High School STEM Competitions to Join?

I'm really interested in STEM and want to participate in competitions to boost my extracurriculars. What are some popular high school STEM competitions that you'd recommend? I'm open to any suggestions! Thanks.

There's a wide variety of STEM competitions available for high school students, ranging from local to national and even international levels. Based on your interests and skills, you may want to consider the following competitions:

1. Science Olympiad: A team competition that covers various scientific fields, from Astronomy to Forensics. Students prepare throughout the year to participate in regional, state, and national competitions.

2. FIRST Robotics Competition: Students work together to design, build, and program robots to compete in specific roles or tasks in a cooperative, challenge-based environment.

3. MathCounts: A national middle-school mathematics competition that focuses on problem-solving skills and developing analytical thinking. High school students often participate as coaches or mentors.

4. American Mathematics Competitions (AMC): A series of math competitions that escalate in difficulty, culminating in the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) for top performers.

5. Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF): The world's largest international science competition where students present their research projects and compete for scholarships, awards, and recognition.

6. Regeneron Science Talent Search: A prestigious science competition for high school seniors across the United States. Students submit independent research projects and compete for scholarships and national recognition.

7. The Google Science Fair: An annual online competition where students aged 13-18 submit innovative STEM projects, with the chance to win awards and scholarships.

8. Destination Imagination: A creative problem-solving competition that incorporates STEM, arts, and social entrepreneurship challenges, offering various difficulty levels.

9. National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB): A competition focused on ocean science knowledge, addressing topics such as marine biology, oceanography, and environmental policy.

10. CyberPatriot: A cybersecurity competition designed to inspire and teach high school students about the importance of cybersecurity skills for future careers.

If none of these seems quite right to you, you can also find a more extensive list of competitions specifically focused on science research on CollegeVine's blog: https://blog.collegevine.com/10-science-research-competitions-for-high-schoolers. Remember, though, your involvement in any of these competitions should showcase your genuine interest and passion for the subjects involved. Don't just participate to pad your resume. Rather, try to find competitions that truly excite you, and dive deep into preparing and aim to do as well as possible.

Best of luck exploring these opportunities!