Careers and degrees in Health Sciences and Pre-Medical school are some of the most competitive fields to break into. Applying for a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences or applying to a Pre-Med program at your school of choice may seem intimidating.
Signing up for Science programs and Science events is a great way to emphasize your passion and involvement in extracurricular academics on your college application, setting your application apart from other applicants with high GPA and great test scores.
Science Olympiads and Science Competitions offer high school students the opportunity to study and learn concepts and skills you will encounter in their college careers.
To prepare for Health Science and Pre-Med competitions in Irvine (like the Science Olympiad, Brain Bee, or USA Biology Olympiad) start by learning what to expect.
Competition Prep For The Science Olympiad
If you have registered for the Science Olympiad, your competition prep should focus on a wide range of topics and skills. Here is a list of the events you can expect to participate in during the Science Olympiad:
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Prepare by understanding the anatomy and physiology of respiratory systems, digestive systems, and immune systems.
- Astronomy
- Your competition team should expect to answer astronomy questions, particularly questions about stellar evolution and variability.
- Bio Process Lab
- This event assesses your laboratory skills with middle school-level and high school-level life science processes.
- Bridge
- Another event in the Science Olympiad is the Bridge event, which requires teams to build a structure with the highest structural efficiency.
- Can’t Judge a Powder
- You should also prepare for this event that asks students to collect data about a powdered substance, and use the data to answer questions about the substance.
- Cell Biology
- Part of your competition prep needs to include a strong understanding of cell biology.
- Chem Lab
- This event focuses on your knowledge of oxidation, reduction, and periodicity.
- Codebusters
- As you prepare for the Science Olympiad, practice working in a team to decode encrypted messages and effectively use cryptanalysis.
- Crime Busters
- To succeed in this event, participants use evidence to solve a crime.
- Crave the Wave
- You will be expected to answer problems about waves and wave motion in the Science Olympiad.
- Detector Building
- In this event, participants will build a device to measure the actual mass and voltage of various solid samples.
- Disease Detectives
- For one of the events, you should prepare to involve yourself in a scientific study of diseases in various populations of people.
- Dynamic Planet
- You can expect to face tasks that focus on Earth’s fresh water systems.
- Experimental Design
- You will design and conduct an experiment of your own design. The most successful students report the results of their experiment.
- Fast Facts
- This team event requires students to complete an alphabetized grid by matching scientific categories
- Fermi Questions
- Be sure that you know how to answer Fermi questions.
- Flight
- One event will assess your ability to design, build, and test a flight simulation. The most successful aircraft is the one that spends the most time in the air.
- Forensics
- Crime analysis and forensic studies play a role in one Olympiad event.
- Forestry
- Expect to answer questions about U.S. forestry.
- Green Generation
- One key event requires participants to understand sustainability and the impact humans have on the environment.
- Meteorology
- In another event, students will display meteorology skills through qualitative and quantitative analyses.
- It’s About Time
- Prepare to answer questions related to time. You may build a device that signals timed intervals as well.
- Remote Sensing
- In another event, you will analyze climate change processes through remote sensing data and computational skills.
- Road Scholar
- Prepare to answer questions about roads, maps, atlases, and satellite images.
- Rocks and Minerals
- In preparation for the competition, brush up on your knowledge of rocks and minerals.
- Roller Coaster
- Teams build a roller coaster propelled by gravity, with the goal of landing a ball on a specific target destination.
- Scrambler
- In the “scrambler” event, you will design a mechanism to transport an egg from one destination to another without breaking the egg.
- Solar System
- Prepare to answer questions about our own solar system and beyond.
- Sounds of Music
- Be prepared to build and tune a device to a specific octave and tone. You will also be asked to complete a written physics test focused on the physics of music and sound.
- “Storm the Castle” or “Trajectory”
- In preparation for the competition, your team will build a launching device that is to be assessed for its performance at the competition.
- Wifi Lab
- In another event, students will build Wifi antennas. This Wifi event also includes a written assessment that tests your knowledge of electromagnetics wave propagation.
- Write It Do It
- Be prepared to work with another student: one partner will write a description of an item and directions explaining how to build that item; the other partner will use the description to build the item.
For many Science Olympiad events, you will need to prepare by building mechanisms and devices in advance. For other events, you will need to study a wide range of skills extensively. The Science Olympiad’s team events require collaboration and problem solving. Prepare for this competition through practice events, solving practice questions, and working as a team.
The Brain Bee
While the Science Olympiad covers a broad range of topics, the Brain Bee competition focuses solely on neurosciences. If you have registered for the Brain Bee, your competition prep will focus heavily on neurosciences, as the competition’s goal is to motivate and inspire students with aspirations to work in a neuroscience career.
The competition includes:
- a written exam
- a patient diagnosis event
- an assessment of your understanding of neuroanatomy and neurohistory
- a live judging session Q&A
To enter the competition, first register for a Local Brain Bee. Winners of the local competition will then compete on a national level. The winner of the National Brain Bee gets the opportunity to compete at the international level, which is a huge accomplishment.
USA Biology Olympiad (USABO)
If you have registered for the USA Biology Olympiad, your competition preparation should focus on participating in practice exams. The USABO is broken into two rounds.
- The first round of the Olympiad is an online open exam. The first exam is made up of 50 multiple-choice questions.
- The second round is a online semifinal exam that consists of three parts: multiple-choice questions with one correct answer; multiple-choice questions that require skills interpreting graphs and making calculations; a short-answer essay section with true or false questions.
To reach the second round of the USABO, participants must score in the 10% of open exam participants. As you prepare for this competition, practical skills and theoretical skills are crucial.
According to the USABO, practical skills are evaluated through an assessment of your “laboratory-based skills, techniques, data interpretation, and real-time laboratory competency exam involving conceptual understanding and problem solving.”
Theoretical skills are assessed through “multiple true/false choice questions and multiple choice involving interpretation of diagrams and graphs, integration of information, and data analysis.”
As you prepare for any of these Health Sciences and Pre-Med Competitions, finding reliable study resources is crucial. To find valuable local resources in Irvine for your competition prep and set yourself on the correct path for a career in Health Sciences and Pre-Medicine, check out FLEX College Prep’s HeadStart Courses. Gain exposure to the topics these competitions focus on by enrolling in a local FLEX course with high-level instruction and reliable resources to prepare you for your future.
Students need to stand out in the competitive admissions landscape. FLEX College Prep is a team of the best strategists in the industry and takes a holistic approach to ensure students use their pre-college years in intentional, enriching, and personally satisfying ways. Since 2001, we’ve worked with families to help students unlock their potential and find happiness, meaning, and success in college and beyond.