If you are a high school student interested in getting early exposure to advanced academics and boosting your profile, an Ivy League program is worth considering! Structured programs run by prestigious universities offer opportunities to work on advanced skillsets, dive into hands-on learning experiences and rigorous coursework, and learn from Ivy League professors. Here, you will work with collegiate-level material, develop critical thinking and time management skills, and build specialized knowledge in subjects of your interest.
As a participant, you will find opportunities to collaborate with world-class faculty, engage in hands-on projects, and build a competitive portfolio. Many of these programs are conducted entirely online, allowing you to access rigorous learning experiences without geographical constraints and connect with intellectually curious peers across the nation. This exposure to high-level academics and research environments prepares you for the rigors of selective college admission and helps you explore future academic and professional pathways.
To help you get started, we have put together 14 online Ivy League programs for high school students.
14 Online Ivy League Programs for High School Students
1. Harvard Secondary School Program
Location: Online
Cost: Approximately $4,180/four credits | $8,160/eight credits; financial aid available for U.S. citizens and permanent residents who demonstrate financial need.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 20 – August 8
Application deadline: January 7 (early) | February 11 (regular) | April 1 (late); applications open December 1 annually
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors who are at least 16 years old but will not turn 19 during the program
Harvard University’s Secondary School Program offers high school students online and in-person credit-bearing courses across disciplines. You can choose from courses in STEM, the arts, social sciences, and business, among other areas. During the program, you will attend online lectures and engage in group discussions, case study analysis, and assignments. You will also have access to support services, including tutoring and writing center resources, to help you manage rigorous college-level coursework. Beyond academics, you can participate in virtually-held social and college-preparation activities, including workshops on financial aid processes and college selection panels.
2. HarvardX CS50’s Introduction to Computer Science
Location: Virtual via edX
Cost: Free to enroll; paid optional upgrade available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment
Dates: Self-paced course; takes approximately 12 weeks to complete
Application deadline: Open enrollment
Eligibility: Open to all; no prior coding experience is required.
HarvardX CS50 is an introductory course in computer science designed for learners with or without prior coding experience. The program focuses on helping you build algorithmic thinking and efficient problem-solving while learning about software engineering, web development, abstraction, and data structures. Through this course, you will explore coding while engaging in hands-on exercises in multiple programming languages, including Python, C, SQL, and JavaScript, as well as HTML and CSS.
3. Yale Summer Session Online Courses
Location: Online
Cost: $5,480/credit + $80 application fee + other administrative fees; check details here.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: May 25 – June 26 | June 29 – July 31
Application deadline: Varies by session and year
Eligibility: Current high school juniors entering their senior year or current seniors graduating and entering college who are at least 16 years old
Yale’s Summer Online courses combine live and pre-recorded lectures with synchronous discussion sessions, providing a virtual college-like learning environment to high schoolers. You can choose from courses in STEM, social sciences, health, and the arts. Each course compresses a typical 13-week undergraduate curriculum into an intensive five-week timeframe, resulting in weekly workloads of approximately 15 to 20 total hours. You will engage in weekly live video-based group meetings. Your coursework will typically involve problem sets, quizzes, exams, research papers, and/or final projects, evaluated according to college grading standards.
4. Cornell University Summer and Winter Online Program
Location: Virtual Cornell’s web-based learning system Canvas.
Cost: Approximately $1,940/credit hour
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Summer: June – August (multiple three-week and six-week courses available) | Winter: January 2 – 17
Application deadline: Summer: ~One month before each session’s starting date | Winter: December 1
Eligibility: Rising and current high school juniors and seniors, ages 15 – 19
Every year, Cornell offers high schoolers access to various virtual undergraduate courses across diverse disciplines like psychology, philosophy, economics, and computer science. You will interact with Cornell faculty and fellow students through email, discussion boards, chat rooms, video conferences, and phone calls, following a blended synchronous-asynchronous curriculum. Upon successful course completion, you will earn three to 12 college credits and receive an official Cornell transcript, providing verified academic credentials. The courses focus on the development of critical thinking and sophisticated writing skills through challenging coursework and complex problem-solving activities. Additionally, you will have access to one-on-one college admissions counseling during the program.
5. University of Pennsylvania Pre-College Online Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: $8,462 for one course unit | $13,858 for two course units;
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: May 26 – July 1 | July 2 – August 7
Application deadline: Rolling admissions starting from December 1
Eligibility: Current 10th and 11th grade students
UPenn’s online pre-college program allows you to enroll in college-level courses alongside undergraduate students and earn credits. You can choose from courses in the sciences, social sciences, math, and the arts, all taught by Penn faculty, staff, and visiting scholars. You will undertake substantial coursework designed to match undergraduate rigor and expectations while also engaging in classes two to five times a week. You will work on homework, research papers, midterm examinations, and final projects. Upon successful completion of a course, you will earn one or two course units, each equivalent to four college credit hours, along with official Penn transcripts provided upon request.
6. Brown University Pre-College Programs Online
Location: Online (blended + asynchronous options available)
Cost: Starting at $3,364; total cost varies by program and session length; check details here.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Multiple two- to six-week sessions available between June 15 and July 24
Application deadline: Rolling admissions till May 8
Eligibility: High school students, ages 14 – 18
Brown’s online pre-college programs provide high schoolers access to courses across disciplines, reflecting the breadth of Brown University’s Open Curriculum. You can choose virtual courses within engineering, health sciences, math, physics, business, social sciences, economics, law, and research-based tracks, among other areas. All courses come with video lessons delivered asynchronously or live. You will complete assignments, projects, and coursework designed to help you build critical thinking without worrying about formal letter grades. In addition to the academic curriculum, Brown offers access to virtual workshops and student community activities. Upon completing your chosen course, you receive digital certificates, with longer courses also offering course performance reports.
7. UPenn’s Wharton Global Youth Program: Future of the Business World
Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,099 + $100 non-refundable application fee; need-based financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 15 – 26 | July 6 – 17
Application deadline: Priority deadline: January 28; rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students currently enrolled in grades 9 – 12
The Future of the Business World Program, offered by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, is a two-week virtual learning experience for high school students interested in business. Designed to introduce you to business research and global trends, the program combines live sessions with independent work, allowing you to learn how to think critically about the future of business and leadership. You will connect with Wharton faculty, participate in simulations, and explore frameworks such as design thinking, competitor analysis, and scenario planning during the program. Working within a group, you will develop final projects that predict future business challenges and opportunities.
8. Dartmouth Precollege Online Program
Location: Online
Cost: $1,895/course; need-based scholarships are available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Courses of varying lengths available throughout the year
Application deadline: Varies by session; typically one week before the session starts
Eligibility: Students, ages 13 and up
Dartmouth offers various online courses throughout the year, allowing you to explore a field of interest at your own pace. You can choose from courses in business and entrepreneurship, biology, investment, finance, law, psychology, and health sciences, all designed by Dartmouth faculty members. You will have access to video lectures and support from mentors, who will provide guidance and answer your questions throughout your course. Each course culminates in a final capstone project where you will demonstrate your learning progress through presentations in various formats. Upon successful course completion, you will earn a Dartmouth Certificate of Completion.
9. Columbia Online Summer Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,815 (one-week session) | $3,965 (two-week session); need-based scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 22 – 26 | July 6 – 17 | July 20 – 31
Application deadline: February 2 (early registration) | April 2 (general application)
Eligibility: Domestic and international students who will be enrolled in grades 9 – 12 in the fall and current 12th-grade students
Columbia University’s Online Summer Program allows you to spend one or two weeks exploring a subject area and learning from Columbia instructors. You can choose from courses across disciplines, including neuroscience, architecture, math, marketing, law, and creative writing. You will engage in debates, simulations, class discussions, individual and/or group projects, and Student Life workshops during the program. You will also deliver final presentations, refining public speaking skills in the process. If you opt for the two-week session, you will gain access to the Columbia Writers Academy, a course designed to help you refine your college application essays.
10. UPenn Wharton Global Youth Program: Understanding Your Money
Location: Virtual
Cost: $329
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: Self-paced course; requires commitment of 13–15 hours
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students
The University of Pennsylvania’s Understanding Your Money is a self-paced online program that offers high schoolers a flexible introduction to key economic and financial concepts. The course can help you develop an understanding of money management, investments, and informed financial decision-making. Through video sessions, activities, readings, and quizzes, you will explore how to earn, budget, and allocate resources while examining the impact of financial choices on personal well-being. The curriculum focuses on helping you apply financial principles to real situations and making informed decisions about saving, spending, and investing.
11. Harvard Medical School Pre-College Online Certificate Program
Location: Online
Cost: $1,895 – $2,195/course; need-based scholarships are available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Courses of varying lengths available throughout the year
Application deadline: Varies by session; typically one week before the session starts
Eligibility: Students, ages 13 and up
Harvard Medical School offers high schoolers the chance to explore the field of medicine and career paths within through online courses. Here, you will engage with college-level material, quizzes, and other content designed by doctors, professors, and scientists from Harvard Medical School. The course content aligns with the courses designed for incoming Harvard students pursuing graduate programs in medicine, dentistry, and immunology. You will have access to the support of a mentor who will offer insights into potential career paths and help you explore various course-related topics. You will also work on projects that help you track your progress.
12. UPenn’s Wharton Global Youth Program: Sports Business Academy
Location: Virtual.
Cost: $4,799 + $100 application fee; need-based financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: July 6 – 24
Application deadline: Priority deadline: January 28 | Final deadline: March 18
Eligibility: Students in grades 10 and 11 with a strong academic background
The Wharton Sports Business Academy is a three-week summer program led by UPenn faculty. The program is designed to introduce you to the business and legal aspects of sports through exploration of topics such as innovation, media, marketing, labor relations, and social responsibility within professional, intercollegiate, and Olympic sports. You will engage in lectures by Wharton faculty, sessions led by guest speakers from the sports industry, and collaborative team projects, learning about global sports business leadership and management in the process. You will also explore career paths in sports organizations. Additionally, you will work on a group project that involves designing a plan for a sports-focused business.
13. UPenn’s Wharton Global Youth Program: Essentials of Leadership
Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,099 + $100 non-refundable application fee; need-based financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 15 – 26 | July 6 – 17
Application deadline: Priority deadline: January 28; rolling admissions
Eligibility: Students currently enrolled in grades 9 – 12
This virtual UPenn program is designed for students interested in building personal and business-focused leadership skills. The program combines leadership theory with practice, allowing you to engage in business simulations, case studies, and a final industry leadership project while building teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills. You will also explore leadership styles, assess your personal strengths, and learn about the Johari Window, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and strategic decision-making. Additionally, you will examine case studies and engage in simulations involving crisis management and negotiation. You will also learn how to present your insights to peers and instructors.
14. Columbia University’s Introduction to Corporate Finance
Location: Virtual via edX
Cost: Free to audit; $225 for a certificate
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment
Dates: Self-paced course; takes ~four weeks to complete
Application deadline: Open enrollment
Eligibility: Open to all; no prior experience is required.
This online course offered by Columbia University is meant for learners interested in exploring financial concepts for assessing investment opportunities, including stocks and bonds. Over the course of four weeks, you will study concepts like time value of money, cost of capital, and capital budgeting while also learning how to use Excel for valuing bonds and stocks, computing NPV, and finding IRR. Led by a Columbia University instructor, the course is designed to help you learn how to evaluate and value investment options. You will also work on projects such as assessing company projects, calculating the return on these projects, and valuing a bond to determine its yield.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, and chemistry, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image source – Cornell University