15 Summer Competitions for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 16 minutes ago
- 11 min read
Summer competitions can be a great way to challenge yourself outside the classroom while exploring your academic and extracurricular interests in a more focused setting. Whether you enjoy writing, coding, mathematics, entrepreneurship, biology, law, or artificial intelligence, competitions allow you to apply your skills to real-world problems and structured challenges. Many summer competitions also give you the opportunity to collaborate with peers, receive feedback from judges or professionals, and gain recognition for your work at the national or international level.
Why should I participate in a high school summer competition?
Summer competitions can help you strengthen subject-specific skills while developing qualities such as creativity, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. Depending on the competition, you might write research-based essays, build coding projects, solve advanced math problems, develop startup ideas, or present solutions to social and scientific challenges. These experiences can help you explore potential academic interests, demonstrate initiative and intellectual curiosity on college applications, and gain exposure to competitive environments alongside other motivated students.
To help you with your search, we have narrowed down 15 summer competitions for high school students.
If you’re looking for free online competitions, check out our blog here.
Location: Online
Cost and Prizes: Free; winning essay published on the competition site + access to a speaker event available
Dates: Submission deadline: June 26; Notification of winners and runners up: First week of August
Application deadline: June 26
Eligibility: Current high school students worldwide
This contest requires high school students to produce an essay focused on law, case analysis, legal reasoning, and structured argumentation. Each year, the prompt focused on a legal question; past questions have centered on due process and the limits of government power, asking students to argue whether governments can ever justifiably limit individual rights, and when necessity claims hold legal weight. Essays that are successful typically engage with real legal reasoning and draw on historical or modern examples; so, instead of a general opinion-based article, you will need to develop a structured legal argument. The winning essay will be published on the CULR website, and the winner and runners-up will be invited to a speaker event hosted by the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review.
Location: Virtual
Cost and Prizes: $63 (10,000 yen)/team registration fee; prizes include trophies and award certificates
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Competitive; team-based participation
Dates: Preliminary Round: May 16 | Final Round: June 20
Application deadline: April 20
Eligibility: High school students, ages 14 – 18
GYEC is a high-intensity, team-based competition where you will develop a business solution to a real-world problem within a constrained timeframe. You and your team will be presented with a surprise global challenge and given just 12 hours to create a structured business proposal. The output includes a concise two-page business plan and a three-minute video pitch outlining your solution, target market, and execution strategy. The competition emphasizes innovation and requires your idea to incorporate a scientific or technology-driven approach, often with a sustainability or social impact focus. You will need to integrate skills in ideation, market analysis, and basic financial planning while working collaboratively under pressure. Problem statements typically address global issues such as climate change, education access, or public health. Winning teams will receive a trophy and a certificate of achievement, while all participants get a certificate of participation along with a feedback sheet.
Location: Online
Cost and Prizes: Free; $50,000+ in scholarships and prizes, including tech gear, campus supplies, and cash awards
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Open to all eligible students
Dates: Team Formation: June 8 – 12; Championship Kick-off: June 13; Qualifying Round: June 13 – 22; Championship Finals (top 10 teams): June 27
Application deadline: Rolling admissions with deadlines in August, November, and February
Eligibility: U.S. high school students, ages 14 and up; no prior AI or programming experience required
The Apex AI High School Championship is a free, online competition where you will learn AI skills and then put them to the test against other high school students across the country. After applying, you will get access to guided training in AI tools and programming using Python, Rust, or Java. The qualifying round is self-paced, so you can complete it in your own time. Based on the performance in this round, the top 10 teams advance to a full-day virtual championship finals. All participants will earn a certificate recognized by top universities, which can be added to college applications. You can apply individually or with peers from school.
Location: Virtual
Cost and Prizes: Free to participate; prize pool of $15,000+ in cash prizes and USAII AI certification scholarships + certificates and digital badges available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Open to all eligible students
Dates: Readiness Qualifier: June 7 – 10; Hackathon Build: June 14 – 21; Judging: June 22 – 25; Global Showcase and awards: June 27
Application deadline: Registration and team formation window: April 26 – June 6
Eligibility: High school, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students worldwide
The United States Artificial Intelligence Institute (USAII) Global AI Hackathon is a free, one-week online competition where you will work within a team to build an AI project that tackles a real-world problem. This summer competition runs separate tracks for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, each with its own theme. As a high schooler, you will work on challenges related to learning, community, and the environment. Before the hackathon starts, you can enroll in self-paced AI Bootcamps to build skills and familiarity with tools. You will also take an AI Thinking Assessment during the Qualifier phase to ensure you are ready before the build week starts. The event wraps up with a livestreamed showcase where winning teams will be announced and recognized.
Location: Virtual
Cost and Prizes: Free; prizes: $1,000 (1st place), $500 (2nd place), and $300 (3rd place)
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Open to all eligible students
Dates: Submission deadline: July 18; Winners announced: August 29
Application deadline: July 18
Eligibility: Students, researchers, and engineers who are at least 18 when the contest begins
The MathWorks AI Challenge is a project-based competition where you will choose an AI problem from a given list and design a solution for it. You will explore AI’s real-world applications using tools like MATLAB, then submit your work through a GitHub repository with required documentation. The focus will be on how well your solution solves the problem, along with its originality and technical quality. The project will be evaluated by engineers based on criteria such as depth, real-world impact, and clarity of your code and explanation. You can use a video to strengthen your entry and win extra points.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Open enrollment
Dates: Submission and voting phase: March 2 – June 5; Announcement of winners: June 23
Application deadline: May 4
Eligibility: Students, ages 13 and up
CEC is a global, idea-based competition where you will design a business concept aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The focus is on developing solutions to real-world social or environmental challenges, allowing you to explore how entrepreneurship can be used to create measurable impact. You will begin by identifying a problem and proposing an initial solution that demonstrates both relevance and feasibility. The competition is structured in three phases, each emphasizing a different aspect of venture development. In the first stage, you submit your idea and outline its core components. Then, you will participate in a public voting phase in which you can gather community support for your ideas. In the final phase, the 10 highest-voted submissions will be reviewed by an expert jury, who will select the competition winners. You can also participate in training sessions and refine your concept using the Entrepreneurial Design Canvas, a framework that helps you systematically build and evaluate your business model.
Location: University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 7
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 10
The UW Math Olympiad is a rigorous, oral-format mathematics competition that evaluates both your problem-solving ability and your capacity to clearly communicate mathematical reasoning. You will begin by working independently on five challenging problems over a three-hour period, using analytical thinking and advanced mathematical concepts. If you successfully solve at least three problems, you will progress to a second round featuring more complex questions. A key aspect of this competition is its oral evaluation format; after solving each problem, you will present your solution to mathematician judges. You will have up to three attempts to improve your answer based on feedback.
Location: Online
Cost and Prizes: $15 fee (waivers available); top three essays are published in the Princeton Legal Journal
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Open to all
Dates: Submission deadline: May 15; Announcement of winners: Late May
Application deadline: May 15
Eligibility: High school students
This contest allows you to write an essay on a topical legal theme and get a chance to publish your work in the Princeton Legal Journal, a student-run publication at Princeton University. The theme changes each year; past topics have included presidential power and the Constitution, free speech, religious liberty in law, and tech regulation. You will write and submit an original essay responding to the given prompt. If your essay is selected as one of the top entries, it will be featured in the Princeton Legal Journal. The competition also recognizes other successful essays as honorable mentions.
Location: Virtual competition; World Cup in Vietnam
Cost and Prizes: Free
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Competitive; top teams advance to international level (SAGE World Cup)
Dates: Submission window: April 25 – May 2; Presentations: May 3 –17; Announcement of results: May 31
Application deadline: May 2
Eligibility: High school students participating in teams
The SAGE USA National Competition is a project-based entrepreneurship competition where you will present a real venture your team has built to address social or environmental challenges. To participate, you and your team will prepare a structured four-page annual report detailing your venture’s mission, activities, and outcomes. You will also deliver a 13-minute live virtual presentation, followed by a seven-minute Q&A session with judges. You will be evaluated on an active initiative that demonstrates measurable impact within your community. This requires you to combine execution, innovation, and impact assessment rather than focusing solely on concept development. This format allows you to showcase your work using multiple formats, such as slides, videos, or demonstrations, while defending your decisions and results in real time. The top two teams will be invited to attend the SAGE World Cup.
Location: Online + optional awards dinner in London for winners
Cost and Prizes: Free; prizes include $1,000 – $5,000 scholarships toward John Locke Institute programs
Dates: Entry submission window: April 1 – May 31; late submission dates: June 7 and June 21; Notification of shortlisted essays: July 7
Application deadline: March 31; registration opens on February 2.
Eligibility: Students around the world who are under 19 years old by May 31 (Junior category: students under 15 | Senior category: students, ages 15 – 18)
The John Locke Institute Global Essay Prize competition invites students to write a 2,000-word essay focusing on a single question. You can choose an angle and a subject within one of 10 categories: philosophy, politics, history, international relations, psychology, economics, theology, law, public policy, and science and technology. Essays are evaluated by academics from Harvard, Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge, and Stanford based on criteria like use of evidence, originality, writing style, knowledge, quality of argument, and persuasive force. If your essay is shortlisted, you will be invited to participate in a conference and awards dinner in London. The competition concludes with the announcement of six winners in each category (junior and senior), who will receive scholarships to attend John Locke Institute programs.
Location: Online Submission
Cost and Prizes: Free; $100 cash prize for each winner
Acceptance size/Cohort size: Open to all students globally
Dates: Submission deadline: May 15; winners announced in the months following the submission (dates not specified)
Application deadline: May 15
Eligibility: Students in grades 4 – 12 worldwide
This international contest encourages you to reflect on your personal character by writing about a core value that holds significant meaning in your life. You will submit a concise essay of 250 to 500 words that answers why a specific value (e.g., integrity, resilience, or compassion) is essential to your personal development. The experience can help you explore perspectives on morality, ethics, and character across cultural backgrounds. Your entry will be assessed by a panel of volunteer judges dedicated to ethical inquiry. Winning essays will be shared and recognized as “Most Compelling” or “Exemplary” on the Character.org website.
Location: Virtual
Cost and Prizes: Free
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Open entry; ~190 teams from 26+ countries participate
Dates: May 2
Application deadline: April 8; registration opens March 15
Eligibility: High school students worldwide; individual and team participation
The Beckman Biology Battle is a global, fast-paced biology competition that tests your conceptual understanding and application of biological principles through a combination of quizzes and interactive challenges. You will participate in a live, online event featuring a written exam followed by a dynamic quiz-bowl format, requiring quick recall, analytical thinking, and the ability to apply knowledge under time pressure. A key feature of this competition is its competitive yet accessible format. You will compete alongside students from over 20 countries, gaining exposure to an international peer group while testing your knowledge across diverse biology topics. The structure encourages both individual excellence and team collaboration, depending on how you choose to participate.
Location: Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder, CO
Cost and Prizes: Free; $1,000 scholarship prize
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Open entry
Dates: June 10 – 12
Application deadline: March 13
Eligibility: Current high school juniors and incoming Leeds freshmen who are Colorado residents
Run by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, the Women in Business Case is a three-day competition, where you will analyze business issues within the context of gender equity. You will work within a team of peers, using fundamentals of strategy, management, leadership, and communication to a business case. The experience can help you develop critical thinking, collaboration, and presentation skills as you work on the given challenge and come up with solutions. You will also connect with professionals, university faculty, and peers through workshops and on-campus activities. If you win, you will receive a $1,000 scholarship to Leeds School of Business.
Location: Entirely online
Cost and Prizes: Free; student prizes of up to $100,000 and educator grants of up to $5,000 available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Competitive; global participation across age categories
Dates: Submission deadline: May 1; Announcement of finalists: June; Announcement of winners: August
Application deadline: May 1
Eligibility: Students, ages 4 – 18, from around the world (excluding U.S.-sanctioned countries); individual or team participation allowed
The Paradigm Challenge is an international competition where you will design an original solution to a real-world problem using creativity, research, and practical thinking. The competition focuses on a specific global issue, such as home safety, waste reduction, public health, or food security, requiring you to analyze the problem and propose a feasible, impactful solution. You can submit your work in a variety of formats, including a video presentation, a prototype, a design, or a written proposal. This flexibility allows you to tailor your submission to your strengths while clearly explaining how your idea works and the impact it could have. Many participants develop product concepts, community initiatives, or awareness campaigns that address the challenge in innovative ways.
Location: Online and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, VA
Cost and Prizes: Free + lunch and snacks provided for in-person participants; gift cards of over $1,000 and certificates available for winning teams
Acceptance size/cohort size: Open to all high school students; first-come, first-served
Dates: May 2
Application deadline: Mid-April (~16 days prior to the event)
Eligibility: High school students around the world; in-person teams not from TJHSST must have an adult sponsor.
TJIOI is a high school programming challenge hosted by the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. You will test your programming skills in a team-based format in either a high-stakes in-person experience at the TJHSST campus or virtually, competing against participants worldwide. You will solve various coding problems, and you will be evaluated based on the number of problems you work on. Problems, designed by the TJ Computer Team, span a wide range of difficulty levels, approximately equivalent to the USACO Bronze through Platinum levels.
One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you’re interested in pursuing independent research, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here, check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.