India is blessed with immense young talent. We have students who have the potential to achieve great things in the field of Science, Mathematics, Arts, and Sports. It would be unfortunate to let this talent go unidentified. Thankfully, there are institutions in our country that do an amazing job of identifying this young talent and providing them with the necessary exposure and incentives to pursue their skills.
One such amazing initiative is conducted every year by the Science Olympiad Foundation by the name of the International Math Olympiad. This exam has been taking place for many years and lakhs of students have participated in the exam and have been rewarded by the SOF.
The main aim of the exam is to spot the students with mathematical, logical, and analytical skills. The students who then perform exceptionally well in the exam are rewarded with prize money, scholarships, medals, and certificates.
If you think you also possess the required Mathematical skills to appear for the exam and would like to know important details about the exam, read on.
Are you not sure if you are eligible for the exam? Let us look at the eligibility criteria for the Class 7 IMO exam.
The Eligibility Criteria for Class 7 2021 IMO exam
The exam is conducted on two levels.
Level 1
There is no special requirement for Level 1 of the IMO Exam. All the school-going students of Class 1- Class 12 whose schools have registered for the exam, can participate in it.
Level 2
The second level of the International Math Olympiad exam is conducted for students who qualify for the level 1 exam. Only students from Class 3 – Class 12 can participate in level 2 of the exam. The students who are chosen to appear for the second level of the exam are selected based on the following criteria at three different levels:
- The International Level: the students who appear in the first level of the exam are evaluated on their performance in level 1. Following the result, the top 5% of candidates are selected based on their performance in level 1 of the exam.
- The Zonal/State Level: after a careful analysis of the level 1 performance, the top 25 candidates from each class and every zone are called to appear for the level 2 exam.
- The School Level: when at least 10 students appear from one class of a school then the toppers of level 1 from that class are called for level 2 of the exam. The criterion is such that these students must score at least 50% qualifying marks in level 1 of the International Math Olympiad exam.
The students must also pay a registration fee or INR 125 to compete in the exam. The schools may ask for an additional INR 25 from the students for any added expenses.
Hence you can see the eligibility criteria for Level 1 are quite straightforward. However to qualify for level 2 you need to score exceptionally well in level to be selected in the pool of high-scoring candidates.
Here are a few tips to help you score high marks in Level 1 such that you may qualify easily for Lever 2 of the IMO exam:
- Focus on conceptual learning
The International Math Olympiad focuses on testing the conceptual knowledge of the students. So you cannot in any way excel in the exam if you attempt it by just memorizing the formulas and practicing simple and direct questions from the textbook. To be able to score the highest marks and be selected for level 2 of the exam you must work on applying the knowledge of the books to logical and analytical problems in the exam
- No shortcut to practice
Experts will tell you that there is no shortcut to extensive practice if you aim to be in the top scorers of the IMO exam. This practice is based on the following key parts:
- Questions papers: download any IMO question papers that you can find from the last decade. These can be IMO Class 7 2014 Question Paper or from any of the following years. Practice extensively from them.
- Mock tests: Timing plays an important role in the IMO exam. Mock tests offer you the perfect practice to improve your timing. After every mock test that you give online, evaluate your answers as well as your timing. Your accuracy and speed must improve with every mock test that you give.
- Olympiad books: buy good quality Olympiad books to practice with. Such books contain lots of worksheets to give you correct practice for the exam.
- Class 7 textbook: your Class 7 textbook contains all the important basics that you need to go through to understand the questions of the exam. Do not neglect your course book in any way. It will help you to score well in the Everyday Math section as well.
- Improve your timing
Solving 50 questions in 60 minutes is not an easy feat. Thus work on improving your timing to understand the questions and swiftly solve them. These two form an important part of performing well in the exam. If you take time to understand the question or do lengthy calculations, you will end up missing important questions and consequently losing out on important marks. There is no way you can qualify for level 2 of the exam if you make this mistake.
- Seek expert help
Thanks to the internet, it has become extremely easy to seek guidance from expert teachers all across India. All you need to do is refer to online lectures or attend free live classes that help you understand clever strategies to score high marks in level 1 and even help you prepare for level 2. So make use of this resource and do not lose out on great advice from amazing teachers.
- Aim high
From the beginning of your preparation, aim to score high in the exam. Your goal must be to be among the top rankers of the exam if you want your talent to be identified at the national level. Your preparation speaks volumes about what you want your result to be. Thus prepare accordingly and it will show in your score.
Hence, when you prepare for the Level 1 exam, prepare in a way that that you can easily become eligible for Level 2 of the exam as well.
