10 Summer Camps for High School Students Interested in Business
- Stephen Turban
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
If you're a high schooler into business and want to participate in something engaging over the summer, a business-focused summer camp might be worth checking out. You get to work on things like pitching ideas, working in teams, and building basic finance or marketing skills. Most camps mix in a bit of college-style work, so you also get a feel for how things might be after high school. Some camps also bring in guest speakers from the field, and a few let you build projects you can show people later.
How are camps different from other programs in high school?
Pre-college programs tend to be longer, cover a bunch of topics, and feel more like school. Camps skip the fluff and just focus on one thing, usually something practical you can work on with other students. These camps are usually short, specific, and to the point. If you're looking to learn how business works or want to test out what it’s like to work on a team solving real problems, a summer camp can get you there faster.
To help you get started, here are 10 summer camps for high school students interested in business!
10 Summer Camps for High School Students Interested in Business
The IU Indianapolis High School Entrepreneurship Bootcamp is a five-day summer program where you build a business idea from the ground up. You’ll spend the week brainstorming, planning, and pitching your project for a chance to win cash awards. The camp brings in faculty, college mentors, and local business folks to help you figure out what works and what doesn’t. Along the way, you’ll also pick up skills in organizing your work, presenting clearly, and working with a team.
Location: IU Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
Cost: Free. Participants are paid a weekly salary.
Application Deadline: Interested students complete an application available through their school.
Camp Dates: Variable
Eligibility: Open to students from all four IPS district high schools: George Washington, Crispus Attucks, Arsenal Tech, and Shortridge.
The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp at Michigan State University gives high school students a way to understand how businesses start and grow. You study how to test ideas by talking to potential users and collecting feedback and learn what goes into building a simple business model that can work in the real world. The sessions are led by Ken Szymusiak from the Burgess Institute, who works with student-run ventures at MSU.
The boot camp is for students with or without any business experience. You go over past examples, break down your own ideas, and pick up useful methods used by early-stage startups. The goal is to teach you how to think like a founder and build something that solves a clear problem.
Location: Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Cost: $3500
Application Deadline: May 1
Program Dates: June 29 — July 21
Eligibility: Open to high school students.
This one-week summer camp at Rutgers introduces you to core areas of business like finance, marketing, supply chain, and accounting. You take part in sessions led by Rutgers Business School faculty, visit local companies, and work on a business plan with a team. The program also includes topics like business analytics and IT systems.
You meet mentors and professionals who explain how things work outside the classroom. At the end, you present your business idea to an audience that includes students, faculty, and families. It’s a practical way to learn how to build and explain a business from scratch. Check out the sample agenda of the program here.
Location: Livingston Apartments and Rutgers Business School on the Livingston Campus (Piscataway, NJ).
Cost: $2,500 for the week, including room & board, meals, and field trips.
Application Deadline: The applications typically close in February or when all the slots are filled. You are encouraged to join the waitlist in case spots are filled.
Camp Dates: July 6–12 | July 13–19
Eligibility: Open to all high school students.
LaunchX’s Online Entrepreneurship BootCamp is a two-week summer program that gives you a chance to work on building a startup from scratch. You’ll join a team of other high school students to figure out a problem worth solving, then build and test a solution around it.
The program focuses on practical steps like ideation, prototyping, and early-stage validation. You’ll get feedback from instructors and peers as you move through each phase. It all ends with a Demo Day, where you present your work and explain how your startup idea solves a real problem.
Location: Online
Cost: $1,995
Application Deadline: March 5
Camp Dates: May 26 – June 6
Eligibility: Open to high school students around the world.
The Tufts Entrepreneurship and Innovation Bootcamp is a two-week summer program that shows you how to build a venture that solves real-world problems. You’ll work in teams to come up with an idea, figure out how to make it work, and build a basic version of it.
Tufts students and alumni help guide you through the process and share what they’ve learned from launching their projects. You’ll use tools and spaces at Tufts while learning how startups, small businesses, and nonprofits get off the ground.
Location: Tufts University, Medford, MA
Cost: $4,225 (Commuter) | $5,750 (Residential)
Application Deadline: May 1
Camp Dates: July 6–18
Eligibility: Must be entering grades 10–12 or be a high school graduate.
The University of South Florida’s Bulls Finance Summer Camp introduces you to how finance works in business. You’ll learn the basics of investing, financial planning, FinTech, and corporate finance. Through group projects, you’ll apply what you learn to case studies and real-world scenarios. Sessions are led by instructors with experience in the field, and you’ll hear from guest speakers working in finance who will share what their day-to-day looks like.
Location: University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Cost: $650
Application Deadline: Rolling until all the slots are filled!
Camp Dates: June 17 — June 21
Eligibility: Open to high school students (9th — 12th grade), including those who have completed eighth grade.
Drexel LeBow’s Camp Business is a daytime program where you explore the basics of how businesses work. You’ll learn about accounting, marketing, finance, and management and how these areas connect. Along the way, you’ll pick up skills like public speaking, teamwork, and professional communication. You’ll also look at business tools like stock market simulations and financial statements to see how companies make decisions. At the end of the camp, you and your team will create and pitch a business idea.
Location: LeBow College of Business, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA (Residential and commuter options are available).
Cost: $950 (Commuter Session) | $2,000 (Residential Session). There are a small number of alumni-sponsored scholarships available.
Application Deadline: The priority deadline to apply is May 1. Applications are approved on a rolling basis. Applications may close earlier if the slots are filled.
Camp Dates: July 13–18 (residential) | July 20–25 (commuter).
Eligibility: High school students currently in their freshman, sophomore, and junior years can apply.
Startup Bootcamp: Build Your Own Big Idea is a 15-hour program where you learn how startups take shape. You’ll explore how technology drives business and how to turn an idea into something real. The course walks you through identifying problems, building a product or service, and figuring out who your customers are. You’ll get experience doing market research, creating business plans, and practicing your pitch to a venture capitalist. Along the way, you’ll also work on financial planning and customer acquisition.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $175
Application Deadline: Unspecified
Camp Dates: July 14–18
Eligibility: High school students can apply.
The Stevens School of Business runs a one-week boot camp where you explore finance and investment through hands-on practice. You’ll learn how to analyze stocks, assess risk, and build a diversified portfolio using S&P Capital IQ, a tool used by professionals.
The program puts you in the role of a portfolio manager, guiding you through both real and simulated investment decisions. You’ll also have the chance to earn certifications like Capital IQ Pro 101 and Banking 101 from S&P, which can support future academic or internship applications.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $1500
Application Deadline: March 1
Program Dates: July 7 — July 11
Eligibility: Open to rising juniors and seniors entering the fall of this academic year.
10. Camp BizSmart
Camp BizSmart is a 10-day entrepreneurship and business skills program for students aged 11–15, held at locations like Santa Clara University and Stanford University. In the program, you’ll work in teams to solve real business problems presented by actual CEOs from innovative companies. Using the Camp BizSmart toolkit, you’ll create a business case, build a solution, and pitch your final idea to a panel of judges made up of entrepreneurs and investors.
You’ll develop essential skills like public speaking, product design, leadership, negotiation, and critical thinking. The camp ends with a pitch competition where teams showcase their ideas in front of a live audience.
Location: Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Cost: $2,995 (includes tuition, lodging, meals, and materials). Costs may vary depending on location and lodging arrangements.
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions until full; priority by May 1 (based on historical trends)
Camp Dates: July 13–July 18 (projected based on the previous year's dates; exact dates may vary slightly)
Eligibility: Open to students ages 13–18 (typically grades 8–12) with an interest in entrepreneurship; no prior experience required.
Bonus - Young Founders Lab!
The Young Founders 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.
You can access the application link here!
One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you’re interested in pursuing independent research in business, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!
Image Source - Tufts University Logo
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.