5 Computer Science Competitions for Middle School Students
If you are a middle school student interested in and have a bit of experience in coding, you should try your luck in computer science competitions! Participating in these competitions is a fantastic way for you to develop practical skills, collaborate with peers, and experience the thrill of solving real-world problems at a young age.
It is no secret that coding, in general, and computer science are rapidly becoming essential skills for the future, so early exposure to this field can ignite your passion and prepare you for a promising career path. Participating in computer science competitions will not only help you showcase your skills but also help you gain an understanding of your standing among your peers.
In this blog, we take a look at the five computer science competitions suitable for middle school students.
1. NASA App Development Challenge (ADC)
Location: Virtual for the initial stages, and the top teams are invited to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston
Participation Cost: Free
Dates: October - December 2024 (tentative, based on the 2024 program). The event for top teams usually takes place in April.
Registration Deadline: September 2024 (tentative, based on the 2024 competition)
Eligibility: Middle and high school students. A school or team coordinator (Lead Teacher) is required to register for the students. Teams can only consist of either all middle school or all high school students and should have a minimum of 5 participants.
NASA App Development Challenge is a coding competition in which NASA presents technical problems to middle and high school students seeking student contributions to deep space exploration missions. You get to work on real data sets collected by NASA and provide insights to ongoing missions!
By participating in this competition, you take part directly in the Artemis Generation's endeavors to land American astronauts. In the 2024 edition of the competition, you had to create an app that visualizes the South Pole region of the Moon utilizing lunar terrain data and displaying essential navigation and communication information. You will have to create your app in 10 weeks and showcase it by submitting a video!
Teams with the best apps have an interview with NASA subject matter experts, and top teams are invited to a live event at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. If you’re interested in knowing more, you can check out our blog here!
2. American Computer Science League (ACSL)
Location: Virtual
Participation Cost: Team in a division $150 and $100 for the Elementary Division
Dates: The dates for the 2024-2025 season are not out yet. However, four contests take place from November to March, with finals taking place during May.
Registration/Submission Deadline: Multiple Deadlines between January to May
Eligibility: All elementary, middle, or high school students. The school must register for the competition on the student’s behalf.
The American Computer Science League conducts computer programming and computer science contests at the K–12 level, with schools and organizations divided into different classes. As a middle schooler, you can look into participating in the junior division!
Each season of ACSL consists of four contests. You will be tested on many fundamental concepts of computer science, such as number systems, Boolean algebra, and digital electronics. On advancement to higher levels, the contests become complex, including solving problems with real-world applications where you will have to utilize programming languages such as Python, C++, or Java to solve problems!
Each contest consists of an online 30-minute, 5-question short-answer test and an online programming problem to solve in 72 hours on the HackerRank platform. Do note that you will participate in these contests as teams, with a limit of 12 students per division from a school, but you are scored individually.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can check out our detailed blog on the ACSL!
Location: Virtual
Participation Cost: Free
Dates: Registration will open in January 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
Registration/Submission Deadline: Submission deadlines are usually in May
Eligibility: Students between the ages of 5-18 years old
Imagine Cup Junior is a global student challenge that is an immersive experience for children aged 5 to 18 who want to solve the world's biggest problems using advancements in technology. This competition is a great introduction to technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and cybersecurity, making it suitable for all levels, especially beginners.
The 2024 program introduced a category for 5-12-year-olds that focused on Technology for Good and encouraged students to apply technology for the betterment of society. For students aged 13-18 years old, Generative AI was the focus and participants were given introductory lessons on topics including Intro to AI, Machine Learning, AI Applications in Real Life, Deep Learning and Neural Networks, AI for Good, and Cybersecurity.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Imagine Cup Junior, you can check our blog our here!
4. Congressional App Challenge
Location: Virtual
Participation Cost: Free
Date: Registration is currently open
Registration/Submission Deadline: October 24th, 2024
Eligibility: Open to middle and high school students who are residents of a participating congressional district. You may participate as an individual or team of four.
The Congressional App Challenge is a competition designed to help students explore STEM, coding, and computer science through hands-on practice. Students from traditionally underrepresented communities are encouraged to participate in this program. This competition will give you a rare chance to use your programming abilities to create an engaging project that truly benefits your local community.
You are required to create and submit your original apps based on the topics and problem statements, which vary for every district and state. To participate in the Congressional App Challenge, you must know how to code in common programming languages as well as have experience on different app development platforms such as XCode or Kotlin.
We have covered the Congressional App Challenge in detail in our blog here!
5. CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition
Location: Virtual with final national round in Bethesda, MD
Participation Cost: $175 for Middle School division teams. Teams registering before July 1 receive a 20% discount.
Dates: Middle School Division takes place between November and March
Registration/Submission Deadline: April 1st, 2024- October 2nd, 2024
Eligibility: Both middle school and high school students
The CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Education is organized by the US Air Force Association and is designed to inculcate an interest in cybersecurity and related fields among students. The competition is built to simulate real-life IT scenarios that you might encounter as IT professionals in your future careers. You will participate in teams of 2–6 students.
Each team will consist of a coach who needs to be an adult and can be a teacher, JROTC instructor, administrator, or parent. IT-experienced individuals can act as mentors. There is a dedicated Middle School Division, so don’t worry - you will only compete against other middle schoolers!
There are four rounds of this challenge - Exhibition Rounds (between May to August), Training Round (September), Official Practice Rounds (October), and Scored/Live Rounds (October to January): teams participate in the four-hour long competitions in this round. Teams qualifying for the National Finals Competition travel all-expenses paid to Bethesda, MD in the spring.
You can look at our blog here, which covers ‘Everything You Need to Know About the CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition’!
If you’re looking to build a project/research paper in the field of computer science, consider applying to Veritas AI!
Veritas AI is founded by Harvard graduate students. Through the programs, you get a chance to 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 AI & ML with us. You can apply here!