16-04-2025
EIU hosting 2025 ACES State Competition
CHARLESTON, Ill. (WCIA) — Over 1,200 high schoolers from across the state are currently participating in a four-day engineering and science competition at Eastern Illinois University.
Spanning from April 14-17, EIU is holding the 2025 Academic Challenge for Engineering and Science (ACES) State Competition in Charleston. This year's competition is highlighting the academic talents of students from almost 170 high schools across the state.
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The university has organized this ACES competition since 2019. Previously, this event was known as the WYSE Outreach Program from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Now, the event is managed by EIU's School of Extended Learning in collaboration with partner institutions across Illinois and Missouri.
Since the start of this academic year, close to 450 high schools have competed at the regional and sectional levels, both in-person and online, leading to this culminating competition across Illinois.
Those participating are competing in one of four divisions, based on school size, and the competition schedule is as follows:
April 14: Division 300 – 407 students, 61 coaches from 60 high schools
April 15: Division 700 – 375 students, 50 coaches from 51 high schools
April 16: Division 1500 – 327 students, 37 coaches from 37 high schools
April 17: Division Unlimited – 159 students, 21 coaches from 21 high schools
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These events will all take place in the Grand and University Ballrooms of the MLK Jr. University Union at EIU. In the competition, students will choose two exams from subjects including Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Graphics, English, Math and Physics.
The top-performing students placing first through fifth in each subject will earn individual medals, while the schools achieving top scores will be awarded team trophies.
'Eastern is honored to celebrate these remarkable young scholars and their academic achievements,' Josh Norman, vice president for Enrollment Management at EIU, said. 'The ACES competition brings some of Illinois' most promising future engineers, scientists, and thinkers to our campus, and we hope many will consider EIU as their first-choice University.'
To learn more about the school's academic programs, visit or reach out to EIU Admissions. For more information on the university's academic and career readiness programs, visit their website or call EIU's public information office at 217-581-7400.
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