Columbia University Pre-College Programs Character Design for Animation and Gaming

Class runs from 11:10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and again from 3:10 to 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday, and the two hours in between are for lunch and campus activities. If you live on campus, breakfast is served from 7:30 a.m. and dinner from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., and outside class there are activities, outings and workshops through the day, with special events every Friday and Saturday.

Commuters can spend the midday break on campus activities and stay after class for Master Class Moments and college workshops. Columbia asks them to leave campus by 6:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, though they can join Friday evening events with a parent's permission.

You can apply if you're anywhere from a rising 9th grader to a current 12th grader, from the US or abroad. To live on campus you must be at least 15 and turn 16 by 31 December 2027. Commuting is also open to students about to start their first year of college.

Columbia calls admission selective, but it sets no minimum GPA and doesn't ask for SAT or ACT scores. Instead it reads your unofficial transcript, a recommendation from a current teacher, a second recommendation from a school counselor or administrator, and your answers to two short-response questions. If English isn't your first language, you don't have to submit TOEFL or IELTS scores, but Columbia expects a level equivalent to 90 on the TOEFL iBT or 6.5 on IELTS. For this course, Columbia says some drawing experience may leave you better prepared, but no particular skills are required.

Plan on about $6,676 to commute or about $13,133 to live on campus for one three-week session. Those totals add four things: Columbia's Summer 2027 program cost ($6,381 commuter, $12,838 residential), the $95 application fee, this course's $100 fee (the figure on Columbia's Summer 2026 fee list) and roughly $100 of art supplies you buy before class starts. Columbia calls the program costs estimates until its Board of Trustees approves them.

Both prices include the activities, health services and technology fees. The residential price also covers your room and three meals a day, while commuters pay for their own meals, which they can buy in the campus dining halls. Every in-person student needs medical insurance, which Columbia doesn't sell. The non-refundable deposit ($2,000 commuter, $3,500 residential) counts toward the bill. The balance is due by 11 June 2027, there's no payment plan, and paying by card adds 2.85% for US cards or 4.25% for international ones. You can withdraw and get everything back except the deposit until 24 June 2027 for Session A or 15 July 2027 for Session B.

Need-based aid covers 25% to 50% of the program cost, though not the fees. It's open only to commuters who are US citizens or permanent residents living in the US or its territories, and Columbia awards it on a rolling basis while funds last. You have to request it in your application before you submit, and the deadline is 10 February 2027.

You leave with your own character model sheets and the drawings behind them, which you can build into a portfolio. If you complete the course, Columbia also gives you a Certification of Participation and an evaluation letter from your instructor, usually by mid-October through your online account. Because the course carries no credit or grade, the letter is your record of how you did. It comments on your effort, participation, progress and potential in the field, and your school counselor can attach both documents to their recommendation. Attendance matters for the certificate, because missing more than two days of class rules it out.

Residential students are supervised by live-in resident assistants, there's one staff member for every six students, and professional resident directors are on call around the clock. Public Safety officers guard the residence hall entrances 24 hours a day. Curfew is 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight at weekends, and breaking it gets you dismissed from the program with no refund. Unless a staff member is with them, students who leave campus must stay between 110th and 120th Streets and between Amsterdam Avenue and Riverside Park, and they can't go into parks without supervision.

Instructors pass background checks and Columbia's Protection of Minors training, and program staff are New York State mandated reporters. Columbia doesn't run airport transfers, so families arrange travel to campus themselves. Every student and parent signs Columbia's Community Standards before the program starts.

You apply through Columbia's summer programs application, which Columbia expects to open in mid-November 2026.

1. 1

   Choose whether to live on campus or commute, and pick Session A (28 June to 16 July 2027) or Session B (20 July to 6 August 2027).

2. 2

   Name this course as one of your top two choices, since you're applying to the program rather than the class.

3. 3

   Gather your unofficial transcript and add a teacher and a school counselor as recommenders, and tick the financial aid box before you submit if you're a commuter who needs it.

4. 4

   Submit by 1 February 2027 to get early course registration, or by the general deadline of 1 March 2027 (residential) or 1 April 2027 (commuter).

5. 5

   Expect a decision 3 to 5 weeks after your file is complete, then pay the deposit and send your enrollment forms and immunization records.

6. 6

   Register for the course yourself when your window opens, from 3 March 2027 for early applicants or 17 March 2027 for everyone else. Columbia says courses fill quickly and there's no waitlist, so register as soon as you can.