In this video we discuss the 5 most common mistakes students make when preparing for USA Computing Olympiad Platinum contest. For free training on how to ace your next USACO contest, check out https://training.vplanetcoding.com 00:00 - Introduction and Overview of Common Mistakes 01:29 - Mistake 1: Learning Too Many Topics in Depth 05:22 - Mistake 2: Practicing Primarily on Past Problems 09:37 - Using OI Checklist and Codeforces for Practice 11:12 - Mistake 3: Learning Advanced Math for Competitive Programming 13:25 - Mistake 4: Working on Problems with Inaccessible Solutions 13:41 - Mistake 5: Not Having Your Heart in It 17:37 - Summary and Closing Remarks

In this video we discuss the 5 most common mistakes students make when preparing for USA Computing Olympiad Gold contest. For free training on how to ace your next USACO contest, check out https://training.vplanetcoding.com 00:00 - Introduction and Overview 01:02 - Mistake 1: Not Learning DP at a High Level 03:46 - Mistake 2: Not Changing Preparation from Silver 07:50 - Mistake 3: Not Developing Problem-Solving Skills Intentionally 09:33 - Mistake 4: Not Setting a Timeline with Buffer for Camp Goals 11:58 - Mistake 5: Not Having Your Heart in It 13:20 - Summary and Conclusion

In this video we discuss the 5 most common mistakes students make when preparing for USA Computing Olympiad Silver contest. For free training on how to ace your next USACO contest, check out https://training.vplanetcoding.com 00:00 - Introduction to Common Mistakes in Silver Preparation 00:20 - Mistake 1: Learning Concepts at a High Level 02:31 - Mistake 2: Passive Problem Solving (Sitting and Thinking) 05:46 - Mistake 3: Not Learning Problem-Solving Skills 06:00 - Mistake 4: Choosing Python as a Coding Language 07:58 - Mistake 5: Lack of Passion and Heart in Preparation 11:07 - Recap of the Five Common Mistakes 12:33 - Q&A: Active Problem-Solving Strategies 15:54 - Conclusion and Preview of Next Session

In this video we discuss how to approach USA Computing Olympiad problems with permutations, cycles, and graphs. Here are the problems discussed in the video: Problem 1: https://usaco.org/index.php?page=viewproblem2&cpid=1014 Problem 2: https://usaco.org/index.php?page=viewproblem2&cpid=284 For free training on how to ace your next USACO contest, check out https://training.vplanetcoding.com 00:00 - Introduction and Overview 01:22 - Problem Setup: Reversing Ranges 04:10 - Observing Movement Patterns 07:11 - Drawing Permutations as a Graph 09:34 - Using Cycle Lengths to Optimize 12:01 - Introducing a Second Problem with Cycles 15:08 - Handling Entrances to Cycles 19:59 - Implementing Cycle Detection with DFS

Problem discussed in the video: https://codeforces.com/contest/739/problem/E My code to this problem: https://pastebin.com/du6sXu65 Blog about this problem: https://codeforces.com/blog/entry/49691 Bonus / HW problem: https://oj.uz/problem/view/IOI16_aliens For free training on how to ace your next USACO contest, check out https://training.vplanetcoding.com 00:00 - Introducing Alien's Trick 01:22 - Problem Overview and Basic DP Formulation 04:08 - Calculating Probabilities for Combined Throws 06:32 - Analyzing Runtime and the Need for Optimization 08:19 - Key Observation: Diminishing Returns on Adding Balls 12:51 - Applying Aliens Trick to Remove the B Dimension 16:49 - Defining Transitions with a Cost Parameter C 19:11 - Binary Search on C and Clean Implementation 22:30 - Extending Alien's Trick to Remove the A Dimension 26:30 - Final Algorithm and Code Walkthrough

In this video we discuss how to optimize runtime for DP algorithms. Here are the 3 problems discussed in the video: Problem 1: https://usaco.org/index.php?page=viewproblem2&cpid=345 Problem 2: https://usaco.org/index.php?page=viewproblem2&cpid=791 Problem 3: https://usaco.org/index.php?page=viewproblem2&cpid=648 For free training on how to ace your next USACO contest, check out https://training.vplanetcoding.com 00:00 - Introducing DP Runtime Optimization 00:46 - Reviewing the Basic DP Runtime Formula 02:55 - Applying the Runtime Formula to Fibonacci Example 03:49 - Introducing the Pogo Cow Problem 04:42 - Reading and Understanding the Pogo Cow Problem Statement 05:51 - Developing the Initial DP State for Pogo Cow 07:30 - Defining Transitions and Analyzing Initial Runtime 11:35 - Optimizing the DP State by Changing Variables 14:00 - Reformulating Transitions for Better Runtime 16:49 - Using a Running Maximum to Achieve O(N²) Runtime 20:48 - Discussing Start and End States for Pogo Cow 22:12 - Introducing the Stamp Painting Problem 23:40 - Understanding the Stamp Painting Problem Constraints 26:33 - Switching to Counting the Complement (No Length-K Sequence) 30:02 - Designing the Initial DP State for the Stamp Painting Problem 32:15 - Defining Transitions and Initial Runtime Analysis 33:51 - Removing a State Dimension for Symmetry 35:55 - Reformulating the DP with Prefix Sums for O(N) Runtime 43:41 - Introducing the 262144 Problem 45:33 - Designing a Range DP State and Basic Transitions 48:50 - Analyzing the Range DP Runtime and Limitations 50:12 - Optimizing by Swapping DP Dimensions Based on Value Limit 53:32 - Defining the New DP State and Optimized Transitions

When you have a few weeks to the next USA Computing Olympiad, or USACO, competition, it is important to hone in on your preparation and ensure that you are making the best use of your time. In this video I cover what to focus on a few weeks from your next USACO contest. This applies for USACO Bronze, USACO Silver, USACO Gold and USACO Platinum For free training on how to ace your next USACO contest, check out https://training.vplanetcoding.com 00:00 - Introduction and Overview 00:19 - Contest Strategy 01:04 - Working Under the Stress of a Contest 03:35 - Identifying and Working on Weak Points 05:06 - Strategies for New or Time-Constrained Competitors 07:33 - Maintaining Skills and Avoiding Knowledge Loss 08:45 - Final Summary and Key Takeaways

The USA Computing Olympiad, or USACO, gets harder every year. In this video, I discuss why this happens and how to properly prepare for a competition that consistently gets harder. This applies for USACO Bronze, USACO Silver, USACO Gold and USACO Platinum For free training on how to ace your next USACO contest, check out https://training.vplanetcoding.com 00:00 - Introduction 00:33 - Why Difficulty Increases Every Year 02:23 - Comparison to AMC 03:43 - Algorithms vs. Problem-Solving 05:37 - Filling Gaps in Your Prep 07:33 - Setting the Right Target 08:59 - When to Start Preparing

In this video I walk through the solutions for CodeForces round 1006 A-F. The contests problems are here: https://codeforces.com/contest/2072 To see my solutions, go to this link https://codeforces.com/contest/2072/status, filter for user Updown and verdict accepted. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:07 Problem A 0:22:20 Problem B 0:33:48 Problem C 0:50:52 Problem D 1:03:30 Problem E 1:37:35 Problem F

Keta Tsimakuridze won first place in European Girls Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI) and recieved a Silver medal in the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). Even more impressive, when she received that medal in IOI, she took the contest with COVID while struggling to stay awake. In this podcast style video, Keta talks about how she prepared for the competitions and gives tons of great advice to students just starting with olympiad style competitions including USACO as well as students who are well into the competition looking to reach the higher ranks.

In this video, we dive into the 3 part process I used to guarantee my success in USACO which allowed me to make USACO Camp 3 times. The first part is making sure my work matches my goals. If your work is not nearly high enough for the goals you want to achieve, you are setting yourself up to fail. The second part is finding ways to work harder and spend more time on USACO Here's the video on motivating yourself to spend more time on USACO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_DpCy2naK0 Here's the video on using friendly competition to motivate yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgpaXDAOdBk The third part is work smarter. The 4th part is how to combine the first 3 parts into a great combination that allowed me to set myself up for success. 0:00 Intro 0:19 Part 1: Make sure your work matches your goals 4:13 Part 2: How to do more work 9:40 Part 3: How to work smarter 14:13 Part 4: Combining it all together

Preparing for the USA Computing Olympiad can be a long journey, and it can be challenging for people who've never struggled in school. This means that it presents new challenges that students are frequently unprepared for. One of these challenges is staying motivated through your preparation. In this video, we discuss how to motivate yourself to spend more time preparing for USACO. We dive into what to do if you fall in one of these 2 cases: Case 1: You waste time instead of spending time working on USACO. Case 2: As you are working on USACO, you get distracted and start web browsing or looking at your phone. We discuss what causes these to happen, as well as what you can do to solve these problems. For free training on how to ace your next USACO contest, check out https://training.vplanetcoding.com. Want to work with me to prepare for USACO? Schedule a call here: https://calendly.com/riya-aro/usaco-oi-competitions Sources mentioned in this video: Dr. K (Physiatrist from Harvard medical school) talking about gifted kids subconsciously learning that being smart means they can't work hard: https://youtu.be/sQC0jfH_rrM?si=nrV0ENKdHrNxUgu7&t=717 Dr. K on why you feel like a baby step isn't enough and why you should take baby steps: https://youtu.be/xkd36cJ6Z78?si=r0uWo7RteapxnGlH&t=716

I often hear that competitors dislike ad hoc questions; I definitely get that, as it's always frustrating to run into problems that you can't prepare for. Unfortunately, however, ad hoc problems never go away across divisions — they only get more prevalent. In this video, I discuss why it's so important to practice ad hoc, and how to implement ad hoc problems into your practice routine. For free training on how to ace your next USACO contest, check out https://training.vplanetcoding.com.

Using a debugger can often help you debug more efficiently than with print statements. This video explains everything you need to know about using a debugger in USACO contests. For free training on how to ace your next USACO contest, check out https://training.vplanetcoding.com

Claire Zhang is an 2-time EGOI (European Girls' Olympiad in Informatics) Gold Medalist, and a 2-time USACO Camper. In this video, Claire talks about her journey through USACO and gives advice to competitors on how to advance through each division, stay motivated, and practice efficiently.