Jane Street First Year Trading and Technology Programme (FTTP) Guide

What is Jane Street FTTP?

FTTP is a short educational programme for first year undergraduates who want to see how quantitative trading and technology work together. Participants spend a few days learning about Jane Street's approach to mathematical models and trading systems, then put ideas into practice in a team trading game.

The main attraction is the chance to encounter trading problems in person before choosing an internship or career path. You get to see why probability, programming, fast feedback and clear group decisions matter in an environment where the answer is not always obvious.

Who is eligible for FTTP?

FTTP is intended for students currently in their first undergraduate year. It is especially relevant if you are studying, or planning to study, mathematics, physics, computer science or another STEM subject and want to explore how those skills are used in trading.

You can be new to finance. Jane Street builds the programme around learning and exploration, so your application should communicate what you enjoy solving and what you hope to discover rather than claiming industry knowledge you have not acquired.

What makes the programme a good fit?

• You enjoy working through unfamiliar mathematical, logical or programming problems.
• You want to understand how a quantitative idea becomes a decision or a working trading system.
• You like discussing approaches with other people and adapting when new information appears.
• You are available to attend the full session at the relevant office.

If you are already further through university, start with Jane Street's wider programmes and events to find an opportunity intended for your stage of study.

How and when to apply

Start at the official FTTP programme page, then use the application associated with the location nearest you. If registration for that location is not visible, sign up there for notifications about upcoming sessions.

Each regional application identifies its session dates and asks you to confirm that you can attend. Check that commitment before submitting, especially if it overlaps with university teaching, exams or travel you have already arranged.

1. Choose the nearest location. Follow the office instructions on Jane Street's programme page and submit only to that location.
2. Prepare your university details. Have your degree, field of study, university email and expected academic or employment timing ready.
3. Upload your PDF résumé. Make your academic strengths, projects, competitions and interests easy to understand.
4. Add a short motivation if useful. Explain why FTTP interests you and how you came across Jane Street, then check the attendance confirmation.
5. Submit and monitor your email. Keep the confirmation and respond promptly to any programme or travel arrangements.

What information goes into the form?

Jane Street's FTTP application requests contact information, education details, availability and a PDF résumé. It also offers space for additional information rather than requiring a conventional cover letter.

The New York application form is a useful example of these fields. Use it to understand the form, but apply to New York only when that is the appropriate location for you.

How to make a strong FTTP application

The written application gives Jane Street a view of your academic interests, the problems you have explored and why you want to attend. Since places are limited, a specific, readable résumé and a thoughtful short explanation are more useful than an exaggerated list of finance buzzwords.

Build a résumé around evidence

Put your degree and relevant mathematical or technical work near the top. For each project or competition, describe the problem, what you personally did and a result that helps the reader understand its difficulty or scope.

• Mathematics: relevant coursework, mathematical competitions, independent problem solving or a project involving probability or modelling.
• Programming: a small but complete project, a useful script, programming contests or an application where you can explain your choices.
• Teamwork: a club, competition, class project or activity where you made decisions with others.
• Other interests: activities that demonstrate sustained curiosity, initiative or persistence, even when they are outside finance.

You do not need an extraordinary award to describe good work convincingly. A simple simulation that you tested carefully can say more about your thinking than an elaborate project title without a clear explanation.

Use the optional statement well

A useful motivation note takes three or four sentences: your academic interest, the experience that developed it, why FTTP's classes or team simulation appeal to you, and what you want to learn. Make the connection to the programme concrete.

Use your actual experience and voice. If you have only just started university, a well explained school project, independent problem or student society activity is a sensible foundation.

What happens during FTTP?

The programme combines classes on Jane Street's trading and technology approach with a collaborative mock trading simulation. The experience is built around learning how mathematical ideas, technology and decisions fit together, rather than carrying out a real trading desk assignment.

Go into each class with a practical question. For example, ask how a model's estimate is tested, why a trader might ignore an attractive price, or what an engineer changes when a strategy must react faster.

During a team game, say what you know, identify what you are assuming and invite other people to challenge the idea. Those habits make the simulation more educational even when your first decision turns out to be wrong.

Understanding the mock trading game

FTTP's central group activity is a simulated trading game. It is a chance to practise three connected skills: estimating value, choosing a price and adjusting a decision as information and risk change.

A useful way to think about a market is to separate the value you estimate from the price at which you are willing to buy or sell. A team also needs to consider how much it can afford to hold and whether another participant knows something it does not.

An EverythingQuant practice example

Imagine a fictional contract that pays $10 if a fair coin lands heads and $0 if it lands tails. Before anyone sees the result, the contract's fair expected value is $5 because each outcome has probability one half.

Your team considers offering to buy at $4 and sell at $6. These are practice quotes for understanding trading decisions, not the rules or prices of Jane Street's FTTP game.

Now imagine your group learns a clue that makes heads more likely. The fair value rises, so it should rethink both its buying and selling prices instead of repeating the original quote.

How to work well as a team

• Agree on a starting estimate. State the assumptions behind your fair value before quoting prices.
• Keep a shared record. Track trades, available information and whether your position is becoming too large.
• Update deliberately. When a teammate notices a new clue, assess whether it changes the estimated value or the risk of trading.
• Review decisions. Separate a reasonable decision with an unlucky outcome from a decision based on a poor assumption.

For optional practice, play Figgie, Jane Street's public game about trading and markets. It provides a useful introduction to trading with other players, without needing to know the precise format of the FTTP simulation in advance.

Travel, accommodation and expenses

Jane Street covers travel to and from FTTP, housing, meals and a range of social events. Participants also receive a daily amount for other programme related expenses, making the experience practical for students travelling from outside the host city.

After you are accepted, follow the organiser's instructions for travel and accommodation rather than making independent assumptions about bookings or reimbursement. Check your travel documents and set aside time to arrive before the programme begins.

How to prepare for Jane Street FTTP

For your application, prioritise a clear résumé and a genuine explanation of why you want to experience quantitative trading and technology. After acceptance, prepare to participate fully in the classes, ask good questions and contribute to the team game.

Before submitting your application

• Read the FTTP description, then write one sentence about the part that interests you most.
• Choose two or three projects, competitions or activities and describe exactly what you learned or contributed.
• Make sure your PDF résumé opens correctly and that your university and attendance details are accurate.
• Use the optional motivation space to connect your interests directly to FTTP.

A focused practice session before attending

This is an EverythingQuant preparation exercise, not an FTTP admissions test. It helps you become comfortable with the kind of reasoning and teamwork the programme is designed to introduce.

1. 15 minutes: Calculate the expected value of a simple coin or dice payoff and explain the assumptions aloud.
2. 20 minutes: Try the learning mode in Figgie or another simple trading game. Write down one choice you would change.
3. 15 minutes: Discuss a technical project or puzzle with a friend and practise listening to an alternative solution.
4. 10 minutes: Prepare two questions about how Jane Street's trading and technology teams solve problems together.

There is no need to turn an introductory programme into months of intensive interview training. Become comfortable with basic probability, ask sensible questions and arrive ready to learn something new.

What can FTTP lead to?

FTTP gives you a clearer view of Jane Street's work and the skills that interest you most. You can use that understanding to choose university courses, build more purposeful projects and decide whether to explore trading, quantitative research or engineering later in your degree.

FTTP is an educational programme rather than an internship placement or a promise of an interview. When you are ready to pursue a role, use Jane Street's separate internship opportunities and the application instructions for that position.

Get more out of the experience

At the end of the programme, write down one concept you want to understand better, one skill you want to practise and one question that changed how you think about the firm. Turn those notes into a small project or a study goal while the experience is still fresh.

Jane Street FTTP frequently asked questions

Official programme links and further practice

Start with Jane Street's own programme and application pages for eligibility, the right location and attendance arrangements. Use the other resources when you want to explore the ideas behind the classes and trading game.