

China embarrasses US in NSA hacking contest - dc2k08
http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/careers-hr/people-management/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsId=15144

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costan
The article makes a flawed argument. I think that the top US coders have
better opportunities than TopCoder, so we won't see them there. Personal
history follows.

I come from an eastern European country, and I participated in the IOI (high-
school equivalent of TopCoder). If I were still living there, I would have
gone to Top Coder, because the prize looks good for someone in eastern Europe.

Now that I'm in the US, the prize money isn't worth the time I would need to
train. I have better opportunities to make money and add to my resume. I miss
competitions, but I really like what I'm working on.

I'm not saying that the US school system doesn't suck. I'm just saying that
TopCoder performance isn't a valid argument for that.

~~~
screwperman
It always seemed like more of a cultural difference than a financial one to
me. Don't you think that TopCoder could be useful for American high school and
undergraduate students, who could be preparing for the IOI and ICPC
respectively? Fun fact: this year's TopCoder Open Algorithm Championship
winner was a Chinese _high school_ student who _never_ qualified for the IOI.

As an aside, if you don't mind telling me, do you think your participation in
the IOI helped get you into grad school at MIT? If so, to what extent?

~~~
costan
I requested to see my admission file after I was accepted into MIT. My guess
is I wouldn't have been there without my medal.

Disclaimers: I can't into the heads of the people in the admissions office.
Also, the Dean of Admissions was changed a few years ago, so my input is
likely to be irrelevant.

