15 Finance Bootcamps for High School Students
Understanding finance becomes easier when you study real situations, and a bootcamp gives high school students the chance to do exactly that. You examine how money is handled, how investment options are compared, and how decisions are formed using available information.
What are finance bootcamps for high school students?
Finance bootcamps are built around active learning. You might review financial statements, study how markets react to news, or build a small mock portfolio with a group. Many programs also introduce basic concepts in budgeting, investing, and risk analysis through short lessons and guided projects.
Why should you participate in finance bootcamps for high school students?
These experiences act as early exploration for future choices. Working through structured case studies and discussing them with knowledgeable instructors helps you understand the different functions within finance and where your interests fit. The work you finish becomes useful proof of your abilities and gives you specific examples to bring up in college applications or interviews.
If you’re also interested in finance internships, check this out! Or, go here for finance summer programs.
With that in mind, here are 15 finance bootcamps for high school students!
Disclaimer: Some entries are not labeled as bootcamps but follow the same short, intensive, project-based structure.
15 Finance Bootcamps for High School Students
1. High School Financial Boot Camp
Location: Varies by regional partner (Community Education Youth Programs)
Cost: Free
Dates: Summer
Application Deadline: Opens spring
Eligibility: Open to students entering grades 9–12
The High School Financial Boot Camp is a free program that introduces you to practical personal finance before you transition out of high school. Through interactive simulations, games, and group projects, you learn how to budget, save, invest, and understand credit. The program also builds your communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills through collaborative activities. Created by the Community Education Youth Programs team, the boot camp is designed to help you make informed financial choices early and gain confidence in managing your own money.
2. Wall Street Skills – Virtual Finance Bootcamp for Teens
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies by course; early bird discounts available (save up to $212)
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Application Deadline: Early bird discounts available through December 31
Eligibility: Open to students in grades 9–12 interested in investing, trading, or business
The Wall Street Skills Bootcamp is a structured, three-step virtual program designed to take students from beginners to confident young investors. Through the Wall Street 101, Investing & Trading, and Investing Competition modules, you’ll learn how the stock market works, analyze companies, and build investment portfolios using simulated trading platforms. Expert instructors guide you through topics such as technical and fundamental analysis, risk management, and the economic factors that move markets. The program also introduces custodial accounts, helping teens and their parents understand real-world investing.
3. Young Founders Lab
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Financial aid is available
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Dates: Vary according to cohort
Application Deadline: Varies according to cohort. You can access the application link here!
Eligibility: All high school students can apply
The Young Founder’s Lab is a real-world start-up boot camp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. You will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a real-world problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X. Apart from building the start-up itself, you will also participate in interactive classes on business fundamentals and business ideation, workshops, skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions, and more. While this isn’t a traditional internship, it follows the same work-learn structure as the other programs on this list. You can check out the brochure for the program here.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Financial aid is available
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Application deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort
Program dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
Ladder Internships is a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! In the program, you work with a high-growth start-up on an internship. Start-ups that offer internships range across a variety of industries, from finance, consulting, tech/deep tech and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, and more. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average, raising over a million dollars. Past founders have included YCombinator alums, founders raising over 30 million dollars, or founders who previously worked at Microsoft, Google, and Facebook. In the program, you will work closely with your managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present your work to the company. Here is the application form.
5. High School Business Bootcamp
Location: Hybrid (virtual via Zoom or in-person at Long Island and NYC campuses)
Cost: Free
Dates: Multiple sessions from July to December
Application Deadline: Rolling; registration required for each session
Eligibility: Open to all high school students interested in business and finance
New York Tech’s High School Business Bootcamp provides free, college-level workshops that introduce students to the fundamentals of business, finance, and professional success. Led by faculty from the School of Management, each session focuses on a key area such as financial literacy, personal branding, investing, or workplace communication. You can attend any individual session or complete all six to earn certificates of completion. The program blends practical, real-world learning with college-readiness training, ideal if you are preparing to major in business, economics, or finance.
6. Python for Finance Bootcamp
Location: Hybrid – offered live online or in-person in New York City
Cost: $1,295 (includes software access and verified certificate)
Dates: Not specified
Application Deadline: Rolling; registration open until seats are filled
Eligibility: Advanced high school students familiar with Python or financial concepts
The Python for Finance Bootcamp is an advanced program designed for students eager to explore the intersection of finance, data science, and programming. You’ll receive 18 hours of intensive, hands-on instruction. You’ll use Python financial libraries to fetch and manipulate market data, analyze SEC financial statements, and construct risk management models like Value at Risk (VaR) and Monte Carlo simulations. You’ll also apply linear regression and other statistical methods to predict stock price behavior. The program bridges coding and quantitative finance, helping you understand how data analytics drives modern investment decisions.
7. Excel, Finance, & Investing Summer Program Live Online
Location: Virtual (live online or self-paced format)
Cost: $1,299 (early bird rate; includes materials and software access)
Dates: Multiple sessions available, including June 29–July 7 and August 10–14
Application Deadline: Rolling; closes when seats are filled
Eligibility: Open to high school students; no prior experience required
The Excel, Finance, & Investing Summer Program is a practical bootcamp that teaches you how to use Microsoft Excel for financial analysis and stock market research. Across 25 hours of live, project-based instruction, you learn from industry professionals and certified instructors with backgrounds at Wharton and NYU Stern. You develop skills in financial modeling, valuation methods such as P/E ratios and discounted cash flow, and data analysis using tools like Pivot Tables and VLOOKUP. The program also introduces you to investment strategies, stock evaluation, and the use of financial statements from companies such as Google and Apple.
8. FinTech Summer Program Live Online
Location: 100% Virtual (live online with expert instructors)
Cost: $3,295
Dates: June 29–July 30 or July 20–August 14
Application Deadline: Rolling; closes once sessions are filled
Eligibility: Open to high school and college students with an interest in finance or coding (no prior experience required)
The FinTech Summer Program gives you a broad introduction to finance, investing, Excel, and Python for data science. Over five weeks, you complete 72 hours of live, project-based instruction taught by industry professionals and certified trainers. The program starts with the Excel, Finance, & Investing module, where you learn spreadsheet modeling, valuation techniques, and the basics of stock market analysis. You then shift to Python for Data Science, working with libraries like Pandas, Matplotlib, and Scikit-learn to organize, analyze, and visualize financial data.
9. Financial Decision Making
Location: Online
Cost: $4,099
Dates: June 15 – June 26 or July 6 – July 17
Application Deadline: Priority – January 28; Final – May 20
Eligibility: Open to high school students currently in grades 9–12
Wharton’s Financial Decision Making program is a two-week intensive bootcamp designed to help high school students develop the financial literacy and analytical skills needed for lifelong money management. You’ll explore budgeting, credit, debt, and investment fundamentals while gaining exposure to financial markets, risk-return trade-offs, and macroeconomic concepts like inflation and interest rates. Created by Professor David Musto, an expert in capital markets, this course blends theory with hands-on learning in personal and corporate finance. Using real-world datasets and Excel, you’ll analyze financial scenarios, practice decision-making, and evaluate investment strategies.
10. Finance Institute: Wall Street in the Classroom
Location: Rose Hill Campus, Bronx, NY (Hybrid – In-person or virtual)
Cost: $1,200 (includes $100 deposit; fully refundable before May 1)
Dates: June 16–20, June 23–27, July 21–25, or July 28–August 1
Application Deadline: Priority registration by April 1
Eligibility: Open to all high school students interested in finance or personal financial management
Hosted by the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University, Finance Institute: Wall Street in the Classroom offers high school students a fast-paced, practical introduction to finance, economics, and investing. Over one intensive week, you’ll explore the foundations of personal finance, investments, risk management, and financial markets. Guided by Jim Gannon, a Certified Financial Education Instructor, you will learn about stocks, bonds, hedge funds, private equity, cryptocurrency, and more. You’ll also glean insights from guest speakers from top financial firms and Fordham alumni on real-world finance careers and current market trends.
11. Wall Street Academy
Location: University of San Francisco, CA
Cost: Commuter – $2,150 | Residential – $3,025 (includes meals, materials, transportation, and housing)
Dates: Cohort 1: June 22–26 | Cohort 2: July 13–17
Application Deadline: Not specified (students encouraged to apply early due to limited seats)
Eligibility: Open to high school students interested in finance, investing, and business
Hosted by the Silk Family Investment Institute at the University of San Francisco’s School of Management, the Wall Street Academy offers a premier, experiential finance education for motivated high school students. Over five intensive days, you’ll gain hands-on experience using Bloomberg Terminals, FactSet, and Excel, and explore topics like personal investing, global markets, and alternative investments. You’ll also participate in company visits and networking events with top financial institutions. The program emphasizes practical learning, networking, and real-world exposure to financial analysis and portfolio management.
12. Investments, Financial Planning, and You (IFPY)
Location: Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine
Cost: $1,395
Dates: Runs in July with specific dates updated each year
Application Deadline: Open in January
Eligibility: Open to incoming high school freshmen through recently graduated seniors; no prior finance experience required
Investments, Financial Planning, and You (IFPY) at UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business gives you a week-long introduction to wealth management, personal finance, and investing. Throughout the program, you take part in case studies, simulations, and team projects that reflect financial decision-making. With guidance from UC Irvine faculty and industry professionals, you learn how to evaluate different investment options, build and test financial strategies, and develop a personal wealth management plan as your final project.
13. Career Edge – NYU High School Summer Program
Location: New York University, New York City, NY
Cost: $2,579 per course; optional housing and dining fee of $640
Dates: Multiple one-week sessions from June 23 – August 8
Application Deadline: Opens January (rolling until sessions are full)
Eligibility: Open to rising 10th–12th grade students
New York University’s Career Edge program gives high school students an immersive introduction to college and career pathways in professional fields like finance, business, and economics. Through short, intensive one-week courses, you’ll explore topics such as investment analysis, entrepreneurship, or global business while working on projects and presentations led by NYU instructors. You will experience college-style learning and gain clarity about future academic and career goals.
14. Finance Essentials
Location: Tufts University, Medford/Somerville, Massachusetts
Cost: Residential: $3,550 | Commuter: $2,750; limited need-based scholarships available
Dates: Commuter: June 22–26 | Residential: July 19–24
Application Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: Rising 11th–12th graders or recent high school graduates
Tufts University’s Finance Essentials program introduces students to the inner workings of global financial systems, investment markets, and financial institutions. Through interactive lectures, simulations, and group projects, you’ll explore how banks, investment firms, and government institutions such as the Federal Reserve and Treasury interact within the economy. The program also emphasizes sustainable finance, allowing you to analyze how financial tools can address climate and social equity challenges. By the end of the week, you’ll have gained practical knowledge of money management, investment strategies, and risk evaluation while connecting finance concepts to actual career paths.
15. Wall Street Stock Market & Investment Experience
Location: New York City, NY
Cost: Week 1 or 2: $3,899| Two weeks: $6,699 (plus airfare)
Dates: 6-day program: July 6 – July 11; July 12 – July 17; 12-day program: July 6 – July 17
Application Deadline: Rolling; early applications encouraged
Eligibility: Open to students in grades 9–12
Hosted in collaboration between the New York Institute of Finance (NYIF) and Westcoast Connection, this immersive program gives you an inside look at Wall Street, capital markets, and modern finance. Over one or two weeks, you’ll explore topics like wealth management, venture capital, hedge funds, private equity, and blockchain, led by experienced Wall Street practitioners. The curriculum combines classroom sessions with real-world learning experiences across New York City, including guided tours of the Financial District, networking with finance professionals, and simulation-based investment challenges.
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