FBLA Competitive Event Tips — From a 2X National Winner and 2X First Place State Winner

Brian Chin
Stock Talk for Teens
3 min readSep 14, 2020
FBLA is a global organization that provides business competitions for high schoolers (Source: http://lamarcountyhs.ss8.sharpschool.com/social_/clubs_and_organizations/f_b_l_a)

I’ve competed in FBLA since 9th grade. In my freshman and sophomore years, I participated in Introduction to Business and Securities and Investments respectively. I won first place in New Jersey and fourth place in the nation in both events. Here, I share a few tips on how you can place at both the state and national level as well.

As a disclaimer, these tips are for events involving an objective test.

Use Quizlet

The single most useful study resource is Quizlet. Type in your event name followed by Quizlet, and you’ll find numerous study guides made by previous test-takers. However, not all the study guides are useful. Your best bet is to try to find a study guide compiled by a previous national winner in your event.

In my Securities and Investments event, I used the following study guide (https://quizlet.com/375182691/new-securities-and-investments-fbla-flash-cards/) compiled by a previous national winner.

Once you find a reliable Quizlet study guide, GRIND it whenever you have time (on the bus, during lunch, etc.). By studying just 10 minutes a day before your competitive event, you’ll ensure you do well on test day.

Quizlet offers different study methods, so try to find the one that works best for you. I would strongly recommend the “Write” study tool.

Find Relevant Textbooks

You can go to your advisor and ask for a relevant business textbook related to your event. If that doesn’t work, go to your local library and find a textbook. Of course, it’s not realistic to study the entire textbook outside of school. However, you can find the competencies your event covers on the FBLA website and study those alone.

Employ Efficient Study Methods

Like any test in high school, you’ll want to study efficiently. By this, I mean that you want to maximize the time you spend on studying for FBLA. Scanning through your Quizlet, textbook, or other study resource is not enough. You have to be willing to take notes, make your own flashcards, and employ other efficient study methods.

From my experience, FBLA objective tests are all about memorization. You’ll want to remember as many vocab terms and concepts as possible. Thus, it’s crucial you study in a way that’ll ensure you remember the concepts you learn over a long period of time (if you’re planning to go through the local->state->national cycle).

The Intelligent Investor, one of the best investing books out there (Source: https://www.amazon.com/)

Read Business Books

If you’re part of FBLA, it’s likely that you have a passion for business or the topic of your competitive event test (as a side note, try to choose an event you’re PASSIONATE about). In your free time, read business books relevant to your competitive event. This is both a fun way to learn more about business and study for your event in the process.

Put in the Time

At the end of the day, your success in your FBLA event will be reflective of the time you put in. There are no shortcuts. You have to be willing to study for FBLA as you would study for any other test.

If you follow the tips above and really put in the effort, I’m sure you’ll achieve great success in your FBLA event. Good luck!

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Brian Chin
Stock Talk for Teens

I’m a high school student interested in business. I love to read and play tennis in my free time!