<p>Columbia College in Chicago is an arts college in Chicago. My son attended their summer program this year and loved it. There is an application process, but I think they accept everyone who applies (the college itself is open admission, or close to it).</p>
<p>The program lasts 3 weeks. Each course is 3 hours per day, and you can take one or two courses, $900 per course. If you end up going to Columbia for college, you'll get 3 credits for each course, but whether another college will accept these courses for credit is not guaranteed.</p>
<p>You can live on campus or commute. The dorm is very nice and expensive. My son lived off campus with his sister (who is a college student in Chicago and has an apartment) and took the el to class each day. Big growing-up experience for him the summer before he heads off to college.</p>
<p>If you have a kid who is not an enthusiastic student, but is interested in media or digital arts, this is a good program for them to explore some interesting arts-related courses that might not be available in a college prep high school. My son who hates school loved learning programming and animation in this program, never missed a class, and stayed late in the computer lab after classes were over. He had a chance to interact with some college students from these majors who helped out in his classes. He had lots of opportunities to talk with his instructors, one of whom is going to write him a college recommendation. Class size was small, 5-8 students. </p>
<p>All in all a very nice program for kids interested in video production, theater, fashion, creative writing, animation, game development, etc. Check it out if your kid is interested in the arts.</p>