Sage-Tips

How does USA Computing Olympiad work?

How do contest divisions work? USACO has four divisions of competition, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. All competitors start in Bronze division. After each contest weekend, you may be “promoted” to the next level with a sufficiently high score – usually getting about 600-800 out of 1000.

Do colleges look at USACO?

I have corresponded a bit in the past with college admissions officers asking about our participants. The short answer is yes, USACO participation is indeed something that is viewed quite positively.

How many participants does USACO have?

USACO 2020 US Open Contest, Gold The gold division had 779 total participants, of whom 612 were pre-college students.

How are countries selected to participate in the IOI?

Each participating country sends a team of four students and selection is coordinated through a national competition. If your country is not listed on the Members page of the IOI, you need to approach an organization that is capable of initiating such an activity in your country.

How to win a medal at the IOI?

To win a medal at the IOI, you need to know how to program in one of the allowed programming languages, to be able to understand and implement algorithms, and to be a good problem solver. The most commonly used programming language by competitors is C++.

How can I join the International Organization of international programmers (IOI)?

You should ask someone from this organization to contact the Secretary of IOI for more information about the procedure for new countries to join IOI. To win a medal at the IOI, you need to know how to program in one of the allowed programming languages, to be able to understand and implement algorithms, and to be a good problem solver.

Do I need to read the previous IOIs?

If you are a first-time participant of an IOI, either as a delegation leader or deputy, an observer, or a competitor, then it is advisable to read some of the reports and tasks from previous IOIs. Every IOI is different, but the changes should not be very drastic (mostly).