Columbia University Pre-College Programs Becoming An Entrepreneur

Class runs Monday to Friday in two blocks, 9:10 to 11:00 a.m. and 1:10 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and Columbia normally gives a 10-minute break halfway through each block. Class time mixes interactive lectures with guided hands-on work on your own business idea.

The two hours in between are for lunch and campus activities. Columbia says these include special lectures by program instructors, college-prep workshops, career exploration and leadership activities. Commuters get no meal plan, so you buy lunch in the campus dining halls, which serve vegetarian and vegan food and offer kosher and halal meals if you request them when you enroll.

After class, Columbia's sample commuter schedule shows master classes and college workshops into the early evening. Commuters can join programming that ends before 6:30 p.m. but should leave campus by then Monday to Thursday. With a parent's permission, they can stay for Friday evening community events. Columbia also expects an hour or two of homework most nights.

On the first morning, check in at Lerner Hall (2920 Broadway) between 7:00 and 8:30 a.m. to pick up your student ID before class, and expect a line.

Summer applicants range from rising 9th graders to current 12th graders, from the US or abroad. The commuter option also takes students entering their first year of college, so a senior can attend in the summer after graduating. Admission is selective. Columbia's admissions committee looks for academically exceptional students, but it sets no minimum GPA and doesn't ask for SAT, ACT or PSAT scores.

Cohort and selectivityOfficial

Admission is selective

The application asks for an unofficial transcript, answers to two short-response questions and two recommendations. One comes from a current teacher in a field related to your course choices, and the other from a school counselor, principal or other administrator at your school. Homeschooled students can use their primary instructor for the teacher recommendation. Columbia doesn't publish a cohort size or acceptance rate.

International students don't need to send TOEFL or IELTS scores. Even so, Columbia expects English at the level of at least 90 on the internet-based TOEFL or 6.5 on the IELTS, because classes depend on fast discussion. For this course you also need your own laptop and an entrepreneurial idea you want to develop.

The week costs $2,883. That's Columbia's summer 2027 figure, which it calls an estimate still subject to its trustees' approval. It covers the program itself plus activities, health services and technology fees. On top of that come the $95 nonrefundable application fee, about $50 Columbia suggests budgeting for materials, a laptop if you don't have one, lunches and your daily travel. This course isn't on Columbia's latest list of extra course fees. You also need your own medical insurance, because Columbia offers neither a plan nor a waiver.

Once admitted, you pay a $1,000 nonrefundable deposit that counts toward the total, and the balance is due by 11 June 2027. There's no payment plan, and paying by credit card adds 2.85% for domestic cards or 4.25% for international ones. Withdraw by 17 June 2027 for the June session, or 29 July 2027 for the August one, and you get everything back except the deposit. After that date you owe the full amount.

Need-based aid covers 25% to 50% of the $2,700 program cost, so roughly $675 to $1,350, for US citizens and permanent residents living in the US or its territories. It doesn't cover the fees and isn't open to students taking more than one session. You have to ask for it on the application before you submit, with everything in by 10 February 2027, and Columbia awards it on a rolling basis while funds last. Families can also pay from a 529 college savings plan.

You leave with the business plan proposal and final presentation you build during the week. You also get an official Columbia University Certification of Participation and a written evaluation letter from your instructor. The letter comments on your effort, participation, work on assignments, progress and potential in the field, and Columbia typically posts both documents to your applicant portal by mid-October.

There are no grades and no college credit. The certificate depends on attendance, and in a one-week session, missing more than one class rules it out, with absences also noted in the letter. If you want to use the documents in college applications, Columbia suggests asking your school counselor to add them to their recommendation.

Columbia's Department of Public Safety covers the campus with Columbia University EMS, 24-hour guard booths and safety escorts. Program staff are New York State mandated reporters, and instructors have passed background checks and Columbia's Protection of Minors training.

Because this is a commuter course, the biggest rule is about where you stay. Every commuter has to document that they live with direct adult supervision in the same home. Hotels, Airbnb rentals and hostels aren't allowed, whatever the student's age. During program hours, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., commuters must stay within campus boundaries and can't enter the residence halls. Attendance is taken in every class, and parents should tell the Student Services Office in advance about any absence.

Getting to and from campus is up to families. For daily pick-ups, Columbia suggests the main gates at 116th Street and Broadway or Amsterdam, which are close to a public safety kiosk. Students and a parent both sign the community standards agreement. Breaking the standards normally means dismissal on a first offense, with no refund.

Applications go through Columbia's summer programs portal, where you apply to NYC Commuter Summer as a whole rather than to this course.

1. 1

   Choose NYC Commuter Summer and Session AA (21 to 25 June 2027), Session C (2 to 6 August 2027) or both on the same application.

2. 2

   Gather your unofficial transcript and enter your teacher and counselor recommenders, who then receive a form by email.

3. 3

   Name your top two courses, and if you need financial aid, select that option before you submit.

4. 4

   Submit and pay the application fee by 1 February 2027 to qualify for early course registration, or by 1 April 2027 at the latest, since Columbia reviews complete applications on a rolling basis.

5. 5

   Expect an email decision about three to five weeks after your file is complete, or by the first week of March if you applied for aid.

6. 6

   If admitted, pay the enrollment deposit, send proof of measles, mumps and rubella immunity and sign the enrollment forms.

7. 7

   Register yourself for Becoming An Entrepreneur once your holds clear. Columbia lists NYC Commuter registration as opening 3 March 2027 for early applicants and 17 March 2027 for everyone else.