High school students from across the country have gathered at Bentley University to get an inside look at the financial industry and a taste of college life. Wall Street 101 is a week-long residential business camp that runs from July 18 to July 24 on the Bentley campus in Waltham, Mass. First offered in 2000, the educational summer camp gained immediate popularity among future financiers and has been featured in USA Today and on CNBC.

During the interactive program students explore the stock market, learn about investing and portfolio management, and develop leadership and teamwork skills as they conduct simulated trading sessions in Bentley’s state-of-the-art Trading Room. The facility is equipped with real-time market data that is provided by Bloomberg, FactSet, Morningstar, S&P NetAdvantage, and ThomsonOne. 

Through these resources student teams explore the fundamentals of valuing securities and constructing a winning portfolio. The week concludes with a formal presentation to parents and members of the Bentley community that will include the rationale for each student's portfolio selection and a detailed financial analysis of the two chosen companies. 

All of the Wall Street 101 material is drawn from university-level courses. The program also features guest lecturers and field-based learning opportunities including trips to Deloitte Ventures and State Street Global Advisors where students interact with analysts, traders and portfolio managers.

According to Richard Gibble, director of the Hughey Center for Financial Services at Bentley, “Wall Street 101 is an exceptional camp for a variety of reasons.  It offers a real-world introduction to the capital markets while campers enjoy an authentic college experience. Throughout the week, students learn about the world of finance by using industry standard software to create a long/short stock portfolio. Guest speakers and field trips complement the classroom experience and reinforce learning objectives.  It is a robust learning experience that is also a lot of fun.” 

In addition to gaining a broad overview of the university-level classroom environment, students sample college life by living on campus for the duration of the week and attending a workshop on the application process. Other activities include the use of Bentley's athletic center and cafeteria, movie nights, and field trips into Cambridge and Boston.