<p>I am a high school student who attends a very competitive public high school in New Jersey. After taking AP Economics this year, I learned that I really enjoyed learning about the economy and how everything works together. Because of this I pushed and was persistent in my effort to attain an internship on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with a small mutual funds firm. To do this I interviewed with the President of the company who recognized my good grades in AP economics (internship was not given to me because of parental connections).</p>
<p>The internship is 6 weeks long, and I am paid 400$ a week, and my work hours are 8:30 to 4:30--5 days a week.</p>
<p>I understand that the New York Stock Exchange does not have a direct connection to economics, however, this is the closest class that my school offers to a full blown business course. At the firm I will be researching a list of 3000 stocks that my employer is looking to purchase, and with this research I will make a preliminary decision about whether or not the stock is a good buy.</p>
<p>To go along with this internship, I have good grades, an extremely challenging schedule, and high SAT's. My goal schools are Wharton, MIT, Columbia, and Penn.</p>
<p>How much do you think this internship will help to get into these schools? Will it play a major factor, or just be counted as another elective? Is it worth 6 weeks of my summer?</p>
<p>You know… not everything needs to be “will this help me get into this college.” If you enjoy a subject or a field of business then you should go for it. If you spend years defining all that you do by whether or not a college would like it then you’re going to end up a very boring person.</p>
<p>As for your question though, Adcoms aren’t going to look at every extra-curricular involvement as “just another elective,” they’re going to differentiate between working on the floor of Chipotle and working on the floor of the NYSE. So yes, it would look good.</p>
<p>Whether or not it’s worth 6 weeks of your summer involves something you should have learned in your AP Econ course - Opportunity Cost =). If you have something better to do in that time period then you shouldn’t do it, and you’re the only one who can answer that question.</p>
<p>I completely agree with virtuscience. If by any chance you don’t get into those schools, you’ll just look back and think, “I shouldn’t have done that internship since it obviously didn’t help me.”
Do something because you want to, and not because you want to impress people you’ll never meet.
But congrats on the internship; it seems like a great opportunity to help you grow.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I’m sorry I didn’t emphasize this earlier, but I really am interested in the New York Stock Exchange. I am not using this opportunity solely to affect my college resume, but also to open up a new light for myself and study a possible career path. Also, the money is great.</p>
<p>But why won’t this be a standout extracurricular?
The two kids who got this internship in the last two years said that it played a major part in their applications, and helped them both to get into Cornell and Yale.</p>