<![CDATA[Word of Mouth (WOM) and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) are social and psychological factors that can influence an individual's decision to participate in an activity. The 2025 Jawa Pos Radar Kediri Academic Competency Competition experienced an increase in participants from 4,926 in 2024 to 5,633 in 2025, indicating the influence of social and psychological factors on decision-making. This study aims to analyze the effect of WOM and FOMO on the decision to participate in the 2025 Jawa Pos Radar Kediri Academic Competency Competition, both partially and simultaneously. This study used a quantitative approach with the variables WOM, FOMO, and Participation Decision. Data were collected through a questionnaire using a probability sampling technique with the stratified random sampling method, obtaining 96 respondents from senior high school level participants. Data analysis used multiple linear regression, t-test, F-test, and coefficient of determination with the help of SPSS version 26. The results show that WOM partially has a positive and significant effect on the participation decision (t-count 3.533 > t-table 1.985; sig. < 0.001). FOMO also has a positive and significant effect (t-count 6.842 > t-table 1.985; sig. < 0.001). The simultaneous test shows that WOM and FOMO significantly affect the participation decision (F-count 52.102 > F-table 3.094; sig. < 0.001) with an Adjusted R2 of 0.518, meaning both variables explain 51.8% of the variance in the participation decision. Organizers are advised to maintain school-based communication and foster registration urgency through real-time quota information.]]>
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