How should our child prepare for Olympiads? This is the question that every parent asks when the Olympiad season begins. To help parents with the biggest question of the season, we have made an Ultimate Olympiad Preparation Guide. Browse below to read the complete guide.
Olympiad Preparation – Why?
It is very important to understand that why one should prepare for Olympiads? Olympiads as they say are your bridge to success. They build the foundation of your competitive career, other than curriculum. Olympiads basically:
Test conceptual understanding and analytical thinking
Improve performance in school & stay ahead of peers
Assess student not just within class or school but atnational as well as international level
Improve problem solving skills, motivation & confidence
Beyond School Benefits
Not just at school level, the Olympiad Exams will help throughout your career. Olympiad exams boost your overall resume. Many Olympiads offer scholarships as well, that helps you to pursue your dream.
Preparation for Competitive Exams like JEE / NEET
Conceptual understanding
Problem solving
Time management
MCQ format
Application for Higher Studies
Useful for undergraduate programs outside of India
Beneficial for PG programs (e.g. MBA) in India
Job Prospects
'Olympiad Ranks' add to academic credentials
Highlights subject strength in the resume
Olympiad Preparation – How?
It is of utmost importance that you give a strong foundation to your preparation. The things that you need to do before you even think of preparing are:
A. Know the Exam Pattern
Go through the syllabus
Understand the format of the question paper (marking scheme, etc.)
It's a myth that preparation before a week of the exam will give you a good rank. You need to start from NCERT books as they lay the foundation of your advance knowledge. While you go through a particular chapter, preparation of notes is very important. This will help you to save your time when you revise the chapter before the exam.
Cover school curriculum in advance
Prepare notes / underline key concepts
Read NCERT or similar book of one higher grade to understand advanced concepts
Ideally the school curriculum for the selected subject should be completed by July-end
Read NCERT or similar book of one higher grade to understand advanced concepts.
This should be pursued only when the student is comfortable with current class
curriculum. This is a must for Level 2 exams. Check Sample Papers for Level 2
C. Do Extensive Practice
Practice is always the key to score a good rank in Olympiads. Your Olympiad paper will be accompanied with logical reasoning questions; therefore it's very important that you do sufficient practice of logical reasoning questions. The format of the questions in Olympiads will be in the form of multiple choice questions. So do extensive practice for multiple choice questions.
Focus on conceptual clarity and practical applications
For extensive practice, one can purchase Comprehensive Test Series. There are more than 15 mock tests in this package apart
from 50+ topic-wise tests
One mistake that student make is insufficient preparation for Logical Reasoning. Olympiad Success provides free topic-wise Logical Reasoning test series with every Comprehensive Test Series. One may also purchase just Logical Reasoning worksheets by selecting 'Olympiad Success Special'
Tips to Score High
Stay Energized – Plan It Before Hand
Avoid heavy food. If needed, carry protein biscuits
Carry glucose water for long-duration tests
Start Positive
Spend 2-3 mins going through the paper
Mark answers to easy questions
Keep Calm During Exam
Take deep breath if needed
Mark correct answers on OMR sheet carefully
Attempt Questions Smartly
Attempt 'Achievers Section' early on
Do not spend more than 2-3 mins on any question
Attempt all the questions. Eliminate answers which are definitely wrong. Generally, there's no –ve marking
Growing Importance of Digital Practice
Digital is the new way of studying. Other than the up-to-date syllabus and questions, the digital study has grown tremendously across the world due to a number of reasons.
Large number of questions
Instant evaluation
Explanation for every question
Easy revision and re-attempt
Compare performance with peers
Getting ready for future exams
Increasingly, all competitive exams are being conducted online.
How to Participate in Olympiad Exams?
There are several organisations that conduct Olympiad exams. However, registration for most of the Olympiad Exams takes place through Schools. Here we are providing select exams that are not only conducted online but also accept individual registrations:
CREST Olympiads
These exams are conducted in the month of October to December every year in Maths, Science, English, Reasoning, Cyber and Spell Bee.
This is first of its kind exams which take place in Summers after school curriculum is over. These exams are conducted in the month of April to July every year in Maths, Science, English, Critical Thinking, Cyber and G.K.
