Registration ends on September 26th! Student teams work together in this virtual competition to analyze economic conditions, create a monetary policy recommendation, and present it for review by a panel of Fed judges.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
2024 College Fed Challenge
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors continue to conduct the College Fed Challenge competition in a virtual format.
The College Fed Challenge is a competition designed to bring real-world economics into the classroom. Teams play the role of monetary policymakers by analyzing economic conditions and recommending a course for monetary policy.
Schools in the Federal Reserve’s Second District are eligible to compete.
Orientation
The New York Fed is hosting an in-person orientation on Friday, September 20 for schools located in the Second District. Schools interested in attending the orientation can find out more information and register here. Please note that registration for the orientation is separate from registration for the competition.
About the Competition
The College Fed Challenge is an unforgettable experience in economic analysis, monetary policy decision-making, public speaking and teamwork.
Fed Challenge participants develop skills—the ability to think analytically, to make effective presentations, to work as a team, to think on their feet—that are valuable in both their academic and professional careers.
To compete, teams of three to five students give a presentation on the economy and participate in a Q&A with the judges.
Judges are New York Fed economists and staff who are experts on economics and monetary policy.
The College Fed Challenge is designed to meet the following goals:
- to increase understanding of macroeconomics and the Federal Reserve’s role in setting U.S. monetary policy and ensuring financial stability;
- to promote interest in economics as a subject for study and the basis for a career; and
- to foster a cooperative relationship among students, teachers and the New York Fed.
HOW TO FORM A TEAM
A team consists of three to five students who attend the same school. A team can be formed in a number of ways:
- As part of an extracurricular activity. The team is made up of student volunteers who work on the Fed Challenge as an out-of-class activity. An advantage of extracurricular recruiting is having returning participants, who can relate, first-hand, their experiences from the previous year’s Challenge.
- As the result of a class- or school-based competition. The class is divided into teams. Each team makes a presentation before the rest of the class; the team with the best presentation goes on to represent the school. An alternative is the “all-star” approach, in which the five best presenters in class are chosen. Or team selection can be extended to all the classes in a school by choosing either a best-of-school team or a team of the school’s best presenters.
- By teacher selection. A teacher assembles a team on the basis of overall performance, some in-class assignment or expressed interest in the subject.
Other class members can get involved by taking part in team activities such as:
- gathering and analyzing data and useful background information;
- researching important concepts and issues that are likely to be important to monetary policy, preparing charts and other parts of the presentation;
- judging practice sessions and providing feedback; and
- serving as an alternate team member in case a team member is unavailable on the day of the competition.
HOW TO REGISTER A TEAM
Registration is now open. To register a team visit the College Fed Challenge portal at the Board of Governors.
REGISTER NOW
CODE OF CONDUCT
In order to foster an efficient and respectful environment to successfully participate in the College Fed Challenge, students, faculty advisors and judges are reminded to follow the Code of Conduct:
- The New York Fed College Fed Challenge is an educational program that aims to encourage students to learn more about the Federal Reserve System and to spur interest in economics and finance as the basis for a possible career.
- Participants should conduct themselves professionally, respectfully and with integrity during all the events that constitute the New York Fed College Fed Challenge.
- Participants should not engage in verbal or physical behavior that, according to reasonable sensibilities, stigmatizes or victimizes an individual on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion or disability.
- Participants should not engage in verbal or physical behavior that threatens or harms any individual involved in the New York Fed College Fed Challenge.
- Students and faculty advisors should not approach the judges with questions, comments or concerns about the judging process, feedback or scoring of teams. These questions, comments and concerns should be referred to the New York Fed Outreach & Education staff onsite who will address them.
- Failure to follow the code of conduct may result in the participant’s or the team’s immediate disqualification from the College Fed Challenge and from other current and/or future educational programs organized by the New York Fed.
COMPETITION PROCEDURES FAQS
How many competition dates are there?
- There will be a preliminary round consisting of a video submission. The finals will be a virtual Q&A with a panel of judges on a day and time set at a later date.
What are brackets and how are teams assigned to them?
- A bracket is a group of teams that compete against each other in a competition round. All teams in a bracket are scored by the same judges. The winner of each bracket will advance to the next round of competition. Teams are assigned at random to brackets and to one of the two preliminary competition dates.
Who are the competition judges and how are they assigned to brackets?
Judges are New York Fed economists and staff who are experts on economics and monetary policy. Judging panels are assigned at random to the brackets.
If you have additional questions, contact Economic Education at nyeconed@ny.frb.org
