candidate whose scores are not reported directly by the testing agency. Please do not utilize the "rush" service in sending your test scores to Columbia. Doing so does not speed up the processing of your test scores. We obtain all testing via a secure Web site to which we are provided access by the appropriate testing agency. Scores that are sent via the "rush" service are sent to us in paper form, which we are no longer able to process.

Applicants may submit results of the American College Testing (ACT) examinations in lieu of the SAT I, but may not substitute any other examinations for the required SAT Subject Tests.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required of all applicants whose principal language of instruction has not been English and who have not lived in an English-speaking environment for at least five years.

Applicants must be certain when taking standardized tests to have their results reported directly to Columbia University by the testing agency. The following codes should be used when completing test registration forms:

SAT Reasoning, SAT Subject Tests

TOEFL: use code 2111
ACT: use code 2719

Educational Testing Service
Rosedale Road
Princeton, NJ 08541
Phone: 609-921-9000
www.ets.org

American College Testing Program
Box 313
Iowa City, IW 52243
Phone: 319-337-1270
www.act.org

Test of English as a Foreign Language
Box 899
Princeton, NJ 08451
609-771-7100
www.toefl.org

Advanced Placement

C. Prescott Davis Scholars Program

Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) and National Opportunity Program (NOP)

The Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) is sponsored by the New York State Department of Education and Columbia University. The program is designed for New York State residents who have particular educational and economic needs with regard to admission requirements. HEOP students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have lived in New York State for one year prior to enrolling in college.

HEOP's individualized counseling and tutoring services help students meet the challenges of a major university and professional school. New students attend an intensive pre-first-year Summer Science and Humanities Institute on the Columbia campus. Students in the School's under-graduate Higher Education Opportunity Program can follow a five-year curriculum which spreads the first and second-year requirements over three years and allows for the inclusion of several extra courses designed to provide academic support.

Because of the different pace of this program, students are considered to be making minimum satisfactory progress when they complete 24 points of credit in one academic year. HEOP students' academic performance is otherwise evaluated by the same standards applied to all undergraduates. HEOP support is available to students wishing to pursue only the Bachelor of Science degree or Columbia's Combined Plan Program for both the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in five years.

The National Opportunity Program (NOP) is a replication of the Higher Education Opportunity Program and provides access to a Columbia education for students outside of New York State. Requirements for NOP are the same as those for HEOP, except for the New York State residency requirement.

For further information concerning the Engineering School's Opportunity Programs, contact:

Opportunity Programs and
Undergraduate Services
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027
Phone: 212-854-3514
www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/asp/programs

Applicants with Advanced Standing (Transfer Applicants)

Students with strong academic records in pre-engineering programs at two-year community colleges are eligible for sophomore or junior standing in The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science upon transfer to Columbia. Community college students who are considering applying to the School of Engineering and Applied Science are encouraged to complete a course of study similar to the School's First Year-Sophomore Program. Credit and placement in the School will be determined by the equivalence of the courses taken by the student to those described in this bulletin.

The School also accepts applications for transfer into the sophomore or junior year from students in four-year programs at arts and sciences colleges and engineering schools. Transfers may enter Columbia only in September and may count no more than 68 points of credit toward the Columbia degree. Transfer students must also satisfy the University's residence requirements by taking at least 60 points at Columbia.

Transfer applicants should provide the scores of College Board Examinations as part of their application. Applicants must submit results of the SAT or the American College Testing (ACT) examinations. Results of the SAT-II Subject Tests are required only if the tests were taken in high school.

Foreign students not exempted by the criteria given above must submit the results of the TOEFL exam with their application and will be required to take an English placement test on arrival, before registration.

Transfer Applications can only be completed online at the website of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Applications must be received by March 15 for September admission.

The Combined Plan Programs

The Combined Plan programs at The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science are designed to provide students the opportunity to receive both a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree from an affiliated liberal arts college and a Bachelor of Science or Master of Science degree from Columbia. Details concerning these programs are contained in the section Undergraduate Programs
found here.

Secondary school students who wish to follow one of the Combined Plan programs at one of the affiliated Combined Plan schools listed on page 19 of this bulletin should apply directly to the affiliated school's admissions office.

Third-year undergraduate students already in a Combined Plan program should apply to the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science Combined Plan Program. The deadlines for applying to these programs, each of which is described in the section Undergraduate Programs of this bulletin, are:
• March 15 for the 3-2 Combined Plan Program
• March 15 for the 4-2 Combined Plan B.S. Program
• February 15 for the 4-2 Combined Plan M.S. Program

For further information on the 3-2 and 4-2 B.S. programs, contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at the address above, phone 212-854-2522, or e-mail combinedplan@columbia.edu. For further information on the 4-2 M.S. program, contact the Office of Graduate Student Services (see the address on the inside front cover) or phone 212-854-6438.

Campus Visits and Interviews

Prospective students are encouraged to visit the Columbia campus throughout the year. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions hosts information sessions and campus tours through the Visitors Center, located in 213 Low Library. Group information sessions are conducted by members of the admissions staff and offer the opportunity to learn more about Columbia University's academic and student life as well as admissions and financial aid. Campus tours immediately follow the information session and are led by a current undergraduate student. Engineering tours, designed to offer prospective students an in-depth look into The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, are led by current Columbia engineering students and are available every Friday at 1:00 p.m., except for holidays. Please note that the Engineering School tour is designed to supplement, but not replace, the Undergraduate Admissions information session and general campus tour. For further information and a detailed schedule of visit opportunities, please visit the admissions website.

Columbia does not conduct interviews on campus. Interviews are instead conducted around the country and the world by the members of the Alumni Representative Committee. The University provides the names of candidates to the Committee, which conducts interviews from October through February. Candidates will be contacted by a Committee member during this time if interviews are available. Candidates should not call or write the Admissions Office to arrange alumni interviews.