Let’s deep dive into the format and structure of the Canadian Computing Competition (CCC)!
Are you a student who is…
- Currently in high school?
- Passionate about computer science?
- Interested in pursuing STEM majors?
- Looking to stand out in university applications?
If the answer is YES to all of the above bullets, then the Waterloo CCC might be the competition for you!
The Canadian Computing Competition (CCC) is a challenging but rewarding STEM competition for high school students who are passionate about pursuing STEM. In our previous blog post, we talked about what the CCC is and how it could help with university applications. Today, we will deep dive into the format and structure of the competition to help you become familiar with it and ultimately succeed!
The 2023 CCC will be held on Feb 7th, 2023. There’s less than a month away from the deadline but there’s still time to prepare!
Read on to find out how to best prepare for the CCC.
So what exactly is the CCC?
The CCC stands for the Canadian Computing Competition. It’s meant to be a fun challenge for participants with an interest in programming. You might often hear the CCC being referred to as the “Waterloo CCC” and that’s because the competition is organized by the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC) at the University of Waterloo.
How is the CCC written?
The CCC is written in schools by using the CCC Online Grader. The online grader provides immediate feedback on solutions to algorithmic programming problems. Not only is it used in competitions, it also hosts a library of past competition problems to help students practice and prepare for the challenge.
It’s important to get familiar with the CCC Online Grader on the University of Waterloo website so you are better prepared for the actual competition.
What is the format for the CCC?
The CCC is a 3-hour long challenge consisting of 5 questions for both the Junior level and the Senior level competition. The Junior level is for those with beginner programming skills while the Senior level is for participants with intermediate to advanced programming skills.
An important thing to note is that teachers need to register in order for contests to be written in schools. There is no team competition.
Each question of the CCC is worth 15 points. The questions start on a relatively easy difficulty level and increase with each question. The CEMC has provided an outline of the questions to help you with your prep.
More information on the competition can be found on the CEMC website.
What are the languages required for the CCC?
According to the CEMC website, CCC participants may use C, C++, Python 2, Python 3, Pascal, Java, Perl, or PHP.
What else is there to know about the CCC?
There are a full set of rules for teachers and students on the CCC. It’s important to know these rules so you are able to participate in the competition.
What is the best way to prepare for the competition?
Once you have decided to participate in the CCC, we highly recommend you to spend some time preparing for it.
The most popular and well-known (also FREE) method of preparing is the CCC Online Grader. All you need to do is create an account and you can start accessing previous competitions and practice for free.
You can discover more ways directly through the CEMC website.
At Wiz Robotics, we have designed a CCC prep course to help you in this journey. All you have to do is enroll in the course, attend classes, and practice!
Participating in the CCC is a challenging but rewarding experience. We strongly encourage aspiring STEM students who are passionate about computer science and mathematics to try out first hand at the competition.
At the end of the day, you have nothing to lose but lots (of skills and knowledge) to gain!