Clear answers before you apply.

GRF is a finance research and mentorship program for high-school students. Students investigate a focused question, work with credible evidence, receive direct feedback, and finish with written work they understand well enough to defend.

GRF offers two tracks: a five-Fellow Research Desk Cohort and Private 1:1 Mentorship. The cohort works around a shared market theme; private mentorship is built around one student’s interests, question, schedule, and paper.

GRF is designed for students in grades 9–12 who are genuinely interested in finance, economics, markets, and research. Prior finance coursework is not required. Curiosity, clear thinking, reliability, and willingness to revise matter more.

GRF is finance-first. Questions are drawn from markets, macroeconomics, sovereign risk, credit, currencies, private capital, policy, and geopolitics. This narrower focus allows the mentors, sources, feedback, and final work to be specific to the field.

Five Fellows examine one major market theme from different angles. Each student owns an individual question and report while learning inside a shared desk: live discussions, source review, individual research support, drafting, and revision.

The next Research Desk runs from September 14 to October 25, 2026. It is a six-week, fully online program open to students worldwide.

Plan for approximately six to eight hours per week across live desk sessions, reading, independent research, writing, and revision. The work is demanding but designed to sit alongside school.

Each Fellow completes an individually authored report of approximately 2,000–2,500 words. The five reports are collected in a shared GRF Research Desk volume, and students who complete the program receive a Research Fellow Certificate of Completion.

Private mentorship is built around one student. The question, mentor match, source base, schedule, and revision process are shaped around that individual project. The Research Desk offers the momentum and accountability of a five-student group working on a shared theme.

No. Private applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Timing depends on the student’s goals, project fit, and mentor availability.

The goal is a serious, student-authored finance research paper. The mentor supports question design, source selection, argument, structure, and revision, but the thinking and authorship remain the student’s own.

Applications are free and reviewed on a rolling basis. The Research Desk closes when all five seats are filled. Private mentorship depends on project fit and mentor availability. Apply through the Research Desk page or Private Mentorship page.

GRF looks for genuine interest, careful reasoning, follow-through, and readiness to receive criticism. A polished résumé or prior finance experience is not required.

The six-week Research Desk Cohort costs $1,000 per student. Private 1:1 Mentorship costs $4,999 because it includes a fully individualized research process and dedicated mentor attention.

Yes. Applicants may request consideration for need-based aid of 25% or 50% through the application. Aid decisions are made separately from the student’s academic fit and depend on available funding.

Alex Dryden leads the live market discussions, Dr. PK sets the curriculum and research standard, and Aaditya Singh oversees the student experience, deadlines, final review, and website showcase. Their backgrounds span J.P. Morgan, Columbia, UC Berkeley, and SOAS; those institutions do not sponsor or endorse GRF.

No. GRF does not guarantee admission to any university or publication by an external journal. Completed Research Desk reports are featured on the GRF website in a cohort collection; that is a program showcase, not journal publication. External submission guidance is offered only when the work and a suitable venue are genuinely aligned.

No. GRF does not award university credit. The value is the research process itself: learning to frame a question, work with evidence, defend a view, revise carefully, and finish substantive written work.