05/02/2021

Olympic qualifying spots ease pressure on college applicants during the pandemic.

Medalhista de bronze da OBMEP, Pâmela Caroline Braido ingressou para licenciatura em matemática na Unicamp através da modalidade “Vagas Olímpicas”

With distance learning and the uncertainties brought about by the new coronavirus pandemic, 2020 brought extra challenges to the already stressful university entrance exam process. For medalists in the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools (OBMEP) , the possibility of entering Brazilian universities based on their performance in the competition considerably alleviated this burden. Through the "Olympic Vacancies" program , the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) received 467 applications from candidates who had exemplary results in knowledge olympiads, and 97 of them are OBMEP medalists.

The program was created in 2018 and, since then, has enrolled more than 80 students who have won medals or achieved excellent results in knowledge competitions in Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, History, and Robotics. Selected students can apply to two of the 29 course options. In 2021, the program will have five rounds of admissions.

Student Isabela Pereira, 20, was one of those selected in the first round of the program this year. Enrolled in the manufacturing engineering course, the São Paulo native is excited to begin this new phase. “I’m very anxious. It’s a new cycle, a new city where I’ll be alone. I wanted to study in the countryside because I know engineering is a demanding course, I’ll need to concentrate,” she says.

A silver medalist at the 2019 OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools), she says she wasted no time researching the benefits the award could bring. “I looked into everything I could do with the medal, so I already knew about the Olympic spots since last year. With this opportunity in hand, I felt much calmer.” For the student, the new modality is a way to encourage more students to participate in the Olympiad organized by IMPA (Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics).

João Pedro Apolônio já conquistou duas pratas na OBMEP e passou para estatística na Unicamp

João Pedro Apolônio, from Brasília, is a veteran of the competition. He has already won two silver medals and believes that the new admission process optimizes the preparation of university applicants. “For many undergraduate courses, you need to know a lot about a specific subject. I, who wanted to study statistics, really needed math. It's great to give this power to the student, so they can focus on what they really need to study.”

Keeping an eye on the demands of the job market, he enrolled in statistics at Unicamp. "I see that it's a profession that is in short supply, both in Brazil and worldwide," he says. At 18, the medalist already envisions what he would like to do when he graduates: become an entrepreneur.

And some of the skills that will be required in your future professional life were developed in the OBMEP exams. “They are fun exams, they have a clever idea behind them. The level of reasoning they require is very high. It's a different kind of math than in school, where you learn a process and reproduce it like a robot. OBMEP changes the course of lives, it can spark a student's interest in the subject and help them develop discipline in their studies from an early age. It's a maturing process.”

A common trait among scientific competitors, the academic stamina mentioned by the student can benefit and enrich the student body of universities. Medalists are generally high-achieving students, accustomed to long study sessions and facing challenges that demand reasoning and perseverance. All of this makes them potential researchers.

Contributing to academic research is part of Pâmela Caroline Braido's plans; she was accepted into the mathematics degree program at the institution. The student from São João da Boa Vista (SP) states that the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools), in which she has already won three bronze medals, had a great influence on her choice of course. “I've participated in the competition since elementary school. I was also part of Olimpomatemática, an extension project at the Federal Institute in the city where I prepared other students to participate in the competition. I realized that this was what I liked to do, teach. But besides being a teacher, I also really want to do research.”

The tip about getting into Unicamp through the Olympic quota came from colleagues who had entered the university in previous rounds of admissions for that program, says Pâmela. Although the first semester is scheduled to take place remotely, the student is excited to get in touch with the daily life of the university and scientific research.