We're looking for new web developers and problem writers to join our team!Learn more →
USACO Guide
A free collection of curated, high-quality resources
to take you from Bronze to Platinum and beyond.
Learn USACO. Efficiently.Learn USACO. Efficiently.
Stop wasting time searching for problems and tutorials. The USACO Guide provides a comprehensive, organized roadmap carefully designed and crafted for USACO contestants – available to everyone, for free.
| Resources | ||
|---|---|---|
| CF | EDU: DSU | video explanation + problems for DSU |
| CSA | Disjoint Data Sets | both optimizations, diagrams |
| PAPS | 11.1 - Disjoint Sets | both optimizations, no diagrams |
| CPH | 15.2 - Union-Find | small to large, diagrams |
Curated Resources
Learn new topics from a vetted list of high-quality resources. If one resource doesn't click, look at another!
| Source | Problem Name | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| CSES | Road Construction | Easy |
| USACO Gold | Closing the Farm | Easy |
| USACO Gold | Mootube | Normal |
| Baltic OI | 2016 - Park | Hard |
Extensive Problemsets
Practice each topic with extensive problemsets and solutions covering a wide range of difficulties.
Modules Progress
Progress Tracking
Use our progress-tracking tools to track your progress in the Guide and stay motivated.
Trusted by thousands
Trusted by thousands.
This guide is written by top USACO contestants, including two-time IOI winner and USACO Problemsetter Benjamin Qi.
- Registered Users
- -1.-1k
- Pageviews
- -1k
- Github Stars
- -1
Created by the CP Initiative.
Here are some of our other projects you might find useful!
USACO Classes
Learn USACO through affordable, high-quality classes with a curriculum designed and developed by past USACO Finalists.
USACO IDE
A realtime collaborative online IDE designed for competitive programming and USACO.
USACO Groups
A Learning Management System fully integrated with the USACO Guide. Perfect for clubs or group study sessions.
Club Curriculum
Join our competitive programming club network to get access to exclusive club curriculum and resources!
Competitive Programming Contests
Participate in high-quality programming contests targeted towards pre-college students!
Competitive Programming Workshops
Access workshops providing everything you need to know about USACO.
Join our Team.
Join our Team.
The Competitive Programming Initiative is a student-run organization dedicated to promoting competitive programming. Join us in our mission, and earn PVSA volunteer hours and leadership positions along the way!
Or, help us financially!
Or, help us financially!
We're a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization — all donations are tax deductible. Since our inception in September 2020, we've impacted well over 16,000 students across our various initiatives.
Our Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
In-kind Sponsors
Frequently asked questions
- What is the USACO?
USACO stands for the USA Computing Olympiad. Check out the USACO FAQ Page for more information.
- Is this an official syllabus?
No, USACO does not have an official syllabus. This guide merely lists topics that have historically appeared in USACO contests; it makes no guarantees about the topics in future USACO contests.
- How do I report a problem or ask a question?
If you encounter an issue while using the guide (website bug, typo, broken link, unclear explanation, etc), use the "Contact Us" button. Alternatively, email us at usacoguide@gmail.com.
- I'm looking for classes, club curriculum...
Check out the Competitive Programming Initiative!
- Is this guide for non-USACO competitive programmers?
Of course! While we structure our content around USACO, feel free to use this guide even if you don't do USACO. You will still learn a lot from it!
- How can I get help?
If you get stuck, head over to the USACO Forum for help.
- How can I contribute?
To learn more about contributing, please visit this page. We appreciate any and all contributions!
- Is this open source?
Yes! Check out our Github Repository.
Authors you can trust.
Nathan Wang is a four-time USACO Finalist and web development enthusiast.
Benjamin Qi is a two-time IOI winner, USACO Problemsetter, and part of the MIT Class of 2023.
Maggie Liu is a USACO competitor who enjoys problem solving and teaching others programming and math.
Andrew Wang is a USACO Platinum competitor and a researcher in the field of bioinformatics.
Michael Cao is a USACO Platinum competitor and USACO problemsetter.
Siyong Huang is an IOI gold medalist and three-time USACO Finalist.
Nathan Chen is a two-time USACO Finalist who competes in both Java and C++ fluently.
Andi Qu is an IOI and IMO bronze medalist, and part of the MIT Class of 2025.
Bing-Dong Liu is a USACO Platinum competitor who creates video editorials for USACO Training problems.
Kevin Sheng is a junior who likes coding & solving random problems.
Contributors
By the Community, for the Community.
Interested in joining the USACO Guide team? We are recruiting Content Authors to help us improve the USACO Guide! Apply here. If you're in the United States, you can earn volunteer hours too!
Current Content Authors:
![Jesse Choe]()
Since Feb 2021
![Sofia Yang]()
Since Apr 2021
![Nathan Gong]()
Since Apr 2021
![Timothy Gao]()
Since May 2021
![Sathvik Chundru]()
Since May 2021
![Brad Ma]()
Since June 2021
![Albert Ye]()
Since June 2021
![Arpan Banerjee]()
Since June 2021
![Ryan Chou]()
Since July 2021
![Aadit Ambadkar]()
Since August 2021
![Dustin Miao]()
Since August 2021
![Ben Dodge]()
Since August 2021
![Jeffrey Zhang]()
Since February 2022
![Juheon Rhee]()
Since May 2022
![Aditya Gupta]()
Since June 2022
![Chongtian Ma]()
Since May 2022
![Chuyang Wang]()
Since August 2022
![Aakash Gokhale]()
Since August 2022
![Paul Chen]()
Since August 2022
Past Content Authors:
© 2022 Competitive Programming Initiative. Powered by Vercel.
No part of this website may be reproduced or commercialized in any manner without prior written permission. Learn More.