Participating in pre-college programs in business leadership can give you a head start in your academic journey and help strengthen your college application. These programs provide real-world business exposure and allow you to develop valuable skills like teamwork, problem-solving, and communication. The KeyBank Business Leadership Program is an opportunity for high school students from underrepresented backgrounds considering a career in business.

What is the KeyBank Business Leadership Program?

The KeyBank Business Leadership Program is a week-long summer program for current high school juniors who are serious about a career in business and leadership. This program provides an immersive experience where you'll work in teams to tackle real-world business challenges. The program culminates in a case competition, where teams present their solutions to a panel of judges. The winning team is awarded a $1,000 scholarship to the University of Colorado–Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. The program, which is hosted in June, aims to support students who are underrepresented, diverse, students of color, first-generation, or interested in business and diversity. 

How is the program structured?

This program is designed for high school juniors entering their senior year. You will gain hands-on business experience by participating in a case competition and proposing a marketing campaign for the program’s corporate partners. Throughout the program, you'll receive valuable mentorship from experts from major corporations, learning about their career paths in business. This program is a good way to refine your business and leadership skills while building confidence and connecting with like-minded peers. One great benefit is that the program is entirely free to attend, supported by the Leeds School of Business and its corporate partners.

Is the KeyBank Business Leadership program prestigious?

The KeyBank Business Leadership Program has competitive entry criteria, making acceptance a distinction for college applications. Participation in this program demonstrates your initiative and interest in business to admissions officers. The program also provides some great networking opportunities, as you’ll be solving business challenges for the program’s corporate partners. However, the short duration and limited scope of admission somewhat take away from the prestige. Overall, we’d rate this program as moderately prestigious, and a decent introductory opportunity for business and leadership.

Who is eligible to apply?

• Current high school juniors entering their senior year during the Fall 2025 academic year.

• Students who identify as underrepresented, diverse, students of color and/or first generation, or who are interested in gaining new perspectives on business and diversity issues are highly encouraged to apply.  

• Colorado residents and students enrolled in Colorado high schools are given priority consideration.

How does the application process work?

The application window typically opens on December 1st and closes on April 1st. The application process involves answering the following questions in 100-150 words:

1. Why should you be selected to participate in the KeyBank Business Leadership Program?

2. How will you contribute to the diversity of the Business Leadership Program?

3. Please describe how you usually contribute in a team setting? 

4. Please list your extracurricular activities, clubs, work experience, family responsibilities, volunteer work, and any other leadership roles, including the years of your involvement and positions. 

You will also have to submit an unofficial high school transcript. After you submit your application, a recommendation request will be sent to your recommender. It's important to follow up to ensure they submit their recommendation by April 5.

Pros and Cons 

Pros

1. Good exposure to real-world business challenges: You’ll gain hands-on experience working on business challenges in a collaborative team environment.

2. Mentorship opportunities: You’ll have the opportunity to interact with and learn from industry experts and mentors.

3. Scholarship award: You have the chance to earn a scholarship to the University of Colorado–Boulder’s Leeds School of Business in the case competition.

4. No cost: The program is completely free to attend!

Cons

1. Very limited duration: The program only lasts a week, making the learning on offer limited in scope.

2. Not particularly prestigious: The program focuses on providing opportunities to students in need and is not as selective as some other high school business programs, such as the Bank of America Student Leaders program.

3. Not academically focused: While this program provides real-world business practice, it does not offer more structured learning such as lectures and seminars. Students interested in the theoretical study of business may have to look elsewhere for summer programs. 

Our Review

The KeyBank Business Leadership Program is a brief but useful opportunity for high school students interested in pursuing a business career. Participating in this program gives you some good exposure to dealing with real business challenges and provides the opportunity to earn a scholarship. It’s valuable if you haven’t had access to such opportunities so far, but it is not a particularly prestigious opportunity on its own.

If you’re looking to build a project/research paper in the field of AI & ML, consider applying to Veritas AI! 

Veritas AI is founded by Harvard graduate students. Through the programs, you get a chance to work 1:1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more to create unique, personalized projects. In the past year, we had over 1000 students learn AI & ML with us. You can apply here!

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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.

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