USABO awards & cutoff scores
China-region awards are given by percentile against all students who sit the exam. Cutoffs are published each season so you know exactly what score earns each distinction.
China-region awards, by percentile
Every student who sits the BIOUS Open Exam is ranked nationally. Awards are determined by where your raw score places you in the full field — the tiers below apply in every season.
Raw-score cutoffs, published each season
The exam is marked out of 50. In the 2026 season, the published cutoffs were: Gold 40, Silver 33, Bronze 25. Exact thresholds are determined after each sitting and can move year to year as the field changes.
Cutoffs are released alongside results each season. Because they reflect actual performance rather than a fixed scale, a rising field typically pushes thresholds higher — an important consideration when planning your preparation.
What your award is worth
Students who are also enrolled in ASDAN’s Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) programme receive an additional scholarship bonus on top of their USABO award recognition.
Applies to EPQ participants; contact ASDAN for current programme details.
A USABO China-region distinction signals to admissions readers that a student has engaged seriously with academic biology at a competitive international level. Unlike in-school grades, the award is benchmarked against a defined national field using a standardised USABO paper.
Gold and Top Gold results in particular are a recognised extracurricular distinction that complements other academic credentials in applications to selective universities, both in China and abroad.
The US pathway & the IBO
For students in the United States, the Open Exam leads onward. The top 10% of US-citizen and resident scorers advance to the Semifinal Exam, which carries its own recognition structure: the top 50 scorers earn Academic Excellence, the next 75 receive Honorable Mention, and the next 100 are awarded Merit.
The top 20 Semifinalists are invited to the National Finals — a 12-day residential programme at a host university combining intensive instruction and competitive testing. From that group, a four-student team is selected to represent the USA at the International Biology Olympiad (IBO). In 2026, the IBO is held in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Chinese students earn the China-region distinction through the BIOUS Open Exam. The Semifinal and National Finals are the US team-selection path, gated by citizenship and residency.
Questions about awards or cutoffs?
Our advisors can help you understand your results and plan next steps.