Getting a headstart at Stern

I've reached out to numerous places for both PWM, AM, IB, and etc econ stuff in my city (southern city with not a lot of places) and all of them have told me they only take interns who have completed freshman year, even when I proposed unpaid internships, so I can't really get an internship this summer. Also the startup scene in my city is dead and I'm not interested in working on a startup before school.

I'm only a Junior in High School so I can't really help, but I'd also like to see what people have to say. What I can say though is that I've started reading through the Rosenbaum book already and that thing is great. I find it very clear and very helpful in understanding the technicals. Congratulations by the way!

Enjoy your last summer after high school post-college and if you work, get a paid job that gives you spending money for the summer or college. No pre-college internship will give you any meaningful experience that you can really leverage when you get to college - just enjoy yourself, perhaps start reading more about the subjects as you mentioned, and focus on trying to get something post-freshman year.

It's admirable that you're taking your education and future career so seriously at your age. However, I suggest you enjoy your last months of being in high school.

Just keep learning at your own pace via the Rosenbaum/Pearl textbook and maybe (if you really can't help yourself) even sign up to a financial modelling course like Breaking into Wall Street. The latter is seriously great and will give you some hands-on modelling experience, which will be invaluable when you eventually interview for internships in college.

I also pretty much agree with everything notthehospitalER said.

Yeah you're already ahead just by reading that book. When I was a freshman, I just bummed around, drank and hit on girls. Just remember, college is supposed to be fun and not just a stepping stone into a career. You can't take any money with you when you're gone.

Agree with the others. Enjoy your summer and don't hold back freshman year. You have the potential to make life-long friends during those first few months there (not just at Stern, but the rest of NYU) and that'll be incredibly more valuable than any paper-pushing freshman year internship.

Look for an internship for your freshman summer. Doesn't hurt to read those books if you have absolutely nothing better to do though.

Stern is pretty much an IB factory so if you keep your grades up, stay somewhat involved on campus, and get a relevant internship by Junior Year you will be more than fine

The JPM High School Internship Program may be of interest, in the event you're from the NYC area. Otherwise, I'd try and find some non-finance (but still finance-y) internship for summer after high school - perhaps a customer billing roles at a small startup, or see if you can do some job shadowing (externships) at local companies.

Then apply to Morgan Stanley's Freshman Enhancement Program in the fall as it sounds like you qualify. Network hard - lot's of Stern at MS, and hopefully that turns out well. Also, I'm not sure if you're aware but most people at Stern (and NYU as a whole) intern part-time during the school year, so try seeing if the PWM firms are open to you interning in the fall.

And yea, like everyone said enjoy your summer - it's the least one you'll truly have to enjoy with your friends, especially if you're on the finance track.

Stern = Hacksaw