Guides

Curated lists answering the questions students and parents actually ask, rather than making you assemble filters yourself. Each guide explains how that slice of the competition world works before it lists anything.

20 competitions Engineering competitions for high school students Design-and-build challenges open to students in grades 9 to 12, from rocketry and robotics to bridge design and invention. Most run as te... 19 competitions Coding competitions for high school students Algorithmic contests, app challenges, cybersecurity events and AI competitions open to grades 9 to 12. The algorithmic contests reward mo... 21 competitions Science competitions for high school students Research fairs, subject olympiads and lab-based challenges for grades 9 to 12. Research fairs want a project you designed and ran yoursel... 12 competitions Math competitions for high school students Timed problem-solving exams, proof olympiads and team leagues for grades 9 to 12. Almost all of them publish every past paper for free, w... 20 competitions Business competitions for high school students Pitch competitions, case events and finance challenges for grades 9 to 12. Pitch contests want a venture concept with real customer resea... 17 competitions Writing competitions for high school students Fiction, poetry, essay and journalism prizes for grades 9 to 12. These are the cheapest high-prestige awards a teenager can win: most are... 8 competitions Robotics competitions for high school students Build-and-compete robot leagues for grades 9 to 12. Costs vary enormously between leagues, so read the entry cost on each listing before ... 11 competitions Science competitions for middle school students Science competitions that accept students in grades 6 to 8. Middle school is the best time to start competing, because the fields are sma... 12 competitions Math competitions for middle school students Math competitions that accept students in grades 6 to 8. Middle school is the best time to start competing, because the fields are smalle... 16 competitions Coding competitions for middle school students Coding competitions that accept students in grades 6 to 8. Middle school is the best time to start competing, because the fields are smal... 9 competitions Robotics competitions for middle school students Robotics competitions that accept students in grades 6 to 8. Middle school is the best time to start competing, because the fields are sm... 12 competitions Writing competitions for middle school students Writing competitions that accept students in grades 6 to 8. Middle school is the best time to start competing, because the fields are sma... 18 competitions Engineering competitions for middle school students Engineering competitions that accept students in grades 6 to 8. Middle school is the best time to start competing, because the fields are... 52 competitions Free competitions for teenagers Competitions with no entry fee for the student. Some of the most respected competitions in the world are on this list, including USACO, t... 67 competitions Online competitions for high school students Competitions you can enter without travelling, either fully online or with an online qualifying round. This matters most if you are outsi... 59 competitions Beginner competitions for students who have never competed Competitions rated 1 or 2 out of 5 for difficulty. These assume no prior competition experience, and most publish past problems or past w... 79 competitions Team competitions for students Competitions you enter as a team rather than alone. Team events reward a different set of skills, and they let students who are not the s... 79 competitions Competitions with scholarships and cash prizes Competitions where the prize includes money for education. Prize amounts move with sponsors more than any other fact in this directory, s... 14 competitions The best competitions for high school students, by subject There is no single best competition, because the right one depends on what you already enjoy and how much time you have. What this page d... 14 competitions The best competitions for middle school students, by subject There is no single best competition, because the right one depends on what you already enjoy and how much time you have. What this page d... 73 competitions Competitions a 6th grader can enter Grade 6 is the first year most national competitions open up. Before this, options are mostly elementary divisions of larger programmes. ... 84 competitions Competitions a 7th grader can enter Grade 7 sits in the sweet spot for middle school competitions: old enough for almost every middle school division, young enough to still ... 86 competitions Competitions a 8th grader can enter Grade 8 is the last year for several middle school competitions, including the AMC 8 and MATHCOUNTS, so it is worth entering the ones you... 108 competitions Competitions a 9th grader can enter Grade 9 opens the high school divisions. Many students enter their first serious competition this year, and several programmes are explic... 12 competitions AI and machine learning competitions for students Competitions where artificial intelligence is either the subject or a legitimate tool. They split into three kinds, and it is worth knowi... 25 competitions Free STEM competitions for students Science, technology, engineering and maths competitions with no entry fee for the student. This matters more than it sounds: entry fees i... 10 competitions Beginner robotics competitions Robotics leagues that accept teams with no previous experience. Two things make robotics different from every other category in this dire... 15 competitions Maths competitions by grade level Maths is the most clearly laddered subject in this directory, and entering at the right rung matters more here than anywhere else. The co...