USA Biology Olympiad National Finals

USABO Finals at a Glance

Host

Center for Excellence in Education (CEE); the 2027 Finals are held at Harvard University as an official course in Harvard's Pre-College Summer Science Program

Field

Biology olympiad: lab and theory training to select the US team for the International Biology Olympiad (IBO)

Grades and age

Grades 9 to 12, not yet formally enrolled in college. For the 2027 Finals, students must be 15 by January 1, 2027 and must not turn 19 before July 31, 2027

Citizenship and residency

The first-round Open Exam has no citizenship requirement; from the Semifinal on, students must be US citizens or green card holders, and Finalists must show a passport or green card. Finalists and their guardians sign an agreement not to take part in any other national olympiad or summer program that year, with the Research Science Institute (RSI) given as an example.

Cost

Room and board at the Finals are provided; students pay their own travel, and those with financial need may contact CEE for help. Schools and authorized test centers pay a $125 registration fee for the Open Exam.

Dates and format

Twelve days: 10 days of instruction and 2 days of lab and theory exams, with the US team staying 2 to 3 more days. The 2027 Finals run June 20 to June 30 at Harvard University, with course credit for successful completion.

Application dates

No application. The 2027 schedule: registration opened August 7, 2026; schools pay by October 23 and register by November 15, and students register by November 22; the Open Exam is February 3, 2027, the Semifinal March 2, and Finalists are announced March 30.

Application materials

No application; invitations follow exam results. The top 10% on the Open Exam who are US citizens or green card holders advance to the Semifinal; the top 50 Semifinalists take a Zoom interview and a pretest, and the final 20 become National Finalists.

Size and selectivity

Nearly 12,000 students take part in USABO each year, 20 reach the Finals, and the gold medalists form the four-member US IBO team. In 2026, all four US team members won gold at the IBO in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Verified against official pages on 2026-10-06 · usabo-trc.org

How to Apply to USABO Finals

• Students must be registered through a school or authorized test center and complete their own registration by November 22, 2026. Confirm in October whether your school is taking part; the school fee is due October 23.
• Finalists agree not to attend any other olympiad or summer program that year. Students also applying to programs such as RSI should weigh the trade-off in advance.
• The Finals include a practical exam of about six hours and a theory exam of about three to four hours (the official exam page gives both figures). Practice lab skills and data analysis along with theory.