WUCT 2025 Registration

REGISTRATION

Teams, individuals, and incomplete teams can be registered here! Look out for an email from us regarding payment!

We do offer financial assistance to participants demonstrating financial need. Please fill out this form to be considered for scholarships to attend WUCT. Scholarships will be awarded based on need and availability of funds on a first come first served basis.

We will also kindly ask that you fill out and email the liability release and waiver form for WUCT 2025 to wuct@su.wustl.edu. Please note the two different forms available, depending on the participant's age!

Waiver for participants under 18 years old

Waiver for participants over 18 years old

INFO ON WUCT's TWO DIVISIONS


Rationale for Two Divisions

  • Increasing Participation from a Broader Spectrum of Schools: Many schools with varying levels of resources and chemistry preparation may hesitate to compete in a single division. By establishing two divisions, we aim to increase participation from underrepresented regions, smaller schools, and those with limited access to advanced chemistry education.
  • Expanding Diversity in Academic Backgrounds: Splitting WUCT into two divisions ensures that students with different academic backgrounds can compete fairly. This approach supports WUCT's mission to focus on real-world problem-solving and teamwork in chemistry regardless of academic preparation, giving all participants the chance to succeed.
  • Encouraging Team Engagement and Growth: Two divisions of WUCT provide a more balanced competition and creates a positive learning experience for all teams, allowing them to engage fully.

Structure of Two Divisions

  • Division Avogadro
    • Division Avogadro will constitute teams with limited or no experience in AP Chemistry, Science Olympiad, or other similar competitive chemistry programs.
  • Division Arrhenius
      Division Arrhenius will constitute teams with significant exposure to AP Chemistry, upper-level chemistry coursework, Science Olympiad, and/or other advanced chemistry competitions.
  • The exam questions will be completely identical for both divisions but students will only be compared to those within their division. Breaking Bonds scoring will not be separate, however.
  • The WUSEA exec team will determine the division placement for each team based on the demographic information provided on the registration form and scores from previous years (if available). We will evaluate a team’s ability from various perspectives before making a collective decision. However, if one team would like to switch to the other division, please email wuct@su.wustl.edu. The deadline to switch divisions will be the same as the registration deadline, March 1st, 2025.
  • Note: If you choose to switch to the other division, your ENTIRE team will be switched as well, so please make sure to discuss this decision with your teammates and coach beforehand.

Awards

  • Since all teams will compete with each other during Breaking Bonds, the awards for Breaking Bonds will stay the same as in previous years, and awards for Individual, Topic, and Teams rounds will be separated into two divisions.
  • Here is a breakdown of award distribution for WUCT 2025:
    • Individual Round: Individual competitors with the top five raw scores on the individual exam will be awarded 1st-5th place Individual Awards within each division.
    • Topic Round: For each topic exam, the three pairs with the highest raw scores for that specific topic exam will be awarded 1st-3rd place Topic Awards within each division. Pairs with raw scores ranked 4th and 5th place will receive honorable mentions.
    • Teams Round: Similar to the Topics Round, the three teams with the highest raw scores on the team exam will earn 1st-3rd place Team Awards within each division. Teams with raw scores ranked 4th and 5th place will receive honorable mentions.
    • Breaking Bonds: The five teams with the highest raw points scores from the Breaking Bonds round will earn 1st-5th place Breaking Bonds Awards.
    • Director's Awards: There will be one Director’s award for each division. Find the breakdown for the award here!

FAQs

  • Does my team get to decide which division we are in?
    • No, to ensure fairness among teams, the WUCT team decides on a team’s division placement holistically based on information provided on the registration form and past scores.
  • What should I do if I want to compete at a different division from my team’s placement decision?
  • Can I purposefully change my demographic information so that my team is assigned to the division with less experienced teams? Does this mean a higher chance of winning an award?
    • No, our team will also review your team’s scores from previous years to make the placement decision. We strongly discourage teams from faking their demographic information in the registration form to compete with less advantaged teams as it violates the purpose of having two divisions. The WUSEA team reserves the right to make any changes to a team’s division placement.
  • What if I forgot what division my team is in during tournament day?
    • There will be a two-digit number at the end of your individual ID that indicates your division placement.
  • Around what time could I expect to hear about my team’s placement decision?
    • We will notify participants mid-March of their placement.
  • How will having two divisions impact my experience during WUCT?
    • Logistically and experience-wise, WUCT will remain the same as it has been in the past years! Only in the awards ceremony will there be a distinction in the two divisions. We hope this adds to the experience of teams with limited chemistry background and makes our tournament more accessible to under-resourced schools.
  • Who should I contact if I have other questions?
    • Since splitting WUCT into two divisions is newly implemented this year, please feel free to send us an email at wuct@su.wustl.edu for any concerns/questions/suggestions about the WUCT two-division!

REGISTRATION GUIDELINES

Only one registration form should be submitted per team. Individual competitors and incomplete teams should fill out the registration form as well. The registration fees for 2025 are listed below.

The registration deadline is March 1, 2025, with a cap at 300 competitors. After 300 competitors have registered, any additional competitors will be placed on a waitlist.

The standard registration fee is $120 per team (or $20 per person).

Changes made between March 1st and March 15th will incur a $10 fee.

For the 2025 tournament, only the first 300 competitors (≈ 50 teams) who register will be guaranteed spots in the competition. Competitors that register after the 300 spots have been filled will be placed on a waitlist. If a spot opens up, waitlisted competitors will be informed.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

Please note dates are by 11:59 pm CST

Last day to register a team: March 1st, 2025

Release forms due: TBD

All fees due: March 1st, 2025

Last day to withdraw with a 100% refund: March 6th, 2025

Last day to make changes to team information (with a $10 fee): March 15th, 2025