Camp Overview

About This U & Maps

Staff Ratio Guarantee

Safety & Peace of Mind

Sample Week

In the News

Testimonials

FAQ

Computer Camps Held at Columbia University

iD Tech Camps, Ages 7-17

WEEKLONG | CO-ED | DAY CAMPS
COURSE TOPICS: VIDEO GAME DESIGN, PROGRAMMING, APPS, WEB DESIGN & MORE

Ignite your internalDrive and do something BIG this summer! iD Tech Camps is a family company – and our company is a unique place. Some call it magical. We’re the World’s #1 Tech Camp – consistently ranked a Top Workplace. One of our big secrets? Ridiculously small ratios. Small ratios mean personalized instruction – just 8 students per instructor or fewer – or you get a free week of camp, guaranteed! Our adult-only staff are tech-savvy undergraduates, graduate students and professionals, passionate about teaching game design, film, computer science and more.

This is our 7th season hosting summer camps at our Columbia University location. We strike the right balance between off-computer activities (creative games, sports, life skills, etc.) and essential technology education to foster STEM skill development (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Our popular Columbia University summer day camps are among a handful of elite summer camps located in New York City.

We offer a variety of cutting-edge summer camp courses for beginner through advanced learners. Kids and teens learn one course topic per week, specializing in video game design, iPhone® app development, Flash® animation, programming, video editing and more – using the best brand name products from Adobe®, Apple®, Autodesk®, Google, Microsoft® and beyond. Come explore the college campus and gain skills that will last long after summer camp ends. Continue to Step 2 for Course Availability, Tuition & Dates.

About Columbia University

NOTE: Looking for our exact location on campus? You must first be enrolled; you can then access that information through My Account. Not yet enrolled? Go to Step 2 to enroll. The maps included here are for general information only.

Many students use their summer camp experience with iD Tech Camps to explore colleges that they’re interested in attending in the future. Learn on campus, eat in the dining halls and ages 10+ can even stay overnight (at most campuses).

Our summer academic camps at Columbia University offer students the chance to take in rich Ivy league culture while learning cutting-edge tech skills. Originally named King’s College, Columbia was re-named in 1784 to embody the patriotism that ignited America’s quest for independence. Pulitzer Prize winning writer and Columbia alumnus Herman Wouk described it as a place of “doubled magic” in which “the best things of all human history and thought” were contained. The campus is easily accessible by New York City subways and buses, making it easy to commute to this summer camp in New York. Columbia University is an excellent option for a day camp in the Tri-State area.

Columbia University

Columbia is an elite member of the Ivy League and a world-class institution particularly renowned as a center for research. Now over 250 years old, Columbia University is as rich in history as our country itself.

Columbia University Facts

Nickname: Lions
Founded: 1754
Student Population: The highly selective Columbia University only admitted 8.9% of applicants for the Class of 2013, one of the lowest rates in the nation. A racially diverse school, Columbia has accumulated a student body that is made up with 52% of all students identifying themselves as persons of color. Additionally, of the class of 2013, 50.3% of all undergraduates will be receiving some form of financial aid.
Rankings: Tied with the University of Chicago, Columbia’s undergraduate school is ranked 8th among national universities by the 2010 U.S. News and World Report, making it the perfect academic summer camp location. They are also ranked 7th among world universities and 6th among universities in the Americas by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Athletics: The Columbia Lions are part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and compete with 29 varsity sports teams. One hundred blocks north of main campus at Morningside Heights is where the Lions football team plays their home games.
Distinguished Alumni & Personnel: Presidents, Nobel Prize winners, athletes, actors and more make up a large portion of the Columbia alumni group. This list includes: 26th President of the United States (1901-1909) and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Theodore Roosevelt; 32nd President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt; 34th President of the United States (1953-1961) Dwight Eisenhower; President Barack Obama; Actor James Franco; Actor Jake Gyllenhaal; Actor Ed Harris; and Grammy Award winning singer and composer Alicia Keys.
Points of Interest: New York Aquarium, The City Hall, The Metropolitan Opera House, Madison Square Garden, American Museum of Natural History, Hayden Planetarium, Chinatown, Greenwich Village, Washington Square, and Union Square.

Meals

All meals are included with our overnight and extended day programs. Day campers have the option of purchasing the lunch plan or bringing a sack lunch. The lunch plan is recommended, but not mandatory. If the lunch plan is purchased, lunch is provided Monday-Friday. Many university dining facilities do not permit outside food to be brought into the dining hall; students bringing bag lunches may eat outside of the dining hall with their classmates and instructors.

Maps/Carpool

See maps and driving directions in My Account for detailed directions on how to get to our exact location on campus. Want to Carpool? Go green and save some green when you carpool to camp! Sign up for our Carpool app in My Account to see the other families in your area that are interested in carpooling.

Staff Ratio Guarantee

iD Guarantee

Students learn in small classes for a personalized experience. How small? Classes typically have 5, 6, 7, or 8 students – but never more than 8 per instructor. That's the iD Guarantee - if we ever go over an 8:1 ratio, you get a free week of camp!

Adult-Only Instructors

iD Tech Camps recruits energetic, experienced instructors to teach our technology courses and supervise our students. Our summer staff is adult-only, with no Counselors-in-Training.

Personalized Instruction

Courses are personalized to students' abilities, and therefore suitable for beginner to advanced levels in most cases. Because of the ridiculously small ratios (max 8:1 or a free week with the iD Guarantee), instructors have time to consistently work with students 1-on-1 and adjust curriculum to their interests and experience level.

Project-Based Curriculum

We encourage a hands-on approach to technology; students learn by doing. Each student is provided with a computer and learns to work with the same products that professionals use in their fields. Students complete a project showing off their new technology skills by the end of each weeklong session they attend. By focusing on practical applications of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills, iD prepares students to take their new tech knowledge back into the real world.

Staff at this Location

Meet some of the amazing instructors that have taught at Columbia University over the years.

• “Starman”: During the academic year, Starman is a doctoral student at Fordham University, completing his PhD in School and Child Psychology. He’s worked in a variety of private and public schools throughout NYC, working with teachers to problem-solve classroom management issues, and lending an open and caring ear to students in need. Originally from the suburbs of New York, Starman loves cooking, anything sci-fi, and David Bowie. He’s super “psyched”–get it?!–to bring out the best in students and have tons of fun at camp!
• “The Karate Kid”: The Karate Kid is going into his senior year at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He’s majoring in Games and Simulations Arts and Sciences (GSAS), with a concentration in Electronic Arts. He has worked as an artist in several team game design projects. As a student, he attended iD Tech Camps for 2 consecutive summers, once in Berkeley, and once here at Columbia. He’s very eager to convince students to follow a path in Game Design!
• “& (Ampersand)”: & has a BFA in Graphic Design from Emmanuel College in Boston. At school, she fell in love with digital photography and has been an avid hobby photographer ever since. Along with her love for Oreos, she eats, sleeps and breathes Photoshop. She has participated in gallery showings and open studios in the greater Boston area.  She is a kid at heart and loves to get down and creative with students!
• “The Mitten”: The Mitten’s path towards iD Tech Camps began at an early age when he disassembled his family’s first home computer. His dad then made him learn to put it back together. From that day forward, he has been an advocate of self-teaching, encouraged by bold curiosity and supplemented with a lot of expert help. Rather than memorizing the answers of the universe (an infinitely large set of static variables), he focuses on teaching the tools that help you find those answers (a simple, reusable function). While his degree in International Relations from CMU isn’t strictly related to iD, a decade of freelance web design and programming work, years of teaching experience, and an insatiable curiosity for all things programming have prepared him well for camp!

Safety & Peace of Mind

Risk Management

Adult staff and instructors supervise all activities. iD has a policy of never using Counselors-in-Training (CITs).

American Camp Association^® Accreditation

iD Tech Camps is accredited by the ACA at multiple locations, meaning we have met over 300 health and safety requirements. All camps follow ACA guidelines.

Background Checks

We conduct criminal background checks, sexual offender background checks, multiple reference checks and identification checks on all summer staff.

CPR & First Aid

All camps have Directors and Staff that are CPR and First Aid Certified.

Sample Week

A typical day varies depending on session and location, but it might look something like this:

	SUNDAY	MONDAY - THURSDAY	FRIDAY
7:30 am		Extended Day Campers – Check In Overnight & Extended Day Campers - Breakfast
8:30 am		Day Campers - Drop Off & Arrival Activities
9 am		Welcome & Opening Activity	Finesse Projects to Gold Version
9:30 am		Instruction – Jump on the computers!
10 am
11 am			Friday Activity
12 pm		Lunch – Overnight and Extended Day Campers eat in the campus dining hall.  Day Campers can choose to bring a bag lunch or purchase the meal plan.	Picnic Lunch
			Raffle
1 pm		Instruction – Back to the labs, woo hoo!	Showcase Prep
2 pm			Family Showcase
2:30 pm		Techtivities – Ultimate Frisbee?  Apples to Apples anyone?  Gaming tournaments?  We’ve got it all!
			All campers - Check Out
3:30 pm		Instruction – Back to the labs!	Ultimate Gaming Weekends – Option available at select locations.
5 pm		Day Campers - Pick Up & Closing Activities Overnight & Extended Day Campers – Open Lab/Free Time
5:30 pm	Overnight Campers - Check In
6 pm	Welcome	Dinner
6:30 pm	Dinner	Evening Activity - Movie Nights, Local Outings, Gaming Tournaments & more!
7 pm		Extended Day Campers – Pick Up
7:30 pm	Evening Activity	Evening Activity – cont’d.
8 pm
8:30 pm	Drills
9 pm	Chillax
10 pm	PreTeen Lights Out
11 pm	Lights Out!

Off-Computer Camp Activities

Students typically spend 5-6 hours on the computer each day. iD Tech Camps is careful to balance technology and fun - giving students Tech-Reation time. When they're not on the computer, students participate in fun summer activities like talent shows, play board games, compete in sports, take part in gaming tournaments and more.

Family Showcase

Every Friday afternoon, we invite parents and friends to come and experience iD Tech Camps. See the labs where students learn, explore campus, meet our staff, applaud students' course projects and attend the personalized diploma ceremony.

Hours/ Camp Options

Day Camp - Day Camp runs Monday through Friday, with drop off between 8:30 - 9 am and pick up between 5 - 5:30 pm (3:30 pm on Fridays).
Extended Day - Extended Day Camp runs Monday through Friday, with drop off at 7:30 am and pick up at 7 pm (3:30 pm on Fridays).
Overnight Options - Overnight camps are available at most locations for students ages 10 and up. Overnight camp runs Sunday through Friday, with drop off at 6 pm on Sunday and pick up at 3:30 pm on Friday.
Ultimate Gaming Weekends - Stay the weekend and game with us. UGW is fully supervised and includes housing, meals and supervision. It is available at the end of an Overnight Camp week or as a bridge between two consecutive weeks of Overnight Camp. Not available at all locations.

Attention New York Teens!

Our summer camps in New York at Columbia University just got even cooler for our teen students. We have specialized teen activities including free time to hang out, movie nights, extra project time, and as always, plenty of gaming. Check out our other cool teen-only programs like the iD Gaming Academy, iD Programming Academy, iD Visual Arts Academy and Ultimate Gaming Weekends (offered at select locations).

iD in the News

Columbia University News

Watch iD Tech Camps on NBC's Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda!

Apr 12th, 2012

Want to Make Your Own iPhone App? - Article as Appeared in The Fiscal Times

Mar 22nd, 2012

As appeared in The New York Times - article about app writing summer camps

Mar 17th, 2011

As appeared in The New York Times - When the Tech Guy Is 13 (or Even 10) by David H. Freeman

Nov 3rd, 2010

As appeared in The Times of Trenton - article about video game development at our NJ summer camps

Jul 12th, 2010

Testimonials From Columbia University

What Parents Are Saying

“Our son absolutely loved his week at iD Tech Camps (and he’s usually very hard to please)! He looked forward to going every day, was excited about his project and said that he’d really learned a lot. The staff members were fantastic – enthusiastic, knowledgeable and always helpful. Thanks so much for a rewarding and fun-filled learning experience! Jeannie C., parent, Columbia University

“The setting is good, the staff friendly and the program well organized. Thank you for a fun week. Elisabeth R., parent, Columbia University

“I am very satisfied with the camp staff for their great work and support for my son. I will definitely send him again to iD Tech Camps next year. Most of all, my son enjoyed it very much. Haeyoung L., parent, Columbia University

“We appreciate getting to meet the instructor and seeing and playing the game my son created. The diploma ceremony was very positive, giving individual and personalized, positive comments about each student showed how much the instructors came to know and appreciate each of the kids. Norah M., parent, Columbia University

“My son and his friend had a fantastic time at camp this week! Thank you. Margo D., parent, Columbia University

What Campers Are Saying

“We didn’t only get to program our games, but we also got to play computer games, board games and play outside. All of the instructors were very helpful…It was really fun. Haley S., student, Columbia University

“I had a lot of fun using the programs. I made a lot of new friends and I hope to come back next year! Noah S., student, Columbia University

“I was not sure how much of an entire programming language I could learn in a week, but after completing my final project, I feel like I have really learned some key aspects of Java. Enough so that I want to pursue the language and delve into more advanced programming. Jacob C., student, Columbia University

“It takes skills to make anyone want to do something for 7 hours straight. iD Tech Camps did this to me with programming. Ryan L., student, Columbia University

“Camp was pretty cool – the instructors are fun and they care about you and your work. Amy G., student, Columbia University

Frequently Asked Questions

What courses are offered at this location?
Go to Step 2.

When does camp start?
See Step 2 for the dates of our weeklong university summer computer camps.

How much does camp cost?
The cost of tuition varies depending on the course, location and camp option that you choose. Basic Day Camp ranges from $749 to $1,049 per weeklong course. There are additional costs for program add-ons.

How can I save on tuition?
There are many ways for you to save!

• Register early to take advantage of our seasonal promotions.
• Refer-a-Friend and you and your friend both save $50.
• Sign up for multiple weeks to save $50 off each additional week.
• Register multiple siblings and save $50 for each sibling.

Do you offer financial aid?
iD Tech Camps is proud to offer tuition assistance for families who qualify. Application deadlines are announced each year in the Spring.

What is your cancellation policy?
Balance payments, less the non-refundable deposit, are refundable up until 3 weeks prior to the start of the confirmed camp week/session. No refunds will be issued for cancellations or withdrawals within 3 weeks of the start of confirmed camp weeks/sessions. All cancellations must be made online in My Account or submitted in writing to the internalDrive Inc. office no later than 3 weeks prior to the start of camp. For more details, please see our Terms & Conditions.

Does my child need to have a high computer IQ?
No, our courses are for beginner to advanced students. Because of our small ratios, instructors can work with students 1-on-1 and personalize the curriculum for each student's level.

Should my child bring a personal laptop to camp?
No, students do not need to bring laptops to camp. We provide a computer for each student to use for the week. All materials necessary for the course will be provided.

Do you have any teen programs?
iD Tech Camps has a Teen Scene that provides older students with a more independent experience on campus. Teens enjoy extra privileges appropriate for their environment and maturity levels, and although we maintain standard supervision ratios, teens will feel a sense of freedom. Special Teen Scene activities include computer gaming tournaments and Gamingpalooza.

iD also offers specialized iD Teen Academies in Gaming, Programming and Visual Arts at select locations across the country. These teen camps are intensive, two-week courses with tours of nearby industry hot spots and bi-weekly portfolio building workshops. See our iD Teen Academies page for more information.

How do I register? How do I contact you?
To register, find availability at the location you desire, and you'll be guided through the process. Registering online is the fastest way to get into camp. Or, you can phone us at 1-888-709-TECH (8324) or 1-408-871-2227. You can also email us at info@internalDrive.com. And, if you'd like a brochure sent to you, please click the brochure link.

Course Tuition (Program options are found on the next step)