Columbia university

Columbia stands out as a university with its vibrant and diverse community. Located in the heart of New York City, the school offers endless opportunities for connection, as well as academic and artistic development. It has fun traditions like the swim test and Varsity Show (a student-run production). Columbia College is the traditional undergraduate liberal arts college of Columbia. Columbia Engineering is the engineering school, which offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Something that is unique about Columbia is its Core Curriculum. It introduces ideas from literature, philosophy, history, science, and arts. The Columbia Core includes Art Humanities, Contemporary Civilization, Frontiers of Science, Literature Humanities, Music Humanities, and University Writing.

Coalition/Common application

When you apply to Columbia, you can either submit the Coalition application or the Common application since both would be acceptable. They include a personal essay, information about you and your life, as well as lists of your accomplishments and the activities you have engaged in during the school year and the summer.

Secondary School Report

This part of your application is submitted by your school counselor. They need to send your official transcript with grades, a letter of recommendation written by them, and a school profile. Your counselor should also submit a Mid-Year report that showcases your academic performance for the first half of your senior year.

Standardized tests

Normally, Columbia asks applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores, so it might be helpful to submit high scores on these exams. As Bulgarian students, you should also provide evidence for English proficiency. You can show that you are proficient in English if it is the main language of instruction at your high school, if you scored 700 or more on the Evidence Based Reading and Writing section of the SAT, or if you scored a 29 or more on the English/Reading sections of the ACT. If not, you can take the IELTS, TOEFL or Duolingo English Test.

Columbia-specific application questions

Columbia-specific questions are short essays that let the admission officers get to know you as a person. They provide additional insight into your academic and extracurricular interests.

Recommendations

Columbia requires applicants to submit recommendations from their teachers. If you want to apply to study engineering, one of your recommendations should come from a math/science teacher.

Application fee/Fee waiver

When you apply to Columbia, there is also an $85 application fee which isn’t refundable.