About Us

This site is dedicated to the College Fed Challenge competition that takes place in early November. The competition involves teams of undergraduate students from universities and colleges located within the Boston (first) Federal Reserve District. Around 20 to 25 schools compete by giving a presentation and monetary policy recommendation, then answering questions in front of judges.

Any 2 or 4 year community college, college, or university within the 1st district footprint may field a team, space permitting. The 1st (Boston) district includes all of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut (except Fairfield County).

Each team (composed of three to five students) has a maximum of 15 minutes to make an oral presentation that provides:

• an analysis of current economic conditions (as of the day of the competition); these conditions may include broad macroeconomic conditions as well as conditions experienced in different geographic areas, urban/rural areas, or different demographic and socioeconomic groups (e.g., racial and ethnic groups age groups), borrowers and savers, etc.

• a forecast of near-term economic and financial conditions relevant to the formulation of monetary policy;

• a discussion of significant risks to the economy that should receive special attention in formulating monetary policy; these risks may include the possible effects (positive or negative) of monetary policies on different segments of the population.

• a monetary policy recommendation, encompassing both traditional tools and newer approaches as warranted. Presenters should give supporting reasons for their recommendation.

The most common presentation format is a simulated mock FOMC meeting, but other formats are allowed provided they cover all the requirements above. Following the presentation, the team faces either 10 minutes (first round) or 15 minutes (regional championship round) of questions from a panel of judges. Judges score each team based on:

• Knowledge of the Fed, state of the economy, and monetary policy

• Response to judges questions

• Presentation quality

• Research and analysis

• Teamwork and cooperation

Teams in the first round are judged anonymously by advisers from other teams. Up to six teams advance to a later regional finals round by Boston Federal Reserve staff economists.

The winning team advances to the national championship competition at the Board of Governors in Washington D.C. in late November each year. Currently, five districts directly participate (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, and the Chicago districts), with a sixth 'at-large' grouping comprising all other participants from the remaining districts.