Study Smart:Ace Your Tests!

Special Tests: Academic Competitions

Knowledge is power! So flex your mental muscles! Join a Science or Math Olympiad, Toastmaster or other competition.

Get Ready to Rumble!

• Plan on meeting two or three times a week to practice.
  
  
• Use our Brain Power section to get ready for massive memorization.
  
  
• Use educational games to train, like Math Blaster or Jumpstart.
  
  
• Don't forget chess for strategy.
  
  
• Find tournaments in your area.
  
  
• If there are none, ask a teacher to help your school sponsor one.
  
  
• Create your own Olympics questions and test each other.
  
  
• Try experiments and problem solving with your teacher's guidance.
  
  
• Take honors and advanced classes whenever you can.
  
  
• Sponsor Science Fairs or compete whenever your community has a Fair.

Revving Up

• Be sure to find out where the competition is going to be and what time it starts.
  
  
• Get everything you need together in your bookbag the night before.
  
  
• Make sure you have two sharp pencils, erasers, a pen that works and paper. Scrap paper is good too.
  
  
• Make sure you look as sharp as you think.
  
  
• Wear something that stands out to the judges, like bright yellow shirts.
  
  
• Study, but don't go all out right before a competition.
  
  
• You really don't remember anything you cram.
  
  
• Get lots of sleep the night before you compete.

The Morning of the Competition

• Get mental. Decide you're going to do a great job. Don't think it's going to be bad, think it's going to be good.
  
  
• Have a good breakfast, but don't pig out or eat food that will make you sleepy.
  
  
• Review any team notes that morning.
  
  
• Take time before the competition to stretch and relax.
  
  
• Find a way to get calm. Try taking deep breaths. Or take a little walk. Or do some stretching exercises.
  
  
• Don't be late to the competition. That adds stress.
  
  
• Don't be running into the competition room all alone. Go in as a group. Solidarity is power!
  
  
• Don't be talking about the competition right before. That can make you really nervous.

During the Competition

• When you get the competition, scope out the rules before you go in.
  
  
• If somebody panics in there, or laughs a lot, or clowns around, don't pay attention to them.
  
  
• Pay lots of attention to your team mates and coach.
  
  
• Help them stay calm and focused.
  
  
• Remember you're there to do a job. Strut your stuff!
  
  
• Ask your coach any questions about how the competition works.
  
  
• Ask how the competition is judged. Is there more than one event?
  
  
• Don't spend time being mad at yourself because you messed up or you didn't know everything.
  
  
• If you get knocked out, stick around and support your classmates.
  
  
• If your mind goes totally blank, doodle on a piece of scratch paper for a second or two.
  
  
• Say or write down anything you can remember. Hey, it can't hurt!
  
  
• If you feel tense, stop and take some deep breaths.
  
  
• Don't worry about the other teams or how smart they are or what they know. Just you think about what you are doing.

After the competition, go out and have some fun together as a team! Winning is great. But nobody wins all the time. Think about the skill you've gained. Working together, working as a team, and all of it under pressure! You're on the fast track to success. So, good luck!

Tips, thoughts and ideas in this section were sent in by Heather.k, Tiffany.j, Ana Laura.i, Sara.p, Danielle.e, Amy.f, Sabrina.r and Lorissa.h