Columbia University Pre-College Programs Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Changing the World via Venture Creation

It depends on the format you pick, and all times are Eastern Time. On campus in summer, you're in class Monday to Friday from 9:10 to 11:00 a.m. and again from 1:10 to 3:00 p.m., with a two-hour midday break. One Summer B section meets later instead, from 11:10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 3:10 to 5:00 p.m. The online summer version runs three hours a day, Monday to Friday, from noon to 3:00 p.m. in Summer A and from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. in Summer B. The school-year version meets on Sundays, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in fall 2026 and from 10:00 a.m. to noon in spring 2027.

Residential students can have breakfast in the dining hall from 7:30 a.m. and spend the midday break on lunch, the gym or activities. Outside class there are activities, outings and workshops through the day, plus weekly special events on Fridays and Saturdays. Curfew is 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight at weekends, and Columbia dismisses students who break it. Commuters can join early evening events that end before 6:30 p.m. but should leave campus by then Monday to Thursday, and they can go to Friday evening events with a parent's permission. In summer, expect an hour or two of homework a night on top of class.

Columbia lists Jack McGourty as the instructor for the fall 2026 weekend section. He's an adjunct professor at Columbia who specializes in entrepreneurship and innovation and a former Vice Dean of its Engineering School, and he has taught in the Pre-College program for more than 20 years. He co-authored Patterns of Entrepreneurship Management (Wiley, 2020) and published Entrepreneurial Innovation and Finance (McGraw Hill, 2024).

He isn't named for the spring or summer sections, though. Columbia notes that a listed instructor may not teach every section, that students can't request an instructor or section, and that staffing sometimes changes. All Pre-College instructors go through background checks and Columbia's Protection of Minors training.

Summer applicants can be anywhere from rising 9th grade through current 12th grade, including seniors who'll attend just after graduating. The weekend version takes students in grades 9 to 12 while it's running. Living on campus has its own age rule: you must be at least 15 and turn 16 by 31 December of the year you attend. If you don't, you can still take the course as a commuter or online.

Columbia calls admission selective but sets no minimum GPA and doesn't ask for test scores. Your application needs to show the academic background, motivation and maturity to take an active part. It asks for an unofficial transcript, two short responses and a teacher recommendation, and the on-campus formats also need a recommendation from a school counselor or administrator. International students don't have to send TOEFL or IELTS scores, but Columbia expects English at the level of 90 on the internet-based TOEFL or 6.5 on the IELTS.

Applications go through Columbia's Pre-College admissions page, which has one portal for summer and one for the school-year weekend program.

1. 1

   Pick your format and session, because the deadlines differ: 21 December 2026 for the spring 2027 weekend section, 1 March 2027 for NYC Residential Summer and 1 April 2027 for NYC Commuter and Online Summer, with an early deadline of 1 February 2027 for every summer option.

2. 2

   Gather your unofficial transcript, tell your recommenders, and list this course among your top two choices, since you apply to the program rather than to one course.

3. 3

   Submit the complete application with the $95 fee, because Columbia reviews only complete files and does so on a rolling basis.

4. 4

   Expect a decision about three to five weeks after your file is complete for summer, or one to two weeks for the weekend program.

5. 5

   Pay the nonrefundable deposit and send your enrollment forms, including immunization records if you'll be on campus.

6. 6

   Register for the class on your registration date (3 March 2027 early or 17 March 2027 general for on-campus summer, 10 or 24 March 2027 for online summer), knowing that registration depends on space and Columbia warns courses often fill before the deadline.

The spring 2027 weekend course costs $2,868, the two-week online summer course $4,018, the three-week commuter course on campus $6,381, and three weeks living on campus $12,838. Each total already includes Columbia's activities, health services and technology fees, and the residential price also covers your room and meals. Columbia says its prices may still change until its trustees approve them, and it calls the summer figures estimates.

On top of that come a $95 application fee, about $50 Columbia suggests budgeting for books and field trips, and travel, since there's no airport pickup. Commuters from outside New York must stay with family or family friends, never in a hotel or Airbnb. Columbia doesn't offer a payment plan, and paying by card adds a fee of 2.85%, or 4.25% for international cards. The summer balance is due by 11 June 2027, and the weekend course has to be paid in full before it starts.

A nonrefundable deposit holds your place and counts toward the total: $500 for the weekend course, $1,000 online, $2,000 commuter and $3,500 residential. If you withdraw by your session's deadline, such as 13 January 2027 for the spring weekend course, 24 June 2027 for on-campus Summer A or 8 July 2027 for online Summer A, you get everything back except the deposit. After that, you owe the full fee.

Need-based aid is available only for the commuter and online summer formats, for a single course in one session, and only to US citizens and permanent residents living in the US or its territories. Awards cover 25% to 50% of the course cost but not the activities, health services or technology fees. You have to say you're applying for aid in the application before you submit it, and the aid application, which needs your parents' most recent tax returns and W-2s, is due by 10 February 2027. Columbia awards aid on a rolling basis until the money runs out.

Finish the course and you get a Columbia University Certification of Participation and an evaluation letter from your instructor. The letter comments on your effort, participation, assignments, progress and potential in the field, since there are no grades. Columbia says you can ask your school counselor to add both documents to a recommendation letter, but it provides no other proof of participation.

The certificate depends on showing up. Missing more than two classes in a two- or three-week summer session can cost you the certificate, even when the absences are excused. In the on-campus format, which meets twice a day, one missed class counts as a missed day. Summer documents usually arrive in your Slate account by mid-October rather than by mail, and weekend-program ones arrive within six to eight weeks of the end.