I have been reading up on Prop firms here for a few days and would like to get some advice on the best route to take after getting out of college. I have been trading for a few years now, and am graduating from college in December. At the moment, I do mostly research, a.k.a paper trading and taking stats, and would be happy as a clam to keep on doing research with a side job to allow me to live (it took me quite a bit of money to learn that research was less costly then letting commissions chew up a too small account). I know how unsuccessful it can be to trade scared money (living through that experience several times), so I would rather go slow and keep building on the 3 year foundation I have then to rush things. The guys at Bright trading seem pretty legit, and I plan on contacting them here soon. I have a series 7 with a bit more then a year left on it without parking it somewhere. I do not have the 25k to put down (i'm a college kid!), and therefore was looking into some of the firms that allow you to trade their capital after a 5k teaching fee (like keystone). However after reading about some of the experiences people have had with them, it may be a better idea for me to continue on my own. I am not rushing into anything. My main objective is to either build my own trading from the ground up, or join a prop trade firm that can reasonably (keyword) assure me of accelerating my learning towards a long term successful career(with them?). I am not looking for guarantees, just a good shot at success. So any advice from experienced members?