I want to do the Columbia summer program this summer, but I have been reading up on forums on this site saying that it was either a great experience or a horrible/money-wasting experience. Some people said that come classes are giant while others had great, small lectures. I am interested in the film photography course, intro to architecture, or one of the law classes. Has anyone done any of these courses? What did you think about it? I want to go to the program, but I want to be in one of the smaller classes with a lot of learning (I have read many experiences involving people not going to class, sleeping in class, partying all the time, etc. I want to go if I will actually learn something new and beneficial.)
hello! no matter what class you take, you might have those types of people. I took one of the smaller classes with a lot of learning and there were still a couple of partiers. but it honestly doesn’t interfere in anybody else’s learning. 
the classes that tend to be huge are business, psychology, creative writing, etc. stuff like that.
smaller classes are the science labs and more specialized classes
concerning the ones you’re interested in, I actually didn’t meet anybody taking film photography or law. so that might be a pretty good indication it’s not one of the hugely popular ones.
my friend took architecture and if you’re looking to learn I can tell you that this is a pretty good class for it. they get a LOT of homework. not necessarily very difficult, just a lot.
Hi! I did the introduction to architecture class a couple of years ago. I can honestly say that it was an amazing experience, and that it is one of the things that has made me want to study architecture in college.
It was an extremely intensive course, so maybe you’ll want to factor that in while deciding. There were about 40 students overall, but the theory classes were split into two, and the studio into three. The theory classes (happen every day for about two hours) require a lot of reading. The texts that supplement the classes are interesting, but often take a philosophical point of view and can therefore be dense and heavy. Part of the requirements for the theory class is to present on a book/ architectural project, which was really fun. I presented on one of Koolhaas’s books.
The studio classes, however, were what made this program worthwhile. I made several architectural drawings and models that have now been incorporated into my college art portfolio. I don’t know if you’re thinking of submitting a portfolio to college; if you are, then this program will really help. Also, at the end of the program, you do receive a recommendation from both your professors!
I don’t know if this helped, but I encourage you to apply if you have the chance Good luck