3 answers
Arihant
Student
Japan
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Finance Competitions?
Does anyone have any good recommendations for a high school student wanting to get into finance(Hedge-fund managing). What kind of finance competitions could I take part in that would help me with college admissions into a big finance school?
3 answers
Dr H
Dr. H's Research
1464
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Australia
Updated
Dr’s Answer
Hey again Arihant!
Well, If you're gunning for a big-name finance school and hedge fund managing, finance competitions are a solid move. The best ones give you real-world skills, networking, and something impressive to flex on applications. Wharton’s Global High School Investment Competition is a powerhouse—team-based, strategy-heavy, and directly tied to a top finance school. Conrad Challenge and Blue Ocean focus more on innovation and entrepreneurship, but hedge funds love people who think like business owners, not just stock traders.
Stock pitch competitions are gold since hedge funds are all about analyzing investments—TIGER Global Case Competition, The Duke/UNC Stock Pitch Comp, and Harvard’s Financial Analysts Club Stock Pitch Challenge are all top-tier. If you wanna go deep into trading, CME Group’s Trading Challenge throws you into futures and derivatives, which is next-level. Harvard's Economics Challenge and the MIT LaunchX program (startup-focused) are also solid ways to stand out.
But comps alone won’t cut it. Start a finance club (or take over one and make it better), mess around with paper trading or real investments to gain hands-on experience, and land finance-related internships, mentorships, or even shadowing opportunities. Running a finance blog or small business? Huge flex. Shows initiative, leadership, and application of knowledge, which top schools eat up.
If your school doesn’t have many finance resources, reach out to local banks, investment firms, or finance professors—they sometimes mentor or even offer small-scale comps. The key is proving you don’t just “like” finance, but you live it. All the best buddy! 😉
Well, If you're gunning for a big-name finance school and hedge fund managing, finance competitions are a solid move. The best ones give you real-world skills, networking, and something impressive to flex on applications. Wharton’s Global High School Investment Competition is a powerhouse—team-based, strategy-heavy, and directly tied to a top finance school. Conrad Challenge and Blue Ocean focus more on innovation and entrepreneurship, but hedge funds love people who think like business owners, not just stock traders.
Stock pitch competitions are gold since hedge funds are all about analyzing investments—TIGER Global Case Competition, The Duke/UNC Stock Pitch Comp, and Harvard’s Financial Analysts Club Stock Pitch Challenge are all top-tier. If you wanna go deep into trading, CME Group’s Trading Challenge throws you into futures and derivatives, which is next-level. Harvard's Economics Challenge and the MIT LaunchX program (startup-focused) are also solid ways to stand out.
But comps alone won’t cut it. Start a finance club (or take over one and make it better), mess around with paper trading or real investments to gain hands-on experience, and land finance-related internships, mentorships, or even shadowing opportunities. Running a finance blog or small business? Huge flex. Shows initiative, leadership, and application of knowledge, which top schools eat up.
If your school doesn’t have many finance resources, reach out to local banks, investment firms, or finance professors—they sometimes mentor or even offer small-scale comps. The key is proving you don’t just “like” finance, but you live it. All the best buddy! 😉
This was super helpful, thank you!
Michelle M.
Actress
3284
Answers
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Arihant !
It is great that as a metropolitan high school student in Tokyo that you are very eager to start a career in finance ! I like your enthusiasm ! Advisor Angelina who left a comment above had a great idea for you about starting a group or team for what you are interested in doing. That would be great.
The truth is you will start to learn about Finance and managing hedge funds and many other things once you get to University. There are some universities you can start looking into now to review their Finance Programs. The colleges in Tokyo that offer finance programs are Keio University, Hitotsubashi University, the University of Tokyo, Waseda University, and Meiji University. It would be a good idea to explore their finance programs as well as their admissions requirements so that you can choose a college and prepare now for the requirements for admissions. That would be your best focus for right now.
While you are at university, you will have many opportunities to engage in activities around finance through volunteer work. possible internships, groups, special conferences and other opportunities. It's okay to start your own group now in high school, read about hedge funds and finance and strive for good grades. You will need education, lots of knowledge and experience for your career.
To find out about finance competitions, you can ask your teachers at your school and also visit banks to ask them if they sponsor any competitions. I am not sure what the competitive element or contested element is in finance, but a bank can inform you of activities for high school students.
Most of all: be patient with this. Try to start a group like Advisor Angelina suggested for now, read up on the different subjects and soon enough, you will be starting college where many opportunities will start o come your way. I wish you all the best !
It is great that as a metropolitan high school student in Tokyo that you are very eager to start a career in finance ! I like your enthusiasm ! Advisor Angelina who left a comment above had a great idea for you about starting a group or team for what you are interested in doing. That would be great.
The truth is you will start to learn about Finance and managing hedge funds and many other things once you get to University. There are some universities you can start looking into now to review their Finance Programs. The colleges in Tokyo that offer finance programs are Keio University, Hitotsubashi University, the University of Tokyo, Waseda University, and Meiji University. It would be a good idea to explore their finance programs as well as their admissions requirements so that you can choose a college and prepare now for the requirements for admissions. That would be your best focus for right now.
While you are at university, you will have many opportunities to engage in activities around finance through volunteer work. possible internships, groups, special conferences and other opportunities. It's okay to start your own group now in high school, read about hedge funds and finance and strive for good grades. You will need education, lots of knowledge and experience for your career.
To find out about finance competitions, you can ask your teachers at your school and also visit banks to ask them if they sponsor any competitions. I am not sure what the competitive element or contested element is in finance, but a bank can inform you of activities for high school students.
Most of all: be patient with this. Try to start a group like Advisor Angelina suggested for now, read up on the different subjects and soon enough, you will be starting college where many opportunities will start o come your way. I wish you all the best !
Christopher Leoncio
Restaurant Operations Management
6
Answers
Caloocan, Metro Manila, Philippines
Updated
Christopher’s Answer
Dear Arihant,
It’s great that you’re exploring finance and hedge fund management early on. To build your skills and strengthen college applications, consider joining investment or stock pitch competitions where you manage mock portfolios and analyze markets. Business case challenges and finance quizzes can also sharpen your problem-solving abilities. Beyond competitions, joining a finance club, practicing with virtual trading platforms, or taking online courses can further demonstrate your passion. These experiences will not only prepare you for college but also give you a strong foundation for a future in finance.
It’s great that you’re exploring finance and hedge fund management early on. To build your skills and strengthen college applications, consider joining investment or stock pitch competitions where you manage mock portfolios and analyze markets. Business case challenges and finance quizzes can also sharpen your problem-solving abilities. Beyond competitions, joining a finance club, practicing with virtual trading platforms, or taking online courses can further demonstrate your passion. These experiences will not only prepare you for college but also give you a strong foundation for a future in finance.
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