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Are Olympiads that important?

Hey everyone! This is probably not the best post I have written but I thought something is better than nothing :P. So everyone who is in the Olympiad community have seen blogposts of pro-people describing how they qualified some fancy Olympiads.  But very few people talk about sad stuff.

And yes INMO is now officially 2 weeks away..
Let me talk about a few things though:

  • EGMO TSTs: I feel very ashamed to share but I got 1 mark in my EGMO TSTs. Tests in which I literally gave my whole life. I did so many ISLs ( like SO MANY), I mocked EGMO 2020 TST where my score was 28/42 and I perfected Day 2. 1 mark in the TST just showed my true potential. There are way better people than me in olys. A friend even said to me, "If I wouldn't have got into the team, I would have left math". I felt my whole hard work wasted. I have realised that hard work to some extent helps you in Olys but in the end, you really have to be smart( Not dumb like me). 
    My mental state after EGMO TSTs was horrible. I really left olympiad math, didn't do any problem on my own and had this negative vibe. I am so lucky to have my parents to support me :D.. 

    But then I thought about the grade 5 Sunaina, who literally thought that she can not even get state rank 1 in her state MO. Even 10th Sunaina didn't expect to qualify INMO.  Making the EGMO team was my dream, but honestly, I wanted to make the team just to make new friends. To talk with similar brilliant young Indian females. But thanks to sophie fellowship, OTIS and AoPS, making EGMO wasn't needed anymore.

    Yes representing your country is such a big deal, but honestly, I think it's better to not try Olys in 12 anymore. Quite a big decision, but yes. Does the mean no more oly blogpost? Definitely not. But the problems will simply be my tastes :P

    Am I sure? Yep! I have already talked with my friends, my parents and currently talking with you all. Who else should I tell? :P

    What will you do then? Spend my last year of high school at school, do my internship, explore new math, skincare, expand my math club called philomath club and most importantly be stress-free. 

    A small piece of advice to other fellow aspirants: Just make sure to enjoy Olympiads but please don't bunk school. Don't. Schools are important and simply enjoy life :D..
    And at least if you writing TSTs, getting a bad score is still fine! You learn from it, right?

    I am not leaving Olys because of my bad TST score but just to explore more math. Like, learn Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, etc. Very Fancy. But something I definitely enjoy more now.

  • This year's INMO: It doesn't matter to me. I really don't care about the outcome, 'cause I have already decided to study in CMI( for which I can try the entrance exam itself). Hehehehe.. 
    And I am a 1-time INMO awardee, so doesn't matter much to me, I cleared the exam once, so I must be good ( nah I was lucky cause I did P1) :triumph:

    And I am fine with not qualifying cause I don't care about EGMO/IMO now :D.. Plus in the math community, I feel a bit old now ( hahahaha :P)

    Plus I haven't really worked hard this year and I feel other people have really worked hard. So idk :(

  • Are Olympiads really that important? For me it was. Before I discovered my love for mathematics. Monsoon Math camp was such an amazing program!!

    When I was in 10th grade and even before EGMO TSTs, my plan was like:
    Wake up, solve problems, eat, solve problems, eat, evening nap, problems, eat, problems, exercise, sleep.
    Don't worry, now I don't :P.. Now I am like wake up, try sharygin, eat, sleep
    I haven't even started the INMO revise prep.

    My main motivation in 10th grade was to get into IMOTC and meet Anushka didi. She is my Idol. ( guess what? SHE KNOWS THAT I EXISTS NOW)

    Currently, Olympiads doesn't matter to me? I think for most people, even though the problems are fun to solve but I think the social factor of Olympiads does create an impact on motivation. Plus I feel a lot of people now know me through my blog!

    But do give Olys a try! At the start, it might seem difficult, but I assure you, if me being dumb qualified it, you can definitely make IMOTC :P

How is my INMO preparation going?
Honestly, I am not preparing at all, just doing sharygin and then I have finals, I will revise some units and that is it. 


What's next then?
KVPY fellow people. And I am sure of it.

Oh btw please try for Sophie Fellowship! Extremely nice program ( but quite competitive). The team consists of students who have previously participated in the IMO, EGMO and the classes are just so good! I was selected for the first season! And I think they will open the second season's application soon!

Another reason for me leaving Olys is definitely my grade. Since I will be in 12th grade soon, I have to focus on my school exams, prepare for KVPY, etc etc..So please start Olys as soon as possible!

I haven't thought much now, but I would definitely love to teach students!

Summary: Life is a roller coaster guys, just simply work hard. Olympiads are great but make sure not to take stress, simply enjoy it. Everything will be nice :D

Take mental breaks and even though you are doing olympiads, make sure to give NTSE, KVPY, etc. Because these Olympiads are just so luck-based.

Moreover, don't leave Olympiads because of bad scores or something. Leave if you have found out something more interisting. For me, it's reading advanced math textbooks! 

P.S. I am leaving Olys doesn't imply I won't be doing any problems. In fact, I will still devote 1 or 2hrs to them, it's just now, I won't do much Algebra :P or boring problems :P. Simply Enjoy!! 

Enjoy math fellow people
Sunaina💜

Comments

  1. Mayukh Chowdhury February 22, 2022 at 2:19 PM

    IMO , this IS probably among the best posts, the beginning was so sad and emotional 😢.Gl for KVPY

    ReplyDelete
  2. AntareepFebruary 27, 2022 at 3:21 PM

    So sad!I just got to know someone who does olympiads.Bye then GL for KVPY

    ReplyDelete
  3. FarazMarch 12, 2022 at 8:34 AM

    Olympiads sparked my interest and I am grateful but in no way I feel they're important. I've met so many High School researchers who had multiple papers published but had no olympiads.Olympiads don't matter in the long run but our interest for STEM does. But they are the most common way for a high school student to embark on their problem solving journey.

    Best,
    Faraz.

    ReplyDelete

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