How Does Olympiads Help in the Long Run?

How many of you dart for the door as soon as you hear the word ‘Olympiads’? I know taking Olympiads can sound like a daunting and terrifying task, but no matter what you think, they are a great way to instil confidence. Besides that, they provide a great platform for the young learners like you, to build an aptitude in various subjects.
During my school days, I have always been intrigued by the idea of taking the NSO, NCO, IMO, IEO and IGKO Olympiads and Science Olympiad Foundation provided me with the correct path and gave wings to my dreams.
Olympiads are not just about winning or having a desire to prove your worth, instead, they act as a great way to inculcate critical and deep thinking. So let’s look at the ways in which taking Olympiads can help you in the long run as it helped me and I am sure you are going to love it. Let’s go!

• Develops Skills

When I was in class 6, I saw students from class 1 to class 5 taking Olympiads, seeing them securing ranks made me envy them, so I started participating in Olympiads and took my first National Cyber Olympiad (NCO). Though I could not score a rank, I learned many computer applications which were not part of my syllabus and which I couldn’t have learned otherwise. As a student these Olympiads inculcated skills that were crucial for my development like problem-solving, analytical and critical thinking, listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Because when we start thinking and reading about it, we start learning about it through newspapers, books and internet. All of this helps in our development because unknowingly we start absorbing from our surroundings.

You can prepare through the study material published by MTG Learning Media, which is also available in digital format on SOF Olympiad Trainer.

• Test Understanding of Concept

Let me share an interesting story of my life with you. As a student, I always hated Physics and dreaded solving any of its questions. Till class 8, I somehow managed to understand difficult concepts but When I reached class 9 , my fears worsened when we were introduced to Sir Isaac Newton and trust me from that day I secretly wished ‘Physics would have been easier, if Tree instead of Apple had fallen on Newton’s head.’

But once I started participating in Olympiads my concepts became clearer. Gradually, I incorporated the concepts learned during my preparation for National Science Olympiad (NSO) and International Maths Olympiad (IMO) in my regular school curriculum. And since then, laws of Physics no longer scared me neither did Trigonometry.

• Enhances Confidence

You must have seen students who make a lot of grammatical mistakes and who fear to submit their notebook for correction because they know it would be drowning in red ink. Sadly, I was one of those students, who dreaded at the idea of dictations, notebook corrections and whatnot.

It all stopped when I started preparing and focusing on International English Olympiad. It improved my vocabulary and grammar, which in return instilled more confidence in me. Since then I can take on the challenges of the actual tests with lot more ease. Olympiads helped me in taking up new challenges, which ultimately boosted my confidence.

• A Stepping stone for Future Competitive Exams

During school, I was unaware of the competition that exists in this world. But, once I started Participating in Olympiads, I realized that the competition in school is limited. So in order to prepare for the competition, I started taking Olympiads regularly.

Olympiads are like self assessment and you are not judged or punished for your mistakes. It helps in fearless learning and growth and development at your own pace. You can exploit the subject of your interest; start understanding and enjoying others like science and maths which otherwise appear like Greek.

It’s true I participated and failed, but in that process, I learned a lot and with my constant efforts finally secured a rank in Science Olympiad. I got to know my potential in the higher competitive exams like JEE, IAS, UPSC, SSC etc.

• Helps in profile Building

Now you must be wondering how Olympiads would help in building your profile. Well, as for me the participation certificates, medals and awards added a lot of value to my profile. Wherever I went for an interview the employers got really impressed with my profile. Moreover, do you know if you won any Olympiad or secured a good rank then it will help you get into the top universities of the world directly?  It sounds amazing right?

Keeping in mind the benefits of participating in an Olympiad, parents should encourage their children to participate. Letting them face competition from an early age will not make them steer away from the competition. In fact, they will learn to face these competitions with a bang on confidence.

By Vanya Kapil : An Enthusiastic reader | Good listener| An Educationist in making | Introvert who loves to pen down her thoughts |