Hi everyone,
I’m a current sophomore and I’d say I’m fairly strong at Math and Science as I’m currently taking AP Calc BC and hope to do Multivariable Calc and Linear Algebra over the summer. I’ve already taken AP Bio, but I’m going with Honors Chemistry for now because I don’t want to skip out on Chemistry, which requires a background before taking the AP class. I’m also a self taught artist and writer (journalism, short story, essays, poems are all subjects I dabble in). I could take the AMC or take the USABO, but I keep finding that you need to have a green card/US Citizenship. I’ll most likely get a green card before college applications in 2 years, but as of now, I’m just a legal resident. A lot of these competitions require that you be a green card holder or a citizen, which is difficult for me, because I’d like to try them. The same goes for many summer camps. Are there any competitions of these topics that don’t require citizenship or a green card? I am aware of Scholastics Arts and Writing and will enter this year.
Also, I can’t find if YoungArts requires applicants to be citizens/permanent residents? If anyone knows, let me know please!
Thanks again.
(EDIT): I apologize! It seems I placed it in the wrong category-- I submitted in a rush.
Nope, you don’t need to have a green card or citizenship to take the AMCs. You probably do need it to qualify for the IMO team, but the chances of that are slim anyways. I have a friend on a visa who qualified for the USAJMO and another friend, who I think is on a visa as well, who went to MOSP this summer. You can get pretty far without ever needing to hold a green card or citizenship.
Can’t really speak for the other competitions, though. I don’t know much about them.
@Aukring Thanks! I’ll take the AMCs then anyways, but the issue lies in the next step-- I just read the criteria for taking USAMO and apparently you need one for that…? I might be mistaken but I’m pretty sure it’s like that unfortunately 
I really hope I’m not mistaken about this, but my friend came from overseas and he’s not American-born. He says that he does not have a green card. Funnily enough, however, I also read the same thing you did on the MAA website, which is really confusing. Maybe the rules are different for JMO qualification?
Someone with more knowledge should chime in on this. However, based on my experience you should at LEAST be eligible to qualify for JMO, which is a good first step, seeing as you are a sophomore.
EDIT: I believe that as long as you are a student currently studying in the US or Canada, you are good to go for the USAMO, from the MAA website: http://www.maa.org/math-competitions/faqs/faqs-usamo-and-usjmo
@Aukring Wow, awesome. Their site is really confusing when it comes to eligibility, haha. Thank you so much! I’ll study hard for it 
On another note, I’m still looking for other recommendations. I just checked YoungArts again, and of course, you must be US Citizen or permanent resident (green card holder), so that’s upsetting.
There are several literary magazines you can submit your works to, such as Polyphony HS and Adroit Journal. They aren’t competitions per se, but these magazines are selective and are looking for unique voices. Some of them host annual contests that even offer a monetary award.