10 Coding Challenges for High School Students
In today's digital age, coding has become an essential skill that opens numerous doors for academic and career opportunities. Participating in coding challenges is an excellent way for high school students to develop and hone programming skills, gain practical experience, and build a competitive portfolio. These challenges enhance problem-solving and critical thinking abilities and provide a platform to showcase talent to potential colleges and future employers.
Whether you are a beginner looking to get started or an advanced coder aiming to push your limits, coding challenges offer a structured and stimulating environment to test your skills. In this blog, we have compiled a list of 10 exciting coding challenges that are perfect for high school students.
1. American Computer Science League
Location: Virtual
Cost: No Cost
Prize: Certificates and cash prizes (amount not disclosed).
Registration + Submission Deadline: The 2024-2025 dates have not been released, but expect the first competition to be available by the beginning of November.
Eligibility: Must be an elementary, middle, or high school student. Please check if your school has registered for the competition.
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. As a middle school student, you will be able to participate in the Junior and Intermediate divisions!
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.
To make the most of this competition and learn everything there is to know, check out this ultimate guide to the American Computer Science League!
Location: Virtual/ TBA
Cost: No Cost
Prize: Opportunity to advance to IOI and other international olympiads
Challenge Dates: The First Challenge should be between December 16, 2024, and December 19, 2024 (tentatively, based on the previous year’s schedule).
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
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).
3. NASA App Development Challenge
Location: Virtual, but if selected as a Top Team, you will be invited to the culminating event at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Cost: Free
Prize: Invitation to the culminating event at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston
Challenge Dates: April 15-18, 2025 (tentative, based on the previous year’s dates).
Eligibility: Teams may be a middle school team or a high school team. The minimum team size is 5 students and 1 Lead Teacher. There is no maximum team size. Teams must be led by a sponsor or educator (i.e., Lead Teacher) from an informal or formal U.S. education organization.
The NASA App Development Challenge is an exciting and highly interactive competition inviting participants to create innovative mobile applications using NASA's extensive resources and data. Participants are tasked with designing apps that address real-world problems or promote space exploration and scientific discovery.
The challenge typically involves several rounds of submissions and evaluations, culminating in the selection of winning applications. Emphasis is placed on creativity, functionality, and effective use of NASA's data, making it an exciting opportunity for developers to contribute to space science and technology.
If you’re looking at participating, look at our blog that gives you 8 Tips to Win the NASA App Development Challenge!
4. Congressional App Challenge
Location: Virtual
Cost: No cost to participate.
Prizes: 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.
Competition Dates: The application deadline is October 24, 2024.
Eligibility: Middle or high school students who are residents of a participating congressional district can participate. Teams may not have more than 4 members.
This district-wide contest is hosted by members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The idea of the Congressional App Challenge is to encourage students to problem-solve real-world challenges through coding.
In this competition, you will have to develop an app (through coding) that addresses a real-world issue. Apart from commonly used programming languages, brushing up on different app development platforms like XCode or Kotlin is beneficial.
If you are keen on taking part in this competition, here is a guide on how to win the congressional app challenge!
5. NASA International Space Apps Competition
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Prize: 10 Awards are available. Winning teams receive an invitation to visit a NASA center or facility for a special Space Apps Winners Trip.
Challenge Dates: October 5-6, 2024
Eligibility: Everyone is eligible to participate
The NASA International Space Apps Competition invites participants worldwide to work together on a variety of space-related projects, from developing software applications to designing hardware solutions.
The competition's format typically spans a weekend, during which participants form teams and tackle specific challenges posed by NASA and its partners. These challenges encompass a wide range of topics, including space technology, Earth science, and space exploration, offering diverse opportunities for participants to showcase their skills and creativity.
You can look at our blog on the Space Apps Competition for more information!
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Prize: Various prizes, including digital certificates and t-shirts. Finalists have the opportunity to visit Google headquarters.
Challenge Dates: Varies
Eligibility: Students aged 13-17
Google Code-In is an open-source development competition tailored for young, aspiring coders and students between the ages of 13 and 17. Organized by Google, this annual event offers an opportunity for participants to engage with and contribute to various open-source organizations and apps. The competition typically spans a couple of months and provides a diverse array of tasks, including coding, documentation, design, quality assurance, and more.
Participants select tasks that align with their skills and interests, and they work with experienced mentors from the open-source community to complete these tasks. Google Code-In focuses on fostering collaboration, community engagement, and the development of essential coding skills while also nurturing a new generation of open-source contributors.
Location: Competitions held in most states. You can look for teams and events here!
Cost: New FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams can expect to pay approximately $1000 for team registration, the Challenge Set, and a reusable robot kit of parts.
Prize: Scholarships are awarded to the top scorers.
Registration + Submission Deadline: Mid-May is the deadline for registrations, and November and June (of the next year) are the competition/submission dates (based on previous years).
Eligibility:
Students between the ages of 9-14 (4-8th Grade)
2-10 members per team, with 2 adult coaches.
The FIRST Robotics Challenge (FRC) is an esteemed global competition that blends the thrill of sports with the rigor of science and technology. Founded by Dean Kamen, this annual event invites high school students and mentors to design, build, and compete with large-scale robots. Each year, FRC presents a new challenge with specific game objectives that teams must address by creating a unique robot.
The competition begins with a six-week build season, where teams collaborate intensely to develop their robots. This is followed by regional, national, and international events where the robots compete in exciting head-to-head matches. If you wish to participate, look at our blog on 7 tips to help you win the FIRST Robotics Competition!
8. HPE CodeWars
Location: TBA, but also can be completed virtually
Cost: No costs apart from travel expenses to in-person competition.
Prize: There is a prize pool for raffle winners and an award.
Challenge Dates: March 2, 2025 (tentatively, based on the previous year’s dates)
Eligibility: Students between the ages of 13 through 18. Teams of the size of 2 to 3 people and an adult sponsor. Sponsors can be sponsors to a max of three teams.
HPE CodeWars is a coding competition for middle and high school students in which a team of 3 students will have 3 hours to solve 30 problems that get progressively 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 the two-pointer technique, binary search and other tools to improve algorithm efficiency. Check out this ultimate guide to HPE CodeWars to learn more about the competition!
Location: Stanford Campus
Cost: No Cost
Prize: Awards and trophies to winners. The top 8 will receive a certificate.
Challenge Dates: TBA for 2025 (likely in March, based on the 2024 schedule).
Eligibility:
Open to all high school students.
Teams must consist of 1-3 people.
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 effectively debugging and troubleshooting your code. The ProCo has both novice and advanced categories.
10. Technovation Coding Competition for Girls
Location: Virtual
Cost: No Cost
Prize: Awards of up to $30,000 are available in cash and prizes.
Challenge Dates: April 24, 2025 (Based on the previous year’s dates)
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.
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.
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!
Image Source - Congressional App Challenge Logo