Columbia College, Columbia MO
In 2014, Columbia College
was named a "Best Midwestern University" by The Princeton Review
, a New York City
-based education services company; the college is one of 159 universities in a 12-state region to receive the designation, which are selected based on academics and surveys of current students. Columbia College, deemed the “safest college in Missouri”, is located in the quaint town of Columbia, Missouri and is the little and more refined sister of another, more well-known University, ahem, Mizzou. This pretty school has a lot to offer, from stellar academics, an incredibly supportive and collaborative faculty and fixed rate tuition (approximately $33,000 per year). Want a “teaching” institution where academics take a front seat to athletics, check out Columbia College. Oh, also they are BIG into Collegiate eSports*. In case you’ve been living under a rock, see below.
Here are the facts:
Culture
• Private, Liberal Arts institution founded in 1851
• 1st 4 year school, west of the Mississippi
• Main campus student population 1100, although the last two years have brought a 46% freshman increase
• Columbia, MO population 130,000
• Latest incoming class - over 400
• 11:1 student to professor ratio-never more than 35 students in a class
• No TA’s and 80% of faculty hold a terminal degree
• Free laundry
• Fresh food
• Many work-study opportunities
• 13% international
• Residential requirement for the first 2 years – encourages community amongst students
• Building a new dorm
• Columbia College has expanded to 35 locations around the US, with more than 15 locations on military bases, they excel at serving military members, veterans and civilians
Academics
• 51% acceptance rate
• 72% freshman retention rate
• 41% 4 year graduation rate
• Highest nursing licensure exam pass rates in Missouri
• Deep programs in Business, Visual and Performing Arts and Security and Protective Services, including a rare Forensic Science major
• Their new science building has a crime lab and students work on actual cold cases, in fact they have solved two
• Students can take a class at Mizzou or Stephens if not offered at CC
• Full time math and writing/reading tutors available – not students
Financial
• Tuition $33,000.00 and remains the same whether student takes 12 or 18 credit hours
• Presidential Scholarship – full tuition, minimum requirements are a 3.6 un weighted GPA and a 26 ACT
• 330 M endowment
• 88% receive need-based financial aid
• 67% receive need-based grant
Athletics
• NAIA, 30% of student population are athletes
• New – Men’s LAX
• Lots of intramural teams
• eSports athletes must be at least a Diamond Level
• Gaming heavily funded
*eSports (also known as electronic sports, esports, e-sports, competitive (video) gaming, professional (video) gaming, or pro gaming) is HUGE on college campuses. eSports
are a form of competition that is facilitated by electronic systems, particularly video games
; the input of players and teams as well as the output of the eSports system are mediated by human-computer interfaces.
