Columbia University Science Honors Program

Columbia University Science Honors Program, or Columbia SHP, is a highly selective program for tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade high school students. Classes are held each Saturday during the entire academic year from September through May. There are no tuition charges for the program, and the SHP has offered courses that have spanned from "Organic Chemistry" to "Optics and Lasers" to "Observational Astronomy."

To apply to Columbia SHP, students must obtain applications from their high school, for applications are not obtainable either online or in the mail. The main portion of the application process is a three-hour examination that contains questions in both science and math. The average acceptance rate for the program is usually around 16%.