Three years ago I failed to qualify. Two years ago I was stumped at Round 1. Last year, Round 2 was my brick wall. Look out, Round 2, I'm coming for you.<p>Side note: CodeJam remains my favorite programming challenge website. ProjectEuler is a little too math-heavy, UVa problems are extremely inconsistent, and I find HackerRank to be <i>really</i> hit or miss.
For anyone who's interested in competitive programming, the Code Jam problem preparation guide makes for some really interesting reading. It should probably be required reading for anyone who wants to run a similar contest.<p><a href="https://code.google.com/codejam/problem-preparation.html" rel="nofollow">https://code.google.com/codejam/problem-preparation.html</a>
I'm a third year student studying CS right now. This will be my third year participating. I don't tend to get very far in the rounds, but I've enjoyed the challenge of the ones I've worked on so far. Needless to say, I am very excited.