15 Prestigious Accounting Summer Programs for High School Students
Accounting is often described as the language of business, but most students do not get a real introduction to it until college. If you are a high school student thinking about careers in business, finance, economics, or entrepreneurship, enrolling in an accounting program can give you an early and useful foundation. These programs focus on how financial information is created, analyzed, and used.
What do prestigious accounting summer programs for high school students involve?
Through accounting summer programs, students learn skills such as reading balance sheets, understanding cash flow, tracking expenses, and thinking carefully about accuracy and accountability. Some programs also include case studies and real-world examples that show how accounting decisions affect organizations. This practical exposure helps you understand what the field actually involves.
How are prestigious accounting summer programs for high school students helpful?
Prestigious accounting programs are competitive and structured, which makes them especially valuable. Being admitted signals readiness for rigorous work and interest in a detail-driven field. These experiences strengthen college applications and offer clarity about future career choices.
If you’re also interested in accounting research programs, check here, or go here for accounting internship opportunities.
With that, here are 15 prestigious accounting summer programs for high school students worth considering!
15 Prestigious Accounting Summer Programs for High School Students
1. Notre Dame Summer Scholars – Accounting: The Language of Business
Cost: $5,200 total (tuition, housing, meals, field trips); KPMG Grant covers FULL cost for qualifying students
Location: University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Program Dates: Session I: June 6–20; Session II: June 27–July 11
Application Deadline: Rolling; early application recommended
Eligibility: Current sophomores and juniors can apply
The University of Notre Dame’s Accounting course introduces you to how accounting actually works inside businesses and institutions of all sizes. You learn core financial and tax accounting concepts through hands-on exercises and case studies, while accountants from the field explain how financial information drives real decisions. In the first week, you focus on accounting fundamentals and see the profession up close through a field trip to Chicago, where you visit a major accounting and consulting firm. The second week shifts to how CPAs work with nonprofits, government agencies, and social enterprises, with guest speakers discussing policy trade-offs and current issues.
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. 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.
3. NYU Precollege – Principles of Accounting
Cost: $6,006 for a 3-credit course or $8,008 for a 4-credit course. Financial aid is available.
Location: on campus or online, depending on course section; New York University, New York, NY
Program Dates: July 1 – August 12 for the Summer term
Application Deadline: International: March 13; U.S./Online: June 15
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors; must submit an official transcript and meet English proficiency requirements (if applicable)
New York University’s Precollege Principles of Accounting course places you directly into a real undergraduate accounting class alongside NYU students. You work through financial statements, revenue recognition, cost structures, and corporate reporting, using the same syllabus and expectations as a first-year business school course. You spend your time analyzing real companies’ balance sheets and income statements, completing journal entries, and working through structured problem sets that show how accounting supports business decisions. Alongside the coursework, you have access to NYU’s college readiness resources, including academic advising and College 101 workshops.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Cost: Varies as per program; 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 places you inside an early-stage company where your work actually matters. You are matched with a startup based on your interests, whether that is tech, AI, health, marketing, journalism, consulting, or another field, and you work directly with founders and managers who are building real products and services. Over about eight weeks, you take responsibility for a defined project and meet regularly with your manager and a Ladder Coach who helps you stay on track and improve how you communicate and manage your time. You present your work to the company, get feedback, and learn how decisions are made in fast-moving startup environments.
5. Discover Yourself In Accounting Majors and Careers (DYNAMC) – UT Austin McCombs School of Business
Cost: Free (includes housing, meals, and all program expenses)
Location: McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Program Dates: June 21–28
Application Deadline: January 31
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores and juniors; a strong academic record is recommended; first-generation and students facing social/economic barriers are encouraged to apply.
UT Austin McCombs School of Business’s Discover Yourself in Accounting Majors and Careers program, known as DYNAMC, gives you a clear, hands-on introduction to what accounting actually looks like in practice. You spend your time in workshops and case exercises that walk through financial reporting, business decisions, and how accounting supports strategy across different industries. You work closely with McCombs faculty, current UT Austin student mentors, and corporate professionals, including representatives from firms like EY. A major part of the program is a team-based case competition where you analyze a real business scenario and present your conclusions, learning how to structure arguments and explain numbers clearly.
6. Investment Portfolio Management – Columbia University Pre-College Program
Cost: Approximately $12,764 for the 3-week in-person session; financial aid is available
Location: New York, New York
Program Dates: Session A: June 29–July 17; Session B: July 21–August 7
Application Deadline: Rolling; early application recommended for full sections
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 9–12 with an interest in business, finance, or accounting
Columbia University’s Investment Portfolio Management course places you inside the way professional investors think and make decisions. You learn how assets are evaluated, how risk is measured, and how portfolios are built to balance return and uncertainty, using real market data rather than simplified examples. A major part of the course is a long-running simulation where you manage your own portfolio and adjust it as conditions change. You compare asset classes, respond to market news, and see how policy shifts and investor behavior affect performance. Guest speakers and current events are woven into the coursework, so the analysis stays grounded in what is happening in markets right now.
7. Wharton Essentials of Finance
Cost: $8,299; need-based financial aid is available. Email whartonyouth@wharton.upenn.edu to request fee waivers.
Location: The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Program Dates: Jun 7–19; Jun 21–Jul 3; Jul 12–25; Jul 26–Aug 8
Application Deadline: Priority: January 28; Final: March 18
Eligibility: Students in grades 9–11; a strong interest in finance or business is preferred; international students are welcome
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania’s Essentials of Finance program puts you into the daily work of analyzing companies and making financial decisions. You spend your time in finance labs working through real financial statements, building valuation models, and learning how to interpret corporate performance using Wharton’s curriculum. You may evaluate a publicly traded company, run discounted cash flow models, assess risk, and present an investment recommendation backed by data. Along the way, you build a strong base in financial accounting by working through concepts like time value of money, cost of capital, and capital structure. The program also includes case discussions and presentations that push you to explain your reasoning clearly.
8. Introduction to Corporate Finance – Columbia University Pre-College Program
Cost: $2,815 (Online), in-person pricing varies by session
Location: New York (in-person and online options available)
Application Deadline: Rolling; early application recommended for limited seats
Program Dates: In Person: June 22–June 26, Online: June 22–June 26
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 9–12 interested in finance, accounting, or business
Columbia University’s Introduction to Corporate Finance course shows you how companies actually make big financial decisions. You work through the tools firms use to decide whether an investment is worth it, how projects are funded, and how risk is weighed against potential return. You spend time practicing core calculations like time value of money, cost of capital, net present value, internal rate of return, and discounted cash flow, the same concepts used in accounting, auditing, and corporate finance roles. Classes mix explanation with problem solving, so you see how numbers turn into decisions.
9. Columbia University – Introduction to Business, Finance, and Economics
Cost: Residential: $12,764 (3-week); Commuter: $6,310 (3-week). Financial aid is available.
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY (In Person or Online)
Program Dates: Summer A In Person: June 29–July 17; Summer B In Person: July 21–August 7; Summer A Online: July 6–July 17; Summer B Online: July 20–July 31
Application Deadline: Rolling; early application recommended for limited seats
Eligibility: High school students
Columbia University’s Introduction to Business, Finance, and Economics course helps you understand how companies make financial decisions using both economic theory and real numbers. You study how firms choose investments, raise capital, and interact with financial markets, while learning how stocks, bonds, and other instruments are priced. A big part of the course focuses on reading and interpreting accounting statements. You look at what balance sheets and income statements reveal about a company and where they fall short. Through case studies, valuation exercises, and independent assignments, you work with real data and current market examples.
10. Harvard Summer School – Financial Accounting
Cost: Approx. $3,460–$7,000 depending on course load and format (tuition charged per credit)
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Program Dates: June 23 – August 8
Application Deadline: June 17
Eligibility: High school students admitted to the Harvard Secondary School Program
Harvard University’s Financial Accounting course at Harvard Summer School places you in a real college-level accounting class where the focus is on understanding how companies record, report, and interpret financial information. You work through balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, learning how transactions move through a firm and end up in public financial reports. The course is structured around lectures and problem sets that ask you to record entries, analyze ratios, and see how accounting choices affect performance and valuation. You spend time working with real company statements and historical data, learning how investors and managers use accounting to evaluate decisions.
11. Wall Street 101 – Bentley University
Cost: $1,490 (Online); $2,450 (Commuter); $3,380 (Residential)
Location: Waltham, Massachusetts (online and in-person options)
Program Dates: Various sessions from June 8 to July 24
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions until June 1
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors; basic Excel/Sheets familiarity recommended; 16+ required for residential option
Bentley University’s Wall Street 101 places you inside the mechanics of modern financial markets through hands-on, technical work. You learn finance by doing it, working in small teams to value stocks, build investment pitches, and test strategies using real datasets and professional platforms like Bloomberg, FactSet, and Bentley’s Financial Trading System. Your days move between simulations, modeling exercises, and fintech-focused workshops where you look at risk, portfolio construction, macroeconomic signals, and how investor behavior shapes markets. You debate policy choices, respond to market scenarios, and explain your decisions with data.
12. Fordham University – Global Finance Program
Cost: $1,300
Location: Fordham University, Rose Hill Campus, Bronx, NY (Hybrid option is available)
Program Dates: July 6–10
Application Deadline: Priority consideration for requests submitted before April 1
Eligibility: High school students; international students may participate virtually; no housing provided
The Global Finance Program at Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business introduces you to how financial systems operate across borders, immersing you in topics like foreign exchange markets, global trade dynamics, post-war financial history, and the fundamentals of multinational investing. You’ll participate in interactive sessions, case discussions, and practical exercises that help you understand how global events influence markets and corporate decisions. You will also analyze how tariffs, interest rates, and currency fluctuations impact business strategy, giving you a strong grounding in international financial literacy. Guest speakers from top finance companies and recent Gabelli alumni offer insight into real-world pathways in global finance and investment roles.
13. Fordham University – Finance Institute: Wall Street in the Classroom
Cost: $1,300
Location: Fordham University, Rose Hill Campus, Bronx, NY
Program Dates: June 15–19; June 22–26; July 20–24; July 27–31
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions; priority consideration for applications submitted before April 1
Eligibility: Open to high school students; international students may join virtually
The Finance Institute: Wall Street in the Classroom gives high school students a structured introduction to financial markets, personal finance, and investment analysis through a week of immersive instruction at Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business. You will explore economic fundamentals, the time value of money, stock and bond analysis, hedge funds, private equity, cryptocurrency, and risk-management frameworks. You’ll also learn practical money-management skills like savings, investing, and debt handling through guided discussions with a former Wall Street global equity trader. The program incorporates case discussions, interactive lectures, and guest speakers from top finance firms, helping students understand how financial concepts apply in real market environments.
14. Babson Summer Study - Babson College
Cost: $6,295 (fully online format); $9,295 (in-person day student); $12,995 (in-person residential with housing). Plus $95 application fee. Financial aid is available.
Location: Marlborough, MA (In-person at NEIA) or Fully Online
Program Dates: July 8–28
Application Deadline: Opens Dec 1; typically early in Jan
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors; must meet Babson's age and grade criteria
Babson College’s Summer Study program places you directly into an actual Babson undergraduate course, EPS 1110: Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience. Over three weeks, you work through how business ideas are formed, tested, and turned into viable ventures, with the same expectations Babson students face during the academic year. You spend part of each day in class and the rest working in teams, researching problems, talking through ideas, and building a business concept that makes financial and market sense. The work covers budgeting, customer discovery, business modeling, and evaluating whether an idea can realistically survive. If you attend in person, you also complete NEIA’s AI for Business program, where you use AI tools for market analysis and forecasting. By the end, you present a complete venture project and earn four college credits.
15. NABA ACAP (Accounting Career Awareness Program)
Cost: Completely FREE (tuition, housing, meals, materials, NABA membership)
Locations: 25+ universities nationwide (choose the one nearest you)
Program Dates: June–August (varies by location)
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors; open to all students regardless of background; first-generation students encouraged
The National Association of Black Accountants’ Accounting Career Awareness Program, known as ACAP, is a week-long residential experience that introduces you to what accounting work actually looks like. You spend your days working through hands-on case studies and exercises that show how accountants solve real problems in businesses, nonprofits, and large organizations. You visit accounting firms and corporate offices to see different career paths up close and hear directly from practicing accountants about how they built their careers. After the program ends, you stay connected through year-round opportunities, including a complimentary NABA student membership, access to webinars, networking events, skill-building sessions, and mentorship.
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