Best Summer Strategy for High School Freshman Interested in Business

Just by reading this blog, you are more prepared than many other first-year students. It is never too early to start exploring your academic interests, especially if you hope to attend an elite college. Business is one of the most popular majors, and undergraduate business schools/programs are often among the most competitive to get into. Usually, our students who dream of Haas, Wharton, Ross, Sloan, and more hit the ground running to build a great resume. The summer after freshman year is the perfect time to start getting serious about your goals and academic ambitions. However, it can be hard to know where to start. Thankfully, we are here to help and give you some tips for ensuring your freshman summer puts you on the launch pad for business success.

Need help planning your summer? Contact us today!

Find Your Niche

The school year can be hectic. Summer is a great time to let yourself explore your interests. Part of this should be dedicated to finding an academic niche if you haven’t already. Figure out which sub-section of business interests you most. There is a big difference between accounting and entrepreneurship. Maybe management makes you tick. Maybe you are fascinated by finance. The more specific, the better. We always prefer working with someone who “loves forensic tax accounting” than someone who is “pretty sure they want to do like… business.”

If you are unsure how to find your niche, we have a couple of strategies to help.

First, read books! This is good advice in general. We always recommend that students we work with read. While it is good general advice, reading books on business will also help you know more about the industry and help establish your niche. There are many amazing books about business, but if you are looking for somewhere to start, we would highly recommend:

You can supplement your summer reading list with newspapers, magazines, or even podcasts. We love resources like The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Financial Times and even NYT’s The Daily.

Second, we recommend online classes. There are a lot of online courses (often available for free) that you can use to start to learn more about academic business. If you don’t know where to start, we love classes like Penn’s Business Foundations, University of Colorado’s International Business or University of Illinois’s Business Analytics. No matter your business niche, we also highly recommend taking an Excel class either online (we like this one from Johns Hopkins) or at a local community college. Trust us, having excellent Excel skills will look great on any business resume.

We suggest taking 1-3 flexible online classes during our students’ freshmen summer more generally, but they can be invaluable when finding your niche especially.

Summer Programs

While online classes are an easy way to start your business education, you should also consider taking a course in person through a university. Many colleges offer summer programs for high school students. These programs are excellent for rising sophomores looking to expand their education outside of the school year.

A lot of colleges have these types of programs. Some of the ones that our students have loved in the past include Fodham’s Finance Institute: Wall Street in the Classroom, Wharton’s Global Youth Program, and Georgetown’s Entrepreneurship Academy. Do your research and apply it to a couple of programs that fit your schedule, budget, and areas of interest. Some colleges also have online and commuter options for these programs. Generally, we suggest applying to 2 or 3, especially if some of your chosen programs are highly selective.

Intern, Shadow, or Get a Summer Job

Scooping ice cream or being a waiter might not sound like a big deal, but showing that you are mature enough to get and commit to a job is a good thing, especially after your freshman year. However, you can also look for opportunities that are more connected to your academic niche.  Ask your parents if any of their friends or contacts would allow you to shadow their job. If you are motivated and have a successful job shadow, you might be able to leverage that experience into an internship.

You can also look for internship opportunities in your community. Maybe a local store needs help with social media marketing, your town has a free tax prep service at the library that takes volunteers, or your dad’s friend could use an intern at her business. However you do it, getting job experience is a fantastic idea for the summer after your freshman year.

Summer is the perfect opportunity to take some classes, add to your resume, and explore your academic interests. While it can be a lot of planning, a set-up summer is necessary for second-semester students. If you are struggling to plan or need some extra help to make sure your summer is setting you up for success, we can help!

Reach out to talk to one of our dedicated counselors!