Is Science Olympiad worth it?

[penelope]

Science Olympiad is completely worth it. You get knowledge and friends. It promotes initiative, teamwork, and work ethic. It looks great on college applications.

I won't lie; it can be discouraging. Last year at regionals, I had no partner for DD. I wound up NOT medaling in all 4 of my events. I almost cried while leaving the awards ceremony. But then, later, I found out that I had come within 5 points of 3rd place in every one. And then, I was unexpectedly promoted to A team, where I medaled in both of my state events. This year, Science Olympiad brought a lot of stress and tears. But I got 2 golds and one silver at regionals, and one gold and one bronze at State. I wouldn't quit for the world.

[thewinner]

Currently, I would definitely say that SO is worth it. I say currently because this is my first year of SO and luckily for me, I have not failed miserably yet. Also, I'm posting this so that when I do miserably fail, I can look back here and regain confidence in myself.
If you're dedicated enough to be active on this site, I think SO has a big impact on your life. Before I tried out for SO this year, I was not dedicated to anything. I had a horrible work ethic, since nothing had really challenged me enough at that point. But after I made it into SO, I actually spent significant amounts of time doing specific things. Especially Bottle Rocket. I must have spent at least 200 dollars on that. I even made my own launcher. As it turns out, in my school 6th graders aren't normally on the team. So right before regionals, I ended up with no spot on the team and about $200 in debt to my mom. However, I picked up Junkyard, STC, and Helicopters (a trial event in NJ Div. B) and ended up as the first 6th grader to make it onto our state competition team. And, I didn't fail either. Bottle Rocket was cancelled, but I got gold in Junkyard and StC and silver in Heli. States was especially great because it was on a school day and I got a whole day to relax (I know some people CAN'T relax at states but I just take things easy) and I actually won a few medals. Our school also did the best we've ever done, getting 2nd at States.
So, right now I think SO is definitely worth it. My opinion may be biased a little, though. But at the very least, SO teaches you MANY things.

[aubrey048]

I say SO is VERY worth it. This is coming from someone whose year has been so far an epic fail medal-wise.

-The rubber band snapped on our helicopter before our second flight (I couldn't believe it--the thing was NOWHERE near its wind limit!)
-Our Anatomy test used material and diseases that weren't on the rules (which I had studied diligently for 3+ hours a day), and basically I guessed on half the test.
-Write it Do it was a fail. I'm not even going to talk about it. :/

But despite the bad times, I have had overall and excellent experience. Despite the fact that I only got 7th in Anatomy (this is without a partner, against 21 other teams, all of which were made up of two people) I had a fun time studying. Such a great time, in fact, that I discovered I have an interest in going to medical school one day. Helicopter was satisfying despite our fail at the competition. At home it flew for longer than the gold medalist's helicopter did at the competition. In the past I've gold-medaled in Mission Possible. Mission Possible was for the most part a nightmare. I had one partner who barely showed up (and when he did he wasn't the most helpful) and my other partner and I would just get frustrated because, well, MP is frustrating. Nothing was going our way until two nights before the competition. We ended up getting a perfect score as a reward for our perseverance. (My team is so small that we never make it past regionals, but I've had a lot of fun sharing science with my friends, who were formally not into science at all!)

My brother (division A-age) has also competed in SO for two years. Last year he didn't medal in anything, and only got in the top ten in one event (Map-Reading). This year, however, he took on 5 events and worked like a champ. He was in the top ten for three of his events (Hot Air Balloon, Map Reading, and Name That Scientist), medaling in one of them: Hot Air Balloon. He built four balloons and tried three different heat sources before finding the magic combination. I was so proud of him when he got 3rd place! Overall his team got 8th at states--which is really remarkable because there are only about 7 kids on the team, and a total of 34 (large) teams at the competition!

So overall, yes. I've learned so much from SO and had a great time doing it. I've (over the course of SO) built and electromagnet, a helicopter, learned random obscure bird calls, and have memorized the location, origin, insertion, and function of most of the external muscles in the body along with the steps of the Sliding Filament model and countless other Science-y things. I'm sure if everyone here makes a list of what they've learned from SO, it will be quite long.

Totally worth it.

I'm going to get ready for next year early though to ensure my success. *starts drafting Tower designs and drags Microbiology/Epidemiology and Anatomy textbooks out of the closet*

[penelope]

aubrey048 isn't the only one who's taking career considerations out of SO. I love Disease Detectives and I'm great at it. It's super interesting, I would always have work, and I'm helping others.

[illusionist]

Science Olympiad has helped shape my career paths. Ive always wanted to be a pilot, but after doing many, many building events in SO, I am dead-set on being an engineer. I've gained some friends I wouldn't have otherwise had, as well as priceless experience with fields I never would have otherwise investigated. And winning a medal gives you a rush that you can't otherwise get.
My seventh grade year, I didn't medal at all. However I gained so much from it, and most of all... I had a ton of fun. Eight grade year, I did 4 events and medaled in all of them. My partners were great and it was a wonderful experience.
SO is one of the most important and shaping programs I have participated in. Now, my friends have to force me to stop working on SO. It's become sort of an obsession.

[QuantumLeaper]

Science Olympiad is so worth it. This year was my first year in it (my middle school, unfortunately, did not do SO ), and I asked myself that question many times over. I stress out easily, so you can imagine how I felt when I was put in 2 events last minute that I did not even prepare for! However, I medaled in the event I stressed out about the most, and I felt good about the other 2 last-minute events. The competition defintely wasn't as bad as I thought, and next year I'm just going to prepare more and work ten times as hard.

However, I am worried about another teammate. I was the writer for Write it Do it and did a pretty good job writing the instructions by my standards. However, my partner accidentally knocked the structure over at the last minute (by putting on the last piece! ) and only the base was left intact. She left the room crying and I didn't know what to do aside from tell her that it was okay. She's still upset about it. Any suggestions???

[Kevlar]

Science Olympiad is so worth it. This year was my first year in it (my middle school, unfortunately, did not do SO ), and I asked myself that question many times over. I stress out easily, so you can imagine how I felt when I was put in 2 events last minute that I did not even prepare for! However, I medaled in the event I stressed out about the most, and I felt good about the other 2 last-minute events. The competition defintely wasn't as bad as I thought, and next year I'm just going to prepare more and work ten times as hard.

However, I am worried about another teammate. I was the writer for Write it Do it and did a pretty good job writing the instructions by my standards. However, my partner accidentally knocked the structure over at the last minute (by putting on the last piece! ) and only the base was left intact. She left the room crying and I didn't know what to do aside from tell her that it was okay. She's still upset about it. Any suggestions???

Sorry to hear that. You should get some friends and talk to her so she sees it isn't the end of the world.

In response to the question: SciOly is one of the best middle school decisions I've ever made. Found out about it last minute ad applied, got accepted, and never regreted it. SO is definitely way better than a regular science class, especially since at my school, it's also during school and replaces the science class. My team mates are awesome, and about every other team agrees we have a rad coach. (We have lives! ) We even get to go on field trips to "study the physics of rollercoasters" and such. During competition season, we're like family, sorta. SciOly totally changed my life; I'm really gonna miss it when I go to high school, where they don't have a team yet. I'm gonna cry if it's an after-school only thing. So yeah- once a SciOly(er?) always.

[QuantumLeaper]

Science Olympiad is so worth it. This year was my first year in it (my middle school, unfortunately, did not do SO ), and I asked myself that question many times over. I stress out easily, so you can imagine how I felt when I was put in 2 events last minute that I did not even prepare for! However, I medaled in the event I stressed out about the most, and I felt good about the other 2 last-minute events. The competition defintely wasn't as bad as I thought, and next year I'm just going to prepare more and work ten times as hard.

However, I am worried about another teammate. I was the writer for Write it Do it and did a pretty good job writing the instructions by my standards. However, my partner accidentally knocked the structure over at the last minute (by putting on the last piece! ) and only the base was left intact. She left the room crying and I didn't know what to do aside from tell her that it was okay. She's still upset about it. Any suggestions???

Sorry to hear that. You should get some friends and talk to her so she sees it isn't the end of the world.

In response to the question: SciOly is one of the best middle school decisions I've ever made. Found out about it last minute ad applied, got accepted, and never regreted it. SO is definitely way better than a regular science class, especially since at my school, it's also during school and replaces the science class. My team mates are awesome, and about every other team agrees we have a rad coach. (We have lives! ) We even get to go on field trips to "study the physics of rollercoasters" and such. During competition season, we're like family, sorta. SciOly totally changed my life; I'm really gonna miss it when I go to high school, where they don't have a team yet. I'm gonna cry if it's an after-school only thing. So yeah- once a SciOly(er?) always.

Our coach talked to her and that seemed to help, but your idea is a very good one. Others on the team will help a lot more than I could, considering that we are both relatively new to SO whereas they have more experience.

[Kevlar]

I remember when I went in, I was a perfectionist. I think another poster in this thread i think, said that the first time, no medals at all for all the 4 events concerned. And (s)he nearly left the awards ceremony in tears. I remember being really bummed my first regionals at having won no medals of my own aside from a silvver team medal, but as you go on, you'll develop an attitude that isn't just about winning. And if your friend had completed it she would've probably medalled, but she should see that as not a failure but an achievement. (and something to laugh about later on)

[QuantumLeaper]

I remember when I went in, I was a perfectionist. I think another poster in this thread i think, said that the first time, no medals at all for all the 4 events concerned. And (s)he nearly left the awards ceremony in tears. I remember being really bummed my first regionals at having won no medals of my own aside from a silvver team medal, but as you go on, you'll develop an attitude that isn't just about winning. And if your friend had completed it she would've probably medalled, but she should see that as not a failure but an achievement. (and something to laugh about later on)

Exactly! After the event I drew a picture of what the structure looked like, and she told me that she pretty much had the entire thing down correctly. I told her that, if not for that little glitch at the end, we would have been at least top 6. I haven't been able to talk to her since the competition, but I certainly will as soon as I get the chance. I hope we are in WIDI next year so that this year will not be how she remembers the event. Thank you so much for your advice, I really appreciate it.