10 Tips for First-Time Olympiad Students

Appearing in your first olympiad is different from appearing in a school exam — the questions are harder, the time pressure is real, and the rankings feel more public. Here is what most first-time participants wish they had known before walking in.

1. The timer is the biggest surprise

Most students who underperform in their first olympiad don't underperform because they don't know the content. They underperform because they weren't prepared for the pace the exam demands.

A 60-question test in 60 minutes means 60 seconds per question. There is no time to deliberate. The best preparation is doing full-length timed practice tests — not reading notes, not solving individual problems, but running the full exam against the clock.

2. The Achievers Section is not a bonus — it's a strategy

Every olympiad has an Achievers Section with harder questions and higher marks per question. Most students attempt these last, with whatever time remains. The better approach: attempt the Achievers Section second, while your focus is sharpest. Leave one or two easy questions from other sections for the end.

This is counterintuitive. Practice it a few times in mock tests before committing to it in the real exam.

3. Don't guess randomly — use elimination

SOF olympiads typically don't have negative marking for Grades 1–7, and either no or minimal negative marking for higher grades. This means leaving an answer blank is almost always worse than taking an educated guess.

Even if you can't determine the answer, you can usually eliminate 1–2 options as clearly wrong. Guessing from 2 options is far better than a 1-in-4 random guess.

4. Marks come from accuracy, not speed

Students who rush through questions to have time to go back make more errors than students who work at a steady pace. Set a realistic pace target (e.g., 1 minute per question for the first two sections, 90 seconds for Achievers) and stick to it without racing.

5. The real exam will feel harder than your practice

This is normal. Novel environments — a new room, other students around you, an invigilator — increase cognitive load. Practice in conditions that simulate the exam as closely as possible: sit at a desk, no phone, no music, full timed duration.

6. Read the question, not the answer you expect

Olympiad questions are carefully worded. The difference between "which is NOT true" and "which is true" is one word — and it changes the correct answer completely. Read every word of every question before looking at the options.

7. Don't compare scores with classmates immediately after

The exam is over. Agonising over whether you answered Q23 correctly doesn't change anything and increases anxiety before the results are out. Wait for the official results, then do a full review of the paper with your error log.

8. Your first olympiad result is baseline data, not a verdict

First-time olympiad performance is almost always below a student's actual potential — the format is unfamiliar, the pacing is different, the question style is new. Most students improve significantly in their second olympiad if they do a thorough review of their first attempt.

Take the result as a baseline. Understand exactly where you lost marks. Use that to direct your preparation for the next year.

9. Prepare for the specific grade, not the subject generally

IMO for Class 5 and IMO for Class 11 are different exams. The syllabus, question complexity, and section weights all differ. Use grade-specific practice materials, not general mathematics resources.

10. Start earlier than you think you need to

Two weeks of intense preparation is not enough. The skills that olympiad exams test — pattern recognition, quick calculation, multi-step reasoning — develop slowly, over months of consistent practice.

Students who score well in their first olympiad almost always started practising 2–3 months before the exam, not 2–3 weeks. If you're reading this guide a month before the exam, start immediately. If you're reading it three months before — you're in a good position.