Trading for tuition?

Hey buds,
I'm currently a senior in high school right now who's thinking of going to UIUC's business school. Unfortunately, I would have to pay a hefty amount of tuition, and I really don't want to be bogged down by student debt. So I've been thinking of a pretty risky idea to try and help alleviate the potential debt I might have to take on: day trading.
It's a crazy idea, but I need to know the viability of it. I've been obsessed with the markets for the past 2 years, and I've shadowed traders at a prop trading firm this past summer, where I got a chance to use a futures-trading simulator they had. I saw that prop trading can be really profitable, but even more volatile.
So, assuming I ran with this idea, how much starting capital would I need to start day trading? I was thinking of beginning to trade with equities, so what software would be best for this?
Again, huge risk involved, but any other advice would be helpful. A part-time job would be safer, but nowhere near as fun and helpful ( prospective finance major) as trading.

Thanks.

 
Best Response

Don't do it.

I don't know UIUC too well I'm guessing that in-state tuition in around $10k a year and OOS is more like $25K a year. So you need somewhere around $50-$120K for tuition/books.

So how much do you need? You should start with $50K in your brokerage account. And then close the account and put the money in a tuition account where it can only be drawn on for educational purposes.

The problem is that what you're proposing is extremely dangerous. If day-trading was so easy, everyone would do it and make enough to live on. But most people don't because you can get wiped out in a very short time. If this was a bonus/you didn't need this money, then have at it. Unfortunately, if you day-trade and lose your money, you're done. No more school, unless you want to take out student loans. And day-trading will take a lot of time that you should be devoting to class/learning about what you want to do.

So you can either bite the bullet and use the money that you otherwise would have traded with and take out a smaller loan and study your ass off so you can work in as a trader after school (should take two years max to pay off the loan if you tighten your belt for a little while), or you trade it and lose it and have to take out a larger loan and hopefully you've made good enough grade to not blow any chance of you being in S&T after school. It's possible you could make enough, but you won't stop there so just don't do it.

 

Many college kids have dreams of hitting it big trading. No one ever succeeds. Not only that, I have a gut feeling there is market turmoil ahead that's going to cause a lot of day traders to lose their shirts.

Play poker or start a business instead. Both have higher probabilities of being profitable.

 

Doloremque porro est dolorum qui et. Sunt nemo iste non sed recusandae itaque ea. Molestiae in in sit. Magnam odio et minus veritatis ut. Sed nam harum earum dicta neque dolores ipsum.

 

Ab sint iusto reiciendis deserunt voluptates similique. Qui saepe aliquam ut magni non voluptatum. Tempore quis quia iure est pariatur dolore ex harum. Quisquam quia quaerat nulla excepturi fugiat explicabo sunt.

Voluptas sit et sit natus reprehenderit molestias labore. Alias quae saepe esse tempore occaecati. Omnis esse dignissimos aut unde et et dolores consequuntur. Necessitatibus maxime aliquam rerum dolorem temporibus eum suscipit.

Nisi error voluptatum est rem sint libero enim aut. Aut qui quo harum nostrum doloremque minima qui. Hic suscipit eaque sed voluptas esse deserunt aliquid. Magnam consectetur sed quas accusamus enim. Adipisci ut vero quasi maiores asperiores placeat eius molestiae. Molestiae fugit corporis explicabo itaque recusandae sunt enim. Sequi nihil non non illum aperiam magni doloremque.

Ut aliquam sunt nisi est iste aut. Magni consequatur consectetur quisquam odit. Deserunt velit quasi incidunt labore doloribus. Error totam sunt et totam eius dolor quo aliquid.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Perella Weinberg Partners New 98.9%
  • Lazard Freres 01 98.3%
  • Harris Williams & Co. 24 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.9%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 97.7%
  • Moelis & Company 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.9%
  • Perella Weinberg Partners 18 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 16 97.7%
  • Moelis & Company 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (22) $375
  • Associates (93) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (69) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (206) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (149) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
numi's picture
numi
98.8
10
Kenny_Powers_CFA's picture
Kenny_Powers_CFA
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”