12 Investing Competitions for High School Students (2026–27)
Last updated: August 2026 — Written and fact-checked by Clarissa Collins for the Rapunzl editorial team. Every competition below was verified against its official site on 2026-08-25 and is cited in full.
The single most accessible investing competition for a U.S. high-schooler in 2026–27 is one that is free, open to any student individually, and awards real scholarship money for investing performance — a combination most national contests don't offer, because they require teams, teacher sponsors, or award experiences instead of cash. This guide ranks 12 real, current competitions for the 2026–27 school year and tells you, up front, what each one costs, who can enter, when it runs, and what you can win.
Key Facts at a Glance (ranked summary)
This list is ordered by how easily an individual high-schooler can enter for free and win something real for investing. There is no single "official best," so the ranking axis is stated on purpose.
- 1. Rapunzl National Scholarship Competition — Free, open to any U.S. high-schooler individually, live-Nasdaq investing sim, runs January to late April, with $25,000+ in prizes awarded annually.
- 2. The Stock Market Game (SIFMA Foundation) — The category standard since 1977; grades 4–12, team-based and teacher-run, $100,000 virtual portfolio; program fee varies by state.
- 3. Wharton Global High School Investment Competition — Free, most prestigious; teams of 4–7 with a teacher advisor; registration August 10–September 11, 2026; prizes are Wharton summer-program spots, not cash.
- 4. Capitol Hill Challenge (SIFMA) — Free but by invitation (Title I priority); pairs schools with a member of Congress; $100,000 portfolio.
- 5. National Personal Finance Challenge (CEE) — Free, team-based; $2,000 per member for the winning team.
- 6. National Economics Challenge (CEE) — Free, team-based economics quiz-bowl; registration opens January 1.
- 7. High School Fed Challenge (Federal Reserve) — Free, team research-and-writing on an economic theme; no trading.
- 8. Stevens Trading Day — Free, individual; February virtual round using live Nasdaq pricing, April on-campus finals.
- 9. InvestWrite (SIFMA) — Free essay contest for Stock Market Game students; prizes include laptops and a New York trip.
- 10. HowTheMarketWorks public contests — Free, individual, recurring monthly, $500+ in prizes.
- 11. PersonalFinanceLab FinLit Challenge — Free, individual; budgeting + stock game each spring; $50 gift-card prizes.
- 12. Diamond Challenge (University of Delaware) — Free entrepreneurship/venture pitch (adjacent to investing); $100,000 prize pool.
What is the best investing competition for high school students in 2026–27?
For a student who wants to enter for free, on their own, and win real college money for investing performance, the Rapunzl National Scholarship Competition is the most accessible option — it is free, open to any U.S. high-schooler individually, and awards $25,000+ in prizes annually. Most other national contests are excellent but built for teams and classrooms, so a single motivated student can't simply sign up and compete for cash the way they can with Rapunzl.
That said, "best" depends on your goal. If you want the most prestigious line on a college application, Wharton's competition leads. If your teacher already runs a class program, SIFMA's Stock Market Game is the category standard. The sections below break down all 12 so you can match a competition to your situation.
The 12 competitions, ranked
1. Rapunzl National Scholarship Competition
Free and open to any U.S. high-school student individually, the Rapunzl National Scholarship Competition runs from January sign-ups to prizes at the end of April and awards $25,000+ in prizes annually. Students build a simulated $10,000 stock-and-crypto portfolio with live Nasdaq pricing and compete on real investing performance — no team or teacher sponsor required.
The prize pool is scholarship money: the competition awards $25,000+ in prizes awarded annually. Prizes are awarded as 529 college-savings scholarships, a detail the competition page describes separately. Recent competitions have drawn nearly 100,000 students and 500+ high schools in a single season. Because entry is free and individual, it's the rare national contest a student can join without waiting for a class to adopt it.
2. The Stock Market Game (SIFMA Foundation)
The Stock Market Game is the category standard — a team-based, teacher-run classroom simulation for grades 4–12 in which teams manage a hypothetical $100,000 portfolio, with a program fee that varies by state. Run by the SIFMA Foundation since 1977, it has reached roughly 20 million participants and feeds two companion contests below (InvestWrite and the Capitol Hill Challenge).
It runs in fall and spring sessions, typically 10–14 weeks, and is organized through state coordinators, so the fee is often subsidized or waived depending on where you live. This is the program most teachers mean when they say "stock market game." (stockmarketgame.org, retrieved 2026-08-25.)
3. Wharton Global High School Investment Competition
The Wharton Global High School Investment Competition is a free, team-based contest for grades 9–12 in which teams of four to seven students, guided by a teacher advisor, build an investment strategy for a hypothetical client; 2026–27 advisor registration runs August 10 to September 11, 2026. It is widely considered the most prestigious high-school investing competition, drawing more than 5,400 teams worldwide in 2026.
Prizes are experiences rather than cash: global champion team members receive spots in a Wharton online summer program, and all 10 global-finalist teams get a Wharton online course fee waived. The team leader must be at least 16 by September 28, 2026. (globalyouth.wharton.upenn.edu, retrieved 2026-08-25.)
4. Capitol Hill Challenge (SIFMA Foundation)
The Capitol Hill Challenge is a free national Stock Market Game competition that pairs participating middle and high schools with a member of Congress, with teams of three to five students managing a $100,000 portfolio — but participation is by invitation, with priority to Title I schools. For 2026–27, team fees are waived for participating schools.
It runs as a roughly 14-week fall program, and top-10 teams earn national recognition. Because it's invitation-based, it's not something an individual student signs up for directly — a school is selected into it. (stockmarketgame.org/capitol-hill-challenge.html, retrieved 2026-08-25.)
5. National Personal Finance Challenge (CEE)
The National Personal Finance Challenge, run by the Council for Economic Education, is a free team competition in which high-schoolers advance from online state rounds to national finals, and the winning team earns $2,000 per member. Second place earns $1,000 per member and third $500 per member; more than 15,000 students compete annually.
It tests the six core personal-finance domains — earning income, spending, saving, investing, managing credit, and managing risk. CEE covers lodging and meals for finalist teams and one coach; only travel to the finals is excluded. (councilforeconed.org, retrieved 2026-08-25.)
6. National Economics Challenge (CEE)
The National Economics Challenge is a free, team-based economics competition — CEE's flagship econ contest — that tests micro, macro, and world-economy knowledge, with 2026 registration opening January 1. Students compete in one of two divisions: Adam Smith (advanced/returning) or David Ricardo (first-timers with limited economics coursework).
It's a knowledge competition, not a trading simulation, so it rewards econ study rather than portfolio returns. Online semifinals run in late April, with in-person national finals in the spring; CEE covers finalist hotel and food costs. (councilforeconed.org, retrieved 2026-08-25.)
7. High School Fed Challenge (Federal Reserve)
The High School Fed Challenge is a free Federal Reserve competition for grades 9–12 in which student teams research an economic theme and produce written analysis and a podcast script, with no prior economics coursework required. Selected papers are published in the Journal of Future Economists.
It's open to schools across the 12 Federal Reserve districts (plus Department of Defense Education Activity schools). Like the CEE econ challenge, it rewards research and writing rather than investing performance — a strong fit for students interested in economics and policy. The 2026–27 theme is announced in the fall. (federalreserveeducation.org, retrieved 2026-08-25.)
8. Stevens Trading Day
Stevens Trading Day, run by Stevens Institute of Technology, is a free investing competition for high-school sophomores and juniors that combines a month-long virtual round in February — using live Nasdaq pricing — with live on-campus finals in late April in Hoboken, New Jersey. The top 25 virtual portfolios are invited to compete in the university's trading labs.
Individual students can enter, and everyone receives a participation certificate useful for college applications. The 2026 edition drew more than 1,100 students from 52 countries. (stevens.edu, retrieved 2026-08-25.)
9. InvestWrite (SIFMA Foundation)
InvestWrite is a free national essay competition for Stock Market Game students in grades 9–12 (and lower divisions) in which participants analyze investment decisions and recommend portfolio allocations, with prizes including laptops and a trip to New York. Essays are judged by financial professionals on rationale, understanding, and writing.
It runs in fall and spring windows aligned to the Stock Market Game sessions, so it's an add-on for students already playing SMG rather than a standalone entry. The 2026–27 details post each season. (stockmarketgame.org/investwrite.html, retrieved 2026-08-25.)
10. HowTheMarketWorks Public Contests
HowTheMarketWorks runs free, recurring monthly public trading contests open to individuals — including high-schoolers — competing for $500+ in prizes. The platform is used by more than 475,000 students a year and lets teachers run private class contests as well.
These are lower-stakes and more casual than the national academic competitions, but they're genuinely open-entry: a student can join a public contest any month without a sponsor. (howthemarketworks.com, retrieved 2026-08-25.)
11. PersonalFinanceLab Financial Literacy Challenge
The PersonalFinanceLab FinLit Challenge is a free spring competition pairing a budgeting game with a real-time stock game, where top-five finishers in each game win a $50 Amazon gift card. The 2026 budgeting game ran April 1–30, and students needed at least 10 trades to qualify for stock-game prizes.
It's designed for classroom use but open to individual students, and it blends budgeting with investing rather than testing pure portfolio return. (personalfinancelab.com, retrieved 2026-08-25.)
12. Diamond Challenge (University of Delaware)
The Diamond Challenge is a free entrepreneurship competition from the University of Delaware's Horn Entrepreneurship in which teams of two to four students aged 14–18 pitch a business or social venture for a share of a $100,000 prize pool. First place in each track wins $11,000, with $7,500 for second place and $3,750 for third (2026 cycle).
It's the one entry on this list that isn't a stock or investing contest — it's a venture-pitch competition — but it's included because it's the strongest free option for students whose finance interest runs toward building and funding a business. The concept-submission deadline falls in mid-January. (diamondchallenge.org, retrieved 2026-08-25.)
How do these competitions compare on cost, grades, prize, and season?
On the axes that matter most — cost, who can enter, prize, and timing — the field splits cleanly between free individual-entry contests (Rapunzl, Stevens, HowTheMarketWorks, PersonalFinanceLab) and free-but-team-based national programs (Wharton, CEE, Fed Challenge, SIFMA). The table below summarizes the eight most investing-focused entries.
Investing competitions for high schoolers, 2026–27 (at a glance)
| Competition | Cost | Grades / entry | Prize | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapunzl National Scholarship Competition | Free | 9–12, individual | $25,000+ in prizes awarded annually | Jan–late April |
| The Stock Market Game (SIFMA) | Fee varies by state | 4–12, team (teacher-run) | Recognition; feeds InvestWrite | Fall & spring |
| Wharton Global HS Investment Competition | Free | 9–12, team of 4–7 | Wharton summer-program spots (no cash) | Reg. Aug 10–Sep 11, 2026 |
| Capitol Hill Challenge (SIFMA) | Free (invitation) | 9–12, team of 3–5 | National recognition | ~14-week fall |
| National Personal Finance Challenge (CEE) | Free | 9–12, team | $2,000 per member (1st) | State rounds → spring finals |
| Stevens Trading Day | Free | 10–11, individual | Campus finals; certificate | Feb virtual, Apr finals |
| HowTheMarketWorks contests | Free | Any, individual | $500+ monthly | Monthly |
| PersonalFinanceLab FinLit Challenge | Free | Any, individual | $50 gift cards | April |
Sources: each competition's official website, retrieved 2026-08-25 (Rapunzl figures per rapunzl.com/national-scholarship and Rapunzl program data). Prizes and dates reflect the most recent confirmed cycle; check each official site for 2026–27 updates.
For the 2026–27 season: what's confirmed and what to watch
- Rapunzl National Scholarship Competition: sign-ups open in January 2026, prizes awarded by late April — free to enter at rapunzl.com/national-scholarship.
- Wharton (August 2026): advisor registration for 2026–27 is confirmed open August 10 through September 11, 2026 — the earliest hard deadline on this list, so teams should register first.
- National Economics Challenge (CEE): 2026 registration opened January 1; the 2026–27 cycle is expected to follow the same January-to-spring calendar.
- InvestWrite (SIFMA): 2026–27 essay dates post each season alongside the Stock Market Game sessions — check stockmarketgame.org in early fall.
- Diamond Challenge: the concept deadline has landed in mid-January in recent years; confirm the 2026–27 date on diamondchallenge.org.
- Stevens Trading Day, Fed Challenge, PersonalFinanceLab: each has run on a stable annual calendar (February/spring, fall-to-spring, and April respectively); 2026–27 dates track those windows.
How Rapunzl handles this
Rapunzl runs the free National Scholarship Competition every year from January sign-ups to prizes at the end of April, awarding $25,000+ in prizes annually. Students compete inside the same real-time simulator teachers use in class — a simulated $10,000 stock-and-crypto portfolio priced with live Nasdaq data — so entering the competition and practicing all year happen in one place. Recent competitions have drawn nearly 100,000 students and 500+ high schools, and because entry is free and individual, any U.S. high-schooler can join without waiting for their school to sign up. Enter free at rapunzl.com/national-scholarship; the simulator is free at rapunzl.com/simulator.
Frequently Asked
Questions
For an individual student who wants to enter free and compete for real scholarship money, the Rapunzl National Scholarship Competition is the most accessible; for prestige, the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition leads; for a teacher-run classroom program, SIFMA's Stock Market Game is the standard.
Yes — most of the major ones are free, including Rapunzl, Wharton, the CEE challenges, the High School Fed Challenge, Stevens Trading Day, HowTheMarketWorks, and PersonalFinanceLab. Only SIFMA's Stock Market Game carries a program fee, which varies by state and is often subsidized.
Yes — the Rapunzl National Scholarship Competition, Stevens Trading Day, HowTheMarketWorks public contests, and PersonalFinanceLab all allow individual entry, while Wharton, the CEE challenges, the Fed Challenge, and SIFMA's programs are team-based.
Rapunzl awards $25,000+ in scholarship prizes annually, the CEE National Personal Finance Challenge pays $2,000 per member for the winning team, and the Diamond Challenge shares a $100,000 prize pool; Wharton awards summer-program spots rather than cash.
They span the school year: Wharton registration opens in August 2026, the Rapunzl competition runs January to late April, Stevens Trading Day runs February to April, and the CEE and PersonalFinanceLab events run in the spring.
No — these are simulations. Students trade virtual portfolios (for example, Rapunzl's simulated $10,000 or SIFMA's hypothetical $100,000) with no real money at risk, and prizes are awarded separately for performance or analysis.
The Wharton Global High School Investment Competition and the National Economics Challenge carry the most name recognition with admissions readers, while the Rapunzl National Scholarship Competition adds a tangible scholarship outcome and Stevens Trading Day adds a university-campus finals credential.
Practice in a free simulator with live pricing before the contest starts — building a virtual portfolio, tracking it, and reviewing what moved it — so you enter comfortable with placing trades and reading the market.
More in this series: Simulators & comparisons · Stock Market Game alternatives for teachers
References
- Rapunzl, National Scholarship Competition (official page). https://rapunzl.com/national-scholarship (retrieved 2026-08-25). Rapunzl program figures per Rapunzl's published program data.
- Capsim, "Rapunzl Investments & Capsim Team Up to Open Doors to the World of Finance." https://www.capsim.com/blog/rapunzl-investments-capsim-team-up-to-open-doors-to-the-world-of-finance-for-students-who-didnt-know-the-world-existed (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- SIFMA Foundation, The Stock Market Game. https://www.stockmarketgame.org/ (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- TeenLife, "SIFMA Foundation: The Stock Market Game." https://www.teenlife.com/l/competition/the-stock-market-game/ (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- Wharton Global Youth Program, Investment Competition. https://globalyouth.wharton.upenn.edu/competitions/investment-competition/ (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- Aralia Education, "A Guide to the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition 2026–2027." https://www.aralia.com/helpful-information/guide-to-the-wharton-global-high-school-investment-competition/ (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- SIFMA, "SIFMA and the SIFMA Foundation Kick Off the 17th Annual Stock Market Game Capitol Hill Challenge." https://www.sifma.org/news/press-releases/sifma-and-the-sifma-foundation-kick-off-the-17th-annual-stock-market-game-capitol-hill-challenge (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- SIFMA Foundation, Capitol Hill Challenge. https://www.stockmarketgame.org/capitol-hill-challenge.html (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- Council for Economic Education, National Personal Finance Challenge. https://www.councilforeconed.org/programs/for-students/national-personal-finance-challenge/ (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- Council for Economic Education, 2026 NPFC Rules and Eligibility (PDF). https://www.councilforeconed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026-NPFC-Rules-and-Eligibility-1.pdf (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- Council for Economic Education, National Economics Challenge. https://www.councilforeconed.org/programs/for-students/national-economic-challenge/ (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- Federal Reserve Education, "Register for the 2026 High School Fed Challenge." https://www.federalreserveeducation.org/news/2026-high-school-fed-challenge-registration (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- Stevens Institute of Technology, Trading Day Competition for High School Students. https://www.stevens.edu/school-business-high-school-programs-trading-day (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- SIFMA Foundation, InvestWrite. https://www.stockmarketgame.org/investwrite.html and https://sifmafoundation.org/investwrite/ (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- HowTheMarketWorks, Free Stock Market Game and Contests. https://www.howthemarketworks.com/ (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- PersonalFinanceLab, Financial Literacy Challenge. https://www.personalfinancelab.com/financial-literacy-challenge/ (retrieved 2026-08-25).
- Diamond Challenge (Horn Entrepreneurship, University of Delaware), Competition. https://diamondchallenge.org/competition/ (retrieved 2026-08-25).
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