Columbia University Pre-College Programs Essentials of Business, Finance, and Economics

The spring 2027 section meets live on Zoom on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to noon Eastern Time, with the term running from 15 January to 21 March 2027. Columbia asks you to log on 10 to 15 minutes early, and each online class has a Program Facilitator who quietly handles technical problems so the lesson isn't interrupted.

Between classes you hand in homework, join discussions and message your instructor through CourseWorks, Columbia's learning platform. Discussions, group work and student presentations are a regular part of the online courses, so expect to speak up on camera. Optional college prep and career workshops run at noon ET on Saturdays and Sundays.

You'll need a webcam, a microphone and a wired Ethernet connection, since Columbia warns that weak Wi-Fi causes choppy audio and dropped connections. The class time is fixed in Eastern Time, so check how a Saturday morning in New York lands where you live before you apply.

The fall 2026 section is taught by Aaishatu Glover, an adjunct professor at St. John's University who teaches macroeconomics, microeconomics and financial management there. She holds a Ph.D. and an MBA and has more than 20 years of experience across the public, private and nonprofit sectors, including work as a senior accountant and broker-dealer at Bear Stearns/JP Morgan Chase and as a director of finance and operations.

Columbia hasn't named the spring 2027 instructor, and it says students can't request a particular instructor and that staffing occasionally changes. The fall section has 22 seats, and 14 students were enrolled as of 10 November 2026. All Columbia pre-college instructors go through background checks and the university's Protection of Minors training.

Finish the course successfully and you get a Columbia University Certification of Participation and a written evaluation letter from your instructor, which comments on your effort, participation, assignments, progress and potential in the field. Columbia typically issues both within 6 to 8 weeks of the course ending, which for the spring section means around May 2027, and the evaluation is uploaded to your Slate account rather than mailed.

The certificate isn't automatic. Instructors decide based on attendance, participation, completed assignments and conduct, and a student who misses multiple classes may not receive it, even if the absences were excused.

Columbia suggests asking your school counselor to add both documents to their recommendation letter. It also states plainly that taking part has no influence on admission to Columbia College, its undergraduate school.

One course costs $2,868, which covers the course itself plus activity, health services and technology fees. Add the $95 nonrefundable application fee and the $50 or so Columbia suggests budgeting for materials such as textbooks, and you're looking at roughly $3,013 in all. Columbia notes its prices are subject to approval by its Board of Trustees and may change.

Once admitted, you pay a $500 nonrefundable deposit to hold your place, which counts toward the $2,868 rather than adding to it. The balance must be paid in full before the course starts, Columbia offers no payment plan, and paying by card adds 2.85% for domestic cards or 4.25% for international ones.

Columbia offers no financial aid for the Academic Year Weekend program. If your plans change, withdrawing by 11:59 p.m. ET on 13 January 2027 gets back everything except the deposit, but after that you owe the full amount.

Students in grades 9 to 12 can apply from the US or abroad, and there's no minimum GPA and no SAT or ACT score to send. Columbia calls admission selective and says it looks for academically exceptional, motivated students, which it judges from an unofficial transcript, one recommendation from a current teacher in a related subject, and two short-response questions. It doesn't publish an acceptance rate.

International applicants don't have to submit English test scores, but Columbia expects English equivalent to at least 90 on the internet-based TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or 6.5 on IELTS (International English Language Testing System), because classes depend on fast-paced discussion. Homeschooled students can get their recommendation from their primary instructor.

You apply through Columbia's Academic Year programs application.

1. 1

   Create an account and choose Academic Year Weekend, selecting the application round labeled Fall 2026, Spring 2027, Summer 2027.

2. 2

   Gather your unofficial transcript and add a current teacher as your recommender, who then gets an email link to Columbia's form.

3. 3

   Name your top two courses with this one among them, since you're admitted to the program rather than to a single course.

4. 4

   Submit the application, the $95 fee and your two short responses by 21 December 2026. Columbia reviews an application only once everything, including the teacher's recommendation, has arrived.

5. 5

   Expect a decision by email about 1 to 2 weeks after your application is complete.

6. 6

   Pay the $500 deposit by the date in your acceptance email and submit your enrollment forms.

7. 7

   Register for the course, which depends on seats still being available.