February and March marks a time that state series competition heats up for sports and activities across Illinois. That includes competitors in the 2017 WYSE (Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering) Academic Challenge. The ultimate goal is to be one of the 1,500 or so individuals from more than 200 high schools to advance to the State Finals, which are April 17-20 on the University of Illinois campus.
Written by Mike Koon, Marketing & Communications Coordinator
1500 Division State Champion FenwickFebruary and March marks a time that state series competition heats up for sports and activities across Illinois. That includes competitors in the 2017 WYSE (Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering) Academic Challenge. The ultimate goal is to be one of the 1,500 or so individuals from more than 200 high schools to advance to the State Finals, which are April 17-20 on the University of Illinois campus.
Academic Challenge, conducted annually by the University of Illinois College of Engineering, is a competitive series of tests offered to high school students with material drawn from senior high school and freshman level college curricula. Written by teams of college and university faculty, subjects include biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering graphics, English, mathematics, and physics.
The overall goal of the program is to attract a greater number of talented and diverse students to careers in engineering and the sciences. The University of Illinois offers scholarships to the top individual first-place and second-place winners in each STEM subject who decide to enroll in the U of I College of Engineering.
Students form 14-member varsity teams or participate as an individual. At each level, students take two exams, competing individually in each subject and tallying points for their school’s overall team score.
“WYSE has really boosted my confidence and made me believe that I can succeed in anything I study for and want to make my own,” said Sheila Sagear from Marian Central High School in Woodstock.
“We have a lot of involvement in WYSE in our school, so it’s very competitive to get on the varsity team,” added Gabrielle Torrance from Macomb High School. “To do so well in Sectionals and State always means a lot to us.”
Schools competing in the Academic Challenge competition are divided into four divisions based on enrollment – unlimited (schools over 1,500), Division 1,500 (schools 701-1,500), Division 700 (schools 301-700) and Division 300 (schools with 300 or fewer students). Regionals are held from Feb. 1-17 at 32 sites across the state. Top scorers qualify for the Sectionals, which are at seven sites from March 1-17, to compete for coveted spots at the State Finals.