Hello everyone!
A few months ago, a group of community members at Schoolhouse.world realized the importance of academic competitions.
The harsh reality of our world is that not everyone is in a position to afford or even attend college. Scholarships for these students would be life-changing, but very few receive them. MathCounts, a middle school math competition, awards thousands of dollars worth of scholarships per winning student every year. Imagine being an underprivileged student, standing at National MathCounts, and being handed the check that will change your life.
The situation in India is unique - once someone makes it to a certain point in the IMO (International Mathematical Olympiad) certification system, they can skip the written test to apply for jobs at the ISI (Indian Statistical Institute). Gaining access to a job would be an invaluable opportunity for those who struggle financially. Furthermore, science competitions like ISEF (International Science & Engineering Fair) offer substantial prize money.
Moreover, besides money, these competitions often have structures that differ from traditional school curricula and therefore, build valuable educational networks for students. This includes building connections with professionals in their respective fields, as well as offering internationally recognized achievements to aid in their college applications.
However, the cost of preparing (whether it be resources or study materials) for academic competitions blocks almost all opportunities for lower-income students to participate in these competitions and win. As such, the benefits of dedicating a space on Schoolhouse.world for free tutoring to share information about these competitions and how to do well would be invaluable, especially for those in need. Even those in the middle class still suffer due to the extremely high training costs for olympiads and other tournaments. It would provide invaluable knowledge to students from students that have extensive experience in competing in these competitions.
Schoolhouse’s interest in academic competitions dates back to 2021. Since 2021, estimates drafted by peer tutor Aarav T. indicate that 3000 potential learners have joined or attended academic competition sessions. Nearly 2000 learners registered for math competition sessions covering topics ranging from AMC (American Mathematics Competition) to MATHCOUNTS.
The philosophy of Schoolhouse.world is to offer a unique solution for disadvantaged students, offering resources and sessions for those who cannot afford traditional tutoring. This is exactly why Schoolhouse should add a subworld for academic competitions, and many have already voiced their support for this.
On May 20th, 2024, the #academic-competition channel on the tutor Slack was created. (formerly the #competition-stem channel). Since then, we have hit the following milestones:
- Over 160 members are now part of the Slack channel.
- Over 40 sessions have been hosted in 2024 alone.
- ~200 students (non-tutors) have shown interest.
- We have a team of 50 tutors dedicated to the project and making it a reality.
- Active participation from members on posts and petitions. For instance the feedback and idea post promoting the creation of an academic competition subworld had received over 120 votes thus far.
This future initiative aims to bring high-quality and structured competition prep sessions and series to Schoolhouse.world, simultaneously providing assistance to students across the income spectrum. The future subworld also focuses on providing a place for knowledgeable competition students to spread their knowledge while earning volunteer hours along the way.
The leads and members of this initiative are actively working to accomplish the goals outlined in this post! Here is how you can contribute:
- If you are on the tutor Slack, join the Slack channel. If you are a learner or a tutor, please upvote this
feedback and idea post. - To meet our tutor and learner count goals, please fill out this form for learners and this form for tutors.
We thank you for your time to support this program. A special shoutout to admin James O for his support and advice throughout the entire project; none of this would have been possible without him!
Thank you to Maya B for editing this article!