Note: The guide has been reviewed by the Deputy Leader of Switzerland, Tanish Patel, and the Deputy Leader of Algeria, Maya Chouikrat.

(Hi, if you’re from the NSTC Alumni group)

Also note that this page exists to guide you from having no experience to being able to get selected for IMO. However, to aim for a medal, you will need to go beyond this guide and work out what works best you.

The stages of the contest

  1. Stage 1

    You have an aggregate percentage of 60% or more in the core subjects (in the latest examination) for which the contest operates. This stage automatically completes if the registration process is successful.

  2. Stage 2

    Once you've registered for Mathematics (and receive a confirmation on their site), you participate in the screening test.

    The screening test is generally held around March for the competition next year. For example, the screening test for IMO 2024 was held in March 2023. You can tackle this test to a decent extent via the OL & AL syllabus of Mathematics. However, I would recommend extending your studies beyond these syllabi as they are not an accurate representation of the Olympiad Mathematics.

  3. Stage 3

    Around 1000-1500 students participate in each subject's screening test, and around 50 of them get shortlisted for each subject's contest's third stage: the camp. Due to recent financial condition of the country and the covid situation, there has been varying amount of one-week "training" camp, both online and physical, allowing you to "feel" the rigor and essence of Olympiad Mathematics. Each camp generally consists of an exam at the end of the week which is used in shortlisting the number of contestants remaining. This test is as long as the actual Olympiad test. This process repeats until only 6 participants are remaining.

two things to look out for:

  1. You have to be less than 20 years of age on 30th June of the competition. (Therefore, for example, to participate in IMO 2025, you have to be less than 20 years old on 30th June 2025)
  2. Current students of 9th, 10th, 11th (Matric/O-Level) or FSC-1/AS can register for it, but A2 students can also register if they are eligible according to (i) and take a gap year

Click here to access their website

The guide

Before reading any further, you should know that Olympiad Mathematics is generally broken down in the following subjects:

Please note that proof writing is a very important skill in Olympiad Mathematics and as such it is important to be able to write precise and accurate proofs. All of the questions in the IMO will require you to either prove a statement given in the problem, or given an to a question in the problem by proving your answer completely.