Six Weeks Inside an Expert-Led Finance Research Desk.
A selective six-week online cohort for five high-school students. Each Fellow owns a distinct market question and writes a 2,000–2,500-word report under their own name. Completed reports are featured together on the GRF website in a Research Desk cohort collection. Weekly guidance comes from a former J.P. Morgan Executive Director, an academic director, and the GRF program team.
Applying is free and does not commit you to enrolling.
Three people support every Fellow.
Alex leads the live market discussions. Dr. PK sets the curriculum and research standard. Aaditya oversees the full student experience, deadlines, and final review.
Alex Dryden
Former Executive Director, J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Alex leads the weekly desk calls. He helps students interpret the evidence, challenge weak assumptions, and explain a market view clearly. His research focuses on sovereign defaults, currencies, and bond markets.
Dr. PK
Curriculum and Research Structure
Dr. PK designs the six-week curriculum and the standards for sources, argument, and writing. His academic background includes Columbia University and UC Berkeley.
Aaditya Singh
Student Experience and Final Review
Aaditya monitors each Fellow's progress, coordinates feedback, keeps the cohort on schedule, and reviews the final work before it is featured on the GRF website.
Professional and academic backgrounds of GRF program leaders. GRF is not affiliated with or endorsed by these organizations.
Private attention and a five-student cohort.
Students do not choose between individual support and group research. The program includes both.
Live expert-led sessions
Meet each week with Alex and the cohort to discuss the market question, examine the evidence, and test each student's developing argument.
Individual research support
Each Fellow owns a separate angle and receives direction on sources, structure, drafting, and revision. The report is individually authored.
One shared research project
All five reports address the same major theme from different angles. Students learn from one another and complete the work together.
A clear plan from question to final report.
Every week has one job. Students should expect a live desk session plus independent research and writing between meetings.
Understand the question
Learn the shared market theme, review the opening sources, and identify the part of the question each Fellow will own.
Choose your angle
Turn a broad interest into a focused research question and agree on what evidence will be needed to answer it.
Build the evidence
Work with credible reports, market data, and country cases. Separate useful evidence from material that does not support the argument.
Write the first draft
Organize the report around a clear answer, support each claim, and explain what the evidence means rather than only describing it.
Review and revise
Present the argument to the desk, answer questions, find weak points, and revise the report using practitioner and academic feedback.
Present and complete
Complete the final edit, present the conclusion, and prepare the individual report and five-student collection for the GRF website.
How does an entire country default?
The cohort studies how government debt, currency pressure, foreign reserves, and bond markets interact when a country can no longer meet its obligations.
- Debt Borrowing, refinancing, and debt sustainability
- Currency Exchange-rate pressure and capital flight
- Reserves What central banks can and cannot defend
- Bonds Yields, spreads, and the market price of default risk
Access Is Not Solvency: Sub-Saharan Africa's 2026 eurobond reopening and the maturity wall behind it.
Read the level of analysis students will work toward. The sample takes a position, uses published evidence, considers the strongest counterargument, and states what could prove the conclusion wrong.
Work that is useful after the program ends.
GRF features completed student reports on its own website in a cohort Research Desk collection. This is a program showcase, not publication in an independent academic journal.
For college applications
An original report gives students a concrete activity to discuss in essays and interviews. It shows sustained interest, analytical writing, independent thought, and follow-through.
For future opportunities
The report can serve as an early work sample when students later pursue finance clubs, university research, internships, or other competitive programs.
For personal confidence
Students learn to ask a focused question, work with difficult evidence, defend a conclusion, accept criticism, and complete a substantial piece of writing.
Apply for one of five seats.
Prior finance coursework is not required. GRF looks for curiosity, reliability, clear written communication, and a willingness to revise work after feedback.
- StartsSeptember 14, 2026
- Length6 weeks
- Tuition$1,000
- Financial aidChoose 0%, 25%, or 50% consideration
- DecisionApplications reviewed on a rolling basis
Student application
Complete each section in order. Required fields are marked with an asterisk.
Submitting is an application, not a payment. GRF will contact the student and parent or guardian before any enrollment decision.
What parents usually want to know.
Is prior finance experience required?
No. Students need curiosity and the ability to read and write carefully. The opening materials provide the finance background required for the shared research theme.
How much work is required?
Students attend one live desk session each week and complete research or writing between meetings. The exact workload varies by week and by the student's pace.
Where is the research featured?
GRF features completed reports on its own website as part of a cohort Research Desk collection. This is not publication in an external academic journal.
What happens after applying?
GRF reviews applications on a rolling basis. Shortlisted students and a parent or guardian are contacted before an offer, enrollment, or payment.
Five students. Three program leaders. Six weeks of serious finance research.
Finish with an individually authored report, a shared GRF cohort collection, and a Research Fellow Certificate of Completion.