Trading competitions for undergrads, and what quant firms see
The trading competitions that matter most for undergrads are the firm-run ones for first and second years, such as the Citadel and Citadel Securities Trading Invitationals, the online team contests like IMC Prosperity, and the student-run intercollegiates at MIT, Berkeley, Yale, Chicago, and Rotman. The live lists below show each one we track, with who can enter and when, from the organizer's own page.
Updated November 6, 2026. Live data checked against each firm's own careers site 1m ago.
Which quant and trading competitions can you enter?
The first list is every quant competition we track: firm-run contests, intercollegiate trading events, data challenges, and puzzle series. The second list covers sales and trading, which overlaps heavily but adds case-style events such as energy trading.
Each row links to the organizer's own page. Timing is what that page states, and many firm-run events say no dates at all, so set yourself a reminder to check the page in the fall.
Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC)Rotman School of Management, University of TorontoCash prizes for the top teams; the page states no amounts.
Traders@MIT Intercollegiate Trading CompetitionTraders@MIT$20,000+ in prizes; breakfast, lunch, and housing provided.
IMC ProsperityIMC Trading$50,000 pool: $25,000 first, $10,000 second, $5,000 third, $3,500 fourth, $1,500 fifth, plus $5,000 for the top manual score.
WorldQuant International Quant ChampionshipWorldQuantStage 1 pool $300,000 with $1,500, $1,000 and $500 per university; final $20,000, $12,000 and $8,000; strong participants may be offered a research consultant role or internship.
Berkeley Trading CompetitionTraders at Berkeley$20,000 cash pool for top overall scorers and top players per game; transportation and accommodation covered for traveling participants.
Yale Undergraduate Trading CompetitionYUTC (student-run)No cash stated; travel to New Haven reimbursed and hotels arranged for visiting competitors.
Which ones are for sales and trading rather than pure quant?
If you are aiming at a bank trading desk rather than a prop shop, the events below lean more on markets judgment and less on code. The Texas Energy Trading Case Competition is a team case on energy markets. The College Fed Challenge asks for a monetary policy recommendation, which is the macro reasoning a rates or FX desk listens for.
UChicago Trading CompetitionUniversity of Chicago Financial Markets ProgramOver $13,000 in prize money last year, with a similar amount anticipated.
Which ones can a freshman or sophomore enter?
Several pages say outright that they want underclassmen, which makes them the best place to start. Earlier is better here, because quant recruiting for the junior summer runs from August to October and fills by December, so anything you do before that has to happen in your first two years.
- Citadel Trading Invitational and Citadel Securities Trading Invitational: first- and second-year students; travel and accommodation covered.
- Berkeley Trading Competition: any US-based student, individual entry, aimed at underclassmen, no experience required.
- Yale Undergraduate Trading Competition: no trading experience required; travel reimbursed for visiting competitors.
- Citadel Datathon: undergraduates in a stated range of graduating classes, after a short assessment; the prize includes eligibility to interview.
- Puzzles anyone can do from a dorm room: Jane Street Puzzles, G-Research's GRiddles, and Estimathon rounds your club can host.
What does a quant firm see in a trading competition result?
A firm reading your resume cannot watch you think. A competition result is a stand-in for what the interview will test: whether you size bets sensibly, update quickly when new information arrives, and keep your head when a game goes against you. A good finish says you did that against other strong students under a clock.
Some pages are explicit about the link. The Citadel Datathon lists eligibility to interview as part of the prize, Citadel Terminal says winners get access to job opportunities, and WorldQuant's championship says strong participants may be offered a research consultant role or an internship. Most others say nothing about recruiting, so do not assume a pipeline the page does not state.
- Placing well: evidence you can reason about expected value and risk under time pressure.
- Algorithmic rounds: evidence you can turn an idea into working code, which research and developer roles care about.
- Market making games: practice for the quoting games that show up in quant interviews.
- Simply competing: a resume line and a story, but weaker than a result. Say what you built or how you traded, not just that you attended.
How should you prepare for your first trading competition?
Most intercollegiate trading events mix three things: mental math, market making or auction games, and an algorithmic case where you write a strategy. Prepare for all three over four to six weeks, not the night before.
- Weeks 1 and 2: mental math every day, ten minutes, until two-digit multiplication and quick fractions feel automatic.
- Weeks 1 to 4: expected value problems a few times a week. Write the bet down, list the outcomes, multiply and sum.
- Weeks 2 to 4: play market making games with friends. One person thinks of a quantity, the others make a bid and an offer, and everyone trades. Track your profit honestly.
- Weeks 3 to 5: if there is an algorithmic round, build a tiny trading bot in Python against a simple simulated price, so the case's API is not your first contact with the idea.
- Week 6: read the rules and case packets the organizer releases, and decide in advance how your team splits roles.
- After the event: write down three decisions you would change. That note becomes your interview answer.
Questions students ask
- Do I need to know how to code for a trading competition?
- Not for all of them. Several open events say no experience is required. Algorithmic rounds and data challenges do need code, usually Python, so learn enough to write a simple strategy.
- Is IMC Prosperity worth doing?
- It is an online team contest with a tutorial round and several live rounds, open to university students, with prize eligibility limited to listed regions that include North America. It suits you if you want algorithmic practice without travel.
- Should a trading competition go on my resume?
- Yes, with a result or a specific detail: your finish, your strategy, or your role on the team. A placing reads better than a bare entry, and a concrete detail gives the interviewer something to ask about.
- Are the puzzle series competitions or just practice?
- Treat Jane Street Puzzles, GRiddles, and Estimathon as practice first. GRiddles states prizes per puzzle, but the real value is the habit of working hard problems to the end.
- When is the best year to compete?
- Freshman and sophomore year. Quant applications for the junior summer open August to October, so competitions you enter before then are what your resume can show.