$get_excel_data = $objPHPExcel->getActiveSheet()->rangeToArray("A1:".$highestColumn.$highestRow);
$i = 1;
foreach($get_excel_data as $val) {
//In my case, 2nd column is a date so that I format using
$date = date('Y-m-d',PHPExcel_Shared_Date::ExcelToPHP($objWorksheet->getCellByColumnAndRow(1, $i)->getValue())); // array index 1
}