10 Leadership Programs for High School Students
Summer leadership programs can be valuable if you want to develop skills beyond academics.
Why do leadership programs in high school?
A lot of these programs focus on developing skills that are essential for both academic and professional success, such as communication, problem-solving, collaboration/leadership, and critical thinking. By participating in leadership programs, you can learn how to work effectively with others and lead projects.
But, to be clear, doing a leadership program doesn’t make you a leader. These programs can be great ways to develop skills, but unless they are selective, they may not be particularly valuable for you in the college admission process. In that case, it may be better to demonstrate leadership by doing your own passion project or through a club. But, if you can get into a selective program, it can add great value to your college admissions profile. Let’s dive into your options!
How should I choose a summer leadership program?
The credibility of the program: A good way to understand this is to look for stats on the acceptance rate, hosting/affiliated organizations, type of mentors, and how rigorous the application process is.
Cohort size & Mentorship: A smaller cohort size can sometimes indicate the program's selectiveness. There may also be cases where the entire cohort may be divided into smaller groups with mentors working closely with students. In either case, be sure to understand how accessible the program's facilitators are so that you can maximize your learning through increased interaction.
The mission of the leadership program: Different programs have different missions catering to different domains. For instance, the University of Pennsylvania's Leadership Program focuses on leadership in the business world, while Brown University's Pre-College Leadership Program advances social justice. Hence, it is crucial to understand the program's mission and align it with your goals.
Top Leadership Programs for High School Students
Female high school students are competitively selected and sponsored by American Legion Auxiliary units for the Girls State program. You will learn about the political process by electing officials for all levels of state government and running a mock government. You will be assigned to mock cities and either the "Federalist Party" or "Nationalist Party."
Assistance from dedicated ALA volunteers ensures the program's nonpartisan governmental, patriotic, and civic objectives are carried out. Candidates should be keenly interested in government and current events and show strong leadership abilities.
Eligibility: Female high school juniors in the USA
Dates: State dates may vary
Cost: The costs of ALA Girls State programs are underwritten by each state-level American Legion Auxiliary. ALA Girls State delegates' registration fees are paid for by the sponsoring local American Legion Auxiliary unit, with additional support and funding sometimes coming from various civic and nonprofit organizations. You may incur nominal expenses for transportation, site-specific fees, or contribution to an optional service project.
Selectivity: High
American Legion Boys State is among the most selective educational programs of government instruction for U.S. high school students. You will learn about franchised citizens' rights, privileges, and responsibilities. Legion posts selected high school juniors to attend the program. A sponsoring post, a local business, or another community-based organization pays most personal expenses. The training is objective and centers on the structure of city, county, and state governments. Operated by students elected to various offices, Boys State activities include legislative sessions, court proceedings, law-enforcement presentations, assemblies, bands, choruses, and recreational programs.
Eligibility: Male high school students who illustrate leadership, character, scholarship, loyalty, and service in their schools and community.
Dates: State dates may vary
Cost: Vary based on State
Selectivity: High
Every year, the Bank of America Student Leaders Program admits hundreds of community-minded high schoolers into the program. You will intern with nonprofits like Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Habitat for Humanity. You will also participate in the National Student Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C, to understand how nonprofits, governments, and businesses collaborate to meet local needs. This experience enables you to create change within your community.
Eligibility: A current junior or senior high school student legally authorized to work in the USA.
Dates: 8 weeks (from the end of your school year, and including the week of July 17-24 in D.C)
Cost: Fully funded, stipend provided
Application Deadline: To be announced
Selectivity: High
4. Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS)
YYGS is a globally diverse academic enrichment program for outstanding high school students. Students from over 150 countries participate in an interdisciplinary, two-week session on Yale's campus each summer. You may opt to study STEM, social sciences, humanities, or a cross-disciplinary track. YYGS is designed to foster intellectual curiosity and leadership.
Eligibility: Students must be at least 16 years old by July 16
Dates: Session 1: June 18 - June 30; Session 2: July 2 - July 14; Session 3: J July 16 - July 28
Location: Yale University Campus
Cost: $6,500 with need-based scholarships available
Application deadline: January 10
Selectivity: Moderately High
This program brings together students worldwide to engage with complex issues such as racial justice, educational access, and gender equity. You will study courses on Women and Leadership, Social Entrepreneurship, and The Future of Science and Technology. The summer program aims to make you a collaborative leader by increasing your effectiveness in advancing social justice. You will also refine your active listening, public speaking, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and teamwork skills. You can take this pre-college program for two weeks on campus or for four weeks online.
Eligibility: Students completing grades 9–12, ages 14–18 by June 19
Dates: June 27 – July 8 on-campus, July 11 – August 5 online
Location: On campus or online
Cost: $5,171
Application deadline: May 12
Selectivity: Moderate
This program enables you to explore your interests beyond high school offerings. This seven-week program allows you to take undergraduate courses with college students for credit. In addition to the classes, you will interact with different peers and learn to balance academics with extracurriculars and networking. Here are a few programs offered: Environmental Science, Introduction to Political Philosophy, The Psychology of Cults, and Introduction to Statistics and Applied Data Analysis. For the complete course catalog, click here! You can choose to do the program in three different formats: Residential, Online, and Commuting.
Eligibility: Students who graduate high school and enter college in the upcoming years, will be at least 16 years old by June 17 and will not turn 19 years old before July 31.
Program Dates: June 20 - August 5
Location: On Campus or Online
Cost: $3600- $13750 and $75 Application fee.
Application deadline: Early Application: January 25; Regular Application: February 22
Selectivity: Moderate
The MIT Leadership Training Institute is centered around the principle that all students have the potential to become leaders. This high school program includes leadership development sessions and a community service project. It helps you hone traits such as confidence, creativity, and determination. The community service project is completed with the help of Project Mentors who will help you brainstorm challenges in various communities and identify solutions. LTI recruits competitively from numerous schools in Boston.
Dates: Sundays from 1-4 pm EST between February 5 and May 7.
Location: On-campus
Cost: Free
Application deadline: November 19 and December 10, 11:59 pm EST
Selectivity: High
LBW is a summer program that introduces high school seniors to business education, leadership in 21st-century organizations, teamwork, and communication skills. You will be trained through a mix of classes with Wharton professors and business leaders, business simulations, and case competitions. Research projects, team-building activities, and access to industry leaders will familiarize you with essential components of business education—organizational strategy, negotiation, and customer-centricity. You will earn a Wharton Global Youth Certificate of Completion.
Eligibility: Seniors with demonstrated leadership experience and a minimum GPA of 3.5
Dates: June 4 - June 24, June 25 - July 15, July 16 - August 5
Location: On Campus, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: To Be Announced
Application deadline: January 25, April 5
Selectivity: High
The NSLC pre-college program offers 20+ courses across various disciplines such as Acting, Journalism, Law, Nursing, and Aviation. You will engage in simulations, interact with guest speakers, gain leadership skills and training, and network with like-minded peers. Based on the course you select, you will be expected to live on the corresponding college campus (affiliated campuses include UPenn, University of Miami, University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, and Virginia Tech). The program has a 9:1 student-to-staff ratio.
Eligibility: Students in grades 9-12 can apply
Dates: Varies from course to course, usually spans from 9-18 days
Location: Varies, you can check out the locations offered here
Cost: Varies from course to course, can range from $3,000 - 6,500, scholarships available
Application Deadline: Varies, but usually around mid-March.
Selectivity: Moderate
Based in the Boston and Greater Boston Area, this is a summer program for high school and pre-high school students. The Boston Leadership Institute has two options of programs ranging from three-week programs to one-week programs. Three-week programs offer introductions to subjects like Science, Engineering, Medicine, and Business. They allow high school students to engage with these subjects through field trips and project ideas. One-week programs enable those with limited time to explore a STEM subject. You can opt to take multiple one-week programs in a row without the requirement of an application.
Eligibility: Students entering grades 10-12.
Location: Boston Leadership Institute campus
Dates: Varies from program to program
Cost: Varies from program to program
Application Deadline: Varies from program to program
Selectivity: Moderate
One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
Research is another way to showcase leadership. If you are passionate about research, then you could also consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, a selective online high school program for students that I founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 2100 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
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.
Image source: Bank of America Student Leaders Program