NYU vs Columbia: which one is the Ace? Both New York University and Columbia University are prestigious universities in Manhattan, New York City. These two universities are in the metropolitan city and have abundant resources and international atmospheres. Also, these two universities have unique academic, employment, cultural, and student life characteristics. While the campus culture, popular majors, and study experiences differ significantly. When choosing the schools, you need to follow your academic goal, career planning, and personal preferences to weigh the advantages and fit measures of Columbia University vs NYU.
NYU vs Columbia: School Profile
New York University
New York University was founded on April 18, 1831, by American Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. NYU is one of the nation’s 25 New Ivy League schools and a member of the Association of American Universities. The latest ranking of NYU is #35 in the United States. There are two notable colleges in New York City: the Tisch School of the Arts and the Stern School of Business. The former has a reputation for excellence in the fields of theatre and film, while the latter is one of the top business schools in the world. With a 97% graduate rate for full-time students, and many students are enrolled in NYU on various campuses, including the Greenwich Village campus, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai.
Columbia University
Founded in 1754, Columbia University is the fifth oldest institution of higher education in the United States. It is located in Morningside Heights in upper Manhattan, New York. Columbia is one of the fourteen founding institutions of the Association of American Universities and a member of the Ivy League Schools. Columbia’s School of Law, School of Journalism, and School of Business are all world-class colleges, each enjoying a high reputation in their respective fields. Columbia University have a 87% graduation rate of full-time students.
NYU vs. Columbia: Key Differences
1. Academics
Academic is one of the most important indexes to measure the quality of a university education. NYU and Columbia University offer bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, doctoral degrees, and professional degrees to their students in many programs. Let’s see the difference between NYU vs Columbia University in academics.
- Overall and Subject Ranking
| New York University | Columbia University | |
|---|---|---|
| QS Ranking 2025 | 43 | 34 |
| US News Ranking 2025(National) | 35 | 12 |
Columbia’s School of Law, School of Journalism, and School of Business are all world-class colleges offering high-ranked graduate programs. Columbia University also has a high reputation in many programs, such as business management, finance, art history, education, engineering and psychology.
Although New York University is ranked lower than Columbia University, it still has a strong academic strength. NYU has extensive and rich academic resources, including excellent faculty and state-of-the-art teaching facilities. It excels in a wide range of disciplines, with world-class academic resources, especially in the fields of philosophy, mathematics, accounting and finance, law, performing arts, and computer science.
| QS subject ranking 2024 | New York University | Columbia University |
|---|---|---|
| Computer science | 23 | 23 |
| Accounting & Finance | 10 | 11 |
| Arts and Humanities | 8 | 13 |
| Business & Management Studies | 15 | 20 |
| Social Sciences & Management | 10 | 11 |
- NYU vs Columbia University: Computer Science
Although the overall ranking of Columbia University is higher than that of NYU, the difference of some majors in rankings between the two isn’t that significant. Sometimes, NYU even gets ahead of Columbia.
Take computer science as an example. NYU has two computer science departments belonging to Tandon and GSAS. There is a significant difference between CS majors in these two colleges. Tandon is an engineering school with more “practical” majors. If you want to find a job immediately after graduation, the CS degree from Tandon can give you more opportunities. The CS program in GSAS is more theoretical, and most courses are based on mathematics, and more engineering courses are offered.
When comparing CS programs at Columbia vs NYU, Columbia University’s Department is part of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, the third oldest college in the country. The College emphasizes a balance of theoretical teaching and experimental techniques and offers a wide range of advanced courses covering many popular areas, including artificial intelligence and machine learning.
- NYU vs Columbia: Admission Requirement
| New York University | Columbia University | |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptance rate | 9% | 4% |
| SAT Range/ACT Range | 1480-1570/33-35 | 1490-1580/34-35 |
| Number of applicants | 100,000+ | 602,348 |
| Undergraduate Enrollment | 29,760 | 8,902 |
| Graduate Enrollment | 27,575 | 21,639 |
| 4-Year Graduation Rate | 76% | 88% |
| Student/Faculty Ratio | 8:1 | 6:1 |
Although there are more applicants at NYU than there are at Columbia, its acceptance rate is higher. New York University has an acceptance rate of 9%, while Columbia University has a lower acceptance rate of 4%, which is one of the lowest acceptance rates of universities in the USA. Both Columbia University and New York University place a high value on the academic performance of applicants for admission. Specifically, the range of SAT or ACT scores in Columbia is higher than in NYU, showing its rigorous academic ability requirements.
Columbia University has a comprehensive liberal arts-based core curriculum that all undergraduate students must complete. This curriculum includes courses in literature, arts, history, and science. In contrast, New York University offers a more flexible curriculum with fewer mandatory course requirements.
- Popular majors
A few disciplines of Columbia and NYU in social science fields perform similarly, such as economics and law. On the other hand, they have different popular majors. Philosophy ranks first at NYU, and there are other stronger majors like Performing Arts, Communication and Media Studies, Law, and Mathematics. Columbia has the highest-ranked majors in Anatomy and Physiology, History, Law, English Literature and Languages, and Earth and Marine Sciences.
| Popular majors at NYU | Popular majors at Columbia |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts Economics Psychology Nursing Computer science | Social Sciences Computer science Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology |
2. Campus Location
NYU is the largest private university in the United States, and it has 11 schools and colleges scattered in the city of New York. Most of the buildings are located around Washington Square. It’s also arguably one of the most culturally vibrant centres in the world. NYU also has campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai.
Columbia University is located in New York City, close to the United Nations headquarters and Broadway. It is not far from Harlem, which is one of the most culturally diverse neighbourhoods in the city, close to Central Park and the Hudson River. Students at Columbia can not only focus on their studies but also have a convenient way to go out.
3. Campus Culture
Columbia University and New York University are distinctive in their campus cultures. Columbia is known for its rich history and traditions, as well as its strong academic atmosphere, while NYU attracts many students for its high level of diversity and inclusiveness, innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, and rich social and recreational activities.
4. Student Body
New York University has a larger student body than Columbia University. But both schools are larger and both are able to provide a very diverse cultural community of students. Columbia, being one of the Vine schools, is more popular with international students, so the percentage of international students is higher.
Regarding academic orientation, Columbia University vs NYU are still more pronounced. Columbia has more graduate students than undergraduates and is more of a research university. NYU has almost three times as many undergraduates as Columbia.
5. Student Housing
NYU and Columbia have 20-25 residence halls in Greenwich Village, Morningside Heights, and Brooklyn. About 20% of undergraduates and graduates live on campus. Most on-campus accommodations at NYU and Columbia are shared rooms, so you may not have more private space. If you want to find NYU off-campus housing or Columbia University housing, you can rent an affordable student apartment near the campus with uhomes.com. Our platform provides student housing with easy access to public transportation and campuses. You can choose the apartments based on your budget, ideal location, and amenities.
NYU vs Columbia: Cost
| Tuition & fees | Room & boards | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia University(2023-2024) | $68,400 | $16,800 | $85,200 |
| New York University(2024-2025) | $62,796 | $24,652 | $87,448 |
Both NYU and Columbia are private institutions in the US. The costs are higher than public schools. In the above chart, the cost of Columbia is the data for the School of Engineering in 2023-2024. Its tuition and fees are slightly higher than NYU’s in 2024-2025. This is likely because the statistics were collected in two different years. However, it indicates that the tuition and fees of these two schools are high. As for room and board, NYU costs significantly more than Columbia. This may be due to the relatively high cost of accommodation and meals at NYU, which is located in the heart of bustling New York City.
NYU vs Columbia: Grad School Cost
| Tuition & fees | Room & boards | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia University(2023-2024) | $56,279 | $16,800 | $73,079 |
| New York University(2024-2025) | $56,646 | $24,652 | $81,298 |
We collect the grad school cost of Columbia University vs NYU. In the above chart, the data from NYU is from the Graduate School of Arts and Science, which is estimated for reference. Overall, NYU’s tuition and total costs are slightly higher than Columbia’s, but the difference in tuition is relatively small. The main cost difference lies in room and board costs, which are obviously higher at NYU than at Columbia. Without considering other factors, it’s more affordable to study at Columbia University.
Conclusion
Through our analysis of NYU vs Columbia, you may have a basic knowledge of these two prestigious schools. We compare their academics, campus life, and costs. While NYU is known for its innovative approach to education, interdisciplinary study, and global presence, Columbia excels in its rigorous academic programs, research capabilities, and prestigious Ivy League status. There is no absolute answer to which one is better. The choice between NYU and Columbia depends on your preferences, academic interests, and career aspirations.
FAQ
The acceptance rate of NYU is 9% in 2024, higher than Columbia University with. Columbia University is harder to get into, with an acceptance rate of 4%. It’s higher than NYU’s 9%.
According to the 2025 US News rankings, NYU Law ranks first in the specialized field of International Law. However, Columbia Law ranks eighth in the overall law school rankings and NYU Law ranks ninth. Both Columbia and NYU have strong reputations in the field of law.
There are several best colleges in New York City with a high academic reputation and rich education resources.
- Columbia University
- New York University
- Cornell University (New York City Campus)
- Fordham University
- The Juilliard School
New York University is highly renowned for outstanding academic achievement and global perspective. As one of the top universities in the world, NYU has a good ranking in various fields, such as business, arts, and law. Stern School of Business and Tisch School of the Arts foster many excellent people. NYU is also famous for its internationalization and extensive network, including Abu Dhabi and Shanghai, which provide cross-culture study experiences.
The distance from Columbia University to New York University is about 6 miles in Manhattan. Columbia University is in Morningside Heights, close to 116 Street and Broadway. New York University’s main campus is in Greenwich Village, near Washington Square Park. Suppose you drive a car from Columbia University to NYU within 25 minutes. You can also take the subway to NYU by line 1 and transfer to lines A, C, and F from Columbia University.
