Bentley University won the seventh annual national College Fed Challenge on Tuesday. The team from Waltham, Massachusetts represented the First Federal Reserve District and included Christina J. Harstad, Satyajeet Jadhavrao, Pranay Kumar Jain, Peter Jurik, David Norrish, Victoria Tran, and faculty advisors David Gulley and Aaron Jackson.
The finals were held in the Boardroom at the Board of Governors as the capstone to district competitions in which more than 100 teams competed throughout the country. The other national finalists were: second place, Lafayette College; third place, Northwestern University; fourth place, Rutgers University at Newark; and fifth place, Virginia Commonwealth University.
The College Fed Challenge is a team competition for undergraduate students. Teams play the role of members of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve's monetary policymaking body. The competition encourages students to learn about the U.S. economy, monetary policymaking, and the role of the Federal Reserve System in the economy. The competition is also aimed at fostering students' interests in economics and finance as fields for advanced study and careers.
Competing teams give 20-minute presentations and make a monetary policy recommendation or decision. They are judged on economic analysis, responses to questions, teamwork, and presentation. College teams compete in their local Reserve Bank Districts, and top teams move on to the finals in Washington, D.C.
