Columbia admits most selective class with overall rate of 9.82 percent

Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science admitted 9.82 percent of applicants overall, yielding their most selective combined undergraduate class ever.

The number of applicants reached a record high this year, with 25,428 applying to both schools, an increase of 13 percent over last year's 22,584. The college admitted 8.92 percent—making it slightly less selective than last year's 8.71 percent, perhaps due to a last-second 50-student enrollment increase—and SEAS admitted 14.42 percent of applicants, a lower proportion than last year's 17.6 percent.

Captain Columbia, a middle-aged man wrapped in a light blue Columbia flag, made an appearance among a slew of admissions officers who escorted thick and thin envelopes into a UPS truck. They gathered ecstatically on College Walk at around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, and posed for many pictures to see the batch off into the homes of applicants that spanned 50 states and over 70 countries.