Pre-College Competition

Are you a high school student in the greater Rochester area who is passionate about statistics, data analysis, data science, data mining, machine learning, and artificial intelligence? If so, then the Greater Rochester Pre-College Competition is the perfect opportunity for you! This data hackathon, created specifically for pre-college students, is proudly sponsored by the Student Chapter of the American Statistical Association (ASA) at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

GENERAL TIMELINE

• Data available on March 11, 2024.
• Deadline for submitting final report: April 7, 2024.
• Award ceremony at Imagine RIT (Third week of April).
• Several tutorial sessions will be offered via zoom to help contestants with all manners of tools for statistical data analysis and artificial intelligence!
• Teams will register to participate in the challenge.
• Teams download the data and description of the challenge.
• Teams work on the data at their site.
• Teams submit the final report in two forms:
  • Anonymous submission.
  • Non-anonymous submission.
  • Winning teams will have the opportunity to present their work either online or on the RIT campus.

Source of Data:
We are excited to present a challenge that involves the compelling task of statistical data analysis and data mining. This challenge will focus on a large dataset selected by our ASA club leaders, which may include publicly available data or data from a major corporation.

How to Access the Data:
After registering your team, all necessary information for accessing the data will be provided on the challenge website. Detailed instructions will also be given to mentors and team captains on how to download both the data and the data dictionary.

Are you ready to showcase your passion and prowess in statistical data analytics? Join a team of like-minded students at your school, led by a mentoring teacher, to take on a challenging dataset provided by a real-life organization. This is your chance to demonstrate your skills and compete with others in the field. Don't miss out on this opportunity to put your data analytics abilities to the test!

Who Can Participate?
All high school students, regardless of their grade level, are encouraged to take part in this opportunity. Furthermore, being enrolled in a particular AP course is not a requirement for participation. The only prerequisites are a strong interest in statistical data analysis and a desire to collaborate with other ambitious students at your school to further your knowledge in the field of science.

PERSONAL GROWTH
Are you ready to take on challenging data problems? Not only will it be a rewarding experience, but it will also help foster your personal growth and give you a sense of accomplishment. Plus, it's a great way to boost your confidence in your abilities!

EXPERIENCE
Participating in these competitions not only offers a competitive edge, but also serves as a great opportunity to develop and improve your statistical and analytical abilities. By taking part, you'll gain valuable practical experience in applying statistical concepts to solve real-world problems.

CAREER BOOST
Having an entry on your resume that showcases your proactive involvement in statistical data analytics during high school can benefit you. It sets you apart from other candidates and can make all the difference in landing a job opportunity.

RULES

• Each team may consist of three to five members who have not yet graduated from high school, along with a designated faculty advisor. In the event of a shortage of advisors, multiple teams may share the same faculty advisor.
• This competition requires two submissions: a data report and a three-slide presentation containing a full analysis of the provided data set.
• The report should be formatted in a style similar to that of a research paper.
• Students should be responsible for providing complete information in the competition, while advisors should simply oversee their progress.
• To ensure impartial grading, both anonymous and non-anonymous reports must be submitted.
• All aspects of the final solution should be emailed to Ernest Fokoué before the deadline.

JUDGING

• The American Statistical Association (ASA) will carefully evaluate each team's solutions with the help of three judges.
• Each team will only be permitted to present a maximum of three slides. Therefore, it would be beneficial to schedule some time on Saturday to carefully consider the key information you wish to convey to the judges.
• In addition to your presentation, you will be required to submit a one-page write-up of your project. This write-up can be considered as the written version of your presentation. The judges will consult these materials during their deliberation process.
• The evaluation of the data set will be weighted equally across five categories: Appeal, accuracy and methodology, comprehensiveness, organization and clarity, and insights.
• Email your presentation and report to Dr. Ernest Fokoué. The accepted formats are PDF, PowerPoint, Google Docs, and Keynote.
• Awards will be given for top three presentations: Gold, Silver, and Bronze.
• The top three data reports will be invited to the Rochester Institute of Technology to present their findings to ASA members.

American Statistical Association (ASA) Ambassadors:
President, Abigail Smith
Vice President, Julia Blaschak