Columbia University has released its Class of 2026 application tally for the Early Decision round of admissions. In all, 6,305 students applied under Columbia’s binding Early Decision program to the Class of 2026. And how does this figure stack up against last year’s Early Decision application tally? For the Class of 2025, 6,435 students applied ED. Prior to the Class of 2025, the Early Decision apply tally never surpassed 4,500. So, in short, Columbia’s Class of 2026 Early Decision cycle was the second strongest in the university’s history, trailing only last year’s figure. As loyal readers of our college admissions blog likely recall, we forecasted well before decisions were released that the Early cycle for the Class of 2026 would not set new benchmarks at most elite universities but would instead prove to be the second strongest year in history. It seems Ivy Coach’s famously accurate crystal ball has struck yet again.

Columbia Traditionally Reports Admissions Statistics Later On

Yet if you’re waiting to learn the number of students who earned admission in the Early Decision round to Columbia’s Class of 2026 (or the Early Decision admission rate), you’ll need to wait a little bit longer. Columbia, traditionally, doesn’t release such figures at the conclusion of the ED round, waiting until the last minute to put forward such data when the school has to report it to the federal government. As Benjamin Stein reports for The Columbia Spectator in a piece entitled “6,305 students apply early decision to Columbia,” “Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science released offers of admission on Tuesday after reviewing a pool of 6,305 early decision applicants for the class of 2026, according to Columbia Undergraduate Admissions. The admitted students hail from all 50 states and nearly 50 countries. Although slightly fewer than the 6,435 students who applied early decision to the class of 2025, the number of early applications for the class of 2026 is still significantly higher than the 4,318 early decision applicants for the class of 2024. This increase is driven in part by continued test-optional policies that were originally put in place for the class of 2025 after standardized testing was canceled or postponed due to COVID-19.”

Ivy Coach Extends Streak of Perfect at Columbia to 5 Years

Congratulations to all of Ivy Coach’s students who completed applications with us and applied Early Decision to Columbia University’s Class of 2026. The Early Decision round at Columbia for the Class of 2026 marked another perfect year for Ivy Coach, the fifth in a row in fact! Ivy Coach was previously perfect for the Class of 2025, the Class of 2024, the Class of 2023, and the Class of 2022. And we couldn’t write all of this on the pages of our college admissions blog if it weren’t true. After all, a parent or student would call us out in a heartbeat if they completed applications with us, applied ED to Columbia, and didn’t get in. Ivy Coach is indeed The Columbia Whisperer!