Coding Competitions for High School Students: 2026-27 Guide

In short

The main coding competitions open to US high school students in 2026-27 are USACO (free online algorithm contests in C, C++, Java or Python), ACSL (four school-team contests from October 19, 2026), CyberPatriot (team cyber defense), picoCTF (now CyLab Security Academy, free capture the flag), the Congressional App Challenge, the Presidential SI Challenge, the USA-NA-AIO and FIRST robotics. Modern Age Coders prepares teens for them in live online classes.

Prepare with a teacher

Three courses behind most high school contest entries

Pick by the kind of contest: algorithms, security, or a finished app that judges can open.

COM / 01

Competitive programming for teens

Teens 13 to 18: contest problems from simulation and sorting up to graphs.

Open the syllabus →

Cybersecurity Competitions for Teens course thumbnail

COM / 02

picoCTF and CyberPatriot prep

Teens 13 to 18: capture the flag puzzles and hardening Windows and Linux.

Open the syllabus →

COM / 03

App development for teens

Teens 13 to 18: one finished app, ready for a judge to open.

Open the syllabus →

At a glance

Eight high school coding competitions compared

One row per competition, every cell taken from that organiser’s own pages. Where a 2026-27 date was not yet published on 17 October 2026, the cell says so instead of guessing.

High school coding competitions in the US, 2026-27 (official sites read 17 October 2026)
Competition	What students do	Solo or team	Who can enter	2026-27 timing
USACO	Algorithm problems solved in C, C++, Java or Python, scored on hidden test cases	Solo	Anyone online; camp selection is for pre-college students in the USA	Not yet published; the 2025-26 season ran three online contests in January and February 2026 and a proctored US Open on March 28
ACSL	A 30-minute short answer test on CS topics plus a 72-hour programming problem, four times a year	School teams, scored individually too	K-12 schools and groups; Senior and Intermediate divisions suit high school	Contest #1 opens October 19, 2026; Finals on Saturday, May 29, 2027
CyberPatriot	Find and fix security problems in Windows and Linux images, plus a Cisco networking quiz	Teams of two to six, five at a time	High school teams in the Open or All Service Division	Team creation closed October 1, 2026; Round 1 runs October 22 to 25, 2026
picoCTF (CyLab Security Academy)	Capture the flag challenges in eight security domains	Solo, or teams of up to five in team events	Anyone can practise; the annual flagship is for US middle and high school students	Flagship dates not yet posted
Congressional App Challenge	Build an app in any language, then record a demo of one to three minutes	Solo or up to four	Middle and high school students in a participating district	Deadline 12:00 pm EDT, Monday, October 26, 2026
Presidential SI Challenge	A project that applies SI (the new federal term for AI) to a community problem, as a PDF and a video	One to four students with an adult Team Leader	Grades 9 to 12 in the High School Student Category	Register by December 18, 2026; submit by December 23, 2026
USA-NA-AIO	Machine learning theory and coding in Google Colab, proctored	Solo	Middle and high school students in the US or Canada, under 20 by August 30	Round 1 on Friday, February 19, 2027
FIRST Robotics and FIRST Tech Challenge	Design and build a robot for a game released each September	Teams with mentors	FIRST Robotics Competition grades 9 to 12; FIRST Tech Challenge grades 7 to 12	The 2026-2027 season is called FIRST CANOPY

How to read the table

The first split is solo versus team. USACO, the USA-NA-AIO and the ACSL tests are taken alone; CyberPatriot, FIRST and the build challenges are team efforts where communication matters as much as code.

The second split is speed versus depth. A timed algorithm contest rewards clean thinking under a clock, while an app or SI project rewards a student who can keep improving one idea for weeks.

Picking two, not eight

A sensible pair for most students is one individual contest that runs on its own schedule, such as USACO or ACSL, and one team or build event that fits the fall, such as CyberPatriot or the Congressional App Challenge.

Students who already enjoy maths proofs tend to like USACO. Students who like taking systems apart often prefer capture the flag. Students who want something to show people usually want a build challenge.

Sources: the official sites of USACO, ACSL, CyberPatriot, CyLab Security Academy, the Congressional App Challenge, the Presidential SI Challenge, USAAIO and FIRST, all read on 17 October 2026. None of these organisations has any link with Modern Age Coders.

USACO

USACO: free online algorithm contests in four divisions

The USA Computing Olympiad runs free online algorithm contests in four divisions. Its rules page is short and specific, which makes it easy to prepare for precisely.

USACO contest rules, from the official instructions page (read 17 October 2026)
Topic	As published by USACO
Who	"All are welcome to participate in online USACO contests and training." Selection for the summer camp and the IOI and EGOI teams is limited to pre-college students in the USA.
Cost	"There is never any fee for participation."
Divisions	Bronze, silver, gold and platinum. "All new participants start out in the bronze division"; full marks during a contest moves a student up straight away.
Languages	Solutions in C, C++, Java or Python. All bronze-level problems are meant to be fully solvable in Python; some higher-division problems may not be.
Length	Typically 3 or 4 problems. The personal timer of about four to five hours starts when the student opens the contest, at any point in the window.
Time limits	For most contests, 2 seconds per input case for C and C++, and 4 seconds per input case for Java and Python.
Feedback	Green for a correct test case, and X, T, !, E or M for a wrong answer, a time limit, a crash or memory limit, an empty output and a missing output.
Integrity	"Use of generative AI (e.g., services like copilot or ChatGPT) is prohibited." No pre-written code or templates, no teamwork, no VPNs.

The 2025-26 season, as a guide to 2026-27

On 17 October 2026 the USACO home page still showed the 2025-26 schedule: online contests on January 9 to 12, January 30 to February 2 and February 20 to 23, 2026, then a proctored US Open on March 28, 2026. The site describes that season as somewhat transitional.

No 2026-27 dates were posted on the read date. Students should plan for contests in the winter and check usaco.org before the new year rather than rely on last season’s weekends.

What the time limit really means

Two seconds sounds generous until the input has 100,000 numbers. The skill USACO rewards most is estimating how many steps a solution will take before typing it, which is exactly what the practice problem further down this page teaches.

Our longer guide to USACO coaching covers the divisions in more depth, and the blog post on moving from bronze to silver covers the most common sticking point.

Source: USACO contest instructions and rules and the USACO home page, read 17 October 2026.

ACSL

ACSL: four contests through the school year, run by a team advisor

The American Computer Science League mixes computer science theory with programming, and it runs through schools and groups rather than individual sign-ups. Registration for 2026-27 opened before this page was written.

The ACSL 2026-27 regular season, from the official schedule page (read 17 October 2026)
Contest	Opens	Closes
Contest #1	October 19, 2026	Sunday, January 10, 2027, 11:59 pm Eastern
Contest #2	January 4, 2027	Sunday, February 28, 2027, 11:59 pm Eastern
Contest #3	February 1, 2027	Sunday, April 11, 2027, 11:59 pm Eastern
Contest #4	March 1, 2027	Sunday, May 23, 2027, 11:59 pm Eastern
Invitational Finals	Invitations from May 1, 2027	Saturday, May 29, 2027, online

ACSL divisions and rules that matter to high schoolers, from the Divisions, Registration and FAQ pages
Item	ACSL’s own wording or rule
Senior Division	For high school students with programming experience, especially those taking AP Computer Science
Intermediate Division	For high school students with little or no programming experience, and advanced junior high students
Each contest	An online 30-minute, 6-question short answer test and a programming problem to solve in 72 hours
Languages	Python 3, Java or C++. Short answer questions may show code in ACSL Programming Language, LISP or Assembly Language, which students only need to read
Teams	A 5-score team can have up to 10 students and a 3-score team up to 6; the team score adds the top 5 or top 3 scores each contest
Registration	By a team advisor, not by students; the season deadline is December 31, 2026
Advisor	"An ACSL advisor can be any teacher, parent or other adult with some CS experience."
During tests	"No calculators are allowed." Paper and pencil only; no internet help and no help from people
Finals cut-off	At least 28 points in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Divisions

How ACSL passes a list to your function (our example)Python

# ACSL's FAQ says its driver passes only primitives, so a list of
# numbers arrives as one string. Split it and convert first.

def largest_gap(numbers_text):
    values = [int(part) for part in numbers_text.split()]
    values.sort()
    gaps = [values[i + 1] - values[i] for i in range(len(values) - 1)]
    return max(gaps) if gaps else 0

print(largest_gap("12 3 40 18 7"))   # sorted: 3 7 12 18 40, gaps 4 5 6 22, prints 22
print(largest_gap("5"))              # one value, no gap, prints 0

Our own function and test strings. The point is the first line inside the function: forgetting to split and convert the string is a common way to lose a whole programming problem.

If your school has no ACSL team

Because any teacher, parent or other adult with some CS experience can act as advisor, a parent can register a small team. ACSL’s FAQ says there is no minimum number of students, and it answers yes to homeschoolers directly.

One rule to know: a student in an after-school program whose full-time school already has an ACSL team must compete on the school’s team.

Why the short answer half matters

Topics range from number systems to Boolean algebra and digital electronics, and the 30 minutes go quickly. Students who only practise programming often score well on the 72-hour problem and lose the contest on the theory half.

Our practice sessions alternate: one week of short answer drills on the ACSL wiki topics, one week of a full programming problem with tests.

Sources: ACSL Schedule, Divisions, Finals, Registration and FAQ, read 17 October 2026. Our ACSL preparation guide goes topic by topic.

The AI question

What each competition says about AI tools

This is an easy rule to get wrong, because it changes completely from one event to the next. Breaking it in USACO can mean a lifetime ban; ignoring it in the Presidential SI Challenge means missing the point of the contest.

AI and outside help in each competition, from the organisers’ own pages (read 17 October 2026)
Competition	Rule on AI or outside help
USACO	Generative AI is prohibited during contests; violations lead to a lifetime ban from all USACO activities
ACSL	Tests are individual; HackerRank plagiarism checks apply, and the Finals run in a secure mode with full-screen enforcement and webcam image analysis
USA-NA-AIO	Part 1 runs with app lockdown; Part 2 allows Google Colab while monitoring software and a screen and face recording stay on
Congressional App Challenge	AI tools are permitted if all AI usage is fully disclosed in the submission materials, and AI must not be the entirety of the technical development
Presidential SI Challenge	The project is about applying SI; teams are asked how they tested or verified the accuracy of SI-generated outputs
CyberPatriot	Teams may ask technical support questions during a round, but not about the vulnerabilities themselves

One habit that works everywhere

Our students practise contest problems with AI switched off from the first week, so a ban never comes as a shock. For build projects, they keep a short log of every AI suggestion they kept and why, which turns disclosure into a five-minute task.

ACSL puts the reason plainly on its Finals page: "It is not a contest to see if the student can get the answer using AI, friends, parents, or random internet sources".

Age limits on the tools themselves

Contest rules are only half of it. Each AI product publishes its own age floor, and a few refuse anyone under 18 outright, so a teenager should check that floor first and involve a parent when opening an account.

Our post on studying with AI without cheating covers the line between help and doing the work for you.

Security contests

CyberPatriot and picoCTF: two very different security competitions

Both are about cybersecurity, but one is defense on a deadline as a team, and the other is a puzzle hunt you can practise alone all year.

CyberPatriot 19 (2026-27) competition rounds for high school teams, from the official schedule (read 17 October 2026)
Round	Dates	Who takes part
Round 1	October 22 to 25, 2026	All Open and All Service Division teams
Round 2	November 12 to 15, 2026	All teams, even those that missed Round 1
State Round	December 10 to 13, 2026	All teams, on a clean slate, placed in tiers by skill
Semifinals	January 21 to 23, 2027	Qualifying teams only
National Finals	March 12 to 16, 2027	National Finalist teams, in person

CyberPatriot in brief

Teams have a coach, who is an approved adult, and between two and six competitors, with at most five competing at any one time. Each team picks one continuous 4-hour block inside the competition weekend window.

For CyberPatriot 19, teams had to be created by October 1, 2026 and competitors added to a roster by October 21, 2026. A student who missed this season can still use the archived training materials and plan to join a team for next season.

picoCTF, now CyLab Security Academy

The picoCTF site now points visitors to CyLab Security Academy, Carnegie Mellon University’s free platform. Its competitors page describes mini-competitions through the year plus an annual flagship for US middle and high school students.

Events allow teams of up to five or are solo, set event by event. Eight domains are covered, from general skills and cryptography to web exploitation, forensics and an AI category on prompt injection. Flagship dates for 2027 were not posted on the read date.

Sources: CyberPatriot competition overview, schedule and registration pages; CyLab Security Academy competitors page; all read 17 October 2026.

Build challenges

Build challenges: an app or an SI project instead of a timed test

Two national challenges ask high schoolers to make something and explain it. Both have hard deadlines in the next few months of the 2026-27 school year.

Two build challenges compared, from their official 2026-27 rules (read 17 October 2026)
Point	Congressional App Challenge (2026)	Presidential SI Challenge (2026-27)
Who	Middle and high school students in a participating Congressional District	High School Student Category: grades 9 to 12, with parental consent
Team	Solo or up to four students	One to four students and one Team Leader aged 21 or older
What you hand in	An app plus a demo video of 1 to 3 minutes and written answers	A PDF of no more than 10 pages plus a title page, and a video of 4 minutes at most
Deadline	12:00 pm EDT, Monday, October 26, 2026	Team sign-up closes December 18, 2026 and the project is due December 23, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern each time
After that	Each Member of Congress’s office judges in November and names winners in December	State champions in February 2027, regional rounds between March 4 and April 8, 2027, national event June 6 to 9, 2027

The name change

Families searching for the Presidential AI Challenge will find the same program under a new name. The official site says an executive order of September 29, 2026 replaced "Artificial Intelligence" with "Super Intelligence" in the executive branch, so the contest is now the Presidential SI Challenge.

The rules also set a Trailblazer Track for projects that are novel and have nationwide impact; every other project goes in the Standard Track.

Doing both

The deadlines are two months apart, so a student can enter the Congressional App Challenge in October and then turn to an SI project for December. The Presidential rules require original work created after August 1, 2026, so plan a separate project rather than reusing the app.

Our Congressional App Challenge guide walks through that rulebook in detail, and the Presidential AI Challenge guide covers the SI Challenge, renamed on 29 September 2026.

Sources: Congressional App Challenge rules and 2026 rulebook; Presidential SI Challenge eligibility, requirements and home pages; read 17 October 2026.

Try one

A practice problem in the style of an algorithm contest

This problem is ours, written for this page, not taken from any contest. It shows the single idea that separates a passing solution from one that times out.

The reading log. A student logged the pages read on each of N days. You are then asked Q questions, each giving two days a and b, and you must print the total pages read from day a to day b inclusive. N and Q can each be as large as 100,000. Input: N and Q on the first line, the N page counts on the second, then Q lines of a and b.

A fast solution with prefix sums (ours)Python

import sys

def main():
    data = sys.stdin.read().split()
    n, q = int(data[0]), int(data[1])
    pages = [int(x) for x in data[2:2 + n]]

    # prefix[i] = pages read on days 1..i, so prefix[0] = 0
    prefix = [0] * (n + 1)
    for i in range(n):
        prefix[i + 1] = prefix[i] + pages[i]

    out = []
    pos = 2 + n
    for _ in range(q):
        a, b = int(data[pos]), int(data[pos + 1])
        pos += 2
        out.append(prefix[b] - prefix[a - 1])
    print("\n".join(map(str, out)))

main()

# Sample input:      Sample output:
# 5 2                6
# 3 1 4 1 5          14
# 2 4
# 1 5

Days 2 to 4 are 1 + 4 + 1 = 6 pages; days 1 to 5 are 3 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 5 = 14 pages.

Why the obvious solution fails (our estimate of the work, worst case)
Approach	Work per question	Total steps when N = Q = 100,000	Verdict
Add up the days for every question	Up to N additions	100,000 x 100,000 = 10,000,000,000	Far too slow for a 4-second limit
Build prefix sums once, subtract per question	One subtraction	About 100,000 + 100,000 = 200,000	Comfortably fast, even in Python

The habit this builds

Before writing a line, multiply the input sizes. If the answer is in the billions, the plan needs to change. Our rough rule of thumb in class is that plain Python manages somewhere in the tens of millions of simple steps per second, so ten billion is hopeless.

Prefix sums, sorting first, and counting with a dictionary are the three tricks that rescue most early contest problems.

Two follow-ups to try

Change the question to the most pages read on any single day between a and b. Prefix sums no longer work; why not?

Change it to the number of days between a and b with at least 10 pages. Can you build a prefix count instead of a prefix sum?

A season plan

A school-year plan for grades 9 to 12

Our plan for a student who wants one individual contest and one team or build event. It uses the published 2026-27 dates where they exist and marks the gaps.

The 2026-27 school year for a high school competitor (our plan, built on the official dates above)
Month	Contest dates	What the student works on
October 2026	ACSL Contest #1 opens Oct 19; CyberPatriot Round 1 Oct 22 to 25; Congressional App Challenge due Oct 26	Finish and submit the app; first ACSL short answer drills
November 2026	CyberPatriot Round 2 Nov 12 to 15	Prefix sums, sorting and simulation problems
December 2026	CyberPatriot State Round Dec 10 to 13; SI Challenge registration Dec 18 and project Dec 23; ACSL registration deadline Dec 31	An SI project if entering; timed USACO-style practice
January 2027	ACSL Contest #1 closes Jan 10; ACSL #2 opens Jan 4; USA-NA-AIO registration closes Jan 31	Winter USACO contests are expected, dates to confirm on usaco.org
February 2027	USA-NA-AIO Round 1 Feb 19; ACSL #2 closes Feb 28	Graphs and recursion for anyone moving up a USACO division
March to May 2027	CyberPatriot National Finals Mar 12 to 16; ACSL #3 and #4; ACSL Finals May 29	Review every contest done this year and rewrite two weak solutions
Summer 2027	Off season for most contests	One bigger project and a fresh look at the 2027-28 rulebooks

Grade 9

Start with ACSL Intermediate or USACO bronze in Python. One team event is plenty.

Grades 10 and 11

Move to C++ or Java if aiming past bronze, and add a security or build event.

Grade 12

Fall deadlines matter most; enter early-season events and keep spring for review.

Where students start

Four stages on the way to contest-ready

Every would-be competitor sits somewhere on this ladder.

From first program to contest-ready (ours)
Step	Signs a student is here
1. Coder	Writes small programs with loops and lists, but not to a time limit
2. Solver	Solves easy contest problems with enough time and a few hints
3. Estimator	Checks the input size first and picks an approach that will run in time
4. Competitor	Solves under a clock, tests edge cases, and reviews every contest afterwards

For parents

The jump from stage 2 to stage 3 is usually the hardest one, and it is a thinking habit, not a new language.

Ask your teen what the input size was in their last problem. If they do not know, that is the habit to build.

For students

Keep a notebook of every problem you could not solve and the idea that unlocked it.

Read the official rules for each event yourself; they are short and they change every season.

The catalogue

Nine courses for high school competitors

Each is taught live by one teacher who stays with the group, or privately for a single student.

I

Algorithms

USACO and ACSL

COM / ALG / 01

Competitive programming

Contest problems, timed.

Open the syllabus

COM / ALG / 02

Problem solving and DSA

The data structures contests use.

Open the syllabus

COM / ALG / 03

C++ for teens

The usual language past bronze.

Open the syllabus

II

Security and AI

CyberPatriot, picoCTF, SI projects

COM / SEC / 01

Cybersecurity competitions

Flags, images and networking.

Open the syllabus

COM / SEC / 02

AI and machine learning

Models you can explain.

Open the syllabus

COM / SEC / 03

Python for teens

The language under all three.

Open the syllabus

III

Building

Apps and school CS

COM / BLD / 01

App development

An app judges can open.

Open the syllabus

COM / BLD / 02

Java for teens

For USACO and ACSL in Java.

Open the syllabus

COM / BLD / 03

AP Computer Science A

Java and the AP exam together.

Open the syllabus

How lessons run

Live classes that fit around contest weekends

Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays.

Weekdays

After-school batches in US time zones.

Weekends

Useful in the weeks before a contest window opens.

1-on-1

Timed around one student’s contest calendar.

Problem review

Every unsolved problem gets a written idea.

Timed rounds

Mock contests with the real time limits.

AI off

Practice runs the way the strict contests do.

Theory drills

ACSL topics in short weekly sets.

Any state

Online, from any US time zone.

Group or private

Fifteen to twenty in a batch, or one student.

Student work

Work our students have built

Programs and apps by our learners, many started as practice for a contest. More on the student labs page.

AI and ML

NutriLife

An AI nutrition coach that reads what you eat and works you toward a target.

by Bhavya · Open it

AI and ML

Misti

A chatbot that answers mathematics and programming questions, built and deployed by a student.

by Harshit · Open it

AI and ML

GuardianX

An assistant that helps a young person recognise unsafe situations online.

by Vivaan · Open it

Web app

SkyCast

A weather forecasting site with live conditions for any location.

by Krish

Fees

USACO and CyLab Security Academy cost nothing to enter; what families pay us for is the teaching and the practice. Fees are monthly, in US dollars, with no contract for the season, so a student can join before a contest window and pause after it.

Free first class

USD 0

no card required

A free first lesson
Bring a contest problem
No card details

Book it

Group batch

USD 100

a month, billed in US dollars

Fifteen to twenty learners
One regular teacher
Choose your batch
Monthly

Start here

One to one

USD 150

a month, billed in US dollars

A teacher to yourself
Planned around your contests
Your own problem list

Enquire

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Questions from families

High school coding competitions: common questions

What coding competitions can high school students enter in the US?

For 2026-27 the main ones are USACO, ACSL, CyberPatriot, picoCTF (now part of CyLab Security Academy), the Congressional App Challenge, the Presidential SI Challenge, the USA-NA-AIO and the FIRST robotics programs. Each has its own eligibility and calendar.

Which coding competition should a beginner in grade 9 start with?

A student who can write basic Python can start USACO in the bronze division or ACSL in the Intermediate Division, which ACSL describes as suited to high schoolers with little or no programming experience.

Is USACO free?

Yes. The USACO rules page says there is never any fee for participation, and anyone can take the online contests.

Can I use ChatGPT or Copilot in a coding competition?

It depends on the event. USACO prohibits generative AI during contests. The Congressional App Challenge allows AI if all use is disclosed. The Presidential SI Challenge is about applying SI, with accuracy checks. Always read the current rules.

When does ACSL start in 2026-27?

ACSL Contest #1 opens on October 19, 2026 and closes on January 10, 2027. Team registration by an advisor closes on December 31, 2026, and the online Finals are on May 29, 2027.

Can I still join CyberPatriot this season?

For CyberPatriot 19, teams had to be created by October 1, 2026 and rosters finalised by October 21, 2026, so a student without a team should plan for the next season and use the training materials now.

Which language should I learn for coding competitions?

Python is fine for USACO bronze and for ACSL. USACO notes that C++ is the only language supported at the IOI, so students aiming for the top divisions usually move to C++ or Java.

Is the Presidential AI Challenge still running?

Yes, under a new name. The official site now calls it the Presidential SI Challenge. For 2026-27, high school teams sign up by December 18, 2026, and their projects are due five days later, on December 23, 2026.

Do coding competitions help with college applications?

Colleges decide for themselves how they weigh any activity, so we make no promises. What a competition reliably gives is practice under a deadline and real problems to talk about.

When are your classes held?

Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays.

Are you connected with USACO, ACSL or any of these competitions?

No. Modern Age Coders is an independent online school. We teach the skills these contests test, and we read each organiser's published rules so our students know what to expect.

Elsewhere on this site

Related pages

Deeper guides to single competitions and the skills behind them.

USACO coaching

Bronze to platinum, division by division.

Congressional App Challenge

The 2026 rulebook, read in full.

Hackathons

Weekend build events for teens.

ACSL preparation

Short answer topics and the 72-hour problem.

CyberPatriot preparation

Images, scoring and team roles.

picoCTF for beginners

First flags, step by step.

Technovation Girls

The app and AI challenge for girls.

Coding classes in the USA

Every page we have for US families.

Coding competitions for middle school students

Middle school coding competitions for 2026-27, grade by grade.

Machine learning competitions for high school students

ML and AI competitions for US high schoolers, 2026-27, from the official rules.

Math competitions for middle school students

Middle school math competitions for 2026-27, compared round by round.

Start here

Book a free first lesson

Tell us which contest is next on the calendar. In the first lesson the teacher works through one problem with your teen and suggests where to begin.

Want to see our approach first? How we teach explains the lesson structure, and the course list has every syllabus.

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Book a priority demo

Three courses behind most high school contest entries

Competitive programming for teens

picoCTF and CyberPatriot prep

App development for teens

Eight high school coding competitions compared

How to read the table

Picking two, not eight

USACO: free online algorithm contests in four divisions

The 2025-26 season, as a guide to 2026-27

What the time limit really means

ACSL: four contests through the school year, run by a team advisor

If your school has no ACSL team

Why the short answer half matters

What each competition says about AI tools

One habit that works everywhere

Age limits on the tools themselves

CyberPatriot and picoCTF: two very different security competitions

CyberPatriot in brief

picoCTF, now CyLab Security Academy

Build challenges: an app or an SI project instead of a timed test

The name change

Doing both

A practice problem in the style of an algorithm contest

The habit this builds

Two follow-ups to try

A school-year plan for grades 9 to 12

Grade 9

Grades 10 and 11

Grade 12

Four stages on the way to contest-ready

For parents

For students

Nine courses for high school competitors

Algorithms

Competitive programming

Problem solving and DSA

C++ for teens

Security and AI

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High school coding competitions: common questions

What coding competitions can high school students enter in the US?

Which coding competition should a beginner in grade 9 start with?

Is USACO free?

Can I use ChatGPT or Copilot in a coding competition?

When does ACSL start in 2026-27?

Can I still join CyberPatriot this season?

Which language should I learn for coding competitions?

Is the Presidential AI Challenge still running?

Do coding competitions help with college applications?

When are your classes held?

Are you connected with USACO, ACSL or any of these competitions?

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