There are many great summer programs for high school students, ways they can spend their time to enhance their candidacy while exploring their interests. For a long while, one of the best of these programs was the Bank of America Student Leaders program. Just this year however, and with little fanfare, the program has closed its doors to high school students, possibly for good.
Why did this happen? What changed? And what does this mean for you, and your plans for summer? In this article we’re going to explore what this program was, and what changed with it recently. Finally, we’re going to explore some alternative ways you can spend your summer gainfully. Let’s jump right in!
Why Did Bank of America Student Leaders End?
This is a difficult question to answer, especially because if you go to the Student Leaders website, it indicates that the program is ongoing, speaking in the present tense. Once you actually begin your application, however, you are greeted by this message:
- We are looking for the next generation of community leaders. If you are a freshman (rising sophomore) enrolled at an accredited post-secondary educational institution with a passion for improving your community, we want to help you turn that passion into action.
College freshman and high school students are generally mutually exclusive categories, a fact driven home by the list of eligibility requirements the program provides on the application itself (though not one the website):
- Be at least 18 years of age at the time of application
- Have achieved your high school diploma or equivalent within the last 2 years (24 months)
- Have earned at least 25 hours and no more than 60 credit hours of post-secondary credit
This has been reported, but primarily by reddit. While this is not always the most reliable news source, they have it right this time, and are clear in their consternation and frustration. This is unsurprising; this was done without any advance warning, and many students who were planning on participating in the program have now been left to find alternatives to apply to instead.
But Why is it Ending?
This is the question we have been unable to answer, and Bank of America has been mum on the subject, even when called for comment. We can make guesses, but these will be no more than speculation. This was a clear pivot, even if the program itself hasn’t made any announcements on it.
Our best guess is that the program, for one reason or another, no longer served the purpose that Bank of America had for it. This may have come from reports from partner organizations, or from changing internal priorities.
What Can You Do Instead?
This is the problem many students are facing right now, since in many ways the Bank of America program presented a somewhat unique suite of opportunities. There are many chances to volunteer in your local community, but these sorts of paid structured internships are much harder to come across, especially with the added leadership opportunities the Student Leaders program afforded.
This is especially true given how opportunities differ across different fields of interest. There are far more structured research internships in STEM fields, for instance, than in business, and for a long while the Student Leaders program has been the premier opportunity for students who are interested in pursuing a business major.
There are other programs of course, but few structured ones which provide the same kinds of hands-on opportunities that Student Leaders afforded. These opportunities are far more valuable than the ones that offer coursework alone. Learning is good, colleges know that, but learning paired with doing is more impactful, even for theory-focused schools like UChicago.
To that end, here are some options which can provide a similar sort of opportunity, though they may take more work to arrange on your part. Part of the appeal of Student Leaders was the structured nature of the program, though the flexibility of other approaches can have advantages, if you work for them.
Individualized Internships
We’ve written about finding internships before, and these can very much take the place of Student Leaders, as that is itself an internship program. You can find your own internships, (as we outline in the article) while this does take some doing, these often allow for more work down the road, and don’t necessarily end when summer does. This is an approach we often recommend for students interested in business, as the task of finding an internship is in itself good preparation for what you’ll be doing in the future.
High Level Volunteering
Certain volunteering opportunities just require you to show up and work. This is fine and helpful, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and it requires hands to do it. Some volunteering, however, is more structured, and lets you use your talents at a higher level. Building a website for a non-profit. Helping a charity organize its data so it can evaluate its effectiveness. Creating a marketing campaign for a student outreach program.
By doing these things, you are able to work on and build real skills, and in so doing also advance the mission of the non-profit you are working with. Universities often look for students who actively seek to give back to their communities, and volunteering conscientiously in this manner is one of the best ways to do so, especially for students with an interest in business.
Final Thoughts
Programs like this are often somewhat inscrutable, even when they do communicate clearly, which Bank of America very much hasn’t in this case. We are disappointed that this program is ending; many students we’ve worked with in the past have benefited highly from it, as have the organizations they’ve partnered with. It’s not the only option for your summer of course, but it was a great one.
We hope this article has given you insight into how else you can spend your summer constructively, especially if you were one of the students who most stood to benefit from the Student Leaders program. Finding the best ways to spend your time is a constant challenge for high school students, but one you don’t need to deal with alone. At Ivy Scholars, our mentors are well experienced at helping students find the best ways to spend their summers, and to explore their passions fully, wherever they may lead. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, we’re always happy to hear from you.
