15 Finance Programs in Washington State for High School Students
If you are a high school student thinking about studying finance, economics, or business later on, joining a finance program can help you understand what that field actually involves!
What do finance programs involve?
Finance programs introduce you to how organizations track money, plan budgets, evaluate risk, and make decisions using data. This gives you exposure that goes beyond what is usually covered in school math or economics classes. You may work with basic financial models, analyze case examples, or learn how professionals think through problems related to markets, companies, or public institutions.
Why consider finance programs in Washington State?
Washington State offers strong finance programs for high school students, supported by universities, research institutions, and organizations connected to technology, public policy, and global business. These programs give you experiences you can harness when building your own ventures.
If you’re looking for more options, you can also consider online finance programs for high school students. Additionally, you can put the skills you acquire from finance programs to use in finance internships for high school students.
With that in mind, here are 15 finance programs in Washington State for high school students!
15 Finance Programs in Washington State for High School Students
1. Albers Summer Business Institute - Seattle University
Cost: $1,500; scholarships are available
Location: Seattle, WA
Program Dates: July 19–July 25
Application Deadline: Applications close before program start (rolling until filled)
Eligibility: Students in grades 9–11 interested in business
The Albers Summer Business Institute is a one-week residential program hosted by Seattle University’s business school. You study foundational business and finance concepts through lectures and team-based projects. Coursework focuses on business models, basic financial decision-making, and entrepreneurial strategy. You collaborate with peers on applied problems and present your work in structured settings. The program includes company visits and guided discussions about how organizations operate. You earn college credit and experience the pace and structure of college-level coursework.
2. Young Founders Lab
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring
Application Deadline: Varies according to cohort. You can access the application link here!
Eligibility: The program is currently open to all high school students
The Young Founder’s Lab is a 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 complex problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X. Beyond developing your start-up, you will take part in interactive classes on financial concepts, attend workshops and skill-building sessions, analyze case studies, and participate in panel discussions. The program is an excellent opportunity to delve into the world of business in high school and have a space to explore multiple theoretical as well as practical frameworks that lead to a successful business. You can check out the brochure for the program here.
3. Business and Leadership Program – University of Washington Foster School of Business
Cost: Commuter: $3,998–$4,498; Residential: Additional $3,000
Location: Seattle, Washington (University of Washington campus)
Program Dates: July 5–July 17
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions; early applications encouraged
Eligibility: Rising grades 10–12 and graduating high school seniors
This two-week program is structured around case-based learning drawn from real companies. You work in teams to analyze business problems that involve financial, operational, and strategic tradeoffs. The curriculum requires you to evaluate costs, revenue models, risk, and competitive positioning. You develop a formal recommendation and present it during a case competition modeled on undergraduate business courses. The program also includes workshops on leadership and communication, along with company visits. Instruction prioritizes applied analysis over theory-heavy lectures.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid 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, tech/deep tech, and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, 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, interns work closely with their managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present their work to the company.
5. Washington Business Week – Business & Leadership Summer Camp
Cost: $825–$1,350, depending on location and format; scholarships are widely available
Location: Tacoma, WA (University of Puget Sound); Cheney, WA (Eastern Washington University); Renton, WA (Renton Technical College)
Program Dates: June 21–June 26 (Tacoma); July 12–July 17 (Cheney); July 27–July 31 (Renton)
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment until programs fill
Eligibility: High school students (entering high school through just graduated)
Washington Business Week is a week-long program built around an intensive business simulation. You work as part of a company leadership team and make decisions related to pricing, budgeting, production costs, marketing, and profitability. The simulation requires you to read financial statements, manage limited resources, and adjust strategy as market conditions change. Instruction is supported by mentors from the business community. You present financial and strategic decisions to professionals and instructors. The program emphasizes applied financial reasoning and team-based decision-making.
6. JA Personal Finance® (Junior Achievement of Washington)
Cost: Free (program delivered through schools or community partners)
Location: Washington State (in-person and virtual options)
Program Dates: Flexible; varies by school or program schedule
Application Deadline: Rolling (coordinated through schools or educators)
Eligibility: Grades 9–12; no prior finance coursework required
JA Personal Finance® is a structured program focused on applied personal finance decision-making. You work through scenario-based modules that model income, budgeting, credit use, savings, insurance, and basic investing. Each session requires you to evaluate tradeoffs and long-term consequences tied to financial choices. The program uses JA Connect®, a digital platform with interactive simulations and planning tools. Lessons are often supported by trained community volunteers who provide real-world context. The emphasis stays on practical financial reasoning rather than abstract theory.
7. JA Finance Park® Entry Level (Junior Achievement of Washington)
Cost: Free (delivered through schools or community partners)
Location: Washington State (on-site JA Finance Park facilities, mobile units, or virtual simulation)
Program Dates: Flexible; varies by school or program schedule
Application Deadline: Rolling (coordinated through schools or educators)
Eligibility: Grades 7–9 (high school students may participate through the project-based learning format); no prior finance coursework required
Delivered by Junior Achievement of Washington, this program places you in a structured, capstone-style budgeting simulation that mirrors real-world financial constraints. You begin with classroom-based lessons that map income, taxes, savings, insurance, credit, and recurring expenses to specific career pathways. The program culminates in a hands-on simulation, either on-site, via a mobile unit, or virtually, where you construct and adjust a full personal budget based on a hypothetical life profile. You evaluate tradeoffs between saving and spending, model risk mitigation through insurance, and analyze how taxes and credit choices affect long-term financial stability.
8. Business Startup Bootcamp – University of Washington (Foster School of Business)
Cost: $2,998 (Commuter); Residential option available for an additional $1,300
Location: University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Program Dates: July 19–25
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions; final general deadline May 15
Eligibility: Rising 10th, 11th, 12th graders, and graduating seniors; minimum 3.0 GPA
In this program, you’ll work in small teams to take a startup idea from concept to prototype, applying business and finance-adjacent frameworks used in early-stage ventures. Throughout the week, you’ll practice market research, basic financial reasoning around viability, pricing, and investor evaluation, and translate those insights into a coherent business strategy. Faculty from UW Foster and Seattle-based entrepreneurs guide you through design thinking, customer validation, and decision-making under real-world constraints. You’ll develop practical skills in collaboration, analytical thinking, and persuasive communication while preparing a startup pitch. The program culminates in a judged pitch competition, where you present your venture and defend its business logic.
9. TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Seattle
Cost: $499 for the full program year (team discount of $100 available)
Location: TiE Seattle, Edmonds / Seattle area, WA
Program Dates: October–June (school-year program)
Application Deadline: September (applications open in summer; first-come, first-served until seats fill)
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12 based in Washington State
In the TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE), you’ll work in a team to build a startup over the course of the school year, moving from ideation to execution using structured business and finance-adjacent frameworks. As you develop your venture, you’ll apply concepts related to market sizing, pricing logic, cost structures, and basic financial viability to support your business decisions. Mentors and founders guide you through customer discovery, iteration based on feedback, and preparation for investor-style pitches. You’ll learn how venture capitalists evaluate startups and how financial assumptions influence growth and sustainability. The program culminates in chapter finals, where you pitch your startup for cash prizes and potential advancement to global competitions.
10. Finance Quest (Amazon Periscope)
Cost: Free; students receive a $400 stipend upon completion
Location: Amazon Campus, South Lake Union, Seattle, WA
Program Dates: July 13–July 24 (two-week summer session; continued engagement through senior year)
Application Deadline: Preferred deadline March 20; rolling admissions until April 17 or until filled
Eligibility: Current 10th-grade students (rising juniors) enrolled in Seattle Public Schools
You’ll participate in an immersive finance and accounting pathway designed to introduce you to real-world financial roles before college. During the summer session, you’ll build hands-on skills using Microsoft Excel, analyze business case studies, and explore what a day in the life of a financial analyst looks like at a large corporation. The program includes structured instruction in personal finance, financial reasoning, and professional communication. You’ll apply what you learn in a capstone project that synthesizes analytical, presentation, and decision-making skills. By the end, you’ll earn both a stipend and CTE credit while gaining early insight into finance-driven career paths.
11. Finance: From Personal Literacy to Global Markets - University of Southern California (Online)
Cost: $1,990 tuition
Location: Online
Program Dates: Multiple start dates from December to July (four-week course; up to 90 days of access)
Application Deadline: Rolling; deadlines typically five days before each start date
Eligibility: High school students aged 14 or older
This is a four-week asynchronous online course that moves from personal finance into corporate and global finance concepts. Early modules focus on financial planning, saving, investing, and money management. The course then introduces stocks, bonds, interest rates, time value of money, and risk–return relationships. Later sections examine digital currencies and blockchain as financial systems rather than technical products. You complete the course independently through structured modules and applied exercises, working through roughly 20–25 hours of content.
12. Finance: Investing & Market Insights - Dartmouth College (Online)
Cost: $1,895; need-based scholarships are available
Location: Online
Program Dates: Multiple four-week sessions offered throughout the year
Application Deadline: Typically one week before each session start date
Eligibility: Students aged 13 and older
This course focuses on how investors evaluate companies and make investment decisions. You analyze financial statements, assess risk, calculate discount rates, and apply valuation methods such as discounted cash flow modeling. The curriculum also covers IPOs, investment banks, and how capital markets operate in practice. A central requirement is a valuation capstone where you develop an investment recommendation based on quantitative and qualitative analysis. Instruction combines recorded lessons, applied problem sets, and mentor-guided feedback.
13. Young Finance Scholar Program - New York Institute of Finance
Cost: $1,990 (live virtual program); $950 (self-paced online program); $1,090 (accelerated one-week program)
Location: Online
Program Dates: Live virtual session: July 20–July 31; Accelerated sessions: June 22–June 27 or August 10–August 15; Self-paced option available year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling; deadlines vary by session
Eligibility: Students aged 13–18
This program delivers structured instruction across microeconomics, macroeconomics, corporate finance, capital markets, and sustainable finance. In live and accelerated formats, you attend instructor-led virtual sessions that examine how companies earn revenue, manage costs, and raise capital. Coursework emphasizes key financial distinctions such as equity versus debt, cash flow versus profit, and risk versus return. You analyze real companies, study IPO processes, and explore areas such as fintech, blockchain, and sustainable finance. Some tracks include applied analysis exercises that mirror how analysts evaluate financial opportunities.
14. Introduction to Finance and Banking - Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies
Cost: $3,200 tuition. Need-based financial aid is available
Location: Online
Program Dates: June 15–June 26; July 6–July 17
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students in grades 8–11; completion of an algebra course required
This is a live, online course taught through daily weekday sessions. You study how financial systems operate across individuals, businesses, and governments. Topics include investing principles, financial markets, banking systems, interest rates, and risk management. Instruction combines lectures, readings, discussions, and team-based activities. You also complete independent homework and applied assignments that require analytical reasoning. Office hours support the live instructional format.
15. Financial Decision Making - Wharton Global Youth Program
Cost: Tuition varies by session; financial aid is available
Location: Online
Program Dates: Session 1: June 15–June 26; Session 2: July 6–July 17
Application Deadline: Priority deadline: January 28; rolling admission until capacity is reached
Eligibility: High school students graduating in the next three years; minimum 3.3 unweighted GPA recommended
This online program focuses on how financial decisions are made under uncertainty. You examine economic reasoning, incentives, risk assessment, and tradeoffs across personal, corporate, and institutional contexts. The curriculum uses structured scenarios to connect theory to real financial decisions. Instruction includes interactive sessions, applied exercises, and guided analysis. The emphasis stays on understanding decision frameworks rather than technical modeling or accounting procedures.
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