Investing in Your Future: Pre-College Programs for High School Students Considering Finance & Business Majors
Here’s a proverb mash-up that might just make real-world sense in more ways than one: If an investment in knowledge pays the best interest, then – without a doubt – the early bird catches the worm.
Some students begin their college major with little or no knowledge about their chosen field. But if your soon-to-be finance major gains real-life knowledge and experience in the field while she’s still in high school, she can strengthen her college application and – once accepted – hit the ground running toward a more successful and impactful college experience.
Educational Consultant Judi Robinovitz agrees that getting an early start pays dividends.
“High school students with extracurricular experience aligned with their intended majors receive invaluable knowledge and hands-on opportunities,” she said. “They also position themselves to stand out as strong candidates when applying to their top-choice colleges.”
Robinovitz says finance-related college preparatory programs teach students everything from how the stock market works and investment strategies to managing a portfolio or starting your own business – and everything in between. Colleague and fellow Educational Consultant Kathy Hart also touted the value-added benefits.
“College-prep finance programs allow students to apply their classroom learning in a more business-focused experience,” she said. “Students in these programs generally work with highly esteemed instructors while exploring real-world scenarios. Oftentimes, students finish the program with a collaborative project – like working with classmates to create a business plan, launch a hypothetical business, and/or pitch a fictitious product, á la Shark Tank.”
Educational Consultant and colleague Donna Barron added that these programs also help students refine their goals to better understand how to align their studies with their desired career paths.
“Early exposure to finance in a pre-college program builds a strong knowledge base, giving students a head start in understanding topics they’ll encounter as a finance major,” she said. “Completing a program also demonstrates initiative, focus, and a genuine interest in the field, which – as Judi mentioned – can make the student stand out among applicants to competitive colleges.”
Choosing the Best-Fit Program
Robinovitz and colleagues Kathy Hart, Donna Barron, and Ann LaFemina compiled the following list to help fast track your future financier to success. Although the list is long, there are even more available to high school students – seek, and you will find.
Some courses are created and offered by colleges, while others are offered by private organizations that hold their courses on college campuses, online, or at other locations. Prices vary and, although many cost $2,000+, some offer need-based scholarships and other discounts (and some include food, lodging, and other amenities). Most programs begin accepting applications in January, and spaces fill up quickly – so plan early.
Use this guide as a springboard to find a reputable program that best fits your needs and budget, knowing that participating can truly pay off.
Programs Offered by Colleges
Although the following pre-college programs are created and offered by colleges, most don’t offer college credit. Instead, students typically receive certificates of completion, make professional connections, and create take-away projects to build their portfolios. Courses are generally developed by college faculty and give students an opportunity to experience college-level academics and – in some cases – living on campus. Here are some of the many schools offering pre-college finance programs:
1. Babson College
Babson College’s summer program for high school students is available in person or online. The course, EPS 110: Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience, is taught by a Babson College instructor and awards students with four college credits upon completion. Students ‘gain exposure to key concepts in entrepreneurship, leadership, marketing, finance, business communication, and other disciplines that support venture creation.”
2. Bentley University: Wall Street 101
The Wall Street 101 program offered by Bentley University is “a competitive experiential learning program for rising high school juniors and seniors interested in global finance and investing including stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.” The week-long courses, offered online and in person, cover stock market and investment research, macroeconomics and financial markets, personal finance, FinTech, artificial intelligence, and other relevant topics aimed at increasing financial literacy. Courses offer interactive experiences including trading simulations, team assignments, guest lectures, and debates. Students attending on-campus courses experience hands-on training in Bentley’s state-of-the-art trading room and use financial databases including Bloomberg and the Financial Trading System.
3. Boston College
The Business & Leadership Institute at Boston College provides a hands-on environment “where participants engage with business and leadership fundamentals through various activities including self-assessment, case study analysis, video analysis, expert guest speakers, and collaborative small group work.” The two-week courses allow high school students to “experience college life at Boston College while expanding their understanding of the business and leadership elements crucial for success in both academic pursuits and early professional endeavors.”
4. College of William & Mary
William & Mary’s Pre-College Online Program offers a variety of courses designed and instructed by faculty including Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital: From Idea to Investment, which takes students “inside the fast-paced world of venture capital investing.” Varying-length courses are available throughout the year. Courses are designed to help students explore potential college majors and “career paths related to entrepreneurship and venture capital investing like finance, business, entrepreneurism, or portfolio management.”
5. Columbia University
Columbia University offers a variety of in-person and online business, economics, and entrepreneurship pre-college courses including Introduction to Business, Finance and Economics; Introduction to Corporate Finance; Introduction to Finance and Investment Management; and Investment Portfolio Management. Students gain real-world knowledge from Ivy League instructors in these courses. Some in-person courses include visits to the Federal Reserve, United Nations, and Wall Street.
6. Dartmouth College
Dartmouth offers its Finance, Investing and Market Insights pre-college program in multi-length online sessions throughout the year. Students leave armed with practical knowledge beneficial for any career in business or finance. Topics include Finance Foundations: Exploring Markets and Money; Valuing Companies: The DCF Method; IPO Power: Investment Banking and Valuation; Discount Rates and Risk: Valuation Essentials; Inside the Numbers: Financial Statements 101; and The Final Pitch: Valuation Project (when students put what they’ve learned to work by creating a capstone project).
7. Fordham University Finance Institute: Wall Street In the Classroom
Fordam’s Finance Institute: Wall Street in the Classroom program immerses high school students in all things Wall Street. Offered by the Gabelli School of Business, this one-week course focuses on economics, personal finance, investing (stocks, bonds, hedge funds, private equity investing…), risk management, cryptocurrency, and more. The program covers a broad range of relevant topics and even teaches students how to manage their own finances. The hybrid format allows students to attend courses remotely or in Bronx, New York.
8. Indiana University
Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business offers in-state Indiana high school students the Kelly Up-Next Business Academy, an in-person pre-college program that overviews the college admissions process, explores all 20 of Kelly’s business majors, and allows students to network with business professionals. Classes meet one Saturday per month during spring and fall sessions.
9. Notre Dame ‘Summer Scholars’
Summer Scholars students immerse themselves in intensive in-person two-week college courses instructed by Notre Dame faculty. Students have the opportunity to earn one college credit upon completion. Accounting, the Language of Business, introduces students to the fundamentals of accounting and “enables students to see how CPAs protect investors, influence public policy, analyze business, and advise companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.” The Entrepreneurial Immersion course uses Google Venture’s Design Sprint methodology to explore the entrepreneurial process.
10. New York University (NYU)
NYU’s pre-college business and entrepreneurship programs offer high school students immersive in-person workshops exploring business-related topics including FinTech, marketing, and economics. Students take field trips to Wall Street and make connections with business industry subject-matter experts. The course, Investing Wall Street Like a Pro, gives students an opportunity to analyze renowned companies in real time. Introduction to Financial Technology gives students a firm grasp of finance and technology and explores careers in the industry.
11. Rice University
Rice offers online summer pre-college business programs that allow high school students to explore business topics before committing to a major. Courses, taught by Rice University instructors, include guest lectures from experts in a variety of business fields. Courses include Entrepreneurship: From Ideas to Impact in FinTech and The Business of Economics.
12. Tufts University
Finance-related pre-college summer courses at Tufts University include Business Essentials, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Boot Camp, Finance Essentials, International Relations, and Marketing Essentials. The in-person courses are offered in varying sessions. Students have the opportunity to stay in campus dorms and “develop insights into academic and professional career paths, engage in tactile experiential learning, and gain early exposure to the rapidly expanding field of sustainable finance and impact investing.”
13. Wake Forest University
As part of its Summer Immersion Program, the Wake Forest University Finance and Investing Institute helps high school students “Get ahead of the game…learn how investing works…dive into the world of finance and investments…explore popular investing approaches, techniques and products…learn about various careers in finance and what it takes to be a professional…confidently pitch prospective investments…refine public speaking skills…and build your investment portfolio to capitalize on your future…” Each week-long, in-person course includes a visit to a financial institution and trading floor and a mock investment competition.
Independent College-Prep Finance Programs offered on College Campuses
The following programs and courses are offered by independent organizations, but held on leading college campuses throughout the U.S. and abroad. Students gain financial knowledge and proficiency while experiencing college life – complete with instruction in college classrooms, learning to navigate campus and dorm life, and engaging in supervised activities with students from around the world.
Foundation for Teaching Economics
The Foundation for Teaching Economics offers summer programs that teach students to “use economic reasoning skills in your decision-making process and gain the knowledge to thrive in an ever-changing economic landscape.” Among others, courses include Economics for Leaders and Economics in the Global Economy. Week-long courses are offered at a variety of prestigious colleges including Rice, Emory, Yale, UC Berkley, Cornell, Boston College, and others.
National Student Leadership Conference
The National Student Leadership Conference offers a variety of pre-college programs including Business and Entrepreneurship and International Business and Finance on multiple college campuses including Duke, Yale, University of California – Berkley, University of Miami, Oxford University, and more. Students stay in campus dorms and immerse themselves in a true college experience.
Summer Discovery
Summer Discovery offers pre-college programs for middle and high school students at leading schools like University of Michigan, University of Cambridge, Cornell University, and others. Students completing the program earn a certificate, letters of recognition related to coursework completed, and a portfolio-worthy capstone project. Finance-related courses explore topics including marketing, finance, entrepreneurship, advertising, and more. Students participate in hands-on case studies, interactive workshops, and other immersive activities aimed at “positioning them to become the innovative business leaders of the 21st century.”
Summer Springboard
The Summer Springboard pre-college academic program lets high school students explore a variety of potential majors at elite colleges in the U.S. and abroad. Their Business & Entrepreneurship program helps students build financial literacy by introducing a broad range of business concepts focusing on business strategy and entrepreneurship. Students visit an outside business (past visits have included companies like Bloomberg and Google) and work in teams to create and present a business pitch to a panel of judges. Courses are offered at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Duke University, Barnard College, UCLA Berkley, Georgetown College, University of San Diego, and Yale University.
West Coast Connections
West Coast Connections is a travel-oriented program offering multiple business-related pre-college enrichment courses and other courses and volunteer programs across the globe in locations like Florence, Barcelona, Denmark South Africa and many more. The program aims to create “safe, fun, and socially comfortable environments where teens are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones, explore the world around them, make lasting new friendships, and grow.”
The World Scholars Academy offers live and online elite academic programs taught by instructors from leading universities. Their two-week summer World Business Academy course offers high school students age 15 – 18 insights into the world of finance and economics, including an Introduction to Business Degrees and Careers, the Fundamentals of Finance and Principles of Marketing, Introduction to Data Analytics, and more. Classes are designed for students who “are already set on a career in business or simply want to understand how the economy works, the strategies of the world’s most successful investors, or the marketing secrets of Madison Avenue…”
Specialty Finance Programs
1. NextGen Bootcamps
This computer science education company offers middle and high school students live online and in-person courses in New York City. Options include hands-on summer camps as well as programs throughout the school year. In addition to a variety of computer coding and digital design courses, NextGen offers business and finance-oriented courses including FinTech Summer Program Live Online, a 72-hour course that teaches Microsoft Excel, Python, stock market investing, and more; and Excel Finance & Investing Summer Program Live Online, a 25-hour course.
2. Teach Me Wall Street
Teach Me Wall Street programs set high school students up for success with real-world “Wall Street skills schools don’t teach.” Their ‘Virtual Wall Street Learning Pathway’ for grades 9 – 12 encompasses Wall Street 101, Investing and Trading, Budgeting and Beyond, and Cryptocurrencies. Summer courses meet virtually Monday – Friday and winter virtual courses are held on five consecutive Saturdays. Teach Me Wall Street has been featured on CNN, The Daily Telegraph, Newsday, and USA Today.
High School Specialty and Finance Programs
Some high schools have special career programs that prepare students for specific careers. Research local high schools to determine if any offer finance academies or business-related programs and review the eligibility requirements. In addition to a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, these programs often connect students to local businesses for internships, job shadowing, and other opportunities.
Jackson, a finance major at Florida State University, chose the International Baccalaureate college preparatory program at his high school. He said the program, designed to help prepare students for success in their chosen majors and careers, helped him solidify his major and even made his college coursework seem less difficult.
“I was pretty sure I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and major in finance, but going through the International Baccalaureate program made me realize finance was definitely a great fit for me,” he said. “When I started my business and finance classes in college, many of the topics were familiar to me because I was exposed to them in high school. The IB program gave me a great start.”
Investing in Your Future
According to sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the occupational outlook for careers in finance is optimistic – and salary projections are rising. Financial analysts, for example, earned a median annual income of almost $100,000 and Financial Managers earned a median income of more than $156,000 in 2023. Venture capital investments in the U.S. totaled more than $340 billion 2021, almost double that of the previous year. The salary and job opportunities in the business and finance sector are expected to increase more rapidly than the average for all occupations – and it all begins with the proper preparation.
Robinovitz said she has received positive feedback from students who have attended both in-person and online pre-college finance programs, recapping that all students intending to pursue finance can profit from embracing one of the many beneficial programs available.
“Taking a college-prep program to learn about finance while you’re still in high school is a great way to explore your intended major, gain invaluable experience and financial literacy, and make important connections,” she said. Think of it as a wise, early investment in your future.”
