In today's digital age, opportunities to showcase their skills and talents have expanded beyond traditional in-person events.

Virtual competitions have emerged as an exciting avenue to challenge yourself, compete against peers from around the world, and potentially earn recognition, prizes, and even college scholarships – all from the comfort of your own home.

Whether you're interests are in math, coding, writing, or something else entirely, there's a virtual competition out there tailored to your interests and abilities.

In this guide, I will present some of the leadning virtual competitions available to high school students, covering a diverse range of subjects and disciplines.

From prestigious academic olympiads to cutting-edge hackathons, I will describe opportunities to put your knowledge and skills to the test, while offering useful information about these competitions.

All of them are linked, so you can check the official websites for more details.

Davidson Fellows The Davidson Fellows is a scholarship sponsored by the Davidson Institute.

The scholarship considers students who have completed a significant piece of work in one of its offered categories, including Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Literature, Music, Philosophy, and Outside the Box.

Students submit a 10-minute video showcasing their project, essays explaining its significance, and teacher recommendations.

Awards: Scholarships in $50,000, $25,000, or $10,000 amounts.

Dates: Applications open in the fall and close in February.

Eligibility: 18 or younger, U.

S. citizen/permanent resident The Breakthrough Junior Challenge For this challenge students must submit a two minute video presenting a scientific concept in a creative and engaging way.

This competition emphasizes creativity alongside the STEM aspect allowing students to shine beyond textbook knowledge.

The submission is graded by a panel of scientists who determine the award winners, based on creativity, clarity, and accuracy.

The winner receives a $250,000 college scholarship, as well as a $100,000 grant for their school to create a STEM lab.

The winner also receives an opportunity to attend the Breakthrough Prize ceremony in California and meet with influential leaders in science and technology.

Eligibility: Students aged 13 to 18 International Research Olympiad The International Research Olympiad (IRO) is a global competition designed to inspire and challenge students aged 13-1

8. It aims to cultivate essential qualities of the research process, encouraging participants to build skills useful in any research discipline.

Unlike traditional science Olympiads focused on specific subjects, the IRO aims to foster creativity, critical thinking, and analytical skills, through the analysis of research papers, since effective comprehension is necessary to do well in research.

Eligibility: Eligible participants for the IRO include ambitious students aged 13-1

8. There are no location-based restrictions.

Shape the Future Challenge The Shape the Future Challenge invites students aged 15 to 20 to tackle global challenges related to sustainable mobility.

Recently, in collaboration with  the Volkswagen Group, this challenge has focused on shaping a greener, more sustainable, and accessible future of mobility.

Over 1300 participants from more than 150 countries participated last year.

Eligibility The challenge is designed for individuals aged 15 to 2

0. If you are 14 and turning 15 during the challenge, or if you are 20 and turning 21 during the challenge, you are still eligible to apply.

USA Computing Olympiad (USACO) The USACO is one of the most prestigious and popular online competitions for computer programming.

It feeds into the International Olympiad in Informatics, one of the major international science olympiads.

Competition is extremely high, and the competition itself is split into multiple cutoff examinations of increasing difficulty.

Awards: Award level is based on the division that the student competes in, which includes Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

Participants start out in the Bronze division.

Dates: First contest usually occurs in December of each year, the second in February, and the third in March.

Cost: Free Eligibility: Pre-college students in the U.

S Modeling the Future Challenge The Modeling the Future Challenge is an annual competition that invites high school students to develop and apply mathematical modeling skills to solve real-world problems.

The Modeling the Future Challenge typically consists of a multi-stage process.

Participants are presented with a real-world problem or scenario that requires mathematical modeling and analysis.

Students are tasked with formulating a mathematical model, collecting and analyzing relevant data, and developing solutions or predictions based on their model.

Submissions are evaluated based on the clarity of the mathematical model, the accuracy and relevance of the analysis, and the feasibility and practicality of the proposed solutions.

Dates: Typically around the fall Eligibility: High School students around the world.

Students can participate individually or with a team. arcGIS Online Competition The ArcGIS Online Competition is an annual competition that challenges students to showcase their skills in geographic information system (GIS) technology and spatial analysis using the ArcGIS Online platform.

Participants are required to utilize geospatial data, maps, and spatial analysis tools available in ArcGIS Online to develop their projects.

The projects may involve creating interactive maps, conducting spatial analysis, visualizing data, and communicating the results effectively.

Submissions are evaluated based on the quality and creativity of the project, the application of GIS principles and techniques, and the overall presentation and communication of the project’s findings.

Dates: Fall deadline for registration with Spring/Summer competition dates Eligibility: Students grade 4 to 12 (US resident) AAPT High School Physics Photo Contest The AAPT High School Photo Contest is an annual competition organized by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).

This unique contest allows high school students to showcase their photography skills while creatively incorporating physics concepts into their photographs.

If you have a passion for both photography and physics, this contest offers an exciting opportunity to blend your interests and demonstrate your creativity.

Dates: Vary from year to year (2024 is March to May deadline) Eligibility: High School students around the world National High School Design Challenge The National High School Design Challenge typically involves solving a specific design problem or addressing a pressing issue in a particular field or industry.

Participants are given a design brief, which outlines the problem statement, goals, and constraints.

They are then required to develop a comprehensive design solution that demonstrates their creativity, technical proficiency, and understanding of the problem at hand.

Projects may involve designing physical products, creating digital prototypes, developing architectural plans, or proposing innovative systems or services.

Submissions are evaluated based on criteria such as creativity, functionality, feasibility, sustainability, and overall design quality.

Dates: Around February Eligibility: High School students (US) Conclusions There are high school competitions for virtually every field of interest out there.

In this post, we’ve provided 10 online high school competitions in 202

4. However, don’t stop at these online competitions—check out 50+ opportunities in STEM in this curated, comprehensive guide.

It is available to anyone for free.