Most impressive summer programs and/or internships, or extra curricular ideas related to finance?

Hi,

I am a sophomore hoping to attend a top university (50% or lower admission rate) to obtain at least a bachelors in Finance, or possibly Business or Economics.

Can anyone give recommendations for known programs, internships, or extracurriculars that are related to finance and would be impressive to colleges?

I already have a website, sell things online for a profit, work a part-time job, and self-study finance topics. I can’t think of any financial activity that would be substantial enough to impact me and write an essay about. I live in Atlanta, and there are practically no bank internships or professional opportunities for high schoolers, only college finance students.

Please do not mention:

  • starting a club at your school (not allowed at my school)
  • summer college programs that cost thousands of dollars and don’t really help you stand out

I am hoping to find either an established program for high schoolers where I will be impacted and gain experience (such as an internship program with a bank, or a program like TASP but business related) or a VALUABLE extracurricular where I can make a difference.

I have considered helping children with basic budgeting skills, but I have no idea how I would even find a platform to start.

Also please don’t mention FBLA, my school doesn’t offer it and you can’t join it independently.

look into Junior Achievement - it isn’t offered directly at our high school but on their own time students can go to a them (usually at a bank or college etc) - they have a free summer camp near us but your local region may offer different programs.

Also talk to your city and/or school CFO - perhaps they can use some summer volunteer help - yes it won’t be a prestigious internship but it is a way to get a better feel for what they do. You will probably have to start out by helping with grunt work and work your way to helping with a bit more.

Check to see if you have an office of economic development and try speaking with someone there. They may be able to help with ideas.

Do not think that the only way to get into college for a particular major is to do a ton of ECs in that major.
Colleges look most at your GPA, SAT/ACT, Rigorousness of your classes.

I would say you should add community service.

I know that colleges weigh your academic achievements significantly. My unweighted cumulative GPA is a 4.11 on a 4.33 scale and by the end of my senior year I will have taken around 10 AP classes and 5 honors classes. I am taking the SAT next month and I got a 1250 on the PSAT freshman year, and I have been studying for over 6 months, so I am aiming to get at least a 1400 on the SAT.

However, my issue is that I do not have strong extracurriculars. I played soccer for 10 years and cheered for 7, but I had to quit those due to injuries. I have gone on three international mission trips and learned alot, but I’ve heard that colleges don’t care about service trips anymore.

I am really trying to find an opportunity where I can excel in a program related to business or finance, or serve the community in an area related to business or finance, but I really can’t seem to find anything that’s available to high schoolers.