The first month of school. You know what that means: everybody’s excitedly planning for next summer.
Internships, summer programs, camps, oh my! We falcons are truly flying higher.
Okay, so maybe not everyone is applying for internships just yet, nor should you feel obliged to. That said, application season tends to creep up when you least expect it.
So in the spirit of getting ahead, I now have the pleasure of salespitching you my personal, unbiased (lie) favorite summer opportunity. Are you ready????
Bank of America Student Leaders.
If you’re like me, you may have heard of this program via one of a million @collegeprep social media accounts. If you haven’t, not to fret. As a newly-inducted BofA alum, I find myself suited to provide any and all information you may need.
What is BofA Student Leaders?
It’s an eight-week long paid summer internship program open to current junior and senior high school students. The first seven weeks are spent working with a local nonprofit (35 hours/week), and the eighth week is a summit with all 315 Leaders in Washington D.C..
I was drawn to apply after hearing “bank” in the name, but truth be told, the actual focus of the program is ambiguous. Because it’s sponsored by Bank of America, finance and economics definitely play an important role, but I was surprised by how much the program prioritized government/civics and volunteer service.
This to say, no matter what subject you hope to pursue collegiately and professionally, so long as you consider yourself a leader (current or aspiring), BofA could be for you.
The Application
The application and admissions processes are tough. The 2025 acceptance rate fell to a mere 2.6%, with over 12,000 applicants competing for only 315 spots–a number that stays stagnant amidst a growing applicant pool.
The application, due in mid January, consists of eight questions, two recommendation letters–one required and one optional, and some general profile/personal information. The questions are very similar to those of college supplemental essays, so even if by some horrible fluke you aren’t accepted into the program, you will have spent time crafting thoughtful responses that you can then re-work for college applications.
Here is my main tip for the questions on the application: focus on your leadership qualities, not on your academic and personal ones. For instance, if you are really good at physics, that’s great!!!! Congrats!!!!
But you can have an impressive physics grade without caring about, as nepo baby Jaden Smith once called it, “the political and economic state of the world right now.” So no matter how many 5’s you earned on AP exams, what’s really going to stand out to the BofA representatives reading your application is not your intellect, but your empathy.
Everyone I met at the summit came from a unique background and geographical location, but the common thread I observed in every Student Leader was a passion for making a difference in our communities, and ultimately/ideally, in the world.
So keep the BofA motto of “serve, inspire, change” in the forefront of your mind, and you should be set.
For letters of rec, you only need one but have the option to submit multiple. The number of letters you submit won’t benefit/hurt your application, but I do recommend getting them from someone who can reiterate your leadership qualities, as opposed to your academic strength.
Waiting, and Lots of It
I submitted my application a few days before the January 15 deadline, and I heard back on April 1. So, as you can imagine, March was veeeery stressful. As the final quarter was underway, I felt summer rapidly approaching and knew that there was a 97.4% chance I would be rejected from the program and have to find some other way to spend my summer. I reached out to various family members and begged them to connect me with other finance professionals I could work with/for over the summer, each to no avail. I viewed Reddit discussions, each reported acceptance only adding to my nausea.
But finally, come April, I received an email from Bank of America during a STUCO meeting, freaked out, accidentally deleted it, panicked when I couldn’t find it on my computer or phone, and finally was able to recover it and call my mom with the good news.
The Internship (And Mine Specifically)
In early May I met with the four other DFW Student Leaders, as well as representatives from each of BofA’s four DFW nonprofit partners: the Ronald McDonald House of FW, United Way, Junior Achievement, and Hope Farm.
During the application process I was paired with RMH, where I worked from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday for seven weeks. I started in early June and finished in late July, so my last week was the summit in D.C. This timing varies by nonprofit, and I know some other Student Leaders who were only halfway through their internship when they went to DC.
I had a really valuable experience at RMHFW, and it was so cool to know that the work I was doing was actually making a difference in people’s lives.
“I really enjoyed the experience and made so many valuable connections while working at my nonprofit,” 2025 Student Leader Bisma Bajwa said.
I spent each week working with a different department, so I got to crunch numbers with finance, brainstorm and execute video ideas with marketing, practice writing grants with development, cook and assemble meals for 57 families and staff during the inaugural Kids Culinary Camp, and so much more.
Gaining real experience in a professional environment was so valuable, and I left work feeling more confident in my own ability and more aware of just how many career options there are besides those I hear about in children’s picture books and Wall Street Journal articles my grandpa sends me about investing.
The Summit
The D.C. summit. Wowza–what a week! We packed a lot into a mere five days. We worked with CloseUp, the same organization from FWCD’s sophomore D.C. trip, to visit monuments, memorials, and museums galore.
All 300+ of us were separated into 13 workshops filled with students from all different geography-based markets. We also got a roommate from another market–they intentionally paired us with someone based across the country–who was in the same workshop.
Throughout the week we met regularly with our workshops to discuss current policy issues, topical political decisions and strategies, and the role of each sector (govt., business, nonprofit, individual) in combatting said issues.
“Bank of America Student Leaders was an excellent experience for me and provided me valuable insight into the functioning of the nonprofit sector and how effective leadership in business, nonprofits, and policy can solve real-world problems,” 2025 Student Leader Mahitha Konjeti said.
We also heard from numerous speakers, including BofA executives and past Student Leaders. The 2024 group got to hear from celebrity actor Chris Evans, so everyone felt a bit jipped that we didn’t receive the same treatment. But whatever I don’t even care!!
Despite the lack of Chris Evans, this was actually one of the best weeks of my life. I met so many inspiring students who care deeply about the world and people around them, and most of whom are already taking strides towards changing the world.
From the girl I met during one of our workshops who turned out to be the 16-year-old founder of Spikey, a business selling keychains that can detect whether drinks have been spiked, which has earned over $40,000 in DECA competition winning grants and over $30,000 in revenue.
To a boy whose leadership positions I wanted to list below but couldn’t because there were too many. (I’m not kidding. I went to his LinkedIn to start listing them, but my hand started to hurt because I was typing so much.)
To name a few: youngest Housing Authority Commissioner in the U.S., youngest California Democratic Party Delegate, Education Navigator at his county’s Superintendent of Schools, President of CA Association of Student Councils, and South Valley Regional Director for the California High School Democrats.
That’s not even half of his accomplishments. He’s 18.
My favorite part of the week was our Congressional simulation, where each workshop was assigned a bill, and after reading a brief summary of the issue and opposing viewpoints, we had to pick a side. My workshop was assigned the Tax-on-Tips Bill.
We then had five minutes to brainstorm arguments before engaging in a debate where everyone had to speak. I don’t love public speaking or arguing, and I didn’t have time to develop many strong arguments for my side, so this was way out of my comfort zone. But in the end, the moderators selected the two most persuasive people from each side of the argument to act as lobbyists in our main congressional debate.
And guess who was chosen? Me!! In the end, it was so much fun (even though I had to argue and yell), and our side won!
It was also challenging and exciting to speak with representatives on Capitol Hill. Our DFW market met with representatives in small groups, and we were all expected to ask questions, so I was initially intimidated but ended up getting some good experience and valuable information.
All this to say, it was an insane(ly amazing) experience that I couldn’t be more grateful to have had. So, if you’re free next summer and looking for something to do, here it is. I really hope that this story has inspired you to apply, or at least consider applying. If not for the experience, then at least for the $500+ weekly salary. Senior year and college ain’t cheap.
