How to Apply to the ACS Chemistry Olympiad

This post answers exactly how to apply to the ACS Chemistry Olympiad, who is eligible, what each round involves, and how to prepare effectively. It is written for high school students in grades 9 through 12 who are considering entering for the first time or who want to understand the full pathway before committing. After reading, you will know every step from registration to the national exam. If you are also conducting original chemistry research, the Princeton Journal of Pre-Collegiate Research is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal where that work can be formally published.

What is the ACS Chemistry Olympiad and why does it matter?

The ACS Chemistry Olympiad is one of the most rigorous chemistry competitions available to high school students in the United States. It is administered by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society with over 150,000 members. The competition runs annually and selects four students each year to represent the United States at the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), a global competition involving teams from more than 80 countries.

The competition matters for several reasons. It tests chemistry knowledge well beyond the standard high school curriculum, covering topics from analytical chemistry to thermodynamics and organic reaction mechanisms. Students who reach the national level have typically mastered content equivalent to two or three years of undergraduate chemistry. Even students who do not advance past the local round gain a precise benchmark of where their chemistry knowledge stands relative to a national standard.

The competition also signals to universities that a student has pursued chemistry with genuine depth. It is one of the few external, standardised measures of advanced chemistry ability available to pre-collegiate students.

How do you apply to the ACS Chemistry Olympiad?

Applying to the ACS Chemistry Olympiad begins with your school registering through a local ACS section. There is no individual online application. Your school's chemistry teacher or science department contacts the nearest ACS local section, which administers the first round of the competition. The ACS website at acs.org lists all local sections by state and zip code. Registration deadlines typically fall in February each year, though exact dates vary by local section.

Here is the full application and competition process, step by step:

1. Identify your local ACS section. Use the ACS local section directory at acs.org to find the section that covers your school's location. Your chemistry teacher can also contact ACS directly at the national office if your school has not previously participated.

2. Have your school register. Your school's teacher or administrator completes the registration with the local ACS section. Individual students cannot register independently. If your school has not participated before, ask your chemistry teacher to initiate contact with the local section in November or December, well before the February deadline.

3. Take the Local Section Exam. This is a 60-question multiple-choice exam administered at your school or a designated testing site in late March or early April. It covers all areas of high school chemistry plus introductory college-level topics. Each local section selects its top scorers to advance, typically the top student or top few students depending on section size.

4. Compete in the National Exam (if selected). Students who advance from the local round take the national exam in April. This exam has two parts: a 60-question multiple-choice section and an 8-question free-response section. The national exam is significantly harder than the local exam and requires knowledge of topics covered in AP Chemistry and beyond.

5. Attend the Study Camp (if selected). The top 20 students nationally are invited to a two-week intensive Study Camp hosted at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs each June. From those 20, four students are selected to represent the US at IChO.

One detail most guides omit: local sections vary considerably in how competitive they are. A student in a densely populated urban section may need a near-perfect score to advance, while a student in a smaller section may advance with a score in the 70th percentile. Knowing your local section's historical cutoffs, if available through your teacher or the local ACS coordinator, helps you set a realistic preparation target.

What does the ACS Chemistry Olympiad exam actually test?

The local section exam covers all standard high school chemistry topics: stoichiometry, atomic structure, chemical bonding, equilibrium, acids and bases, electrochemistry, and thermodynamics. It also includes questions on topics not always taught in standard courses, including nuclear chemistry, coordination compounds, and organic reaction mechanisms.

The national exam goes further. Free-response questions require multi-step quantitative reasoning and the ability to explain chemical phenomena at a mechanistic level. According to the ACS, the national exam is designed to assess depth of understanding, not just recall. Students who score well on the national exam consistently report that preparation required working through university-level general chemistry and organic chemistry problems, not just reviewing AP Chemistry material.

The official ACS Chemistry Olympiad preparation resources include past exams dating back to 1984, freely available at acs.org. These are the single most reliable preparation tool. Working through five to ten years of past local and national exams is more effective than any third-party study guide.

What are the most common mistakes students make when preparing for the ACS Chemistry Olympiad?

Students who underperform relative to their ability almost always make one of four specific errors in their preparation.

The first mistake is treating the local exam like an AP Chemistry review. The local exam includes topics that AP Chemistry does not cover, particularly coordination chemistry and nuclear reactions. Students who study only their AP curriculum leave predictable gaps. The fix is to download the official ACS exam topic outline and check every area against your current knowledge before the exam date.

The second mistake is skipping the free-response format entirely. Many students preparing for the local exam, which is multiple-choice only, never practice written explanations. When they advance to the national exam and encounter free-response questions, they struggle to express mechanistic reasoning in writing even when they understand the underlying chemistry. Practising written answers to past national exam questions, even before you need them, builds a skill that takes weeks to develop.

The third mistake is starting preparation too late. According to ACS competition coordinators, students who reach the Study Camp level typically begin serious preparation six to twelve months before the local exam. Starting in January for a March exam leaves insufficient time to close gaps in topics like thermodynamics or organic mechanisms.

The fourth mistake is not using past exams as primary study material. Third-party prep books vary in accuracy. The official past exams, freely available from ACS, are the only guaranteed-accurate representation of what the exam will contain. Use them first, not last.

How to prepare for the ACS Chemistry Olympiad, step by step

1. Download the official topic outline from acs.org and mark every topic you have not yet studied.

2. Work through past local section exams from the last five years under timed conditions. Identify your weakest topic areas by category, not just by question.

3. Study the gaps using a university-level general chemistry textbook. Zumdahl's Chemistry and Atkins' Physical Chemistry are both used by students who reach the national level.

4. Work through past national exams once your local-level score is consistently above 80 percent. Write out full answers to free-response questions, not just numerical answers.

5. Find a study partner or group at your school or through your local ACS section. Explaining chemistry problems aloud is one of the most effective ways to identify gaps in your own understanding.

6. Contact your local ACS section for any available preparation workshops. Some sections run study sessions or provide additional past exams not publicly posted online.

7. Register through your school well before the February deadline. Confirm the exact date with your teacher in November.

If you are also conducting independent chemistry research alongside your Olympiad preparation, that work can be submitted for peer review. PJPCR publishes original chemistry research by high school students. Review the PJPCR research guides to understand what a publishable student paper looks like.

PJPCR publishes original research across all academic disciplines, including chemistry and the physical sciences. If you are conducting independent research alongside your competition preparation, review the submission guidelines at princeton-jpcr.org.

Frequently asked questions about how to apply to the ACS Chemistry Olympiad

What is the ACS Chemistry Olympiad?

The ACS Chemistry Olympiad is an annual national chemistry competition for high school students, administered by the American Chemical Society. It has three rounds: a local section exam, a national exam, and a two-week Study Camp from which four students are selected to represent the US at the International Chemistry Olympiad. It is open to all US high school students enrolled in a school affiliated with a local ACS section.

How long does the ACS Chemistry Olympiad process take, and when does it run each year?

The full competition runs from approximately February through June each year. Local section exams are held in late March or early April. The national exam follows in April. Study Camp takes place in June. Students who plan to compete should begin preparation at least six months before the local exam, meaning serious preparation typically starts in September or October of the preceding school year.

Do I need a chemistry teacher or school to participate in the ACS Chemistry Olympiad?

Yes. Individual students cannot register directly. Participation requires your school to register through a local ACS section. If your school has not participated before, ask your chemistry teacher to contact the nearest ACS local section. ACS staff can assist schools that are new to the competition. There is no requirement to be in an advanced chemistry class, though most competitive students have completed or are enrolled in AP Chemistry or an equivalent course.

What makes a student competitive at the national level of the ACS Chemistry Olympiad?

Students who reach the national Study Camp level consistently demonstrate mastery of topics beyond the standard high school curriculum, including thermodynamics, electrochemistry, coordination chemistry, and organic reaction mechanisms at a mechanistic level. According to ACS, the national exam is designed to reflect the first year of university chemistry. Competitive students typically self-study university-level material and work through at least five years of past national exams under timed conditions before the exam date.

What kinds of chemistry research does PJPCR publish, and is it peer reviewed?

The Princeton Journal of Pre-Collegiate Research publishes original chemistry research across all subfields, including experimental, computational, and theoretical work conducted by high school students. Every submission undergoes double-blind peer review. Submission is free. A publication fee applies for accepted papers. The standard review timeline is 2 to 3 months, and a fast-track option is available for students who need a quicker turnaround. Learn more about the process at princeton-jpcr.org/blogs.

What to do now

Applying to the ACS Chemistry Olympiad starts with one action: ask your chemistry teacher to contact your local ACS section and register your school before the February deadline. Everything else, preparation strategy, exam content, advancement criteria, follows from that first step.

Prepare with official past exams from acs.org. Identify your topic gaps early. Start at least six months before the local exam if you are serious about advancing. And if you are conducting independent chemistry research alongside your competition work, that research deserves a formal peer-review process and a permanent, citable record. Submit your work to PJPCR at princeton-jpcr.org. You can also explore what other students have published by browsing published research in PJPCR's issues to understand the standard the journal holds.