Competitions a grade 3 student can enter

28 competitions in this directory accept students in grade 3. Eligibility rules differ: some also set an age ceiling on the day of the competition, which each listing states.

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Coding ACSL A school-based league of short written and programming contests across four ability divisions.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$125 to $175

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatEither

WhereOnline

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Math AIME Fifteen problems, three hours, integer answers only. Invitation required.

Grades1 to 12
CostUp to $25

PreparationA qualifying score on AMC 10 or AMC 12

FormatIndividual

WhereIn person

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Math AMC 10 and AMC 12 The 75-minute exam that opens the door to the US math olympiad ladder.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree to $70

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatIndividual

WhereIn person

36 days left

Math AMC 8 A 40-minute, 25-question exam for middle schoolers and the natural first step into contest maths.

Grades1 to 8
CostFree to $30

RecommendedGrades 6 to 8

FormatIndividual

WhereIn person

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Math ARML Fifteen-student regional teams competing in relays and a power round over one intense weekend.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$100 to $800

PreparationComfort with olympiad-style problems, and a place on a regional team

FormatTeam

WhereIn person

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Coding Bebras Challenge A short online computational thinking challenge with no programming required, from age 8 upward.

Grades1 to 12
CostUp to $5

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatIndividual

WhereOnline

Check site

Scholarships and challenges Davidson Fellows Scholarship Scholarships of up to $50,000 for a significant piece of work in science, technology, mathematics, literature, music or philosophy.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree

PreparationA completed piece of work at or close to college graduate level

FormatIndividual

WhereOnline

Check site

Engineering Destination Imagination Team creative problem solving across technical, scientific, engineering, fine arts and service challenges.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$165 to $5,500

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatTeam

WhereIn person

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Art and design Doodle for Google Redesign the Google logo around an annual theme, with a scholarship and a day on the homepage at stake.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatIndividual

WhereOnline

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Engineering ExploraVision Pick a technology, project it twenty years forward, and write the paper explaining how it gets there.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatTeam

WhereOnline

140 days left

Robotics FIRST LEGO League The entry point to competitive robotics, starting at age four and running through middle school.

Grades1 to 8
Cost$100 to $1,200

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatTeam

WhereIn person

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Music From the Top Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award A scholarship award for outstanding young classical musicians with financial need, including a national radio appearance.

Grades3 to 12
CostFree

PreparationRepertoire ready for broadcast performance, plus demonstrated financial need

FormatIndividual

WhereBoth

61 days left

Academic International Geography Bee A buzzer geography competition with online qualifying, filling the gap left by the discontinued National Geographic Bee.

Grades3 to 12
Cost$10 to $500

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatIndividual

WhereBoth

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Coding International Olympiad in AI The newest international science olympiad, with a scientific round and a practical machine learning round.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree to $500

PreparationProgramming plus an understanding of machine learning fundamentals

FormatTeam

WhereBoth

173 days left

Engineering Invention Convention Invent something that solves a real problem, document the process, and pitch it like an inventor.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree to $100

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatEither

WhereIn person

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Robotics MATE ROV Competition Build an underwater remotely operated vehicle and run real ocean-industry missions in a pool.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$100 to $3,000

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatTeam

WhereIn person

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Math Math Kangaroo A friendly international puzzle contest that starts in grade 1.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$21 to $30

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatIndividual

WhereIn person

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Math Math Prize for Girls The largest cash prize in pre-college mathematics, open to girls and non-binary students.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree

PreparationAn AMC 10 or AMC 12 score above the year's cutoff

FormatIndividual

WhereIn person

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Academic National History Bee and Bowl Buzzer competition in history, run as both an individual bee and a team bowl, with online qualifying.

Grades2 to 12
Cost$10 to $800

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatEither

WhereBoth

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Engineering Odyssey of the Mind Teams solve a long-term creative problem over months, then face a spontaneous problem they have never seen.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$290 to $400

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatTeam

WhereIn person

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Academic Scripps National Spelling Bee The most watched academic competition in America, reached through school, district and regional bees.

Grades1 to 8
CostFree to $225
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person

142 days left

Robotics SeaPerch Build an underwater robot from PVC pipe and motors for well under a hundred dollars, then race and manoeuvre it.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$50 to $300
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

Check site

Coding Technovation Girls A free global season where girls aged 8 to 18 build an app or AI project and pitch it as a venture.

Grades3 to 12
CostFree

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatTeam

WhereOnline

Check site

Engineering The Paradigm Challenge Solve a real social problem however you like, from age four upward, with a large prize pool.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatEither

WhereOnline

234 days left

Chess and strategy US Chess Scholastic National Championships National championships separated by grade, age and rating, so beginners are never paired against masters.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$30 to $200

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatEither

WhereIn person

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Robotics VEX IQ Robotics Competition A snap-together robotics league for elementary and middle school, with cooperative rather than head-to-head matches.

Grades3 to 8
Cost$200 to $1,200

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatTeam

WhereIn person

Check site

Robotics World Robot Olympiad An international robotics competition running in over eighty countries, with categories from age six upward.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$50 to $2,000

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatTeam

WhereIn person

Check site

Chess and strategy World Youth Chess Championship The international age-group championship, entered through your national chess federation.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$500 to $5,000

StructureDivisions by grade or level

FormatIndividual

WhereIn person

Check site