Frequently asked questions

Yes. USAEBO is open to participants of any nationality. You must be 20 or younger on the first day of the international competition in that competition year.

Competition entry and Team USA selection have separate eligibility requirements. Report your citizenship, residency and school status accurately; see the eligibility guide for guidance.

No. Team USA selection has additional requirements: US citizenship, US permanent residency, or full-time attendance at a US middle or high school.

Competition eligibility, an award and selection for the national team are separate matters. Read the competition and team-selection overview to understand the pathway.

The deadline is February 27, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. US Eastern Standard Time (EST), equivalent to February 28 at 12:59 Beijing time (UTC+8).

Allow time to review your details, complete the student and parent or guardian signatures, and pay. Follow the registration guide for the full process.

The Round 1 entry fee is USD 50. It covers competition entry for Round 1 only; preparation and tutoring services are separate. The fee is non-refundable, including duplicate payments.

If you have been charged but the status is unclear, check the registration system and payment record before paying again. Work through the post-payment checks.

Prepare the student and school details, both email addresses, and the student and parent or guardian declarations. These are mainly form entries and electronic signatures; not every item requires a file upload.

• The student’s legal name, date of birth, telephone number, and actual citizenship, residency or US school status.
• School name, full address and country; a working personal, non-school email address and a school email address.
• Electronic declarations and signatures completed by the student and one parent or guardian.

Check the registration details checklist before filling in the form.

Confirm completion through the competition registration portal. A QR consultation does not submit a competition entry.

Check the submitted form, student and parent or guardian signatures, payment, portal status and confirmation email. Retain the records. A charge notification alone does not confirm that every registration step is complete.

If the status is unclear, check with competition registration support before making another payment. See the registration confirmation guide for the checks.

Round 1 in 2027 has open registration: 40 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, completed individually.

Practice both concept checks and pacing. Do not assume the 25-question format used in 2026 still applies. Review the exams and syllabus guide for the subject areas assessed.

Round 2 is for Round 1 qualifiers. It is a 120-minute free-response exam requiring reasoning and worked explanations, rather than final answers alone.

The published information does not specify a Round 2 question count, so do not assume a fixed number for mock exams. See the Round 2 exam guide for the format and skills assessed.

Both rounds begin at 8 p.m. US Eastern time. Round 1 uses EST and Round 2 uses daylight time, EDT, so the corresponding Beijing start time changes.

Round 1

US Eastern: March 13, 2027, 8–9 p.m. EST
Beijing: March 14, 09:00–10:00 (UTC+8)

Round 2

US Eastern: March 27, 2027, 8–10 p.m. EDT
Beijing: March 28, 08:00–10:00 (UTC+8)

Beijing is 13 hours ahead of EST and 12 hours ahead of EDT. Remember the next-day date when adding the exams to your calendar; see the 2027 schedule.

No. Both rounds are online, individual exams with technical proctoring.

Before the exam, follow the current season’s notices for the exam platform, technical proctoring and required checks. Use the current rules for equipment, environment and permitted tools; older handbooks may describe different procedures. Start with the exam guide.

Awards are assessed separately for each round. An award does not establish selection for Team USA.

• Round 1: Distinguished Honor Roll, High Honor Roll and Honor Roll.
• Round 2: Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention.

Team selection also depends on eligibility and the selection process. See the competition overview for how awards, advancement and the international pathway relate.

The resources page includes the 2026 Round 1 and Round 2 papers and public sample questions. Start with a few questions to become familiar with both multiple-choice and free-response formats.

Choose the year and round in the resources library, then use the syllabus to identify gaps in your knowledge.

Not as a complete match. The 2026 Round 1 paper has 25 questions; the 2027 format has 40 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes.

Use the older paper for topic practice, concept checks and reviewing mistakes. A full mock should reflect the 2027 question count and time limit. Check the year and round when using past papers.

Operational rules in a past handbook apply to that year. They do not establish the 2027 arrangements, although past papers remain useful for subject practice.

Check the current season’s notices for platform, proctoring, equipment and permitted-tool requirements. Use the resources library to find historical material and the current schedule to check dates. Follow the current competition notices for final operational instructions.

The public collection verified for this site does not contain a confirmed complete official USAEBO answer key. A public question paper, an independently written solution and an official answer key are different sources.

Independent explanations can support review, but check their reasoning and provenance. IEO answer keys are not official USAEBO answers. Read the file descriptions in the resources library to confirm each resource’s year, round and purpose.

No. IEO is a separate competition. Its materials can support subject knowledge and extension practice, but they do not replace the current USAEBO exam rules.

Begin with the USAEBO exams and syllabus guide, then use the IEO extension resources where helpful. Check USAEBO’s current requirements for format, duration, proctoring and advancement.

Choose a starting point based on what you have already studied. The published course outlines give the following reference hours; the foundation route has no economics prerequisite.

• 60-hour foundation route: for students who have not studied economics systematically.
• 30-hour route: for students who have studied either microeconomics or macroeconomics.
• 20-hour route: for students who have studied both microeconomics and macroeconomics.

Actual hours are adjusted to learning progress. These outlines do not guarantee a score or award. See the preparation and tutoring guide for the focus of each route.

Contact us to check current course dates, fees, class formats and teacher arrangements. Reference hours help you compare course routes; they are not a confirmed timetable.

Review the course routes, then share your background, time zone and availability to check which arrangements may suit you.

Yes. If you are new to economics or have not tried a paper, share your previous coursework, goals and available study time. Recent practice work is optional.

For a question-specific enquiry, include the topic, year, round and question number, plus your reasoning or the step where you got stuck. This helps identify whether the issue is a concept, the reasoning or the written explanation.

This is independent, pre-exam support for study planning, subject review, practice feedback and preparation questions. Real-time assistance during an exam is not provided.

Both exams must be completed individually. Confirm registration status, payments and competition procedures through the registration system or competition support. Read the registration guide for help understanding the process.