Finally: the truth about Columbia University High School Program

Pre-College Issues Summer Programs
1

<p>Dear CC users,</p>

<p>I am currently 3 days away from the end of my 3-week stay at the Columbia University Summer Program for High School Students and I decided to tell the truth about this program because this was information NOT made available to me before I applied and attended. </p>

<p><em>Before I go on you should know that absolutely EVERYTHING I say is true and unexaggerated-->the "insider" info came from veterans of the program and RA's I've spoken to</em></p>

<p>First and foremost: this is a money-making program. Nothing more. This program makes $11 million dollars per summer. How, you may ask? By accepting virtually EVERYONE who applies and charging an obscene amount of tuition. Based on the fact that this program was advertised as a "college level academic experience", I assumed it was selective and admission was competitive. Turns out, virtually no one is every rejected. Some of the students I've met here have GPA's below a 2.0, sleep through class, and have partied every night of the three weeks. There are also international students who barely speak english. </p>

<p>Second: I came here because I thought I would be challenged academically and would establish a relationship with a knowledgeable professor in my field. I couldn't have been more wrong. The coursework is obscenely easy, and most of the classes have 50+ students (mine has 100+) so you are extremely lucky if the prof even knows your name. In addition, the teachers are extremely busy and don't even have time to meet with you if you want to talk/go over/clarify something after class.</p>

<p>Oh, and the "evaluation" you get at the end of the course that everyone says is "great to send to colleges" consists of 4-5 sentences and is the same letter for the majority of the students. </p>

<p>The best way I can describe this program is spending $7,000 to live in New York and socialize for three weeks. There are parties every night, no one ever does their "homework", and random, reckless "hook-ups" are common. Essentially it's like being at college for three weeks except without the work. </p>

<p>Maybe this appeals to you, maybe it doesn't, but either way this is the truth and I thought everyone should know because if I would have heard this, I never would have wasted $7,000 that my family did not have to throw away (which reminds me of another point: most of the kids here are absurdly wealthy and can afford to spend this much money for a 3-week social scene). </p>

<p>I hope this was informative, and I'm sorry it was long and ranting but I'm REALLY frustrated!!!!</p>

<p>Your friend,
anonymous09</p>

2

<p>Oh, one more thing: they force you to pay $400 for cafeteria privileges and the food here is disgusting. Just fyi.</p>

3

<p>See January thread about this:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/452429-what-s-most-expensive-summer-program-u-s.html?highlight=expensive%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/452429-what-s-most-expensive-summer-program-u-s.html?highlight=expensive&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]

This is 14 days of instruction at $475/day (if instruction starts on day 1 and there is instruction on the last day), or if you count weekends, 18 days at Columbia in NYC at $370/day.</p>

<p>And you need to pay for transportation to NYC.</p>

<p>Is this the most expensive summer program in the U.S., or can you beat this? (Brown isn’t this expensive, is it?) </p>

<p>I think the expense of the Columbia program is even more impressive given that it doesn’t lead to college credit, so if you find a program with a similar price that does lead to college credit, this one wins.

[/quote]
</p>

4

<p>Oh wow. Yeah I'm glad I didn't go (got accepted too). Wasn't there some big deal about like some guy with a Columbia ID emailing a bunch of girls? I saw it on the Columbia Summer Facebook group.</p>

5

<p>I did College Prep at Columbia last summer and I actually found the classes to be pretty interesting expect the course on Study Skills which was somewhat boring. The Expository Writing course was by far the most interesting and challenging one. I wasn't living on campus so I didn't really get a chance to socialize; commuter students were not even allowed to participate in the we/evening activities nor join the farewell party, which somewhat infuriated me since I had flown over the Atlantic to participate in that program. I agree with you it's too expensive and yes some students don't do their homework, some of them don't even go to class !</p>

6

<p>For those students truly interested in studying a particular subject matter and not interested in the party scene or wasting money would most likely be better off taking classes at a local college or CC, where the students attending are there to earn credits and not have fun. </p>

<p>Columbia isn't the only summer program that is a money-making opportunity for wealthy kids to party -- there are many, many of these programs and that is why they have virtually no significance in college admissions.</p>

7

<p>That's a bummer. I was considering applying for the Advanced Creative Writing Workshop next summer.</p>

8

<p>Is there any chanc you can take creative writing at a local college, not a community college?</p>

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<p>Local? No, the only local college (non-CC) is a LAC with no summer classes. But I happily attended Interlochen Arts Camp for Creative Writing this year. I will likely go back there but was just looking for other options. So MidwestMom, did you have kids in the program?</p>

10

<p>Good heavens no!</p>

<p>I was looking for interesting summer programs for my son and some of the courses at Columbia looked good - and then I saw the price and fell off my chair. As I said the first time we "talked" about it, classes like this seem to me to be for people who have so much money that price is not even a consideration, and if one is in the more usual situation where one has to consider the cost of the program and the benefit of a program, I can't imagine choosing that program.</p>

<p>A lot of kids from our area have gone to the programs at Brown. Not QUITE as expensive.</p>

11

<p>$7,000 for 3 weeks! That's just astounding.</p>

12

<p>in the future, you should try to get college credit if you are paying that much</p>

<p>i went to University of Miami = about 5000 = 6 credits
i went to WUSTL this summer = 6000 = 6 credits (max 7)</p>

13

<p>U HAVE TO BE KIDDING. I have a ton of friends who went there this summer and they said it was the best summer of their LIVES (these are some people who half at least half a brain--pretty smart people). Yeah, ur exaggerating everything.</p>

14

<p>I agree the price is ridiculously expensive. I agree that it is not difficult to get in, the evaluation is worthless, and a lot of kids are not rigorous students. The party scene is very present but not dominant. However, this program was not as worthless as that. My class had 8 people in it, was fairly rigorous, and interesting. I met a lot of very smart people and had a great time.</p>

15

<p>Omg really? that's not good :( I'm planning to do that program this year. I took the exam and I got accepted. Is it that bad? I was actually looking forward to it....until now....</p>

16

<p>If I had $7,000 to spend on 3 weeks, I'd fly to Paris, stay in a nice hotel, eat at fine restaurants, visit all the museums, etc. Actually, I'd spend a week and a half in London and a week and a half in Paris.</p>

17

<p>Columbia's creative writing course is supposed to be good. I do not know about the others.</p>

18

<p>

I agree completely!</p>

19

<p>I actually did the program this summer too , here are some pros and cons:
Pros:
a) All the freedom you need to experience NYC, offerings all around campus to see shows, movies, concerts
b) If you are interested in applying to columbia this is a good chance to get to know the campus better
c) classes taught by professors affiliated with the college and tas that attend
d) international students
e) seminars on applying to the school and writing the college essay by columbia admissions officers
f) attempts for 'community outreach' at lunch where one can sign up for the soup kitchen/thrift shop
cons:
a) virtually everyone is accepted so you end up with a bunch of kids there for an excuse to be in the city, forced there by their parents, or looking for an easy pin on their resume
b) The excessive amount of freedom they give you doesnt build a community among members of the program. you end up making a few friends that you stick to throughout
c) despite all the money spent already, youll end up paying atleast 1000 more to pay for restaurants, shows, and outings
d) the john jay cafeteria is DISGUSTING.. which makes saving on food so much more difficult
e) some classes have too much work, some have nothing at all, some have so many students that students dont even care
f) not a challening nor stimulating environment. way lax.
g) students not enthusiastic enough about events held </p>

<p>end result? a good time in the city. i wouldnt say i learned too much though ( i took a marketing class) , maybe thats because i took an easier class? oh well.. im glad i did it though, before the program i wanted to apply to columbia, now ive realized i want a smaller setting and am looking at barnard.
mildly recommended
though .. i do recommend (from past expereince) the phillips exeter program
and if you are interested in travel abroad , "Paris" or "london" lol check out EIL!</p>

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<p>Just to add something, my dd did high school pre-college summer program at NYU- Tisch on 07. SVA in 08. Both were very good and well worth the money.
We ran into a few kids in the city who were doing the Columbia program and we were appalled by how much freedom they had.</p>