Event Information

What?

College Puzzle Challenge is an annual puzzle-solving contest held simultaneously on college campuses across North America. Teams compete by racing to solve puzzles with prizes awarded to the fastest teams at each school.

Where?

This year, College Puzzle Challenge will be held at 16 locations with 24 universities across the United States and Canada. The participating schools, and the locations where the opening ceremonies will take place are:
School General Location Meeting Location
Boston College At Microsoft Cambridge Office One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142
Boston University At Microsoft Cambridge Office One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142
Brown University At Microsoft Cambridge Office One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142
Carnegie Mellon University On Campus Wean 7500
Columbia University On Campus CEPSR Building - Davis Auditorium
Cornell University On Campus Upson B17
George Mason University At Microsoft DC Office 5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20015
George Washington University At Microsoft DC Office 5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20015
Georgetown University At Microsoft DC Office 5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20015
Georgia Institute of Technology On Campus Howie Physics Buildin - L1
Howard University At Microsoft DC Office 5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20015
Massachusetts Institute of Technology On Campus Grier - 34/401
Northeastern University At Microsoft Cambridge Office One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142
Rochester Institute of Technology On Campus Building 70 Room 3435
Stanford University On Campus Packard 101
Texas A&M On Campus HR Bright - Room 124
University of Florida On Campus Rinker 110
University of Illinois (UC) On Campus 2405 Siebel
University of Maryland At Microsoft DC Office 5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20015
University of Michigan On Campus Lurie Engineering Center 3rd Floor
University of Texas On Campus WEL 1.316
University of Toronto On Campus Bahen Centre BA 1130
University of Washington On Campus Mary Gates Commons
Worcester Polytechnic Institute At Microsoft Cambridge Office One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142

When?

This year, College Puzzle Challenge will be held on Saturday, November 8th, 2008. The event runs for 12 hours continuously and starts at all locations at the same time. In local time, the event starts at:
  • Noon (12:00 PM) EST
  • 11:00 AM CST
  • 10:00 AM MST
  • 9:00 AM PST
Participants should arrive 30 minutes early. See the FAQ for more information.

Who?

College Puzzle Challenge is designed for computer engineering, computer science, and mathematics students, but it is open to any undergraduate or graduate students attending one of the participating universities. College Puzzle Challenge is funded by Microsoft's college recruiting department, but the event is organized by Microsoft employees who are alumni of the participating schools, not by recruiters. While we'll be happy to take your résumé and pass it on to your school recruiter, our goal is to make sure everyone has a good time.

Why?

Because it's fun! College Puzzle Challenge is an exciting and challenging way to exercise your skills in computer science, mathematics, linguistics, problem-solving, and a host of other disciplines. Solving a challenging puzzle based on obscure clues is surprisingly satisfying and is great preparation for facing other problems in education and in industry.
Copyright © 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.