Preparing for Academic Olympiads
Olympiads reward deep understanding and creative problem-solving, not memorisation. Most of the preparation is free: past papers, open online contests and good books. What you need most is a plan you can keep up for months. This guide explains how the routes work in Pakistan and how to prepare.
How olympiad selection works in Pakistan
You can’t usually enter the international olympiads directly. Each country sends a small team chosen through its own national process.
- Maths, physics, chemistry and biology: Pakistan’s teams are selected through the National Science Talent Contest (NSTC), run by the STEM Careers Programme. The listing describes a nationwide screening test followed by training and selection camps. Check its eligibility rules, which include a minimum aggregate in core subjects and an age limit.
- Informatics: the International Olympiad in Informatics team comes from the Pakistan Olympiad in Informatics, run by FBISE through online contests.
- Artificial intelligence: the IOAI team is selected through the Pakistan Olympiad of Artificial Intelligence; see the listing for the selection body.
- Other olympiads: see each listing on Explore for its route. Some are marked as national selection with dates not yet announced.
Contests you can enter for practice
Several respected contests are open to students in Pakistan directly or through their school. They’re excellent practice even if you’re aiming for the national team:
- USA Computing Olympiad: free online programming contests open to anyone (the US team itself is only for US students).
- International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition: a free online qualification round.
- Physics Cup: very hard online physics problems released over several months.
- Euclid Mathematics Contest, British Physics Olympiad and UK Chemistry Olympiad: entered through your school.
Choose one subject first
Pick the subject you enjoy thinking about in your free time, not just the one with your best marks. Olympiad problems go well beyond the syllabus, and you’ll spend many hours on them. You can add a second subject once your routine is steady.
A study plan that works
Stage 1: foundations (1–3 months)
Make sure your school-level knowledge is solid, and fill gaps with free courses such as Khan Academy (opens in a new tab). Olympiads assume you know the basics instantly.
Stage 2: problem-solving (3–6 months)
Move to past contest problems at a level just above your comfort zone. For maths and computing, the CEMC past contests (opens in a new tab) and the USACO Guide (opens in a new tab) are well-structured starting points.
Stage 3: olympiad level (ongoing)
Attempt real olympiad papers from the official archives, such as IMO problems (opens in a new tab) and IBO papers (opens in a new tab), under timed conditions.
Mon, Wed, Fri (90 minutes): one topic from the olympiad syllabus, with textbook problems.
Tue, Thu (60 minutes): two past contest problems, written up in full.
Saturday (3 hours): one timed past paper, then mark it honestly.
Sunday (45 minutes): review the error log and plan next week.
Total: about 9 hours a week alongside school. Adjust around exams; consistency matters more than volume.
How to practise well
- Struggle first. Spend at least 30–45 minutes on a hard problem before reading the solution.
- Write full solutions. Olympiad marks go to clear reasoning, not just answers.
- Keep an error log. Record every mistake, why it happened and the idea you missed. Review it weekly.
- Learn from solutions. After reading one, close it and rewrite the solution yourself the next day.
- Find a study partner or group. Explaining a solution is the fastest way to check you understand it.
- Protect sleep and exams. A steady routine you can keep for months beats short bursts that leave you exhausted.
Free resources
We’ve collected verified olympiad resources from their original publishers in the Olympiads section of our resource list, including past papers, syllabuses and training guides.
On the day, and afterwards
- Read every problem first and start with the one you understand best.
- Write down partial progress; partial marks are common.
- Afterwards, solve the problems you missed using the official solutions. That week of review is some of your most valuable preparation.
- Whatever your result, add it accurately to your CV. Reaching a selection camp is an achievement in itself.