What extracurriculars should I be involved in as a HS that will prepare me for a career in finance? Are there any good summer programs or general HS clubs that you could direct me to?
Thank you in advance!
Math club and logic-related activities.
Most popular are investing clubs.
Consider reading the Wall Street Journal or Barron’s.
An activity that I engage in frequently is examining the course offerings of various MBA programs.
Both SMU & the University of Austin at Texas offer master’s degrees in finance. Master’s programs in finance, as opposed to MBA programs with a concentration in finance, are typically designed for recent college graduates with minimal or no post undergraduate work experience. Examine their course offerings. I have a very successful relative who sits on a fairly large committee that designs & approves the course offerings in the finance graduate program at the University of Texas at Austin. These folks are very successful & know what they are doing with respect to finance, accounting & related subjects.
Of course, the M-7 MBA programs are also a great source of information. The M-7 (magnificant seven) are widely regarded as the top MBA programs in the US. (But the US has many dozen outstanding MBA programs with respect to curriculum & course offerings. The distinguihing factor is that the M-7 tend to place well in highly coveted jobs.)
The M-7 MBA programs are:
Harvard
Stanford
U Penn–Wharton
Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business
University of Chicago-Booth
MIT-Sloan
Columbia Business School
Beyond the M-7, the next group of 3 MBA programs is:
UCal–Berkeley (Haas)
Dartmouth–Tuck
Yale–School of Management
The next group includes:
NYU–Stern (outstanding for finance)
Duke–Fuqua
Virginia–Darden
University of Michigan–Ross
Garnering lots of attention for its outstanding job placement rate is the University of Washington Foster School of business.
After examining the courses & curriculum offered at the top 15 to 25 MBA programs, you may develop favorites based on your career goals. For example: If interested in finance, NYU & Columbia are great options and if interested in management, then Harvard, Northwestern–Kellogg, and Dartmouth-Tuck may be of interest to you. Northwestern–Kellogg is the perpetual leader in marketing, while Stanford is probably the best MBA program for entrepreneurs.
I also examine which employers hire the highest percentage of graduates from each MBA program.
Indiana University Kelley School of Business, like Michigan–Ross and all of the others, offers a variety of clubs for MBA students related to future careers.
What would they recommend a HS student though (6-8 years from an MBA)?
My recommendation was based on the fact that Stern and Wharton want rock-solid quantitative skills in their applicants so I figure showing that through club activities in addition to merely taking classes would help.
I also know most of the “top” BS or Bba programs want to see leadership and some form of altruism or commitment. Many are very interested in sustainability issues.
Because the OP expressed an interest in finance, not math.
P.S. Plus, I directed OP to activities which he/she can do alone & on his/her own schedule.