Achieve Columbia

Achieve Columbia

Achieve Columbia is an invitation-only program for students who have previously applied to Columbia College Chicago. If you have not yet applied for admission, please start by finding the application that best fits you on this page.

Achieve Columbia participants receive personalized advising, attend specialized events at Open House, Manifest, and more! Achieve Columbia is an inclusive and personalized approach to support college completion at Columbia College Chicago. Selected students will attend their local community college or university and create a customized transfer plan with their dedicated Columbia transfer admission representative. 

Students who succesfully complete their Achieve Columbia transfer plan are guaranteed admission to Columbia College Chicago, along with a minimum, annually-renewable scholarship of $2,000.

• Who qualifies for Achieve Columbia?

  Achieve Columbia students are selected through our holistic admissions process and come from all over the world. Students could be from rural or urban schools and are often the first in their family to go to college. 

• If selected, what do I need to do?
  1. Complete the participation form on your Columbia Connect page.
  2. Create your transfer plan with your transfer admissions representative 
  3. Follow the plan and earn a 2.50 overall grade point average 
  4. Finally, when it becomes available, complete the transfer express application for your planned term of enrollment
• What does a typical transfer plan look like?
  Achieve Columbia transfer plans are customized to the student and the college they plan to attend before reapplying to Columbia College Chicago. Most of them are likely to include core liberal arts courses like English/Writing, Math, History, Science, Literature, etc. Your transfer representative will help you develop the plan that's best for you.
• What happens when I'm ready to reapply?
  Your Columbia transfer representative will be there for you to help you make sure everything is in order for your new applicaiton. We will need you to submit the transfer express app, and send official transcripts of the work you completed for your customized Achieve Columbia plan.