Why do internships in high school?
Before we jump into a long list of business internships for high school students in New York, it is important to understand why these opportunities could matter for your future. According to PRISM, a consultancy, 70% of students attending a US News top 50 University have completed at least one internship while in high school. These opportunities serve as a way to distinguish yourself in the admissions process by showing that you have gone out and verified your future goals through experience. Doing internships will help you enter college with a clearer idea of the professional environments you enjoy or don’t enjoy, which will make it easier for you to recruit into a job you love after graduation. Students who have done at least one internship in high school also typically have an easier time recruiting into college internships and pre-professional organizations such as finance or pre-law clubs.
How to Find Business Internships for High School Students in New York
The best way to find business internships for high school students is through online search tools and lists. The StandOutSearch database provides the largest free resource that lists almost every internship program for the high school age group and allows you to search by interest area. MIT Admissions also provides a helpful list of High School Internships.
However, official programs tend to be very competitive, so if you are serious about finding a business internship in high school, you should also prepare a cold outreach strategy. You can read more about how to form a cold outreach strategy to find a high school internship at the end of this article. We also include email templates to make finding an internship or research position through cold outreach less daunting.
10 Business Internships for High School Students in New York
Most of the business internships for high school students below have an acceptance rate of 20% or lower, given that there are many more high school students looking for business internships in New York relative to official programs that provide them. We recommend choosing at least five opportunities to apply to. If you see an opportunity that excites you, take a moment to write the deadline on your calendar!
Ages: 15-19
Location: Virtual
Timeline: Summer, Spring, Fall, or Winter
Deadline: Various Deadlines
StandOut Connect is a program created thanks to investment from UChicago’s Polsky Center for Innovation that matches high school students with internships in their interest area. Students interview with potential mentors who are leaders and innovators within their area of interest until they are hired for a two-month internship. Many students then receive optional return offers to continue with their internship for as long as they would like.
Ages: 15 - 19
Location: New York City
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Varies
JP Morgan Chase offers two paths for high school students to learn about and work in the financial sector: school programs or an apprenticeship. These programs allow you to work in one of their businesses or corporate functions, where you’ll be assigned meaningful projects, attend meetings, and interact with managers. You’ll gain insights into the industry while developing your technical and soft skills.
Ages: 16 - 19
Location: New York City
Timeline: Varies
Deadline: TBA
Futures and Options provides paid, mentored internships and career readiness workshops. Students are first individually matched to an internship site; help will be provided to prepare for the interview. The career readiness workshops focus on building skills such as: communication, interviewing, financial literacy, resume writing, and more.
Ages: Junior and Senior
Location: New York City
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: May 10
Interns enjoy an experience that is both meaningful and educational through creative projects and working closely with the staff members at ArtsWestchester. Business interns work with Administration staff on accounting, analytics, budgeting, and updating HR or Finance policies.
Ages: 16 - 19
Location: New York City (lower Manhattan)
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Contact for info
As an intern with Musée, you will be exposed to the photographic community’s most established figures, up-and-coming works, premiering films, and gallery openings. Marketing/ Business Development Interns will monitor all forms of media, assist with developing content for campaigns and promotional material for our social media outlets. Interns will also assist in all aspects of fundraising: research; database management; grant proposals; donor cultivations and direct-mail appeals. In addition, interns will research organizations for potential sponsorships and partnerships.
Ages: 16 - 19
Location: New York City
Timeline: Contact for info
Deadline: Contact for info
CITYarts provides internships in various fields, such as bookkeeping, development, and marketing, while also allowing interns to make a real impact in their community. Depending on your role, you can gain experience in financial recording keeping, revenue management, database management, and company research and outreach.
Ages: 14 - 18
Location: New York City
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: April 15
The Athena Summer Innovation Institute is an intensive, 3-week boot camp that provides young women with the practical skills and knowledge they need to develop ideas that will make a difference in the world. You don’t need to have a business idea (in fact, it’s good if you come in with a clean slate!), but you should be interested in developing ideas for products, services, and experiences that have the potential to challenge the status quo and create social good.
Ages: 13 - 21
Location: New York City
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: May 5
BALI’s belief is that all youth, including female identifying and gender expansive-youth are destined to greatness. BALI’s mission is to inspire them to become effective, dynamic and visionary 21st century leaders as well as active and creative participants in civic, political, corporate and community life. This program provides the skill set and the social-emotional learning needed by the current generation of young women to gain the knowledge and confidence needed to become leaders in all circles of life.
Ages: 16 - 18
Location: New York City
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: January 21
Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers outstanding high school and college students the opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations, non-profit organizations and government agencies in New York City. Ladders for Leaders is a component of NYC’s Summer Youth Employment Program, the nation’s largest summer jobs program.
Ages: 14 - 18
Location: New York City
Timeline: School Year
Deadline: Various Deadlines
This year, three pathways are being offered for the Arete internship - Teaching, Arts, and STEM. All internship pathways enable high school students to explore career options, cultivate job readiness skills, and contribute to the broader school community through service.
Cold Outreach Strategy for High School Internships
If the opportunities listed above don’t turn out to be a fit, the next step to finding business internships for high school students in New York is to launch a cold outreach strategy. This may seem intimidating at first, but the guide below should make it much more simple. As an added note, please exercise caution when reaching out to professionals you don’t know. It is always safest to interview or meet virtually.
How to Find Companies to Reach Out to for a High School Internship
Use LinkedIn to find small companies where you can help with skills such as social media, coding, content/grant writing, or graphic design. Smaller companies that need more hands on deck will be the most likely to hire high-school-aged students. Try to find personal connections with the professionals you reach out to, such as being from the same state originally or liking the same sports team.
How to Find Professors to Reach Out to for a High School Research Position
You can use online university staff directories to find professors to reach out to for research positions. Note that if you are looking for a remote research position with a professor, you should be aware that these opportunities tend to be harder to come by. Professors typically have high school students help with more manual laboratory tasks such as washing beakers or running equipment and usually do not have very much use for interns at a high school education level within a remote setting. The exception is if you are doing computational research, which generally requires introductory knowledge of Python or R to parse large datasets. You should be able to learn Python or R on your own for free within a few months using resources such as Coursera’s R Programming Course or Python for Everybody.
How to Structure and Send Outreach Emails
For a successful cold-outreach strategy, aim to send at least 50 emails to potential internship providers. Be sure to include a link to your resume, which should be no more than one page while you are in high school. UChicago provides a helpful free resume template and guide. We recommend including your resume as a Google Drive link because including it as a PDF will sometimes negatively impact the deliverability of your email. However, be sure to check that the sharing settings on the document allow anyone with the link to view its contents. It can also be a good idea to include work samples in your resume, such as the link to a website you designed, a social media account you manage, or your GitHub profile.
Email Template for Finding a High School Internship
If you are unsure how to structure your outreach emails to potential internship providers, here are some basic templates you can customize to your needs.
Template for Finding an Internship
Subject: Student Reaching Out
Dear Mr./Ms.____,
I hope you are having a great day! My name is [your name], and I am a rising [grade] at [your school]. I read about your company on LinkedIn and found the concept quite interesting. For context, [briefly state how the company relates to your interests or experience].
I was wondering if you might be looking for interns. I know I would have a great deal to learn from working with you, and I would love to contribute in any way I can. I have included my resume here. Thanks so much!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Template for Finding a Research Position
Subject: Student Reaching Out
Dear Professor/Dr. ____,
I hope you are having a great day! My name is [your name], and I am a rising [grade] at [your school]. I recently read your paper on [restate the abstract] in [name of publication] and was quite intrigued by [part you found interesting]. I was wondering if I might be able to intern for you over this summer. [Elaborate on your relevant skills and experience and why you are passionate about the field].
I have included my resume here. Thanks so much!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Conclusion
Whether you are applying to established programs or launching a cold outreach strategy, the name of the game when looking for a high school internship or research position is perseverance. These opportunities can be extremely difficult to secure, but most high school students find it worth it in the end to get a head start on building their careers. If you found this article helpful, don’t forget to save it for later or share it with a friend. Good luck on your internship search journey!