15 Finance Programs in Pennsylvania for High School Students
If you’re a high school student in Pennsylvania interested in finance, joining a local program can be one of the most practical (and affordable) ways to build skills in the field and explore what the field actually looks like.
What are finance programs in Pennsylvania for high school students?
Finance programs help you understand how concepts like budgeting, investing, and financial planning show up in everyday life and professional settings. You can access programs at universities, banks, and business organizations within the state, without worrying about relocation or out-of-state travel costs. You get hands-on experience through case studies, team projects, simulations, and workshops led by people who work in finance every day.
Why participate in finance programs in Pennsylvania for high school students?
Joining a finance program in high school also strengthens your resume and college applications by showing that you’ve taken the initiative to learn about the field early. You gain experience that can help you decide whether you want to pursue business, economics, finance, or accounting in the future.
If you’re also looking for nationwide finance summer programs, you can go here. Alternatively, go here for finance internship opportunities.
With that, here are 15 finance programs for high school students in Pennsylvania!
15 Finance Programs in Pennsylvania for High School Students
1. Accounting, Finance, Business Initiative Summer Residency Program
Location: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free (includes housing, meals, and program materials)
Application Deadline: February 28
Dates: June 22 – 27
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors from underrepresented backgrounds
The Accounting Finance Business Initiative (AFBI®) is a free program for first-generation and low-income high school students interested in accounting, finance, business, or technology. You’ll spend one week living on a local college campus, taking part in activities that introduce you to these fields through case studies and group projects. Throughout the year, you continue learning through workshops and events designed to build your academic and professional skills. The program includes visits to accounting firms and companies, giving you a clear view of how business concepts work in practice. It concludes with a banquet where you can share your experience with professionals and family.
2. Essentials of Finance | Wharton Global Youth
Location: Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $8,299 + $100 non-refundable application fee
Application Deadline: Priority: January 28; Final: March 18
Dates: June 7 – June 20; June 21 – July 3; July 12 – 25; July 26 – August 8
Eligibility: High school students currently enrolled in grades 9–11. International students are welcome.
Wharton Global Youth's Essentials of Finance program puts you in a two-week crash course on how money moves. You study the basics of personal and corporate finance, learning things like the time value of money, how companies are priced, why interest rates matter, and how investors judge risk. The teaching stays active through short lectures, group discussions, and case studies designed by Wharton faculty. You also sit in on the Wharton Global Youth Speaker Series, where professionals from finance and economics explain what they see in the markets. By the end, you build a market analysis project and present it, which shows you how financial ideas turn into real decisions.
3. Young Founders Lab
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Financial aid is available
Application Deadline: Varies by the cohort. You can access the application link here!
Dates: Varies depending on cohort
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
The Young Founder’s Lab is a real-world start-up boot camp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, 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 ideations, workshops and skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions, and more. You can check out the brochure for the program here.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Cost: Varies according to program type (need-based financial aid available)
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!
The Ladder Internship Program is a selective remote internship that connects high school students with fast-growing startups in fields such as finance, consulting, health tech, and AI. You work directly with founders or senior team members on real projects, which may involve research, data analysis, market strategy, writing, or product development. Each intern is paired with a Ladder Coach who provides ongoing mentorship, feedback, and guidance. The program includes weekly training sessions focused on communication, time management, and professional skills, and it concludes with a final project presented to your host company.
5. Business Opportunities Summer Session (BOSS) | Penn State Smeal College of Business
Location: Penn State University Park Campus, University Park, PA
Cost: $350 program fee required after acceptance
Application Deadline: March 20
Dates: June 14 – 26
Eligibility: U.S. and Puerto Rico high school juniors only
BOSS is a two-week residential summer program designed for high school juniors interested in pursuing business studies in college. You experience academic courses taught by Penn State faculty that introduce foundational business and college preparation concepts. Living on campus, you stay in residence halls and have meals in campus dining facilities, getting a firsthand experience of college life. The program aims to prepare you by combining classroom learning with the college residential experience to give you a comprehensive preview of business education at the university level.
6. Leadership in the Business World | Wharton Global Youth
Location: Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $11,899 + $100 non-refundable application fee
Application Deadline: March 18
Dates: June 7 – 27; June 28 – July 18; July 19 – August 8
Eligibility: High school students currently enrolled in grade 11 with a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.5. International students are welcome.
Wharton Global Youth’s Leadership in the Business World program drops you into three weeks of business thinking and leadership work. You spend your days learning how organisations make decisions, how teams function, how negotiation actually unfolds, and how business models take shape. Most of the learning happens in teams through simulations, debates, and project work, all of which build toward a capstone case competition where you apply everything you’ve picked up. You also take part in the Wharton Global Youth Speaker Series, where professors break down new ideas shaping business right now. If you complete the program, you receive a Wharton Global Youth Certificate of Completion.
7. Economics Academy | University of Pennsylvania SAS High School Programs
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (on campus)
Cost: $10,050 for the 3-week summer academy
Application Deadline: Applications will open on December 1. Rolling until full. Programs tend to reach capacity by March!
Dates: July 11 – August 1
Eligibility: High school students interested in economics; no prerequisites or calculus required
This 3-week summer program introduces core economic concepts and their applications from a global perspective. You study topics such as scarcity, market power, market failures, and various market structures (competition, monopolies) using real-world examples from different countries. You also engage in a capstone group project where you analyze a real-world economic challenge facing a country, proposing solutions using the models learned. Optional activities and field trips complement the academic content, enriching the learning experience.
8. Pre-College Residential Program | University of Pennsylvania SAS High School Programs
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (on campus)
Cost: Students choose between 1, 1.5, 2, or 2.5 course units, and costs vary accordingly. More info here
Application Deadline: Applications will open on December 1. Rolling until full. Programs tend to reach capacity by March!
Dates: June 30 – August 8
Eligibility: Academically motivated high school students interested in taking credit-bearing undergraduate courses; international students requiring visa sponsorship must take a minimum of 1.5 course units
This Pre-College Residential Program at the University of Pennsylvania puts you inside real Penn undergraduate courses for credit. You study in the same classrooms as college students and choose from a wide range of subjects taught by Penn faculty and visiting scholars. In the Introduction to Microeconomics course, you’ll study economic analysis, supply & demand, monopoly & oligopoly, income distribution, and international trade. You follow the full academic load expected of Penn undergraduates, which means homework, research papers, exams, and steady participation.
9. Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week (PFEW)
Location: Williamsport, PA
Cost: Participants will be sponsored by a local business/organization and only need to pay a $295 registration fee
Application Deadline: Applications accepted on a first-come, first-served basis
Dates: June 28 – July 3; July 5 – 10; July 19 – 24; July 26 – 31
Eligibility: Students who have completed sophomore/junior year in June of the same year
Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week (PFEW) gives you a one-week crash course in running a company. You join a team of about fifteen students and an adult mentor to manage a simulated manufacturing business. The main event is the BizSim Competition, where your team makes decisions across twelve quarters to try to outperform rival companies. You also create a marketing campaign, design a product, and present to judges. The week includes talks on leadership, ethics, communication, and entrepreneurship. You will also participate in activities like a quiz bowl and a reality fair that show you how the free enterprise system works in practice.
10. Advance College Experience (ACE) | Community College of Philadelphia
Location: Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (in-person, hybrid, and online options)
Cost: $250 per course (excluding books)
Application deadline: Rolling admissions with multiple session start dates throughout the year
Dates: July 8 – August 6 (tentatively)
Eligibility: Highly motivated students going into 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grades
The Advance College Experience at Community College of Philadelphia gives middle and high school students access to college-level classes. It lets you get early exposure to different subjects and understand what college work feels like. For students who want something connected to finance, the Business Leadership course is the closest fit. The page does not list direct finance courses, but the Business Leadership class builds a base that can support later work in finance and business. The online course covers self-leadership, career planning, critical thinking, communication, cultural awareness, and teamwork.
11. Essentials of Entrepreneurship | Wharton Global Youth
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (on campus)
Cost: $8,299 + $100
Application Deadline: March 18
Dates: June 7 – 20; June 21 – July 3; July 12 – 25; July 26 – August 8
Eligibility: High school students currently enrolled in grades 9–11 with academic excellence and entrepreneurial interest; international applicants welcome
Essentials of Entrepreneurship is a two-week intensive summer program designed for students aiming to learn the basics of launching a startup. You will engage in interactive lectures, team collaborations, and hands-on activities to develop skills in innovation, marketing, and venture creation. You also learn to build brand identity, manage startup teams, and prepare professional pitch decks. The curriculum includes identifying business ideas through a personalized Ikigai framework, evaluating real-world problems using defined criteria, conducting research using various data sources, and designing and testing Minimum Viable Products with customer feedback.
12. Management & Technology Summer Institute
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $9,000 + $100 application fee (need-based scholarships and financial awards available)
Application Deadline: Priority Deadline on January 28 & final on March 25
Dates: July 5- July 25
Eligibility: High school students
The Management & Technology Summer Institute (M&TSI) is a three-week, for-credit residential program for rising high school seniors. Co-taught by faculty from Penn Engineering and the Wharton School, it explores how economic principles and management strategy drive technological innovation. You’ll take Wharton-led classes on market analysis, business models, and go-to-market planning. You’ll also collaborate in teams to design a tech product prototype and develop a launch strategy grounded in pricing, cost-benefit analysis, and other economic tools. The curriculum also incorporates business simulations and industry-led case studies to give you a realistic view of how technology and management intersect in practice.
13. EVERFI: Financial Literacy for High School
Location: Virtual
Cost: None
Application Deadline: Available year-round
Program Dates: Self-paced
Eligibility: Students in grades 9–12
EVERFI’s free online financial literacy course helps you develop practical money management skills through everyday examples. You’ll learn how to make and follow a budget, handle checking and savings accounts, and understand topics such as credit, debt, and fraud prevention. The course also covers taxes, insurance, student loans, and strategies for managing college costs. You’ll examine how various career paths influence personal finances and practice making financial decisions based on real-world situations. The lessons are interactive, meet national financial education standards, and are designed for learners with no prior experience in finance.
14. Wharton Global Youth Program: Financial Decision Making
Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,099 + $100 non-refundable application fee
Application Deadline: May 20
Dates: June 15 – 26; July 6 – 17
Eligibility: High school students currently enrolled in grades 9–12 with an interest in economics and finance; international students welcome
Financial Decision Making is a two-week online summer program that teaches high school students how to handle money with clarity. You learn the basics of personal finance, including budgeting, saving, credit, debt, and simple habits that keep you out of trouble. The program also explains how financial markets work, from stocks and bonds to mutual funds and the idea of risk versus return. Case studies and real financial data are used throughout to show how investment choices are made in practice. The program also covers wealth building through compound interest, diversification, and planning for major goals.
15. Finance: Investing & Market Insights | Dartmouth Precollege Online Program
Location: Online; accessible from anywhere
Cost/Stipend: $1,895; no stipend provided
Application Deadline: Rolling
Dates: Multiple sessions available throughout the year; the next session begins December 21
Eligibility: Students ages 13 and up interested in finance
This online course gives you a basic grounding in how finance and investing work and helps you read companies and markets with more clarity. You learn ideas like risk and reward, valuation, and how markets move. You also work through topics such as how IPOs function, how to read financial statements, and how to estimate a company’s value through methods like Discounted Cash Flow. You follow short lessons, videos, and real cases. Your final task is a project where you act as a private equity analyst and study a company before giving your investment call. You also receive support during the course so you can work through each part and finish your project with a clear plan.
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