Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

College Fed Challenge 2025 Rules and Steps

The Federal Reserve, along with other co-sponsoring Federal Reserve Banks and regional planning universities, have made the decision to host the National College Fed Challenge in a hybrid format, which will consist of

• virtual video submission of a 15-minute presentation;^*
• virtual Q&As, which will be judged using section IV of the National rubric;
• in-person finals presentation and Q&A for the top six teams using section IV of the National rubric;^** and
• an event announcing the winner on November 21, 2025, which will be available for viewing on demand.

The hybrid format will continue to allow schools outside the current Fed Challenge districts to compete in an "at-large" region.

* The Boston region is not participating in the video submission portion and any school in the Boston region should use this Boston Fed Challenge page to enter the competition.

** Please indicate on the registration form if your team cannot attend the in-person finals in Washington, D.C.

By entering the competition, teams certify that all presentations are original work of the team. A presentation that is written in whole or in part by artificial intelligence (AI) is not considered original student author work. Any presentations or responses with AI-generated content may be disqualified. Any determination of plagiarism may be grounds for disqualification. 

Key Dates

Event	Date
College Fed Challenge Virtual Orientation	Friday, September 5, 2025 1:00 p.m. EDT
Registration deadline	Tuesday, September 30, 2025 5:00 p.m. EDT
Video submission deadline	Wednesday, October 8, 2025 5:00 p.m. EDT
Virtual Q&As	November 3–5, 2025
In-person finals and awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.	Friday, November 21, 2025

Competition Steps

The Boston region is not participating in the video submission portion and any school in the Boston region should use this Boston Fed Challenge page to enter the competition.

1. Form a team.
   1. Teams can consist of up to five (additional alternates acceptable) undergraduate students.
   2. Faculty advisers (if applicable) cannot have worked for the Federal Reserve System two years prior to advising a team.
   3. All team members must be students registered at a U.S. college or university during the fall of 2025.
   4. Teams cannot consist of students from multiple colleges or universities.
   5. Multiple teams cannot register from the same college or university.
   6. Visit the College Fed Challenge Rules and Tips page for more information.
       
2. Register your team.
   Teams must register with the following information: school/university name, adviser(s) name(s) and email addresses, students' names and email addresses, alternates' names and email addresses, primary contact, and Fed Challenge region.^*
   1. Faculty advisers are required to ensure one submission only is received from each school.
   2. Once registered, teams will receive a confirmation email from Fed Challenge with their teams' unique ID number. Teams must register by Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
      Register Your Team
       
3. Develop your video presentation.
   1. Teams must prepare a presentation based on content rubric (see National rubric, section III). This may be a video presentation (for example, a recording of a Zoom or WebEx presentation with video turned on).
   2. The video should be a simple presentation recording— remember that presentations are scored on content, not video production quality. (See National rubric, section III.)
   3. Presentations should be no longer than 15 minutes.
   4. Paper submissions are not accepted.
   5. Do not identify your school or names in your presentation. For the purposes of fair judging, presentations must exclude any identification of team members, advisers, or school affiliations. This includes school colors, emblems, and logos.
   6. Video submissions should include the following elements:
      1. 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 or rural areas, or different demographic and socioeconomic groups, borrowers and savers, etc.
      2. a forecast of near-term economic and financial conditions relevant to the formulation of monetary policy.
      3. 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.
      4. a monetary policy recommendation, encompassing both traditional tools and newer approaches as warranted. Presenters should give supporting reasons for their recommendation.
          
4. Submit your video presentation.
   1. Each registered team will receive a designated and unique team ID number once registered.
   2. Registered teams should upload their videos to YouTube as unlisted and submit their unlisted video link by video submission form by Wednesday October 8, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EDT. In YouTube, please title your submission video with the following language: "College Fed Challenge 2025 Team #" [ID number given during registration step 2 above].
   3. Submit the unlisted video link to the YouTube video entry in the video submission form.
      Submit Your Video Presentation
       
5. Participate in virtual Q&As (first round of Q&A will determine regional finalists).
   1. If selected, your team will receive an email from [email protected] to schedule a Q&A.
   2. Your team will be contacted between October 28 and October 31, 2025, if you have been selected for regional and national Q&As.
   3. Eighteen teams (three from each region) will be selected for the virtual Q&A to take place between November 3 and November 5, 2025. Six of these 18 teams will advance to the national finals.
   4. Your team will receive time slot options for a Q&A with judges.
   5. At the designated time, your team will join the online platform sent via invite.
   6. The Q&A portion will follow the rubric section IV. 
   7. Presentations used within video submissions may be shown on screen during the Q&A session; however, no new slides or data should be introduced within the presentation.
   8. Judges' questions will follow for a maximum of 15 minutes. Two of the questions will be the same for each team; the Board will supply one of these two questions and judges may confer or choose mutually the second question that will be the same for each team. The question period is an opportunity to determine the extent to which students are knowledgeable about the Federal Reserve, monetary policy, and the information in their presentation. Questions could be of four types:
      1. follow-up questions related to data, analyses, or recommendations made during the presentation (e.g., What evidence do you have to support your statement that deflation is more of a risk to the U.S. economy than inflation? How might your recommendation affect the economic circumstances of different areas or groups?)
      2. hypothetical questions (e.g., Suppose the number of new jobs created over the next three months totaled 100,000, would that change your prescription for monetary policy?)
      3. questions about macroeconomic theory (e.g., How much weight should policymakers give the Phillips curve?)
      4. questions about the Federal Reserve (e.g., Once the FOMC reaches its decision, how are policy decisions implemented?)
          
6. Participate in the in-person final presentation and Q&A session.
   1. Team presents their 15-minute presentation. No new slides or data should be introduced within the presentation.
   2. Judges will ask each team at least two similar questions. These questions will be the same for each team. Judges may modify their questions to cover topics mentioned in a team’s presentation.
   3. The question period is an opportunity to determine the extent to which students are knowledgeable about the Federal Reserve, monetary policy, and the information in their presentation. Questions may fall under any of these four categories:
      1. follow-up questions related to data, analyses, or recommendations made during the presentation (e.g., What evidence do you have to support your statement that deflation is more of a risk to the U.S. economy than inflation? How might your recommendation affect the economic circumstances of different areas/groups?)
      2. hypothetical questions (e.g., Suppose the number of new jobs created over the next three months totaled 100,000, would that change your prescription for monetary policy?)
      3. questions about macroeconomic theory (e.g., How much weight should policymakers give the Phillips curve?)
      4. questions about the Federal Reserve (e.g., Once the FOMC reaches its decision, how are policy decisions implemented?)
          
7. Fed Challenge organizers announce winners.
   The final winner will be announced on November 21, 2025.
   1. The winning team's live presentation and Q&A will be posted to the Board's website.

Have questions about the National College Fed Challenge competition?

Sign up for our College Fed Challenge orientation. Students and professors will get a chance to ask questions about the rules, competition format, and registration process.