September/October 2008
Around the Quads
Class of 2012 Starts Its Columbia Journey
Late August marked the start of another academic year and the first time that the entering members of the Class of 2012 were on campus as official members of the Columbia family. While the other 3,000 or so College students soon would settle in, the first-years and their families were welcomed to campus on August 25 for New Student Orientation, which includes workshops, a campus resource fair and Convocation, the official ceremony that welcomes the new class and their families to Columbia. President Lee C. Bollinger, Dean of the College Austin Quigley and SEAS Interim Dean Gerald Navratil presided over the uplifting campus ceremony, now in its fifth year.
The College and SEAS first-years are among the best and brightest in the world. Of 19,117 College applicants — the highest number the College ever has received — 1,659 were admitted, an admit rate of 8.68 percent, the lowest ever for the College. Early decision admits, of which there were 454, accounted for 43 percent of the first-year class. The number of students in the College Class of 2012 is 1,024.
Incoming students and their parents start the move-in process at Orientation 2007. Photo: Eileen BarrosoSEAS admitted 609 students out of 3,465 applicants, an admit rate of 17.6 percent. Forty-two percent were admitted through early decision. The number of students in the SEAS Class of 2012 is 317.
Of schools that provided a class rank, 93 percent of accepted students were in the top 10 percent of their class, and 98 percent were in the top 20 percent of their class. The middle 50 percent of admitted students scored between a 1400 and a 1540 on the Mathematics and Critical Reading sections of the SAT (out of a maximum of 1600); the middle 50 percent of admitted students scored between a 2090 and a 2300 on the Math, Critical Reading and Writing sections of the SAT (out of a maximum of 2400); and the middle 50 percent of admitted students scored between a 31 and a 35 on the ACT.
Columbia strives to ensure diversity among the student population so class members will make friends with and learn with peers from all over the world as well as their home state. Top states represented in the Class of 2012 are New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio. Top non-U.S. countries represented are Canada, South Korea, China, Singapore, India, Turkey, Germany, Mexico and the United Kingdom, with 42 countries represented overall. The percentage of foreign/international students and students schooled outside the United States is 17.
The Class of 2012 is 52 percent male and 48 percent female, with more than 50 percent of students receiving financial aid from the University.