Hello, sophomore here, I was hoping to get some input on as to whether or not I should try taking the USNCO local exam for 2021. I found out about USNCO April of my freshman year and planned on studying for it during the summer which didn’t end up happening beyond review from stuff I had already learned and some intro to stoichiometry. When school started things got hectic, I was adjusting to a new school which I hardly knew anything about because I transferred and was doing distance learning. I’m not taking AP Chem this year but for what its worth I have A’s in all my STEM classes (AP Stats, H Precalc, H Chem) A couple months ago I bought a copy of Zumdahl’s (not Chemical Principles) and have made some progress but its been slow.
I was initially planning on taking USNCO more seriously during my junior year but also hoped to take it during my sophomore year. However I started thinking taking it this year might not be feasible given the time left until the local exam. That being said, a week or two ago I was assigned Chem Lab for Science Olympiad (first time doing it this year), and I figured if I was already going to be studying AP Chem material I might as well try and go through with the rest of the material that will be covered on the local exam even though what I study for SciOly will only be a part of it. Just to clarify, I don’t expect to go very far this year if I do take it. Merely, I just want to get some experience and possible qualify for the national exam in hopes that it will help me next year.
The other smaller issue is that I’m not completely sure how to go about signing up for it if I did do it. I have no idea if my school offers the exam and am a little hesitant asking about it. While I have good grades in my chemistry class and try to participate as much I can, I don’t think my chemistry teacher knows me very well, especially since I have been doing distance learning. The same goes for the teacher who coordinates the science clubs but to a further extent, and I’m not sure how to display evidence that signing me up for the exam would be worth it. I think the deadline for teachers to sign up students is sometime in January so I would need to decide soon.
I’ve heard that AP Chem material is generally sufficient to take the local exam and have a chance at qualifying, and in some cases even just general chem + a lot of practice tests/questions is enough. If I study really hard during my upcoming winter break and continue January-February, is it worth trying to take the local exam or would it just be a waste of time and resources?
Context for why I want to do USNCO: I have always been really interested in science, especially chemistry. I did a form of academic competition last year and really enjoyed it so I want to do more that align better with my interests. Also, I want to start doing more STEM ECs because I plan on majoring in something STEM related (and I am starting to feel mildly behind for not doing any my freshman year).
TL;DR- I haven’t made much progress studying USNCO material and wonder if it is still worth it to take the local exam this year, and am also mildly apprehensive about asking my teachers about it.
Thanks and have a nice day!