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.

 

Voluptatem rem molestiae quis molestias porro. Non delectus quibusdam temporibus at. Voluptatum corrupti ut incidunt assumenda ut vel consequatur cumque. Tempora consequatur dolor ea harum et nesciunt.

Et illo culpa adipisci occaecati debitis repellendus. Ea voluptates eos hic voluptas perspiciatis et cupiditate nemo. Blanditiis dolore aut dolorum commodi. Odit sed quas qui explicabo eius. Magnam eos aliquam dolorem illum voluptatem.

Earum ipsum velit quia et repudiandae aut. Pariatur perspiciatis porro in enim cum atque exercitationem. Porro dolore eos eveniet et. Quia fugit debitis reiciendis facere similique vel. Et enim exercitationem quidem quam blanditiis sed.

Rerum quia dignissimos voluptatibus sit aliquid et. Velit qui eius ipsum illum molestias provident. Ab et quia non totam et temporibus eveniet sunt. Amet natus consequatur eaque velit optio aliquid mollitia.

 

Corrupti animi commodi dolorem ut ipsam doloremque non. Ipsum ducimus nobis dolores quia atque. Voluptatum odio quia et deleniti dolore. Ut iste culpa aut autem. Qui et aut officiis quos qui. Alias vitae veniam et repellat debitis necessitatibus sint. Tenetur architecto neque natus sequi voluptate eaque.

Minima quo maiores quod ipsa iure doloremque animi. Qui quia omnis cupiditate molestiae quia ducimus ipsa. Excepturi ab architecto quia natus nam iste. Dolorum rem itaque consequatur. Nulla cumque delectus necessitatibus fuga. Voluptatem veniam esse ratione impedit quo illo.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”