Columbia University Pre-College Programs Understanding Cinema: Analyzing Film Language and Styles

Class runs Monday to Friday from 11:10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and again from 3:10 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with a two-hour break between the two sessions for lunch and activities. On Columbia's sample residential timetable for these class hours, the day starts with breakfast and an optional fitness activity from 7:30 a.m. Dinner from 5:00 p.m. comes with a cultural outing on Mondays and Wednesdays, college workshops on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a special event on Fridays.

Weekends bring tours of SoHo, the Lower East Side and Chelsea, optional excursions into the city and a raffle for Broadway show tickets. Commuters can join early-evening programming but should leave campus by 6:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and they need a parent's permission for Friday evening events. Columbia also expects an hour or two of homework on an average night.

Students from rising 9th graders through current 12th graders can apply from the US or abroad, and seniors can attend the summer right after they graduate. To live on campus you must be at least 15 and turn 16 by 31 December 2027, and a younger student can come as a commuter instead. The commuter option also takes students about to start their first year of college.

Columbia calls admission selective but sets no minimum GPA and doesn't ask for SAT, ACT or PSAT scores. Instead, your transcript and recommendations need to show the background, motivation and maturity to take an active part in class. International applicants don't have to send TOEFL or IELTS scores, but Columbia expects English at the level of about 90 on the internet-based TOEFL or 6.5 on IELTS, because classes run on fast-paced discussion. Columbia doesn't publish how many students apply or get in.

Living on campus costs $12,838 for the three-week session and commuting costs $6,381, according to Columbia's Summer 2027 estimates, which still need Board of Trustees approval. The residential price covers the course, a room in a residence hall and a dining plan, plus the activities, health services and technology fees. The commuter price covers the course and the same fees but no meals, although commuters can buy food in the dining halls.

Columbia takes a non-refundable deposit to hold your place, $3,500 for residential and $2,000 for commuter students, and counts it toward the total. The rest is due by 11 June 2027 and there's no payment plan, while paying by card adds 2.85% for domestic cards or 4.25% for international ones. If you withdraw by 15 July 2027 you get everything back except the deposit, but after that date the full fee is owed.

• On top of the fee

  There's a $95 application fee, about $50 for books and field trips, travel to campus with no airport pickup, and medical insurance, which every in-person student must have. Understanding Cinema isn't on Columbia's list of courses with an extra course fee.

• Financial aid

  Need-based awards of 25% to 50% of the program cost are open only to commuter students who are US citizens or permanent residents living in the US or its territories, so residential students can't apply. You have to choose the aid option before submitting your application, and the aid deadline is 10 February 2027.

You leave with a Columbia University Certification of Participation and a written evaluation letter from your instructor, not a grade or college credit. The letter comments on your effort, participation, assignments, progress and potential in the field and in college, and Columbia typically posts both documents to your applicant account by mid-October. If you miss more than two classes in the three weeks, you lose the certificate, and Columbia notes the absences in the letter.

You can ask your school counselor to add both documents to your recommendation letter. Columbia says plainly that the program has no influence on admission to Columbia College, its undergraduate school.

Live-in Resident Advisors supervise residential students, who must be on their floors by 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends unless they're at a supervised activity. Columbia dismisses students who break curfew. Each residence hall has a guard on duty around the clock, entry needs a Columbia ID, room or suite doors stay locked, and parents can only go inside at move-in and move-out. Instructors have passed background checks and Columbia's Protection of Minors training, and program staff are legally required to report suspected abuse.

Commuters must live with family members or family friends, never in a hotel, Airbnb or hostel, and Columbia contacts residential parents when their student misses class. Every family signs the Student Conduct and Community Standards agreement, and breaking those rules normally means dismissal on the first offense, with no refund.

Applications go through Columbia's summer programs application portal.

1. 1

   Choose NYC Residential or NYC Commuter for Session B and aim for the 1 February 2027 early deadline, with general deadlines of 1 March 2027 for residential and 1 April 2027 for commuter applicants.

2. 2

   Get an unofficial transcript and ask a current teacher in a related subject, plus a school counselor or administrator, to complete Columbia's recommendation forms.

3. 3

   List Understanding Cinema among your top two courses, then submit the application with two short responses and the $95 fee.

4. 4

   Expect an emailed decision three to five weeks after your application is complete.

5. 5

   Once admitted, pay the deposit, send immunization records and enrollment forms, and register yourself for the course when your holds clear.