Academic competitions give students a concrete, verifiable way to demonstrate excellence, and the preparation itself builds real depth in your subject. Junior year is the most important year for extracurriculars. Pursue your most selective programs now, take on real leadership, and produce tangible results you can write about in applications.

Popular contests include the AMC/AIME/USAMO math sequence, USACO for computer science, Science Olympiad, the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO), DECA and FBLA for business, and research fairs like ISEF and the Regeneron Science Talent Search.

Colleges read awards as proof of initiative and mastery, and competition rosters are a common recruiting ground for selective programs and scholarships.

How to get started with competitions

1. Choose one competition tied to your strongest subject and commit to its full ladder rather than sampling five.
2. Find the qualification path early (AMC → AIME → USAMO, USACO Bronze → Platinum) and mark the registration windows.
3. Join or start a club/team for accountability, past papers, and coaching from older students.
4. Practice with real past problems on a weekly schedule — consistency beats cramming for these.
5. Log every result and role; a single strong finish in your major's field is worth more than many participations.

Featured programs

Browse 30+ curated programs for high school students:

• Presidential AI Challenge — White House Office of Science and Technology Policy: National K-12 AI competition where students build real-world AI solutions for community challenges, with finals at the White House.
• National Japan Bowl — Japan-America Society of Washington DC: Compete in the National Japan Bowl to showcase your Japanese language and cultural knowledge. Build key skills, earn scholarships, and enhance your co
• PennApps Hackathon — University of Pennsylvania: Compete in the nation’s largest student-run hackathon for high schoolers. Build coding skills, innovate in tech, and boost your college applications.
• Kaggle Data Science Competitions — Kaggle/Google: Join exciting online data science competitions for high school students! Build Python coding skills, explore AI, and strengthen your college applicati
• International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI) — IOAI Foundation: Compete in the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence to enhance AI and machine learning skills, boost college applications, and gain hands
• World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth (WAICY) — Ready AI: Join a global AI competition for grades 6-12 to solve real-world problems using artificial intelligence. Build STEM skills, boost college applications
• Young Playwrights Festival — Young Playwrights Inc.: Showcase your talent in this free playwriting competition for high schoolers (Grades 10-12). Develop creative skills, gain theater experience, and boo
• MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition — MIT: Compete in a premier entrepreneurship competition for high schoolers. Develop business skills, launch innovative ventures, and boost college applicati
• National High School Musical Theatre Awards (Jimmy Awards) — Broadway League: Compete in a prestigious national musical theatre competition in NYC! Showcase your talent, gain performance skills, and boost your college applicatio
• Mathematical Olympiad for Girls — Mathematical Olympiad Foundation: Elite math competition for high school girls to tackle USAMO-level problems. Boosts problem-solving skills, stands out on college applications, and in
• CSAW High School Forensics Competition — NYU Tandon: Compete in a free high school cybersecurity competition! Analyze digital evidence, develop forensic skills, and boost your college application. Hybrid
• Mandelbrot Competition — Mandelbrot Competition: Join a dynamic online math competition for grades 6-12 featuring individual and team rounds. Build problem-solving skills, enhance teamwork, and boost
• Knowledge Matters Virtual Business Challenge — Knowledge Matters: Join this free virtual business competition for high schoolers to manage retail, sports, or restaurant simulations. Build entrepreneurial skills and b
• Tournament of Champions Debate — Various: Compete in the elite Tournament of Champions Debate, the most prestigious high school competition. Build critical thinking skills and strengthen colle
• Meta Hacker Cup — Meta: Global programming competition for high school students to master algorithms and coding. Build problem-solving skills and boost college applications.
• Wharton Investment Competition — Wharton/UPenn: Compete in a global investing competition for high school students. Manage a $100k portfolio, gain real-world finance skills, and boost your college a
• Davidson Fellows — Davidson Institute: Win $50k, $25k, or $10k scholarships in this elite STEM competition for high-achieving high school students. Boost college applications with hands-on
• Putnam Competition — MAA: Compete in the elite Putnam Competition, the toughest undergrad math challenge. High school juniors and seniors sharpen problem-solving skills and boo
• USA Physics Olympiad — AAPT: Compete in the elite USA Physics Olympiad to sharpen problem-solving skills, enhance college applications, and aim for the International Physics Olymp
• International Youth Math Challenge — IYMC: Join a global math competition for high schoolers to enhance problem-solving skills, boost college applications, and compete for $40k+ in prizes. Free
• National Peace Essay Contest — United States Institute of Peace: Prestigious essay contest from the U.S. Institute of Peace challenging high school students to analyze international conflict and propose peacebuildin
• UNA-USA Global Classrooms Model UN — United Nations Association of the USA: The United Nations Association's official Model UN program bringing authentic UN perspectives into classrooms. Free curriculum resources and city-wide
• World Affairs Councils of America - Youth Programs — World Affairs Councils of America: Network of 90+ councils across the U.S. offering students access to foreign policy speakers, global affairs workshops, Academic WorldQuest competition
• Berkeley Model United Nations (BMUN) — UC Berkeley Model United Nations: The oldest continuously running collegiate Model UN conference in the world. Over 1,700 high school delegates tackle global issues across 20+ committe
• National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament — National Speech & Debate Association: The world's largest academic competition for high school students in competitive debate and speech events, culminating in the NSDA National Tournament
• Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam — Youth Speaks: National slam poetry organization connecting high school students through spoken word performance, workshops, and the annual Brave New Voices internat
• LifeSmarts National Championship — National Consumers League: Free national consumer knowledge and personal finance competition for high school teams, testing real-world skills in health, technology, the environm
• PUMaC (Princeton University Mathematics Competition) — Princeton University Mathematics Department: Prestigious college-run math tournament at Princeton drawing top high school mathematicians nationwide for individual and team events.
• Scholastic Art & Writing Awards — Scholastic Inc. / Alliance for Young Artists & Writers: The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the nation's longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7–12. Over $
• American Computer Science League (ACSL) All-Star Contest — ACSL: Top scorers from ACSL compete at All-Stars. Programming and CS theory.

Frequently asked questions