How to Get into Top Undergraduate Business Programs

Here are 4 easy ways to improve your chance of admission to top undergraduate business programs.

1. Show leadership!

This is by far the most important quality you want to show across your resume. Whether you are the treasurer of Student Council or the president of Guitar Club, you want to show that you are able to lead others, influence your community, and make a positive impact to the lives of others. Too shy? Start with baby steps. No one is born a leader. Leadership is a skill you develop, not an ability. Take on a small role like a committee chair or volunteer to be in charge of group projects. You will then be able to handle more weighty responsibilities and gain confidence.

2. Gain real-world business experience!

Find a business internship. Or, more realistically, find a company or a place of business that is willing to take you on as an unpaid worker. Forget about looking for paid internships. No business in its right mind will pay you while you fumble through learning the real work that determines its livelihood. If you find one that pays, good for you! But be prepared for the extremely selective hiring process.

Berkeley2 Academy offers summer internships for high school students in the areas of business, journalism, and even programming. Send your resume to b2aemployment@gmail.com now!

3. Get involved!

Are you a recluse? Get out of your room and be out and about. Get involved in school activities. Don’t come home right after school. Check out some clubs, and you will be surprised to find a group of like-minded and goal-driven peers to mingle with and do some good for the community with. Do you go to a church or a temple on the weekends? Volunteer to be in charge of something. Even if it’s just setting up tables and chairs for lunch! Do you spend your weekends going to tennis tournaments? Have you considered that there might be kids who are wishing to learn but cannot afford to? What can you do to help them?

4. Think outside the box!

Do you know how to program? Why not try to make an App and start your own company now? Do you write well? Make a blog and draw people to your site. Advertisers will beg you to put their ads on your website. Do you feel passionate about helping the less fortunate? Make a non-profit organization dedicated to the cause. How? Just Google it! Do these options sound like something beyond what high school students could accomplish? Would you be surprised if I told you that everything I mentioned above have been accomplished by some of my past students? The world is for your taking. Where there is a will, there is a way, so go sit on your thinking chair and think of the next big idea.