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Value a public company and present your findings in this two-week Dartmouth academy for high school students.
Rated 4.4 out of 5 for classroom experience by students who took this course in 2026.
Course Description
A company’s value depends on more than a price on a screen. Look at its customers, its numbers, and the choices behind its growth, then make a case for what it is worth.
In this course you will connect finance, accounting, economics, marketing, strategy, and communication through one collaborative public-company valuation. Cases, spreadsheets, financial analysis, and discussion reveal how a business earns revenue, finances growth, competes, manages risk, and evaluates new opportunities. You’ll apply the reasoning to business decisions and familiar personal-finance questions.
The same company stays at the center as new ideas enter the picture. A change in an assumption can alter your analysis and your conclusion. Your team will build a valuation model, consider market forces and innovation, and present findings supported by data. Explaining what you assumed and why gives the numbers meaning, while introducing the quantitative reasoning used in further business study.
This two-week full-day academy for high school students is part of Dartmouth Precollege Summer Scholars in Hanover, New Hampshire. The program is developed and academically led by Dartmouth. Students focus on one intensive academy for the full program. Residential and commuter options are available.
Instructor Bio
Patroklos Karantinos grew up in Greece, where he received undergraduate and graduate degrees in finance. He spent five years in corporate finance and M&A advisory, during which he became a CFA charter holder. In 2012, he received his MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. After graduating from Tuck, Patroklos worked for eight years in higher education, including five years at Tuck, focusing on institutional strategy and growth, and three years in public sector consulting. Patroklos has been working with the Tuck Business Bridge Programs since 2011 and in the summer of 2024, he taught the Business Foundations course, in the inaugural Dartmouth Summer Scholars program. Outside of work, he enjoys doodling.
What You Will Do
• Analyze how a public company serves its customers
• Build and interpret a spreadsheet-based valuation model
• Weigh investment opportunities, competition, growth, and risk
• Apply financial reasoning to personal-finance decisions
• Test how assumptions change a company’s valuation
• Present your team’s findings with supporting financial evidence
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Explain how business functions contribute to company decisions and value
• Use financial analysis and market evidence to evaluate a public company
• Support business conclusions with clear quantitative reasoning
You’ll leave with your team’s company valuation, presentation and a certificate of completion.
Why Business Analysis Skills Matter
A spreadsheet can show performance, but understanding a business means asking what drives the numbers. Connecting revenue with customers, competition, and strategy helps you judge whether a valuation’s assumptions make sense.
Working through a company analysis gives you practice turning information into a recommendation you can defend. That reasoning carries into finance, economics, and business coursework, as well as everyday decisions about spending and investing.
Who Should Attend?
For students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.
Curious about why one business grows while another struggles? This academy connects that interest with the numbers and decisions behind a company. You’ll work with spreadsheets and quantitative information, discuss cases, and develop an analysis with a team before presenting it. Asking questions and explaining your assumptions matter more than arriving with specialized knowledge.
Recommended by 9 out of 10 Students
Based on students surveyed in the Dartmouth Precollege Summer Scholars program (2026)
Your Summer at Dartmouth
Dartmouth Precollege Summer Scholars gives high school students a concentrated introduction to college-level learning in Hanover, New Hampshire. The program is developed and academically led by Dartmouth. Students explore current ideas through discussion, projects, and sustained work that helps them test an academic interest in depth.
Residential students live in Dartmouth residence halls, eat at 53 Commons, and can join workshops and counselor-supported evening and weekend activities. Time in Hanover and the Upper Valley adds a distinctive New England setting, while the broader experience helps students build independence and clarify what they may want to study next.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive