If you have not done so, you should activate your Columbia email account as soon as possible.  Follow the instructions carefully.   You must activate your Columbia University email account, even if you plan to continue using another email account as your primary electronic mail service.  Once you become a registered student, all correspondence will be sent to this account only.  The process to create Columbia email accounts takes time, so if you have recently accepted the offer of admission, please wait at least four days before attempting to activate your email account.
If you are a current Columbia student or an employee who already has a UNI and email account, you should continue to use that UNI.  If you are a former student and have not been registered for over a year, you should keep the UNI you had and reactivate it.  

Instructions to activate your Columbia email account and UNI:    

The beginning characters of your new email address (i.e., everything before @columbia.edu) will be your University Network ID (UNI).  Together with the password you select, your UNI will allow you access to a wide range of online services at Columbia.  All correspondence from the University will be sent to your Columbia email account.  Therefore, if you do intend to use another email account as your primary service, you must make certain to link your Columbia email to that account.

To start the process of activating your UNI and email account, go to: http://uni.columbia.edu/.

1. Click on Activate a New UNI Account.  You will be asked to agree to the Computer and Network Use Policy and Your Responsibility on the Columbia Network. Once you agree to these terms, you will be taken to the Activate Your Account page. 
   
   
2. Click on Can't Find UNI and follow the instructions.
   
   
3. Select a password in keeping with the password requirements. 
   
   
4. When you reach the US Social Security Number Section, please click on About SSNs (located to the right of the box) first. You will see the following instructions:
   

   U.S. Social Security Number

   If you have a U.S. Social Security Number, please enter it without dashes in the box.

   Students, Faculty and Staff Without a U.S. Social Security Number  

   If you are an international student or employee and do not have a U.S. Social Security Number, please leave the SSN field blank in the UNI activation screen.

5. Enter your date of birth - mm/dd/yyyy. However, it is essential that you enter your date of birth as it appears on your application for admission. In some countries the day and month is listed before the month. If your date of birth does not work, make certain it matches the date as written on your application. If you find the date does not conform to our format, please notify us - see Updating Personal Information below.
   
   
6. You do not need to enter a PIN as one has not been assigned to you.
   
   
7. Click Activate My Account and you are done.