10 Business Programs for High School Students in Michigan
If you're a high school student looking to explore business before committing to it in college, a structured program can be a good option to explore. These programs often combine coursework, competitions, or mentor guidance, helping you build skills, gain exposure to new material, and develop connections. Whether your interests lie in entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, or data-driven decision-making, these programs can help you test out a specialization before deciding to pursue it further.
Why should you attend a business program in Michigan?
Michigan offers business programs through institutions such as the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Western Michigan University, as well as several virtual options. You could pitch a startup idea to entrepreneurs and mentors, work through a data-driven business case with faculty guidance, or build a personal finance plan alongside industry professionals. Whether you live in Michigan or are coming from out of state, or prefer to participate virtually, you can find a program suited to your interests and experience level.
We have put together a list of 10 business programs for high school students in Michigan, a mix of in-person and virtual options, to help you find the right fit.
If you’re looking for programs in Michigan, check out our blog here.
Key takeaways
These programs span entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, and data-driven decision-making, with several free or low-cost in-person options in Michigan, such as MSU Entrepreneur Leadership Camp (free) and UM-Flint Summer Entrepreneurship Institute ($50).
Michigan Ross offers two distinct summer programs, a flagship business academy and a more targeted data-driven decision lab, both highly selective and based at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Several virtual programs, such as Wharton Pre-Baccalaureate, Wharton Future of the Business World, and Babson Summer Study, offer real college credit and are open to students regardless of location.
Application deadlines range from January (Michigan Ross SBA, Wharton Future of the Business World) to rolling admissions (Dollars and Sense Camp), so students should check individual program timelines closely.
1. Young Founders Lab
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Acceptance rate: Selective
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: 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 ideation, workshops and skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions, and more. The program is an excellent opportunity to delve into the world of business in high school and to explore multiple theoretical and practical frameworks that lead to business success.
2. MSU High School Entrepreneur Leadership Camp
Location: Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Open enrollment
Dates: June 22 – 25
Application Deadline: April 10
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
This four-day free program on MSU's campus lets you participate in workshops led by business leaders and industry professionals, work through team-based problem-solving, and pitch your business ideas to MSU's broader community at the end of the program. The Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and MSU's Multicultural Business Programs jointly run it, with a focus that extends beyond startup mechanics to what leadership and entrepreneurship look like within Michigan's innovation ecosystem. The peer group you work with and the relationships you can form across those four days tap into MSU's broader network of students, alumni, and practitioners.
3. Horizon Business & Entrepreneurship Track
Location: Online
Cost: Varies by program; financial aid is available
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: The spring and fall cohorts run 15 weeks, while the summer cohort runs 10 weeks (June-September).
Application Deadline: Multiple deadlines throughout the year for the Spring, Summer, and Fall cohorts. Apply here.
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th- or 11th-graders.
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across a variety of subject areas, including Business & Entrepreneurship. Horizon offers you the choice to engage in either quantitative or qualitative research. Once you select the track you’re interested in, Horizon pairs you with a professor/PhD scholar who acts as a mentor throughout your research journey. As a participant, you will be expected to develop a 20-page research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student and detailed project feedback you can use for future projects.
4. UM-Flint Summer Entrepreneurship Institute
Location: School of Management, University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI
Cost: $50
Acceptance rate: Open enrollment
Dates: June 16 – 18
Application Deadline: April 30
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
This three-day camp at the University of Michigan-Flint's School of Management offers a decision-making exercise in which you sit in sessions led by UM-Flint professors and guest entrepreneurs, learn what the process of starting and growing a venture actually involves, and leave with a clearer sense of whether entrepreneurship or business is a direction worth pursuing in college. The program is deliberately low-cost and campus-based, with the peer dynamic shaped by students at a similar early stage of figuring out what they want to study. If you want a genuine first look at what business school thinking feels like before committing to a longer, more expensive program, this is one of the most accessible entry points on this list.
5. Michigan Ross Summer Business Academy
Location: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Cost: $5,500
Acceptance rate: Highly selective, around 140 students selected in total across both cohorts
Dates: June 7 – 17 or June 21 – July 1
Application deadline: January 8
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors with a minimum 3.0 GPA
This two-week residential program drops you into the same classroom culture and case-based teaching that Ross undergrads navigate. You will work through team challenges led by faculty across multiple business functions, such as marketing, finance, operations, and leadership, learning to analyze what drives company success and why others struggle. Afternoons are spent on off-site company visits, guest speaker sessions, and group project work. Industry experts and executive leaders are frequently invited for sessions, providing leadership exposure and an understanding of practical use cases for the concepts you’re learning.
6. Michigan Ross SBA Data-Driven Decision Lab
Location: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Cost: $3,000
Acceptance rate: Highly selective, only 50 students admitted
Dates: June 7 – 12
Application deadline: April 5
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors with a minimum 3.0 GPA
The Data Lab is a more targeted version of the flagship SBA, aimed at students drawn to the quantitative side of business. You will work through real business problems using data analysis as the primary lens, exploring how companies make decisions on pricing, operations, and resource allocation. Ross faculty guide the experience, and the program requires only a quantitative mindset, not prior coding or analytics knowledge. The cohort is capped at 50 students, smaller than the main SBA, allowing for more direct contact with instructors and tighter discussion within a group that shares a specific interest.
7. Dollars and Sense Camp
Location: Western Michigan University, Haworth College of Business, Kalamazoo, MI
Cost: $299
Dates: August 17 – August 21
Application Deadline: Rolling registration
Eligibility: Open to students in grades 8-12.
Dollars and Sense Camp puts you through a week of hands-on personal finance work led by faculty from WMU's Department of Finance and Commercial Law alongside private sector professionals. You build a financial plan that stretches from high school through retirement, practicing real budgeting, saving, and investing decisions along the way, while also covering topics like cryptocurrency, insurance, and real estate. Sessions are discussion-based rather than lecture-heavy, and you compete in virtual investing and budgeting games that put those concepts into practice. The week ends with you presenting what you've learned directly to financial professionals, giving your work a real audience beyond the classroom.
8. Wharton Pre-Baccalaureate Program
Location: Online
Cost: $4,230 per course
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: Multiple batches throughout the year; summer dates are May 26 – July 1 or July 2 – August 7
Application Deadline: March 25 or May 6 for summer batches
Eligibility: High school students with a minimum 3.5 unweighted GPA, who are not graduating in advance of the term
Wharton's Pre-Baccalaureate Program is one of the few high school offerings that puts you in an actual Wharton classroom, earning real undergraduate credit. Each course runs for six weeks, with two hours of live daily lectures and a separate TA-led recitation, alongside independent coursework and collaborative projects. Topics span the full breadth of Wharton's curriculum, from finance and real estate to marketing, entrepreneurship, and negotiation. Teaching assistants are current Penn students, giving you candid access to the undergraduate experience alongside the academic content.
9. Wharton Future of the Business World
Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,099
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 15 – 26 or July 6 – 17
Application deadline: January 28
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9-12
Future of the Business World’s two-week curriculum runs you through design thinking, scenario planning for future disruption, market research, and business communication, with two interactive simulations to put concepts to work. Daily instruction comes from Wharton professors and faculty, with TA-led recitations led by current Penn students. The final capstone asks your team to make a researched, original argument about how some aspect of the global business world will evolve, supported by the analytical work from the two weeks prior.
10. Babson Summer Study
Location: Online
Cost: $6,295
Acceptance rate: Open enrollment
Dates: July 8 – 28
Application Deadline: March 13
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
At Babson, you will take their Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience course, earning four transferable college credits upon completion. The course covers entrepreneurship alongside leadership, marketing, finance, and business communication, with Babson's teaching model orienting you toward applying concepts to real problems. Because enrollment is open and rolling, it is an accessible option if you’re new to the world of business, and its academic content comes directly from Babson faculty and the same course design used with degree-seeking students.
Frequently asked questions
1. What business programs are available for high school students in Michigan?
Options include free or low-cost in-person programs, such as MSU Entrepreneur Leadership Camp and UM-Flint Summer Entrepreneurship Institute, selective university programs, such as Michigan Ross Summer Business Academy and Michigan Ross SBA Data-Driven Decision Lab, and virtual options, such as Young Founders Lab, Horizon Business & Entrepreneurship Track, and Wharton's programs.
2. Are there free business programs for high school students in Michigan?
Yes, MSU High School Entrepreneur Leadership Camp is free, and UM-Flint Summer Entrepreneurship Institute costs only $50. Young Founders Lab and Horizon Business & Entrepreneurship Track charge tuition but offer financial aid.
3. Which Michigan business programs are best for students interested in data or finance?
Students interested in data-driven business might consider Michigan Ross SBA Data-Driven Decision Lab, which focuses specifically on quantitative business problems, while those interested in personal finance might consider Dollars and Sense Camp at Western Michigan University.
4. When should I apply to business programs for high school students in Michigan?
The earliest deadline is Michigan Ross Summer Business Academy (January 8), followed by Wharton Future of the Business World (January 28) and Babson Summer Study (March 13). Dollars and Sense Camp accepts rolling registration, making it one of the more flexible options on this list.
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