- Grades9 to 12
- Cost$100 to $1,500
Academic competitions for students under 18
Academic competitions test recall and rapid retrieval across subjects. Quiz bowl and bee formats reward systematic study of a defined canon, which means the preparation is unusually tractable: previous questions are published, the distribution of topics is known, and a disciplined student can improve fast.
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Coding
Bebras Challenge
A short online computational thinking challenge with no programming required, from age 8 upward.
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- CostUp to $5
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Engineering
Destination Imagination
Team creative problem solving across technical, scientific, engineering, fine arts and service challenges.
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- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$165 to $5,500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Science
HOSA
Over sixty competitive events across clinical skills, health knowledge and leadership, from middle school upward.
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- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$20 to $1,500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Academic
International Geography Bee
A buzzer geography competition with online qualifying, filling the gap left by the discontinued National Geographic Bee.
82 days left
- Grades3 to 12
- Cost$10 to $500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereBoth
Writing
JEA Write-off Competitions
On-site journalism contests held at national conventions across news, feature, sports, design and photojournalism.
Academic
NACLO
Solve puzzles in languages you have never seen, with no prior linguistics knowledge required.
Coding
NASEF Scholastic Esports
School-based esports leagues paired with a curriculum in production, broadcasting, analysis and game design.
Academic
National History Bee and Bowl
Buzzer competition in history, run as both an individual bee and a team bowl, with online qualifying.
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- Grades9 to 12
- Cost$10 to $30
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
172 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades2 to 12
- Cost$10 to $800
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereBoth
Academic
National History Day
Original historical research presented as a paper, exhibit, documentary, performance or website.
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- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree to $150
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Academic
National Latin Exam
A single low-cost exam sat at school, with medals and a very high award rate for prepared students.
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- Grades6 to 12
- CostUp to $10
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person
Scholarships and challenges
National Merit Scholarship Program
The scholarship competition you enter by sitting the PSAT/NMSQT in your junior year, whether you meant to or not.
Science
National Science Bowl
A fast buzzer competition across all sciences and maths, run free by the Department of Energy since 1991.
142 days left
- Grades11 to 12
- CostFree to $30
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
52 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree to $50
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Engineering
Odyssey of the Mind
Teams solve a long-term creative problem over months, then face a spontaneous problem they have never seen.
75 days left
- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$290 to $400
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Academic
Quiz Bowl (NAQT HSNCT)
Buzzer-based team quiz across every academic subject, with a huge published archive of past questions.
Academic
Scripps National Spelling Bee
The most watched academic competition in America, reached through school, district and regional bees.
Writing
The Concord Review
The only journal in the world that publishes academic history papers by secondary students.
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- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$50 to $2,000
- FormatTeam
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades1 to 8
- CostFree to $225
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
142 days left
- Grades9 to 12
- Cost$40 to $100
PreparationA research essay with endnotes and a bibliography, at a standard close to undergraduate work
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Debate and speech
World Scholar's Cup
A team academic competition combining debate, collaborative writing, a quiz bowl and a scholar's challenge, with rounds in dozens of countries.
53 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$100 to $3,000
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereBoth
Check site
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