We have been continuously impressed by the talent of students attending our competitions!  The problems, therefore, contain a variety of difficulty levels.

The students participating in the contest are from different levels in their degree progress and different skill levels.  The problems, therefore, contain a variety of difficulty levels.  Note that ease is a relative term (some may find geometry problems very easy, but not everybody does!).

You are welcome to bring any written materials you wish!  However, we do not allow machine readable material of any sort. 

You are certainly welcome.  However, it would be advisable to be familiar with one of the official contest languages.  We have contest-specific information provided on this web site to help you as well.

Please see this page which has lots of good training advice.

Please see the FAQs on the team's main site.

Please see the FAQs on the team's main site.

No. You will be provided with a computer and the web browser will be configured to access the contest server. Web pages with API documentation for Java, C++ and Python will be provided through the contest interface. You may also bring hardcopy notes, books, or printouts of code. You may not search the web or use email on the provided computer either before the contest or during the contest. Using any sites other than the contest website is grounds for disqualification. Using a personal electronic device to access the internet is also grounds for disqualification.

No. You will be provided a computer to use in the engineering labs, and you must use the provided computer to write your code and submit it to the contest system. No other electronic/digital devices or machine-readable media may be used. This restriction applies to a personal laptop as well as any mobile device. Using a personal electronic device is grounds for disqualification. If you have code on your laptop that you think you might find useful, we recommend that you print it out and bring the hardcopy. We recommend that you leave your laptop at home.

No. You will be provided a computer to use for the contest. No personal electronic devices of any kind, including phones (whether "smart" phones or ordinary phones), smart watches, calculators, calculator watches, or music players, can be used during the contest. Using a personal electronic device is grounds for disqualification.

No. You will be provided a computer to use. The computer will have a calculator program available. No personal electronic devices may be used. This restriction also applies to calculator watches/smart watches and any personal mobile devices. Using a personal electronic device is grounds for disqualification.

No. Use of any machine-readable media, including USB flash drives, other external USB drives, or CDs/DVDs, is not permitted and is grounds for disqualification. We recommend that you find a way to print out your code or reference documents, since you can bring any hardcopy materials.