What SAT or ACT score do you need for Columbia?

As of November 2026: Columbia is test optional for fall 2027 applicants (the 2026-2027 cycle), and the middle half of enrolled first-years who sent an SAT scored 1490 to 1570. On the ACT, the middle half of submitters scored 34 or 35, and Columbia will require a score from the 2027-2028 cycle.

Columbia's testing policy for fall 2027, the SAT and ACT bands of enrolled first-years who sent a score, how many send one, the admit rate, the cost, and what your family can do this month.

By Nick Standlea, Test Prep Gurus. Figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

Columbia is test optional for fall 2027 applicants. That covers the 2026-2027 admissions cycle. Columbia will require a score from the 2027-2028 cycle, for students who enroll in fall 2028.

The SAT band is 1490 to 1570. That is the middle half of enrolled first-years who sent an SAT in fall 2023. On the ACT, the middle half of submitters scored 34 or 35.

Columbia admitted 4.2 percent of applicants. For fall 2023, 2,420 students were admitted out of 57,613 who applied. We tell families that a strong score is never a promise at a college this selective.

Does Columbia require the SAT or ACT?

Columbia's testing policy, in its own words, for the current cycle and the next.

College	Policy	Applies to	What changes	In Columbia's words	Source
Columbia University in the City of New York	optional	fall 2027 applicants (2026-2027 cycle)	required from the 2027-2028 cycle (students enrolling fall 2028)	Columbia College and Columbia Engineering will remain test optional for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle.	Source

Optional means your child chooses whether to send a score. Required means every applicant sends one.

Columbia: score bands, who sends a score, how many get in, what it costs

Bands describe enrolled first-years who sent that test in fall 2023. Prices are for a full year.

Measure	Value
applicants, fall 2023	57613
admits, fall 2023	2420
admit rate, percent	4.2
SAT 25th percentile, enrolled submitters	1490
SAT 75th percentile, enrolled submitters	1570
ACT 25th percentile, enrolled submitters	34
ACT 75th percentile, enrolled submitters	35
share of enrolled first-years who sent an SAT, percent	40
share who sent an ACT, percent	21
application fee, dollars	85
full price of a year, dollars	89472
average net price after aid, dollars	21590

The bands are not cutoffs. They show where the middle half of enrolled submitters landed.

Columbia deadlines for fall 2027 entry

Check each date on Columbia's admissions site before you pick a test date.

Early decision I	Early decision II	Early action	Restrictive early action	Regular	Priority	Source
--	--	--	--	--	--	Source

A blank date is not listed here. It does not mean Columbia does not offer that round.

Does Columbia require the SAT or ACT?

No, Columbia is test optional for fall 2027 applicants, the 2026-2027 admissions cycle. That covers high school seniors in the 2026-27 school year, who start college in fall 2027. Columbia's own admissions page puts it this way: "Columbia College and Columbia Engineering will remain test optional for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle."

Test optional means your child chooses whether to send a score, and a score that is sent will be read.

The rule changes for the next group of students. Columbia will require a score from the 2027-2028 cycle, for students who enroll in fall 2028. That means high school juniors in the 2026-27 school year, who start college in fall 2028, should plan on sending an SAT or ACT. If your child is a junior today, we would start building toward a test date now rather than waiting.

What SAT score do enrolled first-years carry?

The middle half of enrolled first-years at Columbia who sent an SAT scored between 1490 and 1570. These are students who started at Columbia in fall 2023 and chose to send an SAT score. The 25th percentile of that group was 1490, and the 75th percentile was 1570.

Please read this band the right way. It is not a cutoff, and it does not describe every student who applied or was admitted. It tells you where the middle of the enrolled submitters landed. Some enrolled students who sent an SAT scored below 1490, and some scored above 1570.

For planning, we treat 1490 as the low end of the range we would feel good sending. A score of 1570 places a student near the top of the group.

What ACT score do they carry?

The middle half of enrolled first-years at Columbia who sent an ACT scored 34 or 35. Those were the 25th and 75th percentile scores for fall 2023 submitters.

That is a very tight band. At this level, small gains on the ACT matter a lot, so careful prep on every section pays off. We see the same pattern with our students: the last gains come from fixing small, repeat errors, not from learning big new topics.

If your child is choosing between the tests, we suggest taking a full mock of each and comparing both results with both bands before picking.

How many send a score?

In fall 2023, 40 percent of enrolled first-years at Columbia sent an SAT, and 21 percent sent an ACT. Some students send both tests, so these shares should not be added together. At a selective test-optional college like this one, we tell families it is nearly always good to have a score: a strong one bolsters the odds of getting in, and most merit scholarships are keyed to a score.

What this tells a parent is simple. Plenty of enrolled students sent a score, and not every enrolled student did, which is what a test-optional policy allows. Your child is in good company either way. The real question is whether your child's own score helps tell their story, and the next section gives our rule for that.

Should my child send a score to Columbia?

Our rule for Columbia is simple: if your child's SAT is 1490 or higher, or their ACT is 34 or higher, send it. A score inside or above the band is one to send.

If the score is below the band, think hard before sending it. At a test-optional college, a score below 1490 on the SAT or below 34 on the ACT is one we would weigh carefully. Our advice is often to prepare and retest first, then decide.

This choice only applies to the 2026-2027 cycle. At a test-required college every applicant sends one, and Columbia will require a score from the 2027-2028 cycle on. For those students, the question is not whether to send a score but how strong to make it.

How hard is it to get in?

Columbia admitted 2,420 of 57,613 applicants for fall 2023, an admit rate of 4.2 percent.

At a rate like this, we tell families that no score is a promise of a seat. A score in the band shows your child is ready for hard work, and that is all a score can do.

Our rule is to build a balanced college list. Put Columbia on it if your child loves it, and add schools where their scores sit well above the middle band. That way a strong score helps your child at many colleges, not just at Columbia.

What does it cost to apply and attend?

Columbia's application fee is $85, and the full price of a year is $89,472. The average net price after aid is $21,590.

The full price is the sticker price. The net price is what families paid on average after grants and aid. Your family's own number can be far from either figure.

Columbia publishes a net price calculator, as every US college must. We tell families to run it together with their student before applying, so cost is a known number and not a surprise in the spring.

When are the deadlines?

Columbia's fall 2027 deadlines are not listed on this page, so check them on Columbia's admissions site at https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/ before you choose a test date.

Work backward from the deadline your child plans to use. Pick a test date that leaves room for scores to arrive, and plan the prep window before that date. If a round is not shown here, that does not mean Columbia does not offer it.

What should we do this month?

This month, have your child sit a full-length mock SAT and a full-length mock ACT; Test Prep Gurus gives both free at https://www.prepgurus.com/take-the-next-step. Then compare each result with Columbia's bands: 1490 to 1570 on the SAT and 34 to 35 on the ACT.

Pick the test that fits best. Plan 6 to 12 weeks of prep before a test date that counts, so your child walks in ready instead of using a real sitting as practice. Prepare for the whole test every sitting, every section, not just the parts that feel weak.

If you want help reading the results or building a plan, call us at 949.229.5359. We are glad to talk it through with you and your student.

Questions parents ask

Does Columbia require the SAT or ACT for fall 2027?
No, Columbia is test optional for fall 2027 applicants, the 2026-2027 admissions cycle.

Will Columbia require test scores for later classes?
Columbia will require a score from the 2027-2028 cycle, for students who enroll in fall 2028.

What SAT score do Columbia students have?
The middle half of enrolled first-years at Columbia who sent an SAT scored between 1490 and 1570.

What ACT score do Columbia students have?
The middle half of enrolled first-years at Columbia who sent an ACT scored 34 or 35.

How hard is it to get into Columbia?
Columbia admitted 2,420 of 57,613 applicants for fall 2023, an admit rate of 4.2 percent.

What does Columbia cost?
Columbia's application fee is $85, and the full price of a year is $89,472.

Method and sources: The testing policy is quoted from Columbia's own admissions page and applies to the 2026-2027 cycle, for fall 2027 applicants. The SAT and ACT bands describe enrolled first-years who submitted that test in fall 2023, the latest federal data (IPEDS), along with the applicant, admit and score-sending figures. Prices come from the College Scorecard. The bands show the middle half of submitters, not every applicant or admitted student.