Black Enrollment at Columbia Tops Ivy League for Third Year

Columbia leads the Ivy League in enrolled black first-years for the third consecutive year, according to the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. The class of 2012 includes 162 African-American students, or 12.1 percent of the class, up 80 percent from 2004.

Columbia is the only Ivy League institution where the first-year class is more than 10 percent black.

Black Student Organization president and Multicultural Recruitment Committee member Ruqayyah Abdul-Karim, CC ’10, was unsurprised by the statistics.

“I had an idea that our student body is now at or over 50 percent students of color,” Abdul-Karim said. “I am really encouraged by these figures because they are very reflective of the national population, which is what we set out to do.”

Abdul-Karim denied that admissions officers had applied affirmative action to admit a designated number of minorities.

“We do not want more of one demographic versus another,” she said. “We do not have outreach efforts specifically geared towards one specific ethnic group. We do work hard to cultivate prospective first-generation college students and low-income young people. We want to make sure the opportunity is there for everyone.”

“Through various programs and initiatives, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions attracts students rich in experiences, ideas, and interests, and together they create a community that thrives on intellectual curiosity and debate,” said Jessica Marinaccio, dean of undergraduate admissions for Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. “Furthermore, a generous financial aid program ensures that a Columbia education is accessible to students from all backgrounds.”

“Rankings such as these indicate that it is the students themselves that make Columbia such a dynamic, welcoming place for learning and personal growth,” Marinaccio said.

But since other Ivies have similar procedures, Columbia’s high black enrollment may be attributed to other factors. Abdul-Karim suggested that the University’s proximity to Harlem—one of the centers of black life in America—is a major attraction.

“New York City in general reflects a diversity that is not apparent in areas where some of our peer institutions are located,” she said. “We are just uniquely synonymous with diversity. ... Prospective students, no matter who they are or where they come from, can relate to someone else here.”

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