Competing in algorithmic programming competitions is an extremely eye-opening experience. I competed in 3 ICPC regionals during my time as an undergrad and realized that my level of knowledge in core/fundamental algorithms was (and still is) an absolute joke compared to some of my competition.
I realize I didn't exactly put a lot of time into practicing and learning new material, but now that I've graduated I'm hoping to practice more and eventually try raising my rating on TopCoder. If anything, training for ICPC drilled the basics of algorithms and data structures into my head and lead me to find tons of excellent resources for improving in these competitions (and consequently, programming/problem solving in general).
I realize I didn't exactly put a lot of time into practicing and learning new material, but now that I've graduated I'm hoping to practice more and eventually try raising my rating on TopCoder. If anything, training for ICPC drilled the basics of algorithms and data structures into my head and lead me to find tons of excellent resources for improving in these competitions (and consequently, programming/problem solving in general).