Top STEM Competitions for High School Students in 2026

The Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) is one of the most prestigious high school STEM competitions in the world, bringing around 1,700 talented student researchers from all countries to present their research and compete for special awards and ISEF Grand Prizes (https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/).

If you're a high school student who's passionate about STEM and wants new opportunities to explore your interests and maybe get some nice honors and awards on your college application, you've come to the right place. This article will highlight some of the best STEM competitions that high schoolers can participate in, written by a high-acheiving high school student who's also done (and won) some of these. So put your STEM explorer-mode hat on and let's dive in!

1. REGENERON ISEF (and science fairs in general)

Society for Science's Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) is one of the most prestigious STEM competitions for high schoolers, as we've written above. Whether you're passionate about using AI technologies to solve environmental issues in your city, discovering hidden galaxies and exoplanets in our own galaxy, or investigating the properties of a new medicine, the science fair is hands-down the best STEM activity to allow you to explore your interests and compete for awards. While ISEF is the highest level of science fair in the world, even winning at local, regional, or state fairs is a huge deal. If you are aiming for ISEF, however, here's the general progress timeline you'd have to follow:

A. SCHOOL SCIENCE FAIRS:

• The first step in your science fair journey (after you've done a project), is to compete in your school's science fair. Some schools may not have a science fair, in which case you'd move directly to the next level. If your school does have a fair, you need to participate in and get selected/win to move on.

B. LOCAL/DISTRICT SCIENCE FAIRS:

• The next step is going to your school district science fair competition, where you'll be competing for an award to move onto the next level. Depending on how your district's science fair works, they may choose to send 1st and 2nd place winner per category to the next level, or even 3rd place or maybe just 1st place, so check the fair rules before!

C. REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIRS:

• Welcome to the first of the higher-level science fairs, you've made it! The regional level of science fair is usually the first level affiliated with your state fair. Many regional science fairs across the U.S. are also affiliated directly with ISEF, meaning that you may qualify to go to ISEF directly from your regional fair if you win! If your regional fair is not affiliated with ISEF, no worries, as you have a chance at the state competition.

D. STATE SCIENCE FAIRS:

• The state level science fair is a prestigious competition and you should be extremely proud of yourself on being a state finalist! All state science fairs in the U.S. are affiliated with ISEF. In NC for example, the NC Science & Engineering Fair (NCSEF) is the official state fair, with over 500 students across elementary through high school competing for special awards, category awards, and Grand Awards. The state fair is also the highest level elementary students can compete in.

• In NCSEF, the top 12 winners of the senior division (high school) are selected to go to ISEF and are sponsored by NCSEF for the prestigious international competition.

E. ISEF:

• If you are selected to go to ISEF from your state or regional fair, utmost congrats to you - being an ISEF finalist is one of the greatest STEM honors a high school student can have and holds immense weight on your college application and résumé! The 2026 ISEF will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, from May 9-15th, bringing 1,700+ students from around the world.

• ISEF, despite it being so competitive, has a greater than you think opportunity to win a Grand Award and/or special award. There are a total of 20 categories of competition and 4 Grand Awards are given per each of these categories (aka 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place), and sometimes more than one person/team can win a certain Grand Award placement! There are also the top awards to the best projects, which can give up to a $50,000 or a $100,000 grand prize! That's some great tuition money, am I right?

If you don't make it to ISEF, don't worry (I haven't either); the most important part is doing a science fair project, presenting it in front of expert judges, learning critical reasoning, presenting, and speaking skills, and mainly having fun exploring science. If you do win at any level though, that is a huge achievement, and if you win at the regional or state level, those awards are highly valuable, as they show your capabilities as a future scientist!

2. Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament (HMMT)

One of the largest student-run math competitions in the world, the Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament (HMMT) brings together the most brilliant young mathematicians in the world to compete in this semiannual competition for high schoolers. Organized by volunteers from Harvard Universtiy and the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), it is considered among the oldest and largest tournaments of its kind.

Held at Harvard in November and at MIT in February both in Cambridge, MA, HMMT features original problems in algebra, geometry, number theory, and combinatorics, with individual, team-based, and "Guts" rounds. Financial aid is available to competitors needing it. No matter if you come from a STEM school or not, if you're passionate about math and are really good at it, I highly recommend you check this out! (https://www.hmmt.org/)

3. U.S.A. Computing Olympiad (USACO)

Calling all computer science nerds! This is a great opportunity you don't want to miss that you can do every year. The U.S.A. Computing Olympiad (USACO) is a prestigious, FREE online programming competition for high schoolers in the U.S., aimed at promoting algorithmic problem-solving and computer science talent. It features four annual contests from December through March with four difficulty division (aka award levels, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum). Top performers in preliminary rounds can qualify for a training camp (super competitive but so prestigious) to represent the U.S.A. at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI)!

Each of the four contests typically lasts from 3-4 hours and involve 3-4 complex, algorithm-intensive problems.

• Participants begin in the Bronze level and can be promoted upwards based on their scores, with each higher level increasing in difficulty.

• Problems mostly focus on algorithms, and data structures (graphs, greedy algorithms, dynamic programming, etc.).

• Supported languages include Java, Python, and C++

• The top 4 students from the training camp are selected to represent the U.S. in the IOI

Does this all seem a bit intimidating? Probably. Does it seem like a challenging and fun opportunity to test your computer science skills and learn new things? Oh yeah. So if this sounds interesting to you, start preparing for the competition! (https://usaco.org/)

4. American Academy of Neurology's Neuroscience Research Prize

The brain is such a fascinating part of our body that literally controls everything. As someone who also loves neuroscience, this STEM opportunity was a must-add. The AAN's Neuroscience Research Prize is a competition aimed at supporting students that demonstrate the scientific aptitude and skills for research in neuroscience. If you are a high school student who also loves neuroscience and is thinking about doing research in this field, this is an amazing competition that invites you to send in your research reports.

Alongside the research report, you also have to send in a 300-word abstract. Your entry to this competition will be reviewed by a panel of esteemed physicians and scientists to stand a chance to receive support for your further research. And the best part of it all, is that you have the chance to win cash prizes of up to $1000 and fully-funded trips to the scientific poster session at the AAN's Annual Meeting in Boston, MA and the Child Neurology Society Annual Meeting! Research the complex beauty of the brain with the AAN Neuroscience Research Prize! (https://aan.secure-platform.com/a/gallery/rounds/7/details/7068)

5. FIRST Robotics Competition

For all the tinkerers and engineering experts, the FIRST robotics competition is an exciting competition combining sport with STEM, giving high schoolers and their mentors a deep dive into robotics to solve a common problem. Each season of this competition includes multiple regional events that you must qualify for to take a shot at the international level.

This is a unique competition that provides students with real-world engineering experience, with teams being challenged to raise funds, design a team "brand", and use team-working skills to build and program industrial-size robots to play field games against competitors. High school students from around the world can participate over the course of months of the competition, so if you love robotics and are an aspiring engineer, this is your chance to test your skills! (https://www.firstinspires.org/programs/frc/)