IMO Eligibility Criteria

Students aspiring to appear in the International Math Olympiad must familiarize themselves with the IMO eligibility criteria and other important details. The International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) organized by Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) is a school-level math competition held yearly. This exam is conducted in two stages-- Level-1 and Level-2. All students in grades 1 to 12 are eligible for the first level of the IMO exam. For the next level of the IMO exam students have to qualify for the first level. Having a clear understanding of IMO eligibility and marks criteria will enable students to plan their preparation better. Some of the important details of IMO eligibility criteria are as under:

Level-1 IMO Eligibility Criteria

All students in grades 1 to 12th are eligible to participate in the 1st level of the SOF math olympiad. There is no specific eligibility criterion such as minimum marks or academic percentage. The first level of the IMO exam is held on three different dates between the months of December and January. The results are made available online on the SOF website.

Students studying in schools under SOF can directly apply for the math olympiad through their respective schools. The perspective along with registration forms are sent to all the schools months before the exam date. Schools can choose a convenient date for conducting the IMO exam and should submit the application forms 30 days prior to the date of examination. Students registering through the schools can get the exam related information through their schools.

If the schools are unable to participate in the IMO exam, students can register individually. For students participating individually, the registration form can be obtained and submitted online. All necessary details like roll number and exam details are sent to students through the registered mobile number and email ID.

Level-1 IMO exam marks are distributed over four sections: logical reasoning, mathematical reasoning, everyday mathematics and achievers section. For classes 1-4 there are 35 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) of 40 marks in total. For classes 5-12 there are 50 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) of 60 marks. The eligible score to qualify for the level 1 IMO exam is based on the cut-off marks. The cut-off marks are decided based on various factors such as exam complexity, number of participants, grades, scholarships, or weightage of sections, etc.

Based on the exam scores students are awarded medals, scholarships, trophies and recognition on schools, zonal, national and international levels. Students holding the first 25 ranks in the level 1 exam of SOF IMO Olympiad, get a certificate of excellence. All participants in the level 1 IMO Olympiad get a certificate of participation.

Level-2 IMO Eligibility Criteria

The IMO level-2 exam is held after 2 months of the level-1 exam date. Grade 1 and 2 students need not appear for the level-2 IMO exam and marks scored in level-1 are considered final. Students from classes 3 to 12 who have successfully qualified in the level-1 IMO exam are eligible for the level-2 IMO exam. The criteria required to qualify for the level 2 IMO exam are:

• Class topper who scored at least fifty percent qualifying marks.
• Top 5% of candidates appeared internationally.
• Top 25 rank holders from each zone or state.

For tie situations when more than one candidate scores the same marks, SOF considers the section-wise marks of each candidate to evaluate the level-2 IMO eligibility. The IMO level-2 exam comprises of two sections. The first section is mathematics and the other is the achievers section. There are 35 objective-type questions for grades 3 and 4 and 50 objective-type questions for grades 5 to 12.

The awards for level 2 IMO exam are as follows:

Students who achieve rank 1 on the international level are awarded rs. 50,000 along with an international gold medal and certificate of outstanding performance. Students who achieve rank 2 are awarded rs. 25,000, an International silver medal and a certificate of outstanding performance. For students achieving rank 3, there is an award of rs. 10,000, certificate of outstanding performance, and International bronze medal.

IMO is a prestigious platform that recognizes and facilitates global talents. Participating in this contest will benefit students in their academic growth. Students can get more information about the registration, syllabus, dates and pattern of the IMO exam through the official website of SOF.