# Coding Competitions for High Schoolers: USACO, ACSL, CyberPatriot *September 26, 2026 — by Extracurricular Hub* How five computer science competitions actually work: USACO divisions and promotion, the Congressional App Challenge, CyberPatriot, ACSL and picoCTF (now CyLab Security Academy), with rules, costs, languages and the 2026-27 dates posted so far. "Coding competition" covers very different contests. In one you solve algorithm puzzles against a clock. In another you spend months building an app and film a demo for your member of Congress. In a third, your team defends a virtual network against planted security holes. Knowing which kind you're signing up for matters more than any ranking. This guide covers five competitions high school students can enter from almost anywhere in the U.S.: the USA Computing Olympiad, the Congressional App Challenge, CyberPatriot, the American Computer Science League and picoCTF, which now lives on as CyLab Security Academy. Every rule, fee and date below was checked on the official pages on September 26, 2026. Rules change between seasons, so confirm on those pages before you commit. ### The Five at a Glance | Competition | What you do | Solo or team | Cost | Next dates posted | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | USACO | Solve algorithm problems online in a timed contest | Solo | Free | 2026-27 schedule not yet posted | | Congressional App Challenge | Build an app and submit a demo video | Solo or teams of up to 4 | No fee listed in the 2026 rules | Submissions close October 26, 2026 | | CyberPatriot | Find and fix security weaknesses in virtual Windows and Linux systems | Teams of 2-6 | $225 per Open Division team | Round 1: October 22-25, 2026 | | ACSL | Short-answer computer science tests plus a programming problem | School teams | $175 per team | First contest opens October 19, 2026 | | picoCTF / CyLab Security Academy | Capture-the-flag security challenges | Solo, or teams in some events | Free | Event dates "coming soon" | ### USA Computing Olympiad (USACO) USACO runs online algorithmic programming contests during the school year. Its details page says there are usually four, with the US Open as the final, more heavily weighted championship. Participation is free and open to everyone; you only need an account on usaco.org. For each contest you get a block of about four hours (five for the US Open) that you can start any time during a Friday-to-Monday window. #### Divisions and promotion - **Bronze**: for students who have recently learned to program, with no algorithms training beyond basics like sorting and binary search. - **Silver**: for students learning fundamental problem-solving techniques, such as recursive search and greedy algorithms, and basic data structures. - **Gold**: standard but more complex algorithms, such as shortest paths and dynamic programming, and more advanced data structures. - **Platinum**: for advanced students who want sophisticated, more open-ended problems. Everyone starts in Bronze. A perfect score earns an in-contest promotion: you can start the next division right away, with a full clock, in the same weekend. Otherwise, promotions go to everyone above that contest's cutoff once results are out. Promotions have traditionally been permanent, but USACO says that may change: in the 2025-26 season, Platinum competitors started back in Gold. In Gold and Platinum, USACO also uses **certified scores**. To get one, you start the contest between 12:00 and 12:15 p.m. Eastern on the Saturday, when those problems are first released. USACO's details page says a certified result is required for promotion from Gold to Platinum, and at least three certified scores are required to be considered as a finalist. #### Languages and rules You can submit in C, C++, Java or Python. Typical time limits are 2 seconds per test case for C and C++ and 4 seconds for Java and Python. USACO says every Bronze problem is designed to be fully solvable in Python, but some higher-division problems may not be. C++ is the only language supported at the International Olympiad in Informatics, so USACO calls it the clear answer once you reach higher levels. The conduct rules are strict: work alone, don't use generative AI, don't use a VPN, don't use pre-written code or templates, and consult only references on your language's syntax and library functions. USACO says violators are banned for life from all USACO activities. #### The 2026-27 season USACO hadn't posted 2026-27 dates when we checked. Last season was different from earlier years: three online contests in January and February 2026, then a proctored US Open on March 28 that was the main factor in choosing camp finalists. USACO calls that season transitional, so watch its home page for the new format. Roughly two dozen finalists are invited to a summer training camp, where four are chosen for the U.S. IOI team, and a team of four is also chosen for the European Girls' Olympiad in Informatics. USACO pays camp expenses except travel to camp. ### Congressional App Challenge This one is about building, not speed. Participating members of the U.S. House each run a contest for their district, and you submit an app you made. The 2026 rules say: - **Who:** middle or high school students enrolled on October 26, 2026, who are U.S. residents. There is no citizenship requirement. - **Where:** the district where you live or go to school, and only if that district is hosting a challenge. You can compete in only one district. - **Teams:** individuals, or teams of up to four. At least half of a team must live or go to school in the district. - **The app:** any topic, any platform and any language, block-based code included. It must be created after October 30, 2025, and you can submit only one app a year. - **AI:** allowed if you fully disclose it, but AI can't make up the entire technical development. - **The video:** a public YouTube or Vimeo demo of 1-3 minutes, with each participant's name, the app's name and purpose, its audience, the tools and languages you used, and the app working. The deadline to register and submit is **12:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, October 26, 2026**. Registration asks for a personal email address (not a school account) and your home and school addresses with 9-digit ZIP codes and congressional districts, so gather those early. Each member's office judges its own district on the idea, the implementation and the coding. Winners are announced by the member of Congress, and each district's winning app is featured on the House.gov website. ### CyberPatriot CyberPatriot, run by the Air & Space Forces Association, is a team cybersecurity competition. In each round, teams find and fix vulnerabilities in virtual Windows and Linux systems, and there is also a Cisco networking challenge. CyberPatriot says it is designed for any student, regardless of prior cybersecurity knowledge, and training materials are provided. - **Teams:** 2-6 competitors from the same school or approved youth organization, with at most five competing at once. Each team has one adult coach. - **Divisions:** Open (high schools, scouting units, clubs, homeschool and STEM programs), All Service (JROTC, Civil Air Patrol and Naval Sea Cadet Corps units) and Middle School. - **How students join:** not by creating an account. Your coach adds you to a roster, and you then complete a competitor questionnaire. - **Cost:** $225 per Open Division team and $175 per Middle School team; All Service fees are waived. Title I schools can request a fee waiver, and fees are waived on request for all-girl teams. Payment is due by November 5, 2026. For CyberPatriot 19 (2026-27), coaches must create teams by **October 1, 2026** and add competitors to rosters by October 21. Each round, teams choose one continuous four-hour block during the competition weekend: Round 1 runs October 22-25, Round 2 November 12-15 and the State Round December 10-13, 2026. Semifinals follow January 21-23, 2027. Every round except the National Finals is online, and teams that qualify travel all-expenses-paid to the finals in Bethesda, Maryland, March 12-16, 2027. If your school has no team, ask a teacher, JROTC instructor or parent about coaching one. ### American Computer Science League (ACSL) ACSL is a school-based league with four contests each season. Team advisors register, not students, and an advisor can be any teacher, parent or other adult with some computer science experience. An after-school or weekend program can register a team too, but a student whose full-time school has an ACSL team must compete with that team. - **Divisions:** Senior (high schoolers with programming experience), Intermediate (high schoolers with little or no programming experience), Junior (no student beyond grade 9), Classroom (non-programming, open to all grades) and Elementary. - **Format:** in Senior, Intermediate and Junior, each contest is a 30-minute, six-question short-answer test plus a programming problem you have 72 hours to solve. The short-answer tests cover topics such as number systems, Boolean algebra and digital electronics, and only paper and pencil are allowed. - **Languages:** Python 3, Java or C++. - **Cost:** $175 per team, and $150 for each additional team in the same division. Teams are scored on their top 3 or top 5 students each contest. For 2026-27, the first contest opens October 19, 2026, and the four contests close on January 10, February 28, April 11 and May 23, 2027. Advisors must register by December 31, 2026. Top students are invited to online Finals on May 29, 2027, which carry a nominal per-student fee. Students in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior divisions need at least 28 points to be invited. ### picoCTF, Now CyLab Security Academy picoCTF began as Carnegie Mellon's capture-the-flag (CTF) hacking competition. In a CTF, each challenge hides a "flag" you find by solving a security puzzle. picoctf.org now says "picoCTF.org is now CyLab Security Academy," Carnegie Mellon's free cybersecurity learning platform. Logins created before May 8, 2026 still work, with your progress intact. On [cylabacademy.org](https://cylabacademy.org/), you can practice challenges at your own pace in areas like cryptography, web exploitation, forensics, reverse engineering and AI security, and follow learning paths that build from simple to complex. The competitive side is **events**: timed challenge releases with a published start and end. Most have a scoreboard, some carry prizes, and some allow teams of up to five, with each event setting its own rules. Its [competitor page](https://cylabacademy.org/competitors.html) says upcoming dates are "coming soon." For reference, CMU announced that the 2026 picoCTF competition, for middle school, high school and college students, started March 9 and ran for 10 days. ### How to Choose, and How to Start - **You love puzzles and math:** USACO. Start with its free training pages and past problems, then enter Bronze. - **You want to build something people use:** the Congressional App Challenge. Check first that your district is participating. - **You like security or working with a team:** CyberPatriot, or CTF practice on CyLab Security Academy while you find a coach. - **Your school has a computer science class but no club:** ask the teacher about ACSL. The Classroom Division doesn't require programming. These contests mostly fall at different times of year, so many students do more than one. Just watch the fall: the App Challenge deadline, CyberPatriot's early rounds and ACSL's first contest all land in October and November. When you write about a contest on an application, describe what you built, broke or fixed, not just your score. Our guide to [writing activity descriptions](/blog/how-to-write-activity-descriptions-college-applications) shows how. ### Where to Go Next Browse [coding programs](/extracurriculars/coding) and [computer science programs](/extracurriculars/computer-science), or the wider list of [STEM competitions](/blog/best-stem-competitions-high-school-students). If you're aiming at a computer science major, see [extracurriculars for computer science and AI majors](/blog/best-extracurriculars-computer-science-ai-majors). Save the contests you pick to the [Activities Builder](/activities) so their deadlines stay in front of you, or take the [Find My Fit quiz](/find-my-fit) for more ideas. ## Sources - [USA Computing Olympiad: Overview and 2025-2026 schedule](https://usaco.org/) (checked September 27, 2026) - [USA Computing Olympiad: Details / FAQ](https://usaco.org/index.php?page=details) (checked September 27, 2026) - [USA Computing Olympiad: Contest Instructions and Rules](https://usaco.org/index.php?page=instructions) (checked September 27, 2026) - [Congressional App Challenge: Rules and 2026 dates](https://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/students/rules/) (checked September 27, 2026) - [Congressional App Challenge: 2026 Rulebook (PDF)](https://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-CAC-Rules.pdf) (checked September 27, 2026) - [CyberPatriot: Competition Overview](https://www.uscyberpatriot.org/competition-overview/) (checked September 27, 2026) - [CyberPatriot: Schedule and Fees](https://www.uscyberpatriot.org/competition-schedule/) (checked September 27, 2026) - [CyberPatriot: Join the Competition](https://www.uscyberpatriot.org/join-the-competition/) (checked September 27, 2026) - [American Computer Science League: Divisions](https://www.acsl.org/get-started/divisions) (checked September 27, 2026) - [American Computer Science League: 2026-27 Schedule](https://www.acsl.org/get-started/schedule) (checked September 27, 2026) - [American Computer Science League: Registration](https://www.acsl.org/Registration) (checked September 27, 2026) - [American Computer Science League: FAQ](https://www.acsl.org/about/faq) (checked September 27, 2026) - [picoCTF.org is now CyLab Security Academy](https://picoctf.org/) (checked September 27, 2026) - [CMU CyLab: picoCTF returns in 2026](https://www.cylab.cmu.edu/news/2026/02/26-picoctf.html) (checked September 27, 2026) - [CMU CyLab: CyLab Security Academy launches AI Foundations Learning Path](https://www.cylab.cmu.edu/news/2026/07/17-ai-learning-pathway.html) (checked September 27, 2026) Last reviewed against these sources on September 27, 2026. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which coding competition should a beginner start with? Pick by format. If you like puzzles, start in USACO's Bronze division, which is for students who have recently learned to program; everyone starts there, it's free and you only need an account. If you would rather build something, the Congressional App Challenge accepts any language, including block-based code. If security interests you, CyLab Security Academy (formerly picoCTF) has free self-paced challenges, and its site says no experience is needed. ### Can I use Python in USACO? Yes. USACO accepts C, C++, Java and Python. It says all Bronze problems are designed to be fully solvable in Python, but in higher divisions some problems may not be solvable within the time limit in Python. C++ is the only language supported at the International Olympiad in Informatics, so USACO calls it the clear choice once you reach higher levels. ### Are AI tools allowed in coding competitions? It depends on the contest. USACO prohibits generative AI such as Copilot or ChatGPT during its contests, and violations can mean a lifetime ban. The Congressional App Challenge permits AI tools if you fully disclose how you used them, but AI can't make up the entire technical development. ACSL tests must be done individually, with no internet help. Read each contest's current rules before you start. ### Do I need a school team to compete? Not for every contest. You can enter USACO, the Congressional App Challenge and CyLab Security Academy events on your own. CyberPatriot and ACSL need an adult: a CyberPatriot team is registered by an approved adult coach, and an ACSL team is registered by an advisor, who can be a teacher, parent or other adult with some computer science experience. --- Last updated: 2026-10-05. Canonical page: https://extracurricularhub.com/blog/coding-computer-science-competitions-high-school ExtracurricularHub (https://extracurricularhub.com) is a program discovery directory. 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