The USA Biology Olympiad, also known as USABO, is hosted by the Center for Excellence in Education, or CEE. CEE is a nonprofit academic and educational organization founded in 1983. As the organizing committee of the USA Biology Olympiad, CEE selects and trains the U.S. national biology team each year to participate in the International Biology Olympiad, or IBO.
In recent years, majors such as medicine, biomedical sciences, and biotechnology have become highly competitive choices at top U.S. universities. Strong performance in USABO can become an important advantage for students applying to these fields. As a result, USABO has become one of the most academically rigorous and influential STEM competitions in the United States, attracting more than 10,000 high school students every year.
USABO official website: https://www.usabo-trc.org/
USABO Scale and Award Difficulty
Each year, more than 10,000 students across the United States participate in USABO. Award winners may have the opportunity to receive invitations to top international science programs and competitions. In 2020, representatives from 239 international high schools and key secondary schools participated in the competition.
In the China region, awards are divided into four levels:
| Award | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Gold Medal | Top 10% by total score |
| Silver Medal | Top 25% by total score |
| Bronze Medal | Top 35% by total score |
| Regional Honorable Mention | Top 20% in each region, excluding national award winners |
The information above is based on the competition’s official website.
Why USABO Is Worth Participating In
Like many high-quality international STEM competitions, USABO has a long history and a strong selection mechanism. It can directly demonstrate a student’s academic ability and subject excellence.
At the same time, USABO encourages students to explore advanced biology knowledge, much of which goes beyond the standard school curriculum. Preparing for the competition also helps students improve self-study skills, information-gathering ability, and academic discipline. In this sense, USABO preparation is a multidimensional process of growth.
Officially, USABO is open to high school students of any grade. However, because of its difficulty and selectiveness, students are advised to have a certain foundation in general biology. It is also helpful to have experience in biology competition courses or the ability to self-study college-level biology. Students should be prepared to spend enough time reading thousands of pages of materials and reference books. Most importantly, they need to have a genuine passion for biology.
USABO Rules
USABO is an individual competition. The exam consists only of a written test, with no laboratory exam. Students need to complete 50 multiple-choice questions in 50 minutes.
The 2026 exam is scheduled for Saturday, April 4, 2026, from 10:30 to 11:20.
According to the official exam scope, USABO covers the following areas:
Animal anatomy and physiology
Cell biology
Genetics and evolution
Plant anatomy and physiology
Ecology
Animal behavior
Biosystematics
Bioinformatics
The Role of USABO in University Applications
Strong USABO results can strengthen applications to U.S. universities, especially for students applying to medicine, biology, biomedical science, biotechnology, and other STEM-related fields.
For students interested in biology or related disciplines, USABO has strong recognition and academic value.
Three Keywords to Describe USABO
Broad coverage, fine details, and mental resilience.
Biology itself covers a very wide range of content. Each subfield also contains many smaller branches. Students may need to remember specific proteins, hormones, chemical substances, and biological terms.
Because USABO covers broad content with detailed knowledge points, students need to maintain a strong mindset. They should not panic when they encounter unfamiliar topics.
In 2021, the cutoff score was relatively low. Out of 50 questions, answering slightly more than 20 correctly could potentially lead to a Gold Award. If students prepare seriously, stay focused during the exam, and remain calm when facing difficult or unusual questions, their hard work is likely to pay off.
Key Topics, Difficulties, and Example Question Features
The exam covers cell biology, plant anatomy and physiology, animal anatomy and physiology, animal behavior, genetics and evolution, ecology, and biological classification.
One of the major focuses of USABO is biochemistry, especially the properties of the 21 amino acids, including whether they are acidic or basic, their charge status, and their chemical formulas.
Features of USABO Questions
Broad coverage: Memorized knowledge is often only a tool, not the final answer. Experimental design questions require students to draw on knowledge from multiple perspectives.
Fine details: For example, when studying the citric acid cycle, students may need to remember how much ATP is produced at each step.
Mental resilience: Students need to stay calm when facing complex graphs, large tables, or long passages.
How to Prepare for USABO
Study Resources and Websites
Campbell Biology is one of the most comprehensive and widely used reference books for biology competitions. Students should plan their daily reading volume carefully.
For students studying in Chinese high schools or those more comfortable reading Chinese, General Biology can be a useful starting point. It has broad coverage and is more accessible in Chinese.
Recommended reading order:
General Biology
Campbell Biology
More specialized books, such as Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry
Crash Course videos are also very useful for visual learning and memory reinforcement.
Other YouTube explanation videos or AP Biology preparation materials can be used as supplements. However, if time is limited, focusing directly on Campbell Biology is usually sufficient.
Past papers should be used in the later stage of preparation, especially from mid to late March. They are the best way to understand the real exam format and difficulty level.
Additional Preparation Experience and Advice
Biology Competition Training Courses
Taking domestic biology competition training courses in Grade 10 can be very helpful for USABO preparation. These courses usually cover biochemistry, plants, genetics, animal physiology, and other major areas comprehensively.
Preparing for USABO from a higher-level perspective can make the competition easier to approach.
Peer Support
Forming a study group with classmates can be very effective. Students can track reading progress together, quiz each other, and study both online and offline.
The key to staying consistent in USABO preparation is passion and persistence.
Solving the Vocabulary Challenge
Students can use the glossary at the back of Campbell Biology to study difficult biological terms. Biology vocabulary often contains clear roots and prefixes.
Repeated reading in context can make memorization stronger and reduce confusion between similar terms.
Final Suggestions
For Grade 10 students, studying domestic biology competition content can be very useful, and there is usually enough time to build a strong foundation.
For Grade 11 students, it is more efficient to focus mainly on Campbell Biology. Before the exam, students should memorize key terms and review high-frequency topics, including plant anatomy, the stages of mitosis and meiosis, animal classification, and amino acid properties and abbreviations.
