15 Computer Science Competitions for High School Students

Computer Science competitions are a great way to not only improve your skill set but also demonstrate your motivation and dedication in the college application arena. Regardless of whether you win a competition, even participating in them can demonstrate these qualities. They can show college admissions officers your willingness to challenge yourself and grow. If you are passionate about CS, eager to grow your skills, and curious about how you can do so – CS competitions are the way to go. 

How can you identify the best CS competition?

Everyone is at different levels with respect to their skillset.  So when choosing competitions to participate in, it is important to select a competition that would be a fair challenge to your abilities. Here are some tips on selecting the best competitions for you to contest in!

The first thing to try and do is identify your areas of interest and the skills you’re strong in within computer science. This will help you target competitions that align with your strengths and passions.

It is also important to understand the format of each competition. Some may focus on individual performance, while others encourage team participation. Also, consider the duration of the competition—whether it's a one-time event or spans over a longer period. 

Lastly, Research and learn from past competitions to understand the types of challenges, topics, and problem-solving techniques involved. Consult your computer science teachers, or mentors who know about your coding ability well enough to provide insights and recommendations based on their experience.

What are the different types of CS competitions?

There are a lot of different types of CS Competitions out there. So regardless of what you’re interested in, you’ll probably be able to attend a competition for it! We’ve organized some of them here. 

a. Programming competitions: If you have a strong preference for coding or algorithmic problem-solving, then these types of competitions might interest you. These competitions usually have a strict time frame within which teams of students have to solve a set of programming problems within certain languages. 

b. Robotics competitions: If you’re interested in robotics and CAD (computer aided design), there are a lot of robotics competitions out there for high school students! These are also team based in nature, and will also test your team’s engineering skills. 

C. Cybersecurity: If you’re interested in cybersecurity and computer networking concepts like IP addressing, routing, and more, then Cybersecurity competitions are a great way to challenge and develop your skill set in those regards. 

Key takeaways

• The most prestigious, selective competitions on this list are the USA Computing Olympiad (the U.S. qualifier for the International Olympiad in Informatics), the Regeneron Science Talent Search, and Regeneron ISEF, all of which carry significant weight with college admissions officers.

• Competitions span every major CS discipline: competitive programming (USACO, HPE CodeWars, Stanford ProCo, Harker Programming Invitational, ACSL), app and software development (Congressional App Challenge, Microsoft Imagine Cup), cybersecurity (CyberPatriot), robotics (FIRST Robotics, VEX V5, RoboRAVE), and research-based innovation (Regeneron STS, ISEF, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow).

• Many are free or low-cost to enter, including USACO, the Congressional App Challenge, HPE CodeWars, and ACSL, while team robotics competitions like FIRST Robotics can run several thousand dollars per team (with fundraising guidance and aid available).

• Several competitions offer substantial prizes: ISEF awards close to $9 million across categories, Regeneron STS awards around $3.1 million, and Microsoft Imagine Cup's World Champion path can reach $100,000 or more.

• Some events are open to beginners (CyberPatriot and the Congressional App Challenge actively welcome newcomers), while others assume strong specialization (USACO's upper divisions and Imagine Cup, where you compete against college students).

• Deadlines run across the school year, with the Congressional App Challenge closing in late October, Regeneron STS in early November, and most programming contests (USACO, ProCo, Harker) running January through March, so students should map deadlines early and prepare a core foundation in a language like Java, C++, or Python.

While these are the broader types of competitions, there are several more out there for other specialized interests. There are App Development challenges – as seen in the Congressional App Challenge, or more dynamic development challenges like the Imagine Cup. So with that, here’s our compiled list of 15 Computer Science competitions for high school students!

1. USA Computing Olympiad

Location: Virtual (online contests), with an in-person summer training camp for top finalists.

Eligibility: Open to high school students; you compete and advance through four divisions — bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.

Prize: Top finishers earn invitations to USACO's summer training camp and the chance to represent the USA at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) and the European Girls' Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI). Free to enter.

Registration + Submission deadline: No fee; register an account anytime and compete during each contest window. Sharpen your skills first with USACO's free training resources.

Competition dates: Three online contests in January and February (roughly January 9–12, January 30–February 2, and February 20–23), followed by the proctored US Open championship in late March.

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 problem-solving of algorithmic nature. The International Olympiad in Informatics is one of the most prestigious computer science competitions in the world. In terms of basic skills, the USACO stresses on algorithmic thinking. Apart from proficiency in common competitive programming languages (Java, C++, or Python), having a strong understanding of fundamental algorithms and data structures as well as knowledge of Big-O notations and algorithm bottle-necks will be valuable.

You can also check out the competition schedule here.

Note: Winners from this and other, similar national rounds attend the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).

2. Congressional App Challenge

Location: Virtual

Eligibility: Must be a middle or high school student in a participating congressional district and must also be residents of such district. Teams may not have more than 4 members. Half the members must be eligible in the district where they're competing. All entrants must be U.S. residents at the time of submission (no citizenship requirement).

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: Registration is open now; Register here.

Competition dates: Students must register and submit their app by October 26; judging takes place in November, with winners announced in December.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives host this district-wide Congressional App Challenge for middle school and high school students. The idea of this competition is to encourage students to problem-solve for real-world challenges through coding. Apart from commonly used programming languages, it would be useful to familiarize yourself with different app development platforms – like XCode or Kotlin.

3. FIRST Robotics Competition

Location: A wide variety of locations across the U.S. and internationally. You can find them here

Eligibility: High School Students, aged between 14 and 18. Teams must have at least 10 students, with 2 adult mentors. Teams are usually affiliated with schools or local educational institutions or organizations, so it’s best to check whether such an organization already exists in your community. If not – you can independently organize as well!

Prize: A broad swathe of scholarships and cash prizes for the top scorers

Registration + Submission Deadline: Team registrations are usually $6500, FIRST offers guidance on fundraising for this amount as well as aid to teams that need it. Confirm pricing here.

Competition dates: The new game (BIOCORE) kicks off January 9, with the season running from January through the spring championship. 

FIRST Robotics is a prestigious, competitive, team-based competition. With strict rules and limited time and resources, teams have to build an industrial sized robot that is capable of competing in a complex field game at competitions.

When it comes to preparing for this competition, doing research on previous years’ competitions to better understand what kind of strategy your team should follow will be all the more crucial. 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 might be good to familiarize yourself with prototyping, CAD (computer aided design), and programming languages like Java, C++ or LabVIEW.

4. Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)(Particularly, the category of Robotics and Intelligent Machines)

Location: Hosted in different cities every year. ISEF is held in Phoenix, AZ (Phoenix Convention Center) for the current cycle, moving to Los Angeles the following year.

Eligibility: Must be in grades 9-12 or equivalent must compete in an Intel ISEF-affiliated science fair in order to be eligible to win the right to attend the Intel ISEF.

Prize: Scholarships and prizes of close to $9 million are available for winning teams in 22 science categories.

Registration + Submission Deadline: Different deadlines depending on the target affiliated fair. Please find the list here.

Competition dates: Held from May 9–15.

ISEF is a program of Society for Science & the Public (the Society) and is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. Contestants are selected from regional, district, and state ISEF affiliated fairs. Related to computer science, the competition categories include: Robotics and Intelligent Machines, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Engineering Mechanics (Mechanical Engineering), Mathematics, and Earth and Environmental Sciences. Note that projects can be individual or team-based. Each ISEF competition has specific guidelines (to be released) that you should make sure to view before picking a competition. In general, it would be good to focus on strengthening not just your programming skills, but also data analysis and visualization, research, and general problem-solving skillset.

5. CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Program

Location: Online for all rounds except the National Finals, which are held in person in Bethesda, MD.

Eligibility: Must be a middle school or high school student. Students in JROTC programs each have their own division.

Prize: Scholarship money (amount varies). Top teams earn an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Finals in Bethesda.

Registration+ Submission Deadline: Team registration runs from June 2 to October 1. A registration fee applies (with discounts for early sign-up); confirm current pricing on the registration page.

Competition dates: Scored rounds run one weekend a month from October through January, with the National Finals held in the spring. See the schedule here.

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. Through a series of online competition rounds, teams are given a set of virtual operating systems and are tasked with finding and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities while maintaining critical services. This means that participants should be prepped or start familiarizing themselves with a solid understanding of computer networking concepts – such as IP addressing, subnetting, routing, switching, and protocols like TCP/IP and DNS.

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. 

6. Solve for Tomorrow | Investing in Students | Samsung US

Location: Nationwide and primarily virtual; National Finalists present their projects at a final pitch event.

Eligibility: Middle and High School Students in US public schools. Your teacher will have to register your team and act as a mentor, although all selected teams also have a Samsung employee who serves as mentor. You can check your school’s eligibility here. 

Prize: range of cash prizes from regional to national level, as well as awards. Around 500 schools win prize packages estimated at around $29 million, and a Community Choice winner earns an extra $10K in Samsung products and classroom resources.

Registration + Submission Deadline: Entries typically open in the fall; check the official site for the current season's deadline.

Competition dates: Runs across the school year — semi-finalist videos are due in February, National Finalists are revealed in March, and the final pitch event takes place in late April.

The Solve for tomorrow competition essentially encourages students to create a prototype of a solution to a community based problem. This is a team-based event with a minimum of three students, but your team’s primary liaison and contact point will be your school teacher for the event and for Samsung. This is an event where you can use your strengths and existing skills – whatever they may be – to your advantage in finding a flexible and sustainable solution to a community problem. But in general, you’ll need to have strong research skills to identify a community based problem, critical thinking and analysis to find an approach to the issue, and a generally solid foundation in STEM and CS.  

7. RoboRAVE International

Location: Osaka, Japan — Osaka International Convention Center (Grand Cube Osaka). The host city changes each year.

Eligibility: Age group 1: 10 - 13; Age group 2: 14 - 20. A team consists of two to four members. Teams typically qualify through their country's or region's RoboRAVE events; check with your local RoboRAVE Director to take part.

Prize: Awards and recognition across the championship's various robotics challenges.

Registration + Submission deadline: Coordinated through each country's regional events and local RoboRAVE Director; see the official event site for participation details.

Competition dates: August 11–12. Detailed schedule is available here.

RoboRAVE is an international competition in which self-designed robots made by studentscompete against each other. This event focuses on having fun while learning, sharing and teamwork. It is an international competition with participation open not just for groups from the region but from the entire world. Founded in Albuquerque (New Mexico, USA), RoboRAVE is hosted in many countries on five different continents. This event is also team-based. If you want to participate in this, practice your skills in languages like Python, Arduino and Scratch. Make sure you have ample time to practice in order to improve your robot’s performance. 

8. VEX V5 robotics competition

Location: Multiple regional and signature events across the U.S. and internationally, leading to the VEX Robotics World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri (America's Center Convention Complex).

Eligibility: High School Students, their schools need to be signed up with Robotics Education and Competition Foundation. The foundation provides support to new teams – you can find a guide to start a new team and compete at a high level here. 

Prize: Awards and recognition (including the Excellence Award and Tournament Champions Award); no cash prize.

Registration + Submission Deadline: Rolling — you can create a team at any time. Season registration typically opens in April and the new game is released in May, so spring/early summer is the best time to register and prepare for fall scrimmages. 

Competition dates: Regional and signature events run from fall through spring, culminating in the World Championship in late April (the high school V5 division competes roughly April 21–24).

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 or VEXCode, but also design and knowledge of sensors and feedback mechanisms. 

9.HPE CodeWars

Location: Multiple sites worldwide (including Houston, Roseville, Ft. Collins, New Jersey), with remote participation also available.

Eligibility: Students in grades 9-12. Teams of the size of 2 to 3 people and an adult sponsor. Sponsors can be sponsors to a max of three teams. 

Prize: There is a prize pool for raffle winners and an award. 

Registration + Submission Deadline: Registration opens a month before the competition, and closes two weeks before the start date. No costs associated – apart from travel expenses to in-person competition. 

Competition dates: 25th July

HPE CodeWars is a coding competition for high school students in which a team of 3 students will have 3 hours to solve 30 problems that get rapidly more difficult. The programming languages used in the previous year’s competition were C, C++, Java, and Python 3. It might also be worthwhile to practice your skills in not just problem solving and data structures, but also competitive coding techniques like two-pointer technique, binary search and other tools to improve algorithm efficiency.

10. American Computer Science League (ACSL)

Location: Virtual

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 deadline + Submission Deadline: Registration typically opens in the fall; check the schedule for the current season's dates. During registration, contestants have the option to purchase previous year’s study materials.

Competition dates: There are multiple rounds of competitions.

ACSL organizes computer programming and computer science contests for K-12 schools, organizations and local groups. ACSL offers multiple divisions, providing an appropriate challenge for students of varying ages 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.

11.The Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS)

Location: Application is online; the top 40 finalists are invited to Washington, D.C. for Finals Week at the National Building Museum.

Eligibility: Must be living in the U.S. and attending their last year of secondary school (regardless of citizenship). Students who are U.S. citizens living abroad may also qualify.

Prize: Scholarships and prizes of close to $3.1 million.

Registration + Submission Deadline: Applications open June 1 and close in early November (November 5, 8 p.m. ET).

Competition dates: March 11th to March 17th. You can check the entire schedule here.

Regeneron STS is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science competition for high school seniors, providing an important forum for original research that is recognized and reviewed by a national jury of professional scientists. While this isn’t a CS competition strictly, it’s a great opportunity for you to not only gain research skills, but also explore, ask questions, and learn more about CS and its expansive nature. This is obviously an individual effort, and in terms of basic skills required, you’d need only a sincere commitment to the scientific method, coupled with critical thinking. 

Note: This next one is an extremely competitive event, where you will compete with college students!

12. Microsoft's Imagine Cup

Location: Virtual

Eligibility: Must be 16 or older. You’re welcome to imagine any solution that you’re passionate about that includes a Microsoft Azure component and takes into consideration diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Maximum four (4) members per team

Prize: Two competition paths — the Launch path winner receives $50,000, and the Scale path World Champion receives $100,000 (recent champions have received up to $150,000), a mentorship session with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Azure credits, and partnership opportunities with Microsoft for Startups. Prize money is split equally among team members.

Registration + Submission Deadline: Initial submissions are typically due in early-to-mid January; register here.

Be sure to complete the student-focused training to help you through the competition!

Competition dates: After submission, teams advance through semifinals to the World Championship, with final winners announced on 2nd June.

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. Your team can choose one of three streams – AI, Social Impact, or Mixed Reality – and accordingly design and propose a technological project that could address an issue in the relevant stream. Apart from using Microsoft tools and tech, you’ll need to practice your skills in UI and UX design.

13. Stanford ACM | Stanford ProCo

Location: Stanford Campus

Eligibility: High School Students in the Bay Area, teams of max three people. 

Prize: Variety of Prizes offered. Previous years have included Raspberry pis, Nintendo 3DSes and Ipad minis. 

Registration + Submission Deadline: Registration opens a month to a month and a half before ProCo. Join the ProCo mailing listfor announcements.

Competition dates: Held on a Saturday in early March (a single 3-hour contest of 9–15 problems).

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. 

14. Harker Programming Invitational

Location: Harker Upper School Campus, San Jose, California

Eligibility: High school students in teams of 1 to 3 people. 

Prize: awards and trophies to winners, Top 8 teams receive certificates. 

Registration + Submission Deadline: month to a month and a half before competition day. 

Competition dates: Held in early March (a ~2-hour contest of USACO-style problems).

Harker Programming invitational is a coding competition for high school students that models its question USACO style but is also parallel to Stanford ProCo. It lasts for 2 hours, during which teams will have to solve 10 unweighted problems. Solutions to problems have to be coded in either Java, Python, or C++. They have both novice and advanced categories. 

15. Technology Student Association Competitions

Location: Hosted in different cities every year.

Eligibility: Must be in grades 7 to 12. Detailed eligibility criteria are provided here.

Prize: Trophies and certificates. Details of any other prizes are not known.

Registration + Submission Deadline: Students compete first at the state level (typically spring), then qualify for nationals; registration runs through your school's TSA advisor, and dates vary by state chapter. Note that attendees cover their own travel, lodging, and registration costs.

Competition dates: State conferences run in the spring; the National TSA Conference takes place in late June (June 22–26).

The Technology Student Association invites middle and high school students who have a proven aptitude in STEM to participate in various challenges. They host various competitions at the local, state, and national levels – where categories extend from coding, computer aided design, robotics and more. Due to the vast number of competitions that the TSA conducts, you can usually find both team based and individual events. Also owing to the vast number and types of competitions the Technology Student Association conducts, the most important basic skill you’ll need to have across all of them is problem solving.

Alternatively, If you’re interested in starting your computer science or artificial intelligence journey, then consider applying to the Veritas AI Programs! You can find the application form here. We’re founded by graduate students at Harvard University. Last year, we had over 1000 students apply to do AI work with us and our alumni went on to study computer science and AI at the top universities in the country! 

If you’re looking to build unique projects in the field of AI/ML, consider applying to Veritas AI!

Veritas AI was founded by Harvard graduate students, and through the programs, you get a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI and computer science while collaborating on real-world projects. You can also work 1-1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more to create unique, personalized projects. In the past year, we had over 1000 students learn data science and AI with us. You can apply here!

Frequently asked questions

What are the most prestigious CS competitions for high school students?

The USA Computing Olympiad is the standout for competitive programming, serving as the U.S. selection path to the International Olympiad in Informatics. For research, the Regeneron Science Talent Search is the nation's oldest and most prestigious science competition for seniors, and Regeneron ISEF is the world's largest pre-college science fair. All three are highly recognized by college admissions officers.

Which CS competitions are best for beginners?

CyberPatriot actively encourages beginners and provides training to build cybersecurity skills from the ground up. The Congressional App Challenge is also approachable, since it welcomes students of any experience level and has no citizenship requirement. ACSL offers divisions matched to different ages and abilities, making it accessible to newcomers.

Which competitions are best for specialized interests like cybersecurity, app development, or robotics?

For cybersecurity, CyberPatriot is the world's largest competition of its kind. For app and software development, the Congressional App Challenge and Microsoft Imagine Cup are the strongest fits. For robotics, FIRST Robotics, VEX V5, and RoboRAVE International all offer team-based engineering challenges.

How much do CS competitions cost?

Many are free or low-cost: USACO, the Congressional App Challenge, and ACSL have no or minimal entry fees, and HPE CodeWars is free apart from travel. Team robotics competitions are the priciest, with FIRST Robotics running several thousand dollars per team, though organizers typically provide fundraising guidance and need-based aid.

What skills should I learn before competing in a CS competition?

Most competitions reward a strong foundation in at least one programming language such as Java, C++, or Python, plus a solid grasp of algorithms and data structures. Programming contests like USACO and ProCo reward algorithmic thinking and efficiency techniques, cybersecurity events like CyberPatriot require networking and operating-system knowledge, and app or research competitions reward design, research, and problem-solving skills. If you want to strengthen the AI and machine learning side of these skills, programs like Veritas AI can help you build a foundation in Python, data science, and applied AI.

Are CS competitions worth it for college admissions?

Yes. Even participating demonstrates initiative, technical skill, and a willingness to challenge yourself, all qualities admissions officers value. Top results in prestigious competitions like USACO, Regeneron STS, and ISEF carry particular weight, and many competitions also offer scholarships directly to participants.