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USACO Training Camp

The USACO Training Camp invites about two dozen IOI finalists and a cohort of EGOI finalists, chosen by a season of online contests, and selects the US teams at camp. USACO pays camp expenses, and both US citizens and students living in the US are eligible.

Any status, must study in the US
Free

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Size and selectivityAbout 24 IOI finalists

Photo: Hoàng Tiến Việt / Pexels

Eligibility: Any status, must study in the US
Cost: Free
Latest deadline: By invitation

USACO Camp at a Glance

Host: USA Computing Olympiad (USACO); the camp is hosted at Clemson University
Field: Algorithmic programming: training and selecting the US teams for the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) and the European Girls' Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI)
Grades and age: Students must be enrolled in a high school or middle school for at least one semester in the school year before the IOI or EGOI, and may take college courses at the same time. Seniors and past finalists face stricter selection criteria
Citizenship and residency: Students must be US citizens or residents of the USA during the first half of the school year. Students who have been on another country's IOI team, or have commitments that could put them on one, are not eligible. The 2026 list includes students attending schools in Canada and China.
Cost: Camp expenses are paid by USACO, and students pay their own travel to camp; all expenses for the IOI and EGOI, including travel, are paid by USACO. The online contests are free.
Dates and format: Residential training camp in early summer. The 2026 camp ran May 21 to May 30; EGOI 2026 was held in Italy from May 12 to 18, and IOI 2026 in Uzbekistan from August 9 to 16.
Application dates: No application. The 2025-26 season had three online contests in January and February, followed by the proctored US Open on March 28, the main basis for selecting finalists. No pre-registration is needed for online contests; an account on the USACO site is enough.
Application materials: No application; invitations are based on the season's online contests, with the US Open weighted most heavily. In the gold and platinum divisions, only scores from the common start window count as certified, and at least three certified scores are required to be considered as a finalist.
Size and selectivity: USACO says about two dozen students are invited each year as IOI finalists, along with a cohort of girls invited as EGOI finalists. The 2026 list named 24 IOI finalists and 7 EGOI finalists; four students are chosen at camp for the IOI team. The four-member EGOI team is usually chosen at camp as well, but in 2026 the EGOI came before camp, so that team was chosen early based on the US Open.

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

About USACO Camp

The USACO Training Camp is run by the USA Computing Olympiad (USACO) each early summer at Clemson University; the 2026 camp ran May 21 to May 30. At the end of camp, four students are chosen to represent the US at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). The four-member team for the European Girls’ Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI) is usually chosen at camp too; in 2026 the EGOI ran May 12 to 18, before camp, so that team was chosen early based on the US Open.

There is no application. Selection rests on the season’s online contests, especially the proctored US Open. USACO says about two dozen students are invited each year as IOI finalists, and the 2026 list named 24 IOI finalists and 7 EGOI finalists. USACO pays camp expenses, and students pay their own travel. Finalists must be US citizens or residents of the USA during the first half of the school year.

Unlike the physics, chemistry and biology olympiad camps, which take only citizens and green card holders, USACO accepts non-citizens living in the US and US citizens studying abroad; the 2026 list includes students attending schools in Canada and China.

How to Apply to USACO Camp

Gold and platinum scores count as certified only if the contest is started between 12:00 and 12:15 pm Eastern on Saturday. In California that is 9:00 am Pacific, so plan the day ahead.
At least three certified scores are needed to be considered as a finalist, and missed contests hurt a student's chances. Take part in every contest of the season.
Seniors and past finalists face stricter selection criteria. Aim to reach the gold and platinum divisions in 9th or 10th grade.

Qualifying path in the competitions guideFormat, dates and preparation

Application Support for USACO Camp

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FeatureSummer Programs Recommended by MIT AdmissionsMIT Admissions lists 23 selective summer programs on its website. Each one is in this library, with eligibility, cost and selectivity.

USACO Camp: Frequently Asked Questions

Does an Irvine student need the school to register for USACO?

No. USACO's online contests are free and open to everyone, and an account on the site is all that is needed. An Irvine student starts in bronze and moves up to silver, gold and platinum by meeting each contest's promotion cutoff.

Can a student in Irvine on a student visa reach the USACO camp?

Under the official rules, yes. USACO requires finalists to be US citizens or residents of the USA during the first half of the school year, and enrolled in a secondary school for at least one semester. A student in Irvine on a student visa meets the residency condition, provided the student has not represented another country at the IOI and has no commitment that could lead to selection for another country's team.

Does the USACO camp cost anything?

Camp expenses are paid by USACO, and students cover only their own travel to camp. Students named to the IOI or EGOI team have all expenses paid by USACO, including travel.

How many students attend the USACO camp?

USACO says about two dozen students are invited each year as IOI finalists, along with a cohort of girls invited as EGOI finalists. The 2026 list named 24 IOI finalists and 7 EGOI finalists. The four-member IOI team is chosen at camp; the four-member EGOI team usually is too, but in 2026 it was chosen early because the EGOI came before camp.

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Sources3 sources · checked 2026-10-06

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