| Location: | Southeast |
| Setting: | Mid-size City Setting |
| Type: | Private |
| Affiliation: | United Methodist |
| Size: | Small (Under 2,000 Undergrad) |
Columbia College is a private liberal arts women's college in Columbia, South Carolina. The school is affiliated with United Methodist Church and has more than 1,500 students. During the summer, it is the site of a fine arts summer camp called Tri-DAC (Tri-District arts consortium) for rising fifth through ninth graders.
Founded in 1854, it is one of the oldest women's colleges in the United States. Columbia Female College officially opened in 1859 with an initial student body of 121 and a faculty of 16. When General Sherman and his troops marched through Columbia in 1865, the school had to close. It was saved from being torched only because Professor of Music W.H. Orchard, having heard that all unoccupied buildings would be burned by a certain hour, left his home to stand in the doorway of the College where he could be seen by the troops. The school was reopened in 1873. The College was damaged by its first fire in 1895, though the damage was not extensive. The name changed to Columbia College in 1905 after it was moved to its present site in North Columbia in 1904. Swept by a second fire in 1909, the College operated out of its former Plain Street facilities until the North Columbia campus could be reoccupied in 1910.
From 1940 to 1951 presidents Guilds and Greene oversaw Columbia College as well as Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
In 1964, a tragic third fire ravaged the campus, destroying Old Main, a College landmark. Frightened and disheartened students, huddled in the middle of the night in College Place Methodist Church, were told by President Spears, "Nothing has been destroyed that cannot be rebuilt." Soon thereafter new interest in the College was engendered, and building continued. The columns of Old Main, which had been the only thing left standing in the ashes when the fire was over, became a symbol of Columbia College, its strength and its endurance.
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| Percent of Students International: | 1% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 46% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | Yes |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 19,214 | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 18,864 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 350 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 1,879 | 66% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 2,591 | 85% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 3,908 | 96% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 3,552 | 86% | |
Any Aid: |
99% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 84% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 88% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 460, Math: 450 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 600, Math: 580 |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 63% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 18, Verbal: 17, Math: 16 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 23, Verbal: 24, Math: 22 |
| Application Fee: | $ 25.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Not Required |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Required |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
