Jumpstart Series
Doing well at Columbia involves highly developed academic skills—skills that are not always intuitive and that go beyond understanding the content of classes. To help Jumpstart your first semester at Columbia and get a clear understanding of what it takes to succeed, new students are invited to attend a week of workshops designed and run by the Academic Resource Center (ARC) to help build academic skills in context.
The Summer 2025 Jumpstart Series will be held August 18-22.
Becoming part of the Columbia undergraduate community is about more than just going to classes. You are joining a talented, passionate, resilient group of student scholars, along with a dedicated staff and faculty eager to get to know you and to be on your Columbia team. Learn more about who we are as a community, and how we can support you in your first semester at GS and beyond.
It is difficult to cultivate classroom skills in the abstract. To learn to take stellar notes, you need to know what you will be taking notes about, a good sense of the pace of lectures or discussions, and to know what you are expected to take away. That is where this series steps in. Preview a Columbia classroom run by GS staff and faculty, and get a head start refreshing and strengthening classroom skills.
At Columbia, speaking the language of a text does not always guarantee that you will understand what it says. And understanding a text does not always mean you feel prepared to talk about it. Work with us to learn strategies for approaching difficult readings and engaging in class discussions, and get a head start on texts that have tripped up many intrepid readers in the past.
Columbia University is a world renowned research institution. But what does that really mean? What does a researcher do day to day? How does the incredible wealth of research happening on our campus impact the student experience? And how can undergraduates get involved? The ARC has partnered with GS Academic Affairs to answer these questions and more, and to help you launch your research career from your first semester on campus.
There is a science to learning science (and math) at high levels. Columbia teaches math and science at the highest of levels, and the learning curve—for mastering the content and the necessary learning strategies—can be steep. The ARC team has spent a lot of time studying the science of doing science, and we are excited to teach you what we have learned. Work with us to learn how to prepare for lectures, how to approach problem sets, the advantages of working in groups, and other secrets to success.
Not everyone was enrolled in a high school math class last year – and that's okay. To help students review, refresh, and even learn for the first time the foundational math that will be expected in the Columbia classroom, the ARC team offers this online summer option combining a curated self-paced curriculum with one-on-one support from math tutors.
Contact
For more information, email [email protected].