Increases vary greatly among schools, as some CC and SEAS students will now be offered a tuition-free education while GS students will see a much more modest rise in aid.

Starting in the 2022–2023 school year, Columbia will be increasing financial aid for undergraduate students, most significantly for those in Columbia College and the School of Engineering. The increased aid means that students whose families have an annual income of up to $150,000 with typical assets will now be able to attend Columbia College and the School of Engineering tuition-free. Additionally, the University announced that it will increase aid packages for CC and SEAS families at or below an annual income of $66,000 dollars; with this increase, they will not be expected to contribute to the cost of a Columbia education. Previously, the cutoff for a full ride had been an annual income of $60,000. Read the full announcement here.

Though there will be increases in the amount of aid offered to students in the School of General Studies, the aid offered to GS students will continue to undershoot that offered to students in Columbia College or the School of Engineering. GS students will receive a 7.2% increase in aid relative to last year, with the University allotting a total of $37 million in aid for GS students next year. Unlike CC and SEAS students, GS students did not receive tuition-free summer classes last year and do not qualify for meal plans.

These changes bring financial aid at CC and SEAS in line with the aid offered by other Ivy League schools, all of which have lower tuition than Columbia. The cutoff for attending at no cost ranges from an annual income of $60,000 per year to $75,000 per year at other Ivy League universities, and the income cutoff for attending free of tuition ranges from $125,000 to $160,000 per year. The average Columbia student graduates with $21,979 in debt—slightly more than students attending similar schools. 

In the 2022–2023 school year, Columbia’s estimated cost of attendance (including the cost of books and “personal [items]”) will be $85,967, up from an estimated $82,584 in the 2021–2022 school year. 

Low via Bwarchives