Best Extracurriculars for Business/Economics Majors

High school students who plan to major in business or economics in college need to participate in extracurricular activities that help you gain real-world experience in the types of career paths that will be open to you once you have your degree.

While you’re in high school, your goal is to explore different directions and see what enthuses you. So get involved in extracurricular activities that deepen your understanding of how businesses work, strengthen your critical thinking and analytical skills, and provide leadership opportunities.

Because these are all things that college admissions teams will be particularly looking for in students who plan to major in business or economics. Your extracurriculars will help you demonstrate these skills, and your experiences can also give you a story to tell when you begin drafting a personal statement for your college applications.

When you’re trying to decide on extracurriculars, it can be eye-opening to see what other prospective business and economics majors did, and at Crimson our education specialists have that data. Crimson Education Strategists have been helping students with college applications for more than a decade. Here are some examples of extracurricular activities that students who were accepted by top colleges have submitted.

21 Extracurricular Activity Ideas for Business/Economics Students

Examples of Extracurriculars for Business/Economics

1. DECA or FBLA

DECA and FBLA are career and technical student organizations whose missions are to prepare students for a career in business or a related field.

Through these organizations, students get a chance to develop leadership skills by participating in group activities, business challenges, and contests.

The organizations differ slightly. DECA is focused on preparing students for a career in finance, marketing, hospitality, and management. The organization takes classroom learning to another level, introducing students to real life applications. Some chapters even operate their own businesses.

FBLA is a bit broader in focus. The largest business career and student organization globally, it prepares students for careers in technology, economics, and entrepreneurship in addition to business. This organization has multi-tiered memberships — from middle school to high school to college and beyond.

Some colleges have FBLA fraternities and sororities, for example. And post-college there are professional memberships that become valuable networking groups. In addition, a community service arm offers students opportunities to participate in community service projects benefit organizations like the March of Dimes.

Both organizations offer scholarships.

2. Launching a Small Business or Participating in Startup Incubators

High school students who intend to major in business should choose extracurriculars that offer a real-world look at how business principles can be applied. You can’t do better than to start your own small business or participate in a startup incubator program. These are impressive experiences that you can reflect on in your personal statement on your college applications to demonstrate initiative, drive, entrepreneurial spirit.

When starting a small business, many entrepreneurs look to their personal passions for inspiration, such as sports or music or hobbies. Then build a business around products or services for fans just like them.

Still yet, another approach is to observe a problem that bothers you and come up with a solution you can sell. For example, in our list of extracurricular ideas above, one student helped develop a smartband for individuals with panic disorder, while another sold eco-friendly products.

It's best to rainstorm multiple ideas, then consider costs and potential revenues for each until you hit upon one that you can build a successful business plan around:

• Do some market research so that you can gauge the size of the audience for your product or service.
• Be sure to check for competitors in the landscape.
• Finally, convince friends and family members to invest in your idea. Keep your business lean and maintain good business records, even if it’s just costs and revenue to start with.

If fundraising to start your own business isn’t feasible for you, take your idea to an incubator or accelerator program. Search online for startup incubators that are open to high school students. Some will offer high-school level competitions as an entry point, so search for business competitions as well.

3. Internships at Local Businesses or Startups

Another possible extracurricular activity idea is to work an internship at a local business or startup. Many companies offer internships as a way to engage with their community.

What you have to offer these companies is enthusiasm and a fresh perspective from a younger demographic than their other employees. You may even have skills in social media, coding, or website maintenance to offer. Companies view their internships as a valuable pipeline for recruiting future talent.

While many internships will pay you for your time, don’t overlook unpaid opportunities as well. What you’d be gaining in experience and networking and mentorship opportunities is priceless.

To find internships that are open to high school students:

• Look first in your community at local businesses that interest you.
• Do some research to learn about their company mission, products and services, customer base, and recent press releases.
• Finally, draft an email or a cold calling script that describes who you are, your intended business major, what experience you’re looking to gain, and what skills you have to offer. Compliment their business and ask your contact for twenty minutes of their time for an informational interview.
• If they don’t have internships, ask about shadowing opportunities, where you follow a company staffer and observe them doing their job on a typical day.

If you get the internship, be prepared that the tasks you’re given may be very basic at first. Plan to start small and win them over with your enthusiasm, maturity, and dedication.

4. Economics Clubs or Investment Societies

Participating in a club for economics or an investment group not only demonstrates your passion for learning but also provides a real-world opportunity to apply business concepts learned in the classroom.

Economics clubs are student-led groups that discuss current events and how economic principles work to influence them. They analyze data and form opinions on economic issues and often take field trips to the headquarters of businesses or important government offices like the nearest branch of the Federal Reserve.

Clubs meet often and participants take turns presenting to the group, explaining economics concepts, and moderating debates. Clubs may also participate in competitions, such as the National Economics Challenge or hold events and invite guest speakers. In this way, they offer important networking opportunities, where you may meet future colleagues, employers, and mentors.

If your school doesn’t have an economics club, start one! Ask your economics or social studies teacher to serve as an advisor or provide guidance, then recruit other students to join the club. Doing this is a strong demonstration of your initiative, drive, and leadership capabilities.

If your interests lie more in finance than economics, an investment club or society will teach you about financial markets, investments, and personal finance. In an investment club, members typically research companies, discuss strategies, and manage a virtual portfolio.

You’ll learn how to save, invest, and manage money as well as how to analyze companies’ financial statements. Many clubs learn about portfolio diversification and risk management by participating in stock market simulation competitions.

5. Leadership Roles in Student Government or School Organizations

Your school organizations do not have to be directly business/economics oriented to count. Taking a leadership role in any school organization where you serve as president, vice-president, secretary, or treasurer shows initiative, leadership, and responsibility. Even a role as a project leader offers a chance to show off your organizational, delegation, and problem-solving skills.

Don’t overlook student government. A leadership role in student government is always impressive on a college application for a few reasons:

• First, you are elected by your peers, who see you as a leader. You also learn to advocate for your voters and argue for their interests. And you gain important insight into how decisions are made in an organization, which is relevant to the public policy aspects of economics.
• Collaborating with other student leaders and faculty will teach you how to negotiate, find common ground, and compromise. You’ll need to address student concerns and find workable solutions.
• You’ll become familiar with key aspects of running a business, such as planning events and managing budgets.

Leadership roles in school organizations also offer the chance to hone public speaking skills. You’ll be presenting ideas and persuading others as well as leading others, delegating tasks, and meeting goals and deadlines. These are all skills that admissions teams are looking for in business and economics students when they’re reviewing applications.

So as you write about your experiences in your personal statement, connect the skills you’ve developed to real-world skills needed in business and economics. And reflect upon your measurable achievements, such as fundraising revenues, club membership growth, and community service impact.

Why Extracurriculars Matter

Extracurricular activities matter to admissions teams because they help them understand who you are as a person. Sure, they’ve got your transcript. They see the rigor of your studies, your grades and GPA, and your test scores.

All of this tells them that you’re prepared to do college level work. But it doesn’t tell them what personal qualities you will bring to their campus community and if you’d be a good fit for their school. Your extracurriculars—and how you frame your experiences—could be a deciding factor.

What you learned from your extracurricular activities, and how you reflect upon that, can give you a personal story to tell that will set you apart from other students and make your application memorable.

This is increasingly important, because admission to top colleges and universities has never been so competitive. Top schools receive tens of thousands of applications — from far more students than they can ever accept. And admissions rates are shrinking every year.

This is why Crimson Education Specialists recommend that students begin strategizing about your extracurriculars as early as 9th grade. If you wait until 11th Grade, you won’t have time to strategically choose activities that help political science students grow, acquire skills, and have a story to tell that resonates.

If you're unsure how to build the perfect extracurricular profile and college application, our experts can help! Students working with Crimson are 7x more likely to gain admission to their dream university.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, the best extracurricular activities for you if you plan to be a business or economics major are those that deeply interest you and give you the opportunity to develop real-world skills in leadership, finance, and strategic thinking.

Whether that’s analyzing market trends in your economics club, managing a virtual portfolio in your investment club, or serving as student body president, the experiences you gain, skills you grow, and measurable results you achieve provide the material for a compelling narrative on your college application.

How you reflect upon your journey, articulate lessons learned, and effectively communicate your impact will demonstrate the skill set necessary to succeed in the fields of business/economics. And that’s exactly what top colleges are looking for in their high school applicants.