If you recently received a rejection letter from Columbia College or the Fu School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) in the Early Decision round, you are in your right to be quite upset. You worked hard, you did the ‘right’ things, and you took a big swing — and it didn’t pay off. An ED rejection can be deeply upsetting because it also used up your most powerful tool in the college admissions process. Early Decision offered your best chance of getting into a top school, and you can’t get that back. In this post, we’re going to dig into what may have gone awry with your Columbia application and what you can do now to improve your chances of getting into a dream school. First, let’s break down what may have happened with Columbia.
In the 2024-2025 college admissions cycle, Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) admitted only 4.29% of applicants overall. This followed a slight decrease in the number of Early Decision applicants — and by slight, we mean really slight. The drop was only 2.28%. Columbia did not release the Early Decision acceptance rate.
With or without ED-specific statistics, obsessing over why you didn’t get into Columbia is not productive. If you have the grades and scores, it could be literally any other reason. It could be too many impressive students interested in your prospective major, or one too few leadership roles. Or it could be that you have many leadership roles, but the readers weren’t sold that you were deeply passionate about your role as a leader and mentor. They could have been ‘wowed’ by your transcript, but let down by your main Common App essay. Again, it could be anything in your application package — and trying to figure it out is not useful. You’ve been rejected. Now it is time to project into the future, not to try to decode the past.
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Below are the four steps you must be taking, starting today, to make the most of the rest of your college admissions process.
Step One: Take a Break
Okay, so this one might feel like a non-step or an anti-step. We’re serious about it, though. It is extremely important that you take a moment to process and reset before jumping back into applications. So, take a walk with your dog and a friend. Eat a bowl of ice cream, or two. Binge watch a reality show, or read a book that you’ve had on your bedside table for months. Pick something that is truly just for yourself, and do it without any self-consciousness or concern about ‘wasting’ time. It is not time wasted if you can come back to the proverbial table with a positive outlook and ready to work.
Step Two: Strategize
Next, you need to strategize. Yes, you had a college admissions strategy and hypothetical college list before you applied ED to Columbia, but you probably didn’t think you’d actually need to use it — or, at least, you hoped you wouldn’t. But now you have one more go at it and this one absolutely must work.
When it comes to your college list, you don’t necessarily need to throw out what you have but you do need to give it another look and evaluate the balance. There needs to be a mix of reach, target, and foundation schools. And, while it might be uncomfortable, you need to be honest about what each type of school really is for you. It’s possible that you have been counting some reaches as targets, and some targets as safety. Looking at past Common Data Set reports for schools on your list will give you a better idea of how your academics line up with those of previously accepted students.
Don’t just change your list, though. Look into how you approached the picture you show to each college. For example, only 1% of admitted and enrolled students in the Columbia and SEAS Class of 2029 applied as “undecided” on their major. So, if you did not specify a major that may have played a role in your ED rejection. Moving forward, you absolutely must specify a prospective major that aligns with your expressed interests emphasized through your course selections and extracurriculars.
You should also consider applying to a close reach, or far target, Early Decision II. Not a ton of schools offer EDII, but it can be a powerful tool if there happens to be a school that you are passionate about offering the Early Decision II option.
Step Three: Essays
If you were within the realm of possibility with your grades and scores as an applicant to Columbia, your essays were part of the problem with your application. We regularly help students with grades and scores on the ‘cusp’ for Columbia get in. The writing is the secret ingredient every single time.
Do you have to rewrite your main college essay and rethink your supplements? No, you don’t have to. However, we have yet to see an application that can’t be improved. So, yes. You can plough forward with what you have. But we don’t advise it.
Strong writing is the difference maker on any application, making an impact that goes far beyond an extra GPA point or a boosted SAT. Telling stories that connect with the application readers, and that pull them from their heads into their hearts is important. We aren’t saying that you should tell sob stories, though. Instead, you want the reader to enjoy your application. They should feel invigorated, inspired, and excited for your future at their school. If your essays do not do this right now, they need to be redone.
Step Four: Ask For Help
The final step is often the hardest for highly-motivated students: you need to admit what you don’t know. You are a strong student, and you know school. But you haven’t applied to college before. Even a parent isn’t a pro at this: they most likely last did it a few decades ago. And a sibling? They can give great advice, but they’ve only applied once. Asking for help from someone who faces the college mountain every year can be an important tool towards an impressive acceptance.
We regularly work with students who were rejected by an Ivy Early Decision, and now want expert help on turning their college admissions experience around. It is possible to get into a top-tier school after an ED rejection — even an Ivy. We know this because we help students do it every year. You, too, can turn around your experience. It’s all about what you do next.
Getting into a top school is possible after an ED rejection. Learn more.