Columbia University Pre-College Programs Painting: The Painted Image

You paint Monday to Friday from 9:10 to 11:00 a.m. and again from 1:10 to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, which comes to nearly five hours of class a day, with an afternoon block about an hour longer than most of Columbia's pre-college courses have. The two-hour gap in between is for lunch and campus activities, and once a week part of class turns into a short seminar on critical issues in art.

If you live on campus, breakfast is served from 7:30 a.m., activities, outings and workshops run throughout the day, and there are special events on Fridays and Saturdays. Each weekend there's a tour of one of three neighborhoods, SoHo, the Lower East Side or Chelsea, plus optional excursions around the city. Commuters can join early evening programs but should leave campus by 6:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and can stay for Friday evening events with a parent's permission.

You leave with a Columbia University Certification of Participation and a written evaluation letter from your instructor, along with what you've learned about preparing a portfolio for college applications. There are no grades and no college credit, and Columbia says taking part has no influence on admission to Columbia College. The letter comments on your effort, participation, progress and potential in the field, and you can ask your school counselor to add both documents to their recommendation.

The certificate isn't automatic. Instructors decide who completes based on attendance, participation, finished assignments and conduct, and missing more than two classes in a three-week session rules it out. Columbia typically issues summer certificates and letters by mid-October through the applicant portal, so they arrive well after the course ends.

The course is open to students from rising 9th grade through current 12th grade, from the US or abroad, and the rules differ a little depending on how you attend. To live on campus you must be at least 15 and turn 16 by 31 December 2027. The commuter option also takes students about to start their first year of college, and every commuter has to live with family or family friends rather than in a hotel, Airbnb or hostel. Columbia recommends some drawing experience but doesn't require it.

Admission is selective, although Columbia sets no minimum GPA and doesn't ask for test scores. The application asks for an unofficial transcript, two short written responses, a teacher recommendation and, for both in-person options, 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 IELTS.

You're admitted to the program, not to this course, so a seat in the painting studio isn't guaranteed until you register after paying your deposit, and full courses have no waitlist.

Living on campus costs $12,838 for the three-week session, which covers the course, a room in a residence hall, three meals a day and the activities, health services and technology fees. Commuting costs $6,381, which covers the course and the same kinds of fees but no meals, and commuters can't buy a meal plan, so food on campus is extra. On top of either, you pay the $95 application fee and about $175 for course materials, which Columbia says goes toward equipment, facilities and field trips. Getting to New York is up to you, since there's no airport pickup, and you need your own medical insurance. Columbia calls these totals estimates that its Board of Trustees still has to approve.

Once you're admitted, you pay a non-refundable deposit of $3,500 if you're living on campus or $2,000 if you're commuting, and it counts toward the total. The balance is due by 11 June 2027 with no payment plan, and paying by credit card adds 2.85% for US cards or 4.25% for international ones. Withdraw by 24 June 2027 for Session A or 15 July 2027 for Session B and you get everything back except the deposit. After that, you owe the full amount.

Need-based aid covers 25% to 50% of the program cost, but only for commuters who are US citizens or permanent residents, and it doesn't cover the activities, health services, technology or course fees. You have to say you're applying for aid on the application before you submit it, and the aid application and its documents are due by 10 February 2027. Funds are limited and awarded on a rolling basis until they run out.

Columbia's staff-to-student ratio for residential students is 6:1. Live-in Resident Assistants complete two weeks of training, and professional Resident Directors are on call around the clock. Public Safety officers guard the residence hall entrances 24 hours a day, only people with a Columbia ID or clearance get in, and parents are allowed inside only to help with move-in and move-out. Rooms are single or double, randomly assigned on single-gender floors or in single-gender suites.

The rules are firm. Residential students must be on their own floor by 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends, and Columbia dismisses students who break curfew. After class they can leave campus, but only between 110th and 120th Streets and from Amsterdam Avenue to Riverside Park, with no parks unless staff are there, and Columbia recommends going with a buddy. Columbia contacts parents of residential students who miss class, while parents of commuters are expected to report absences themselves. Instructors pass background checks and Protection of Minors training, and program staff are New York State mandated reporters.

You apply through Columbia's summer programs application, which has to be submitted by you rather than a parent.

1. 1

   Choose between living on campus and commuting, pick Session A or B, and name this course and a second choice as your top two courses.

2. 2

   Gather your unofficial transcript and give your teacher and school counselor a heads-up that a recommendation request is coming.

3. 3

   Submit the application and $95 fee by 1 February 2027 for early registration, or by 1 March 2027 for the residential option and 1 April 2027 for commuting. If you're commuting and need financial aid, tick the aid box before you submit.

4. 4

   Expect a decision by email about three to five weeks after your application is complete.

5. 5

   Pay the deposit by the date in your acceptance email, upload your immunization records within two weeks of admission and complete the enrollment forms.

6. 6

   Register yourself for the course in Columbia's registration system, which opens on 3 March 2027 for early applicants and 17 March 2027 for everyone else.

7. 7

   Pay the balance by 11 June 2027.