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USACO Silver Comprehensive TrainingThis course deepens our students’ competitive programming and problem-solving knowledge and gives them the tools they need to succeed in the Silver level of the USA Computing Olympiad. Major focus topics include binary search, data structures (e.g., priority queues), recursion (especially on trees), and graph search algorithms. This material is not only important in competitive programming, but very useful in computer science and programming in general! |
16 weeks DiagnosticsARE YOU READY? |
| 16 weeks ARE YOU READY? |
Schedule
|
Wed & Thurs
Jan 27 - May 12 |
7:30 - 9:00 PM ET
Jan 27 - May 12
7:30 - 9:00 PM Eastern 6:30 - 8:00 PM Central 5:30 - 7:00 PM Mountain 4:30 - 6:00 PM Pacific Click here to see more time zones |
Roger David Trujillo Ibáñez | $595 (~$38/lesson) |
$595
(~$38/lesson)
|
| Summer 2027 | This course will be offered in Summer 2027. Click here to join our mailing list to be notified when the course schedule is available. | |||
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Who Should Take?
We expect USACO Silver students to have taken our USACO Bronze class, or to already be at the Silver level or close to advancing from the Bronze level (i.e., scoring 500+ in timed contests). If you have not yet competed in USACO, this course is only suitable if you have prior experience in competitive programming and algorithmic problem-solving and you feel comfortable solving USACO Bronze problems from recent years.
Students should also be comfortable coding in at least one of C++, Java, and Python. Although many Silver problems are fully solvable in Python, C++ provides a significant advantage starting at this level, and is all but required for success at the Gold level. Although our course does not include C++ lessons per se, it encourages the use and engagement of C++.
Many contest problems are quite mathematical, so students should have at least a prealgebra level of math experience. Algebra is recommended as a pre- or co-requisite.
Lessons
| 1 | Welcome to Silver |
| 2 | Binary Search I: The Technique |
| 3 | Binary Search II: Advanced Applications |
| 4 | Data Structures I: Stacks, Queues, and Linked Lists |
| 5 | Data Structures II: Deques, Heaps, and Priority Queues |
| 6 | Recursion and Trees I: Per-moo-tations and Basic Recursion |
| 7 | Recursion and Trees II: Me-moo-ization and Advanced Recursion |
| 8 | Recursion and Trees III: Rooted Binary Trees |
| 9 | Recursion and Trees IV: General Trees |
| 10 | Recursion and Trees V: Divide, Recurse, and Conquer |
| 11 | Graphs I: Depth-First Search and Backtracking |
| 12 | Graphs II: Breadth-First Search and Dijkstra's Algorithm |
| 13 | Graphs III: Directed and Functional Graphs |
| 14 | Miscellaneous Tools I: Bitwise Operations, Strings, and Tries |
| 15 | Miscellaneous Tools II: Combinatorics and Number Theory |
| 16 | Miscellaneous Tools III: Assorted Tricks For The Toolbox |
