15 Consulting Internships for High School Students in Louisiana
A consulting internship offers high school students an accessible opportunity to step out of the classroom and apply their problem-solving skills to real-world business challenges. By working on actual projects, you gain hands-on experience that helps you understand professional environments and clarifies your future career interests early on.
Why should I do a consulting internship in high school?
Consulting is competitive, and finding ways to stand out is best done early! Early exposure in the field not only builds confidence and maturity but also makes your resumes and college applications stand out, signaling to future schools and employers that you possess the initiative, adaptability, and critical thinking skills necessary for success.
Participating in a consulting-focused internship in Louisiana gives high school students a rare opportunity to tackle real business challenges within an evolving economy. By working on strategic projects such as market research for local startups or operational analysis for established firms, you can gain practical experience in the state’s industries, ranging from energy and logistics to the growing technology hubs in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Gaining exposure to the networks surrounding major institutions like Tulane University or LSU, or understanding the regional goals of organizations like Louisiana Economic Development, helps you see firsthand how businesses adapt to the local culture of resilience and community.
We have narrowed this list to the best 15 consulting internships for high school students in Louisiana, focusing on programs that offer strategic project work and mentorship.
15 Consulting Internships for High School Students in Louisiana
1. NEW HEIGHTS BMC Internship Program
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Remote/Hybrid options often available)
Stipend: Paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive; cohort size based on current project needs
Dates: Year-Round (Fall, Spring, Summer) with 6-12 month duration options
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: All high school students
The NEW HEIGHTS BMC program in Baton Rouge immerses you in real-world business strategy, treating you like a junior consultant. During this internship, you will work alongside mentors on active client projects, covering topics such as business development, market research, and digital marketing. Your activities will include analyzing competitor data to help businesses grow, drafting public relations content, and assisting with financial planning strategies. This is a paid position requiring a 15-20 hour weekly commitment, ensuring you gain tangible experience. You will finish the program having developed skills in project management, corporate communication, and strategic problem-solving.
2. Ladder Internships
Location: Virtual.
Cost/Stipend: Cost varies depending on the program type; financial aid is available / No stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 10–25%; 70–100 students
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort; Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November)
Eligibility: High school, undergraduate, and gap year students who can commit 10–20 hours per week for 8–12 weeks
In the Ladder Internships program, you will work on real-world projects with high-growth startups, including those in consulting, business, marketing, and finance. You can be matched with opportunities involving go-to-market strategies, business plans, market research, or operational analysis, depending on your interests. The program includes weekly sessions with company founders or CEOs from backgrounds at Harvard, Google, or McKinsey, providing mentorship and feedback. You will collaborate with professionals to contribute to deliverables and present your work at the mid-point and final stages. Unique elements include flexible hours and the opportunity to build a portfolio of tangible outcomes, such as strategy documents or analysis reports.
3. YouthForce NOLA Internship
Location: New Orleans, LA
Stipend: $2,240
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; ~250 students annually
Dates: Training: May 27 – June 17; Internship: June 22 – July 24
Application Deadline: March 11
Eligibility: Current juniors enrolled in an open enrollment public high school in New Orleans; must reside in Orleans Parish
The YouthForce NOLA Internship offers you hands-on experience in industries like business services, where you can work on projects involving market research or operational tasks. You begin with three weeks of training in workplace readiness, including communication, problem-solving, and planning skills. Then, you spend five weeks at a local business or organization, taking on real projects under the guidance of a YouthForce coach. Your daily work might involve analyzing data to improve efficiency, conducting market research for new initiatives, or helping manage project timelines alongside company leaders. You will conclude with a capstone presentation to showcase your contributions and reflections. The program focuses on developing soft skills and work readiness for future careers.
4. CareerBridge
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Stipend: Academic Year: $2,000; Summer: $1,500
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive; typically, large cohorts every year
Dates: Summer: June – August; Academic Year: September – May
Application Deadline: Varies by School
Eligibility: High School Students enrolled in an East Baton Rouge Parish secondary school; recommended by a school counselor and enrolled in relevant CTE coursework
Through CareerBridge, you can build a consulting foundation by securing a paid placement that aligns with your school's business or IT coursework. You will explore real-world corporate topics, ranging from workflow efficiency and project management to organizational operations. During your internship, you will likely analyze performance metrics, sit in on strategic planning meetings, and help mentors implement operational improvements. The program directly connects to your CTE classes, ensuring that the work you do solves actual problems while reinforcing your academic studies.
5. Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) Baton Rouge
Location: LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business (Classes held on campus)
Cost/Stipend: Cost $995 / No stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; ~20–25 students
Dates: September – May
Application Deadline: Typically, August
Eligibility: All high school students residing in the Greater Baton Rouge 9-parish area
YEA! is technically an entrepreneurship program, it is also a nine-month consulting engagement where the client is your own startup. You will validate ideas using core consulting methodologies: conducting market sizing analyses, performing competitor landscape audits, and building three-year financial projection models. You will learn to build a strategic case for investment, culminating in a "Shark Tank" style pitch to real investors. By the end, you will have developed the ability to deconstruct a business problem and present a data-backed solution.
6. Junior Achievement (JA) of Greater New Orleans - Company Program
Location: New Orleans, LA (Program runs in schools; the "Accelerator" workshops are often held at the JA Innovation Center or partner sites)
Stipend: Up to $15,000 in scholarships
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective (Accelerator Phase), open enrollment for the initial stages; ~20 Teams
Dates: Fall: "Create It" Phase; Spring: "Accelerator" Phase (Jan – March)
Application Deadline: Early December
Eligibility: High school Students in grades 9-12; reside in the Greater New Orleans or surrounding parishes; submit a business idea via the JA Catalyst curriculum or online portal
In the JA Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge, you act as a strategic consultant for your own startup, transforming a rough concept into a launch-ready business. You explore topics like market analysis, financial modeling, and brand positioning. Throughout the program, you will validate your product against real competitors, refine your strategy with local business mentors, and pitch your final plan to a panel of judges. The program’s standout feature is the "Accelerator" workshop series, which gives you exclusive access to professional coaching and significant scholarship funding. Ultimately, you walk away with practical skills in strategic planning, public speaking, and complex problem-solving.
7. Propeller Volunteer/Internship
Location: New Orleans, LA
Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Varies; small, ad-hoc placements
Dates: Year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: All high school students
At Propeller, you act as a junior analyst for a social impact consultancy, supporting early-stage ventures that address city issues like water management and food security. You are often tasked with ecosystem mapping where you research the landscape of competitors and potential partners for new startups. You may also assist with impact data tracking to measure the success of their accelerator programs or help draft grant proposals and strategic communications for non-profits. The program features an incubator environment, which places you in the same room as CEOs and policy-makers, allowing you to absorb the mechanics of scaling a business firsthand.
8. Futures Fund Program
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Stipend: None; free for 96% of eligible students; grant-funded
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; ~20-40 students per session
Dates: Spring/Fall: After-school sessions; Summer: Intensive camps (typically June–July)
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: High school student (Ages 13–19) residing in the Greater Baton Rouge area
The Futures Fund operates like a digital strategy consultancy where you serve as a junior analyst or creative consultant. You are placed in Apprenticeship tracks where you function as a creative agency for real clients. You will work on projects such as building brand identity packages for local startups, developing web platforms for non-profits, or analyzing user data to improve digital products. This client-service model teaches you the core mechanics of technology consulting: gathering requirements, managing project timelines, and delivering a strategic final product that solves a business problem.
9. Ochsner STAR Scholars
Location: Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans, LA
Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; 16–20 students
Dates: June 1–26
Application Deadline: March 20
Eligibility: Students advancing into 12th grade; 16+ by the program’s start; reside and attend school in Louisiana
This program is similar to a "Healthcare Strategy" boot camp, focusing on its research and leadership modules. You will do inquiry-based research where you must identify a gap in patient care or hospital efficiency, analyze the data, and propose a solution. You will rotate through over 60 specialties, giving you the chance to ask department heads strategic questions about hospital logistics, cost management, and operational challenges. By the end of the summer, you will have the ability to diagnose complex system problems and present data-backed recommendations to senior leaders.
10. Louisiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC)
Location: Baton Rouge, LA (Louisiana State Capitol)
Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; 31 Members
Dates: July – June
Application Deadline: March 27 (Mandatory 2-day Leadership Seminar usually held in July)
Eligibility: Students enrolled in a Louisiana high school/home school; between ages 14–19
Serving on LYAC is the closest a high school student can get to being a public sector strategy consultant. You function as a policy analyst for the Louisiana Legislature, researching issues like education reform or mental health access (market research) and synthesizing that data into formal recommendations (strategic deliverables). You will collaborate with peers to draft reports and present your findings directly to House and Senate committees, mirroring the stakeholder management skills used by professional consultants. This experience allows you to develop the art of "client advisory" - identifying a complex problem, validating it with data, and persuading decision-makers to adopt your solution.
11. Urban League of Louisiana - Project Ready
Location: New Orleans (L.B. Landry High School) & Baton Rouge (Scotlandville Magnet High School)
Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; typically ~30–50 students per school site
Dates: Academic Year: August – May
Application Deadline: Typically, February
Eligibility: High school students enrolled at L.B. Landry or Scotlandville Magnet high schools
Through Project Ready, you gain a consulting perspective by analyzing the inner workings of major industries. The program’s core consulting value lies in its National Case Competition, where you work in teams to research complex social or business issues, interview stakeholders, and present strategic solutions to judges. Beyond this, you will participate in "Behind the Business" tours to study corporate operations and engage in financial literacy workshops that build your commercial awareness. The program allows you to earn college credit while developing critical thinking and public speaking skills.
12. Mayor's Youth Workforce Experience
Location: Baton Rouge, LA (Placements at 70+ partner sites, including BRAC and local businesses)
Stipend: Paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive; ~500 Students annually (Divided across various host sites)
Dates: 8 weeks in the Summer between June – July
Application Deadline: Mid-April
Eligibility: Students between ages 14–24 who are residents of East Baton Rouge Parish
In the Mayor's Youth Workforce Experience, you can request a role in "Business Operations" or "Civic Innovation," where you will tackle strategic projects like analyzing economic development data or optimizing office workflows. During the summer, you will likely conduct market research for local initiatives, earn industry-based certifications, and present operational recommendations to department heads. By the end, you will have mastered the hard skills of project management and the soft skills of corporate adaptability, both of which are prerequisites for a career in management consulting.
13. Leadership Initiatives - International Business Internship Program (IBIP)
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Tuition-based; typically ~$2,500; need-based scholarships available + extensive fundraising mentorship to cover costs / No stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; ~5-7 students assigned to one business partner
Dates: Summer; June – August (Multiple 1-week or 2-week intensive tracks); School Year: August – May (Long-term option)
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: All high school students
In the IBIP, you operate exactly like a management consultant assigned to a distressed client in a developing market. You are paired with a real business owner in Nigeria, such as a fish farmer or a tailor, who relies on your team's advice to sustain their livelihood. Over the course of the program, you will diagnose their specific operational bottlenecks, develop a comprehensive financial restructuring plan, and create marketing campaigns to increase their local revenue. A unique feature of this program is the "grant pitch," where you must defend your strategy before a panel of judges to win actual funding for your client's business.
14. EnergyMag Internships
Location: Virtual
Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; cohort size not specified
Dates: Flexible; quarter-time internships are available all year round
Application Deadline: Rolling applications
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors; 3.25+ GPA; prior honors science or English coursework preferred
Acting as a clean-tech consultant, the EnergyMag internship involves you assessing the real-world potential of new renewable technologies. You actively vet emerging companies, diving into sectors like energy storage and competitive market landscapes. Your work relies heavily on gathering original intelligence, often through interviews with scientists and industry leaders, which you then translate into strategic insights. The program concludes with the publication of your analysis on their platform, leaving you with a public portfolio piece that shows your ability to conduct professional due diligence and solve actual business problems.
15. The Borgen Project - Nonprofit Leadership Internship
Location: Remote
Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive; cohort size is variable
Dates: Flexible / Year-Round (12 weeks)
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: All high school students
Interning with The Borgen Project operates much like a role in political consulting, where you are tasked with driving strategic advocacy campaigns from your own community. You independently manage a portfolio of outreach efforts designed to influence U.S. foreign policy. Your daily work involves direct lobbying of Congressional offices, managing fundraising drives, and leveraging local media to build public pressure. This hands-on structure requires you to master the mechanics of grassroots mobilization. Ultimately, you walk away with verified skills in legislative strategy, persuasive writing, and stakeholder engagement.
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