<p>I could probably research this, but a. it takes forever and b. I could probably gain more insight from y'all. If anyone knows about this stuff, I'd greatly appreciate your help.
My school has a Science Olympiad, Biology Olympiad, and I think it also might have a Chemistry Olympiad, but I'm not sure. Anyhow, I'm not exactly sure what the procedure and background is- I don't mean in terms of trying out, I mean in terms of state/national context (I'm in CA). Do I just take tests, and compete in that fashion? Are there levels- i.e. state, then national, then finals, or something of that sort? I'd also like an assessment on the difficulty of the various competitions. And- most importantly- how good does accomplishment in this area look to colleges? How well must one do to be recognized in any significant amount?
Some background information on myself- I took AP Bio last year (sophomore) and am taking AP Chem this upcoming year (junior) [including all prereqs- general bio and chem.]
I'm not looking for an evaluation on my personal chances, though, just a thorough explanation of what the heck all this Olympiad stuff is and what it's about.
Thanks a 2000 pound load, everyone.</p>
<p>Generally, Olympiads (at least I think the olympiads at your school are the same as the ones that I'm talking about - I'm not sure about the "Science Olympiad" - but if you're talking about IBO and IChO for bio and chem) involve an initial selection round (or a couple) of test-taking, and then after you get more and more advanced, you might have the opportunity to go to a camp where you train extensively for the international olympiad.</p>
<p>I think it would be too naive to prepare for an olympiad just for college admissions. Most of these exams are extremely difficult, and to get to the top (at least to a level that's different from the average Joe) requires years of preparation outside of the general school curriculum. And thus, if you can qualify for a national/international level, it's quite appealing to most colleges. </p>
<p>Again, I must emphasize though that this isn't something that you can suddenly wake up and say, hey, I'm going to finish this before the school year ends. Many contestants spend years getting to the top of their respective olympiads. It can't hurt to try though - try taking the Open Exams (the first level of most of these olympiads' qualifying test) and you'll probably see what I mean.</p>
<p>Science Olympiad really isn't difficult. </p>
<p>The Nationally recognized olympiads such as USABO and USNCO, are pretty prestigious.
The process goes from open round (11,000 people) --> National Round (900 people) --> International Study Camp (20 people) --> Internationals (4 people)</p>
<p>If you make it to nationals, it's pretty impressive, and if you can make it to top 20, that'll be amazing. However, they're really difficult, even when compared to the AP. Even getting to nationals really isn't that easy and requires quite alot of work. It's only really worth it to do it if you enjoy science.</p>
<p>The rules can make it overly hard to make it to the national round if you go to a really good school. In USNCO, for example, no more than two people from the same school can take the national exam (or at least that's how it was back in the day). Well my school had two kids who made study camp, one of whom went to IChO. So I had no chance of taking the national exam even though I would have easily made it had I gone to another school. The moral of the story is: do some research about the rules for qualifying to make sure that it's worth your time.</p>
<p>I think USNCO allows 4 people from each school now. When I took it, there were 2 from my grade and 2 from the grade below me. Maybe it varies by state or school or w/e.</p>
<p>Cool, thanks so much.
Does anyone know when open tests/national stuff/etc. are held in the year for all these various olympiads? Oh, and I think the science olympiad at our school is actually some sort of team- I'm also under the impression that they compete by taking tests. Eh?
Oh, and is the Biology Olympiad you're referring to in the middle of the school year, some time around Feb. March?
Thanks again.</p>
<p>Most of the subject Olympiads (not Science Olympiad) start in the spring.</p>
<p>science kids have it maid. I wish there was a type of sci oly for kids who liked to write...like lots of medals....competitions all contained in one club</p>
<p>You can find most of the info by searching. USNCO, USABO, USAMO, USACO, USAPhO (err that doesn't give anything good, usa physics olympiad does).</p>
<p>Don't forget the Math Olympiad, AMC-10 or -12 test is in March(?).
The Chemistry Olympiad test is in February.
Biggest problem: school may not want to take the minimal trouble to participate, there may be a lack of interest, or for the Chem olympiad your teacher may be limited to selecting only a few students for testing.</p>
<p>Thanks again.
I researched those, and got all the info I needed, thanks.
But what's this about the Science Olympiad? Anyone know how it works? Is the same as a subject olympiad?</p>
<p>^No. Google if you need.</p>
<p>No it's totally different and generally considered less prestigious. It's a team competition in which students compete in different scientific events (circuit lab, robotics, etc.). Whereas the emphasis in subject Olympiads is on knowledge, Science Olympiad in most cases tries to test your knowledge in a lab setting.</p>
<p>USACO, the computing Olympiad, hold its contests throughout the year, one each month from October to April.</p>
<p>what text book or study aid would you veterans recommend when preparing for usapho? or usamo or any of the others?</p>
<p>For math you should probably start with AoPS Vol. 2. After that buy some books with old Olympiad problems.</p>
<p>for USABO try Cambell's 7th edition</p>
<p>ok thanks, what do you guys recommend for usapho? someone said halliday and resnick is a good choice.</p>
<p>^^along with that, is it possible to qualify for more than one olympiad in one year? like physics and chemistry or math and bio. or would the tests conflict with each other?</p>
<p>I'll add that not all olympiads require years of training/knowledge.</p>
<p>The North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad, third year in running, is mostly about language problems, but they don't require knowledge of language or linguistics--they just require logic. Don't take that as a sign that it's easier than the other ones, though--students generally find them very difficult, and the average score is well below 50%, even on the invitational and international rounds.</p>
<p>NACLO is organized in two rounds: the open round (anyone can participate) and the closed round (about 100 students invited from the open round); the top 4 students then go on to the International Linguistic Olympiad (or top 8 students, if the US can send two teams).</p>
<p>I'd say this is as prestigious as the others, as the top placers in NACLO are now going to Princeton, Harvard, etc.</p>