A clear look at what your child is joining.
Global Research Fellowship is a selective, finance-only research program for high-school students. Your child works with a practitioner mentor on a real market question and finishes with serious written work. This page explains, in plain terms, exactly what GRF is, how it works, what it costs, and what we will and will not promise.
What GRF is — and what it isn't.
Most student programs blur the line between real work and enrichment. We would rather be specific, so you can judge the fit before you spend anything.
What GRF is
- A finance-only research program — markets, macro, credit, currencies, sovereign risk, and capital flows, not a general "research experience."
- Mentorship from people who have actually worked in finance, held to a real research standard.
- A small, structured environment that ends in concrete written work your child can explain and defend.
- A program that treats you, the parent or guardian, as the primary point of contact.
What GRF is not
- Not an admissions guarantee. We do not promise acceptances, and we are careful never to imply outcomes we cannot stand behind.
- Not a generic summer camp or a stock-picking club.
- Not a certificate mill — credit is earned through the work itself, not a printed title.
- Not a large program. Attention is the point, so seats are deliberately limited.
The two tracks, in plain terms.
Both are held to the same standard: direct feedback, real sources, and revision until the work holds. They differ in group size, price, and what your child walks away with.
A small analyst desk
An eight-week cohort capped at eight students, led by Alex Dryden, who did this exact work at J.P. Morgan. The desk takes on one real market question together; your child owns and writes a specific angle of it.
An independent paper
One-to-one mentorship for a student writing their own finance paper. The mentor is matched to your child's interests and guides question design, sources, argument, and revision — but your child stays the author throughout.
Your child learns from a practitioner, not a placeholder.
The founding desk is led by Alex Dryden. The standard your child's work is held to comes from someone who spent a career making real market calls, not from a generalist reading off a template.
How we protect authorship.
A good mentor challenges the question, cuts weak arguments, and pushes revision. What they never do is write the work for the student. Here is how credit works in each track.
In the cohort
The desk investigates one situation together, but each student owns a distinct angle and writes that section themselves. Their contribution appears under their own name, with contributor credit, in the cohort's research report.
In 1:1 mentorship
Your child is the primary author from the first question to the final line. The mentor guides and critiques; the thesis, the evidence choices, and the writing remain the student's own.
What we honestly don't promise.
We think the most useful thing we can offer a cautious family is candor about the limits.
No admissions outcomes
Research can strengthen an application, but no one can promise an acceptance. We don't, and we're wary of anyone who does.
No guaranteed publication
We help with journal fit and submission only where a paper is genuinely ready. We will tell your child honestly when it is not.
No invented track record
Cohort I is the founding desk, so there is no alumni list yet — and we won't manufacture one. What we point to is the mentor, the structure, and the work.
What it costs.
Pricing is simple and stated up front. If cost is a genuine obstacle for a strong applicant, note it in the application and it can be discussed during review.
Research Desk Cohort — founding price. Cohort I only; the next cohort is $1,199.
Research Desk Cohort — standard. Applies from the second cohort onward.
Private 1:1 Mentorship. Individual mentor matching, direct guidance, and a student-authored paper.
Questions before your child applies?
Both applications ask for a parent or guardian email, because we keep you in the loop. If something here isn't covered, reach out and we'll answer it directly before you decide.