15 Best Science Competitions for High School Students
If you’re a high school student passionate about science, then you are probably looking to participate in science competitions. Competitions allow you to apply your theoretical knowledge in practical, real-world challenges. Many competitions will hone your leadership and project management skills while also allowing you to develop collaborative skills.
In this list, we have detailed 15 of the best science competitions for high school students.
1. American Computer Science League
Location: Virtual
Cost: No Cost
Eligibility: Must be an elementary, middle, or high school student. Please check if your school has registered for the competition.
Prize: Certificates and cash prizes (amount not disclosed).
Registration + Submission Deadline: To be announced for 2023 – 2024. The deadline is likely to be December 31st, 2023, tentatively based on previous years.
Competition Dates: Varies based on division.
ACSL organizes computer programming and computer science contests for K-12 schools, organizations, and local groups. ACSL offers multiple divisions, and each challenge tests students in various age groups and abilities. Each season is divided into four contests, testing students on fundamental concepts in computer science, ranging from Number Systems to Boolean Algebra to Digital Electronics. In the upper divisions, each contest also includes a problem to solve by programming using Python, C++, or Java.
Check out this ultimate guide to ACSL!
Location: Competitions in most major states. You can find them here
Cost: Differs based on level and event but ranges from $500-$6,000.
Eligibility:
High School Students between the ages of 14-18.
Teams must have at least 10 students with 2 adult mentors.
Note. Teams are usually affiliated with schools or local educational institutions, or organizations, so it’s best to check whether an organization already exists. If not, you can always independently organize one!
Prize: Scholarships and cash prizes are awarded to the top scorers.
Registration + Submission Deadline: The deadline for the first payment is November 13th, 2023. Submission Deadline is yet to be announced.
Competition Dates: Early January through April, tentatively based on the 2023 schedule. 2024 is yet to be announced.
While not a coding competition, the FIRST Robotics Competition involves heavy use of coding as you build an industrial-sized robot that is capable of competing in a complex field game at competitions. Furthermore, this competition also challenges you to fundraise for your team, so you’ll have to flex your non-technical skills as well. In terms of basic skills students would need to compete, it is beneficial if you know prototyping, CAD (computer-aided design), and programming languages like Java, C++, or LabVIEW.
Here are some tips to win the FRC!
3. Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)
Location: Competitions in most major states. You can find them here
Cost: Differs based on level and event but ranges from $500-$6,000.
Eligibility:
Any student in grades 9 through 12 or its equivalent is eligible, provided they have not reached the age of 20 on or before May 1 preceding ISEF.
Research projects should encompass no more than 12 months of continuous research and must not include research performed more than 18 months in advance of the Regeneron ISEF competition.
English is the official language of ISEF, so all student project boards and abstracts must be presented in English for evaluation.
If you choose not to compete individually, be aware that team projects are limited to a maximum of three students. So, if you wish to collaborate, make sure that all team members can be included.
You must be chosen to attend by the judges of an ISEF-affiliated fair, allowing only the most outstanding projects to advance further in the competition. You can use the Society for Science site to find an affiliated fair near you, where you can sort through the over 400 competitions by your U.S state or country of residence.
Prize: Awards are presented in each of the 21 ISEF Categories, in addition to several special awards.
Competition Dates: May 11-17, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.
The largest and most prestigious research-oriented science fairs in the world, Regeneron ISEF is an annual science fair organized by the non-profit Society for Science. With affiliate state fairs all over the country and abroad, ISEF seeks to invite the best of the best in high-school STEM talent, helps you gain exposure to scientific research processes, and gives you an international stage to present your work.
More than 1800 students from over 75 countries compete for scholarships, grants, and awards from its $8m prize pool. Both individual and team projects compete for prizes, devising projects across its 21 categories.
This program is truly unmatched in the level of exposure it grants. In addition to enabling a student-centric conversation about impactful ideas, it also lets you experience the city, and participate in several social activities with peers and mentors. The ISEF alumni network puts several opportunities in the path of students who demonstrate the knowledge and the zeal to make the best of them. To learn more about ISEF’s structure, categories, prizes, and past winners, check out this detailed guide!
4. Congressional App Challenge
Location: Virtual
Cost: No Cost
Eligibility:
Must be a middle or high school student in a participating congressional district and must also be a resident of such district.
Teams may have up to 4 members.
Prize: Winning apps are eligible to be displayed in the U.S. Capitol Building and featured on the House of Representatives website. Winners are also invited to attend a reception on Capitol Hill and may be awarded additional sponsor prizes.
Registration + Submission Deadline: Open now for 2023. Register here.
Competition dates: Competition deadline is November 1st, 2023
While not a coding competition in itself, this district-wide contest is hosted by members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The idea of this competition is to encourage students to problem-solve real-world challenges through coding. In this program, you will develop an app (through coding) that addresses a real-world issue. Apart from commonly used programming languages, it is beneficial to brush up on different app development platforms like XCode or Kotlin.
Here is how you can win the Congressional App Challenge!
Location: Virtual/ TBA
Cost: No Cost
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
Prize: Opportunity to advance to IOI and other international olympiads
Registration + Submission Deadline: To be announced. Please go through the training opportunities.
Competition dates: Between December 16th, 2024, and December 19th, 2024 (tentatively, based on the previous year’s schedule).
This is the national round for the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). The IOI is one of five international science olympiads. The primary goal of the IOI is to stimulate interest in informatics (computing science) and information technology. UNESCO and IFIP are patrons.
The contest consists of 2 days of computer programming/coding and algorithmic problem-solving. The International Olympiad in Informatics is one of the most prestigious computer science competitions in the world. To participate in USACO, you will have to be proficient in common competitive programming languages (Java, C++, or Python) while also having a strong understanding of fundamental algorithms and data structures. You can check out this post on the best resources to prepare for USACO!
Note: Winners from this and other similar national rounds attend the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).
Location: Stanford Campus
Cost: No Cost
Eligibility:
Open to all high school students.
Teams must consist of 1-3 people.
Prize: Awards and trophies to winners. The top 8 will receive a certificate.
Registration + Submission Deadline: Likely to be a month to a month and a half before competition day.
Competition Dates: TBA for 2024 (likely in March, based on the 2023 schedule).
Stanford ProCo is a coding competition for high school students modeled after the college-level ACM-ICPC. Teams of up to three people compete in solving algorithmic problems. The contest lasts 3 hours and consists of 9 to 15 unweighted problems. Submissions are accepted in C, C++, Java, and Python 3.6. This competition will test your algorithmic thinking and exercise your skills in debugging and troubleshooting your code effectively. The ProCo has both novice and advanced categories.
Here is everything you need to know to win the Stanford ACM ProCo!
Location: Virtual
Cost: No Cost
Eligibility:
Must be 16 or older.
Maximum four (4) members per team
Prize: Each winning team is awarded $100,000, as well as mentorship from Microsoft experts and grant money.
Registration + Submission Deadline: December 2023; please register here
Be sure to complete the student-focused training to help you through the competition!
Competition dates: After the submission, there are multiple rounds. The schedule is available here.
This competition seeks to honor the most innovative, accessible, ground-breaking, and appealing software built with Microsoft tools and technology. The Competition may be structured differently based on the country/region you are representing. Please make sure to read your local country/region competition rules. This is a team-based event where you can choose between the AI, Social Impact, or Mixed Reality Streams. In these streams, you will have to design and propose a technological project that addresses an issue in the relevant streams. Apart from using Microsoft tools and tech, you’ll need to practice your skills in UI and UX design.
Here is everything you need to know to win the Microsoft Imagine Cup!
Location: Multiple Locations
Cost: No Cost
Eligibility:
Open to all high school students in schools that have signed up with the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation.
Prize: Awards but no cash prize
Registration + Submission Deadline: Rolling deadline. The best time to register is the May-June period, as you can participate in multiple rounds.
Competition Dates: Estimated to be late April to early May, based on the 2023 schedule.
The VEX Robotics competition is a highly prestigious, annual international event where teams of students design a robot that competes with other robots in a series of challenges and activities. Each round of the competition is two minutes long, with a 15-second autonomous period and a 1:45-minute controlled driving period. If you want to participate in this, you need to ensure your school is signed up to the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation. Furthermore, you should ensure to practice your skills in not just RobotC for VEXCode, but also design and knowledge of sensors and feedback mechanisms.
Check out this guide on how to win the VEX Robotics Competition!
Location: NYC/Boston/6 Flags (for FInalists)
Cost: $50 application fee + $425 participation fee per participant
Eligibility:
Open to all high school students
Must be accompanied by an adult.
Prize: 3 categories of medals - gold, silver and bronze along with honorable mentions.
Registration + Submission Deadline: March 8, 2024
Competition Dates: June 10-14, 2024
The Genius Olympiad is a high school project fair which aims to recognize and reward innovative solutions to real world problems, especially those pertaining to the environment. This olympiad is founded and organized by Terra Science and Education, and is hosted by the Rochester Institute of Technology.
This olympiad covers a wide range of STEM and non-STEM categories such as robotics, writing, music, art and short films. However, each of these categories has to be tied to an environmental issue, as mentioned before. Also keep in mind that the science, business, or short film project requires a team of two to present.
10. Intel’s AI Impact Creators
Location: Online
Eligibility: Participants must fall into one of two age groups: 13 – 18 years old and 18+ years
Prize: $5,000, Intel-powered laptop, and mentorship opportunities are awarded to the global winners. Regional winners may get between $500 – $1,000.
Cost: Free
Registration + Submission Deadline: September 2024 (tentatively, based on last year)
Application deadline: Not specified
This competition is part of the broader Intel AI Global Impact Festival, which annually showcases the latest innovations and talks by experts in the fields. The AI Impact Creators competition takes place at a global level and revolves around social impact AI projects.
Previous winning projects include a tool that can help people have regular heart check-ups and a code summarizer that improves the accessibility of coding to non-English speaking individuals. Coming from a well-known company like Intel, this competition offers a fair amount of recognition and benefits for those who want to pursue a career in the field. However, it can be quite competitive!
You can check out past winners here!
11. Conrad Challenge
Location: Space Center Houston and NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (for finalists)
Cost: $50 application fee + $425 participation fee per participant
Eligibility:
Open to all high school students
Must be accompanied by an adult.
You may enter as an individual or a team of up to 5 people.
Prize: Academic scholarships to esteemed universities and admission to entrepreneurial accelerators.
Competition Dates: From August 2023 to April 2024
The Conrad Challenge is an annual fair that pushes students to create and build innovative solutions by applying their scientific, social and economic problems to solve real-world issues. It was founded in 2007 in honor of late NASA astronaut Charles Conrad, the third person to walk on the moon, in order to carry on his legacy of exploration and innovation to make a positive impact on society.
It is divided into four categories of social issues, namely Aerospace and Aviation, Cyber-Technology and Security, Energy and Environment, and Health and Nutrition. You will be required to create a business plan, marketing strategy, and a prototype of your solution, and present these to a panel of judges.
Here are 8 tips to win the Conrad Challenge!
Location: Online and in-person components included (varies by region and year)
Cost: $200 and extra costs might be incurred due to the required hardware
Eligibility: High school and university-level students
Registration + Submission Deadline: October 2023
Competition dates: June 7 - June 8, 2024 (for final challenge)
Organized by the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation, the Vex AI Competition is a great way for students to explore the intersection of robotics and artificial intelligence. Along with your team, you will work on two robots.
The focus is on robots being able to function and interact with their environment autonomously — such as being able to navigate an obstacle course. You would need to be familiar with areas like motor planning, computer vision, and haptic feedback integration for this project. However, you might need to apply through your school or another organization for this competition, so keep that in mind.
13. Technovation Coding Competition for Girls
Location: Virtual
Cost: No Cost
Eligibility:
Must identify as female, translate, nonbinary or gender nonconforming.
All participants must be between 8-18 years old.
Teams should be composed of 105 students. You can only join 1 team.
Prize: Awards of up to $30,000 are available in cash and prizes.
Registration + Submission Deadline: TBA, but registration dates for the 2023-2024 season will be open in October.
Competition Dates: April 18th, 2024 (Based on the previous year’s dates)
Every year, girls across the globe step up to solve problems in their community with technology through Technovation Girls. More than 39,000 girls from over 100 countries have created apps to solve community problems.
In this competition, you will work in a team to identify a local problem in your community and develop a solution that brings technology to life in an immediate, tangible way. With the help of volunteer mentors, you will then be connected to a local Chapter or Club Ambassador, where you will work on this app. Technovation prioritizes implementing the app, so they have connected with local community leaders in order to bring your app to life.
14. World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth 2024
Location: Online and in-person options available (in-person competitions can be co-hosted with local organizers in other countries)
Eligibility: Students aged 6 – 18
Prize: Students receive awards but there is no monetary prize
Cost: Free
Registration + Submission Deadline December 2024 (tentatively, based on last year)
Application deadline: November 25, 2024 (tentatively, based on last year)
Students worldwide can register for this AI competition where they will compete based on their age, that is, whether they are elementary, middle, or high school students. You can work as an individual or a team and choose from three different competition tracks — AI Showcase Track, AI Generated Art Track, or AI Large Language Model Track. Once you submit your project, it will be judged on the basis of your understanding of the use of AI, the project’s impact on the community, and the user experience.
Should you make it through to the final round, you will present your work and take part in a Q&A round, before the winner is announced. Previous winners have worked on projects like an AI-integrated app that helps visually impaired people and an AI-assisted face mask detector.
This is a great competition for anyone who is passionate about AI ethics and how AI can solve important problems in the community. You can learn more about WAICY here. Here is an official recap from the 2022 competition! Also check out their AI resources.
Here are 8 tips to help you win WAICY!
15. CyberPatriot’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition
Location: Maryland
Cost: $205 for Open Division (discounts are provided for early registration by July 2023).
Eligibility:
Must be in middle school or high school.
Students in JROTC programs have their own divisions.
Prize: Scholarship money (exact amount varies). The top team will have all expenses covered for the final round in Maryland.
Registration + Submission Deadline (2023-2024): April 1st to October 3rd, 2023
Competition Dates: From October 2023 to March 2024
CyberPatriot's National Youth Cyber Defense Competition is the world's largest cybersecurity competition and is open to all schools and approved youth organizations. This is a team-based event where high school and middle school students are placed in the position of newly hired IT professionals tasked with managing the network of a small company. Each team will be given a set of virtual operating systems where they have to find and fix cybersecurity vulnerabilities while still maintaining critical services. To participate, you must start learning or have a strong understanding of computer networking concepts such as IP addressing, subnetting, routing, protocols like IP and DNS and more.
Participants should also ensure they have familiarity with commonly used operating systems, like macOS, Linux, and Windows. That being said, this competition does want to encourage growth, so don’t be afraid of trying it if you’re a beginner.
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Image Source - ISEF Logo