10 Best Computer Science Competitions for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- Nov 14, 2022
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 31
Feeling up for a challenge and want to put your computer science skills to the test? We have a list of the best CS competitions that will push you to innovate and solve compelling problems - all while giving you a platform to showcase your skills. Competitions are a great way to gain recognition in high school. You can see how you stack up against your peers nationally or globally! They also look really good on your college applications (whether you win or not).
If you're interested in learning computer science fundamentals first, check out our piece on the best CS summer programs for high school students. You can also check out our research programs, which build key skills to help you perform your best in competitions and produce research projects through mentorship by top PhDs – Lumiere – which had 2100 students apply this past year. Over 100 students do computer science research with us!
10 Best Computer Science Programs for High School Students
Note that the following information is based on the most recent program, with dates subject to change but generally similar from year to year.
Location: Virtual
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 not have more than 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: Register here.
Competition dates: Competition deadline is November 1
U.S. House of Representatives members host this district-wide Congressional App Challenge for middle and high school students. The goal of this competition is to encourage students to solve real-world challenges through coding. For tips on winning this competition, check out our blog here.
Location: Virtual
Eligibility: Must be an elementary, middle, or high school student. Check if your school has registered for the competition.
Prize: Certificates and cash prizes (amount not disclosed).
Registration deadline: ACSL is now accepting registrations. The registration deadline is December 31. Tip: During registration, contestants have the option to purchase the previous year’s study materials.
Competition dates: There are multiple rounds of competitions. The current round closes on March 5.
ACSL organizes computer programming and computer science contests for K-12 schools, organizations, and local groups. Last year, over 700 teams in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia participated. 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, from Number Systems to Boolean Algebra and Digital Electronics. In the upper divisions, each contest also includes a problem to solve by programming using Python, C++, or Java. To learn more about this competition, check out our complete guide here.
Location: Virtual/to be announced.
Eligibility: Must be a high school student.
Prize: Opportunity to advance to IOI and other international olympiads.
Registration deadline: To be announced. Please go through the training opportunities.
Competition dates: Between March 25 and March 28. To refer to the previous competition schedule, please see here.
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. The contest consists of two days of computer programming/coding and algorithmic problem-solving. The International Olympiad in Informatics is one of the world's most prestigious computer science competitions. USA teams attending the IOI have shown steady and consistent improvement in their performance over the years, and the USA now regularly places among the top countries attending the IOI. Note: Winners from this and other similar national rounds attend the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). To learn more about this competition, check out our complete guide here.
Location: Maryland
Eligibility: Must be a middle school or high school student. Students in JROTC programs each have their own division.
Prize: Scholarship money (exact amount varies). The top teams will have all expenses covered for the final round in Maryland.
Registration: Registration opens in April and closes on October 5. There is a registration fee of $205 for Open Division high school teams, with discounts for early registration by July 1.
Competition dates: From October to March. Please 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.
The competition puts teams of high school and middle school students in the position of newly hired IT professionals tasked with managing a small company's network. 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. To learn more about this competition, check out our complete guide here.
Location: Virtual
Eligibility: Must be between 8 and 18 years old (there are divisions for different age groups). All students must identify as female, trans, nonbinary, or gender nonconforming. Teams are composed of 1 to 5 students. Students can only join 1 team. There is no limit on the number of mentors per team.
Prize: Awards of up to $30,000 are available in cash and prizes.
Registration: Opens on October 11 and closes on March 22. Register here.
Competition dates: The submission deadline is April 18. Please see the schedule here.
Every year, girls across the globe 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.
Location: Hosted in different cities every year.
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: The application will open on June 1 and close in early November.
Competition dates: March 8 to March 15. For the entire schedule, please see here.
Regeneron STS is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science competition for high school seniors, providing a forum for original research that is recognized by a national jury of professional scientists. The competition is for individual participants only. To learn more about this competition, check out our complete guide here.
7. Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) | CS-related categories
Location: Hosted in different cities every year.
Eligibility: Must be in grades 9-12 or equivalent, compete in an Intel ISEF-affiliated science fair worldwide, and win the right to attend the Intel ISEF.
Prize: Scholarships and prizes of close to $5 million are available for winning teams in 22 science categories.
Registration: Different deadlines depending on the target affiliated fair. Please find the list here. Registration may not have opened.
Competition dates: May
ISEF is a program of the Society for Science & the Public and is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. Only about 1,800 students qualify from over 10,000 applicants from over 75 countries. 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. For tips from a past ISEF winner, check out our blog here.
Location: Germany
Eligibility: Age group 1: 10 - 13; Age group 2: 14-20. A team consists of two to four members. For detailed eligibility criteria, please see here.
Prize: Varying amounts of prize money.
Registration: The deadline to register is November 14. Register here.
Competition dates: June 24 - June 25. Detailed schedule is available here.
RoboRAVE is an international competition in which self-designed robots made by students compete against each other. This event focuses on having fun while learning and teamwork. Founded in Albuquerque (New Mexico, USA), RoboRAVE is hosted in many countries on five different continents. To learn more about this competition, check out our complete guide here.
Location: Virtual
Eligibility: High school students living in the U.S.
Price: $1,000 prize money to implement the project. Additionally, if the situation permits, finalists are invited to a four-day all-expenses-paid trip to MIT's campus, where they tour labs, present their research to MIT students and faculty, and meet THINK team members.
Registration: Registrations are open now and close by January 1.
Competition dates: January. For the entire schedule, please see here.
Rather than requiring students to have completed a research project before applying, THINK caters to students who have done extensive research on the background of a potential research project and are looking for additional guidance in the early stages. The program is organized by a group of undergraduates at MIT. To learn more about this competition, check out our complete guide here.
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.
Registration: To be announced.
Competition dates: To be announced.
The Technology Student Association invites middle and high school students who have a proven aptitude for STEM to participate in various challenges. Activities include coding, data science and analytics, virtual reality, and game design.
If you are really feeling up for a challenge, check out the next competition—you’ll be up against college students for this one!
Bonus - Microsoft's Imagine Cup
Location: Virtual
Eligibility: Must be 16 or older. You’re welcome to imagine any solution, but it must include a Microsoft Azure component and consider diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. 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; 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, and appealing software built with Microsoft tools and technology. The Competition may be structured differently based on the country/region you represent. Please make sure to read the rules for competitions in your local country/region. To learn more about this competition, check out our complete guide here.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.