How does Notre Dame admissions difficulty compare with Columbia?

Columbia is typically viewed as the harder admit of the two. Both schools are highly selective and attract very strong applicants, but students usually treat Columbia as a bigger reach, while Notre Dame is more often placed in the highly selective reach or high-target/reach zone depending on the student’s profile. In practice, that means a student who is competitive for Notre Dame may still see Columbia as a clear step up in admissions difficulty.

The applicant pool is part of the reason. Columbia draws a very large volume of applicants from around the world and is usually grouped with the most selective Ivy-level admissions landscape. Notre Dame is also extremely selective, but it tends to sit in a slightly different category in how students build lists, especially for applicants with strong academics, leadership, service, and genuine interest in Notre Dame’s mission.

The type of student each school attracts also shapes how people think about the odds. Columbia often appeals to students aiming for an intensely academic, urban, globally recognized research university experience in New York City. Notre Dame tends to resonate most with students who are excited by a residential campus culture, strong school spirit, undergraduate teaching, and often its Catholic identity, so its pool can be a bit more self-selecting.

When students build a list, Columbia is usually treated as a high-reach almost regardless of how strong the applicant is. Notre Dame is still never a school to count on, but for a student whose academics, activities, values, and overall fit line up well, it can feel a little more attainable than Columbia rather than being in exactly the same admissions bucket.