A Step by Step Olympiad Preparation Guide

Appearing for Olympiad exam in  the modern outlook has many benefits not only in terms of academic profile building but in promoting critical and analytical thinking approach in young learners. There are a number of Olympiad exams taking place all round the year. These exams are conducted on National as well as International level by various organizations. As smart parents, it is your responsibility to choose the right one for your child. We suggest you to encourage your child to participate in the Olympiad exams conducted by SOF. This organization is well-known for serving millions of school students through its educative, informative and evaluative exams. The organisation, which has been in existence for over 25 years, is eminent for its high level of excellence.

Once you decide that you want your child to participate in SOF Olympiads, the next question arises how you should start with its preparations. As a beginner, you will need a genuine and an honest guidance to get started, as right guidance at the right time makes the whole difference. When you put efforts in the right direction, achieving good rank and score in Olympiads becomes a cake-walk. Choosing the right direction involves simple yet crucial steps, such as properly registering for the exam to knowing the pattern of the exam and then picking up the best books needed to practice for the exams.

Olympiad Preparation Guide for SOF Olympiad Exams

Here, we will discuss a step-by-step Olympiad preparation guide for SOF Olympiad exams:

Step 1 -Types of SOF Olympiads 

SOF organizes Eight Olympiads for classes 1 to 12: IMO (International Mathematics Olympiad), IEO (International English Olympiad), NSO (National Science Olympiad), ICSO (International Computer Science Olympiad, ICO  (International Commerce Olympiad), IGKO (International General Knowledge Olympiad), ISSO (International Social Studies Olympiad), IHO (International Hindi Olympiad)

Step 2 – Registration Process

The participants need to register through their schools only. The organization doesn’t accept any individual student registration. If the school of your child is not registered with SOF, your child will not be able to participate. So, you can enquire in your school about the registration for Olympiad examination here.

Step 3 – Who can Participate in SOF Olympiads?

The Olympiads at SOF are conducted at two levels: Level 1 & Level 2. All students from classes 1 to 12 can participate in Level 1 exam, except ICSO, ISSO, IGKO, ICO & IHO.

For Level 2 exam, only the students of classes 3 to 12 are eligible to participate. The Level 2 is conducted for IEO, IMO, NSO. The rest five – IGKO, ISSO, IHO, ICO & ICSO are single level exams. The participants to Level 2 would include:

• The top 5% class wise candidates who appear for the 1st level exam,
• Top 25 rank holders class wise & zone wise,
• Class topper where at least 10 students from a class appear in the Level 1 & scores 50% qualifying marks.

For more details refer www.sofworld.org.

Step 4 – Schedule of SOF Exams

The schedule of 1st Level Exams SOF Olympiad for the session 2024-25 is:

OLYMPIAD	DATE 1	DATE 2	DATE 3
SOF - IGKO	19th Sept	4th Oct	15th Oct
SOF - IEO	26th Sept	8th Oct	8th Nov
SOF - NSO	18th Oct	12th Nov	3rd Dec
SOF - IMO	22nd Oct	19th Nov	12th Dec
SOF - ICSO	20th Dec	21st Jan
SOF - ICO	10th Dec	23rd Jan
SOF - ISSO	10th Dec	23rd Jan
SOF - IHO	28th Nov	17th Dec

Note:

• Dates for 2^nd level exam will be announced by January 2025.
• 2nd level exam will be held for students from classes 3rd to 12th for IEO, NSO & IMO.
• IGKO, ISSO, IHO, ICO & ICSO will be single-level exams.

 

Step 5 – Pattern of SOF Olympiads

SOF Olympiad exams are Objective Type tests of 60 minutes containing 35 questions for Classes 1 to 4 and 50 questions for classes 5 to 12. Question paper of each Olympiad exam has 3 or 4 sections ,separate question paper for each class, abroad curriculum considering the syllabi of CBSE, ICSE/ISC and State Board are followed to set the question paper, the medium of exam is English and the exam is conducted at school hours Know more details about exam pattern and different sections here.

Any clarification regarding rules, format/pattern of the paper, etc., may be sought from SOF through phone-call/fax – 0124-4951200 or email at info@sofworld.org.

Step 6 – Best Books/ Study Materials for Olympiads

Numerous study materials are available both online and offline in the market for the preparation of Olympiads exams. However, the only content partner of SOF is MTG publication. All study resources at MTG are specifically designed to help students hone their skills that are required to crack the Olympiad exams conducted by SOF. Here we are providing a list of best books/study materials for Olympiads to serve you the best preparation guide:

Workbooks by MTG	• It contains chapter-wise multiple-choice question bank. • These books also contain latest previous year’s paper of respective Olympiad of corresponding class. • It gives complete question practice and quick recap with self-analysis for great performance in the Olympiads.
Olympiad Online Classes	This classroom course is specially designed for students who are aspiring to appear in SOF Olympiad. It will consist of Instructor led 30 live online classes based on the syllabus with 3 dedicated doubt-solving. However, doubt clearance will be handled during the class as well. It also includes after class assignments to check the understanding, PDF Worksheet for practice, Weekly online tests to assess your progress, Interactive chapter module for the after-class study, access to the forum for solving queries, recordings of all the classes and Access to mobile app for studying anytime anywhere.
Olympiad Prep-Guide	• The Olympiad Prep Guide eloquently covers all that you need to study for SOF olympiad exams. • The book has detailed theory, multiple exercises, HOTS and self tests.
MTG’s Olympiad Previous Years Papers	• Practice previous year papers are available • Practicing from Previous Years Papers is very important, as it will give you a fair idea about the pattern of exam, time limit and the type of questions asked, so get the best use of this opportunity.
Online Test Package	• It contains 6 Previous Year papers and 3 Mock Test Papers • 3 Model Test Papers based on the Olympiad exam pattern and question distribution.

These resources are designed on the same pattern and marking scheme of the SOF Olympiads, giving students a clear insight of their preparation level. Therefore,these resources are essential for children to learn  time-management and to set benchmark against last year cut offs.

Step 7 – Awards/Scholarships

SOF provides various awards/scholarships to the winners of Olympiads.

• For NSO, IEO & IMO – International & Zonal toppers (in 20 zones) of classes 3 to 12, awards will be provided to 2nd level winners.
• For ISSO, ICO, IHO, IGKO & ICSO and class 1 & 2 winners of IEO, NSO & IMO – International & Zonal topper awards will be provided to 1st level winners as these are single level exams.
• Each winner will be entitled to one award for an exam. The winners will be entitled to the higher-level award only. For e.g., the International top 3 rank holders will be entitled to awards based on their International ranks. Awards accruing to them for Zonal ranks will be given to the next rank holder. Similarly, school award accruing to a Zonal award winner will be given to the next rank holder.

At International Level

Rank	Scholarships
1st	Rs.50,000/- Each + Gold Medal*+ Certificate of Outstanding Performance
2nd	Rs.25,000/- Each + Silver Medal*+ Certificate of Outstanding Performance
3rd	Rs.10,000/- Each + Bronze Medal*+ Certificate of Outstanding Performance

At Zonal Level

Rank	Scholarships
1st	Rs.5,000/- Each + Gold Medal*+ Certificate of Zonal Excellence
2nd	Rs.2,500/- Each + Silver Medal*+ Certificate of Zonal Excellence
3rd	Rs.1,000/- Each + Bronze Medal*+ Certificate of Zonal Excellence
4th to 10th	Gifts worth Rs 500/- each + *Medal of Distinction + *Certificate of Distinction
11th to 25th	*Medal of Distinction + *Certificate of Distinction

*Medal of Distinction + Certificate of Distinction will be awarded for 1st level Ranks.
**Certificate of Zonal Excellence will be awarded for final Ranks.

*Medals are Gold / Silver / Bronze color plated as applicable.

Participation certificate will be given to each participant of Level 1 & Level 2 and Merit certificate will be given only to Level 2 participants.

We hope by following this step-by-step plan and with the hard work and focus, students will be able to achieve their goal, because a goal without a plan is just a wish! So, Arise! Awake! And do not stop until you achieve your goal.

Good Luck!