Help Center

Learn how to use every feature.

Step-by-step guides, feature breakdowns, and FAQs to help you make the most of USACOGPT.

Welcome to your USACO learning hub.

USACOGPT blends onboarding, a daily challenge, and curated practice into one workflow. Follow these steps to get going:

1

Complete onboarding

Set your current level, preferred language, and learning goal. This personalizes the dashboard and default editor language.

2

Start the daily challenge

From the dashboard, click “Start Challenge” to tackle a short daily problem that keeps your streak alive.

3

Use recommended practice

Pull level-matched problems from the database to keep your momentum.

4

Practice with the AI Tutor

Ask for hints, debugging help, and concept explanations while you solve problems.

5

Follow recommendations

Use the recommended practice queue and recent solves log to stay consistent between challenges.

Pro Tip: Keep a daily streak and use recommended practice between challenges. Consistency beats cramming.

Tips & Tricks

Asking Effective Questions

Good: "I'm thinking of using a greedy approach here. Can you tell me if that would work for this problem?"

Avoid: "What's the solution?"

Best Practices

  • Read the entire problem carefully before coding
  • Start with a brute force approach, then optimize
  • Use the AI to understand concepts, not just to get answers
  • Test with edge cases (empty input, max constraints, etc.)
  • Review test failures and ask the AI for debugging help

Effective Learning Strategy

  • Start with onboarding: Set your level and goal so recommendations match you
  • Use recommended practice: Work through the queue before refreshing
  • Keep the streak: Use the daily challenge to stay consistent
  • Focus on gaps: Revisit topics with low mastery
  • Reflect weekly: Revisit weak topics and refresh your queue

Frequently Asked Questions