Columbia University High School Summer Program

bosstweed23
Mon, 02 May 2016 15:36:33 +0000

Columbia’s summer programs for high school students are expensive at best and a ripoff at worst. Columbia University, despite its reputation for high quality education, is a name brand concerned with profit and image. That said, Columbia offers programs ranging in quality from the very best (Columbia College) to the very worst (i.e. this summer program).

Here are several things to note about this program:

1. It is not taught by Columbia faculty. Some professors MAY teach at Columbia but most are from different schools and work at this program to make ends meet. They aren't bad teachers per se, but you are not getting the Columbia education you've been promised.

2. The program does not grant credit. However, they used to grant credit when I participated in summer 2013. I am now a Columbia College sophomore when I learned much to my dismay that Columbia University would NOT accept the credit I earned (and paid for) during this program. Think of that: Columbia does NOT grant credit for students participating in one of its own summer programs. Sounds like a vote of no confidence from higher level administrators to me.

3. The program is run by four low-paid interns sharing a closet in the basement of Lewisohn Hall. Their office is twice the size of your bathroom. For a university whose endowment is over 9.5 billion BILLION, at the very least their summer program office could have proper windows and good lighting. Where an institution chooses to put its money says a lot about what the institution values.

4. Columbia is a wonderful school, and I am so thankful for every day I am here. The quality of the education is worthy of the school's reputation, and the quality of teaching is consistently high in almost all the courses I've taken. But, were my impression of Columbia based on this summer program alone, I would have thought Columbia was a third tier community college.

That said, if you want to attend community college for a week with a bunch of snotty faced rich kids, then by all means go ahead…

There are many, many more productive ways to spend your summer. You will find these opportunities, but you will have to search for them. Actively search them. Community service for three weeks might not sound like the most fun or the most prestigious accomplishment. But, trust me, you will learn a lot more than you would in an overpriced summer program.

Columbia knows this program is a scam, as do the other Ivies. Be smart. Don’t apply. And, if you have applied and been accepted, don’t pay. Drop out. Call it a day.

If you’ve any questions, feel free to contact me at mdz2112@columbia.edu

Thank you!