by nsguy1350 » Sun Feb 05, 2012 7:28 pm
I agree with DentonKnight. Math is very closely related to Number Sense (that's where I get my speed and a lot of my tricks, methods, and skill overall, without really practicing at all, or very little), while being good with a calculator certainly helps. Notice that the guy #1 in NS last year was also #1 in Math for your District. I looked up all of the events for your District (besides Social Studies), and here is my opinion.
In pretty much every event, your District is fairly uncompetitive (besides that one guy, who dominated the District.) The Number Sense scores are pitiful, while the Math, Calculator, and Science (especially Math and Calculator) are very beatable. If your goal is to win District, your best opportunity are in those 3 events, unless you're a beast at Science as well. I can't talk about Social Studies.
With practice, I believe you could get to Region in Number Sense and Calculator and Math, with Science, depending on your scores, being a slight challenge.
I, along with several others, could teach you Number Sense (although this is a crash course, since you have <2 months, you're making < 50, and Number Sense tends to annihilate your scores in competition.) I think you're much better, at the moment, in Calculator, and you have an excellent chance of advancing. Practice your number crunchers, get your speed and accuracy up, along with learning your geometry and how to do some word problems, and you're in an excellent position. Math, actually, seems pretty easy without that Allen guy, so you could definitely advance with enough practice (I'd again be glad to tell you how to do every problem that I know how to do.) In combination with Number Sense and Calculator, I think your Math scores would become competitive and you'd see your scores rise more than ever. However, you need to start practicing NOW.
The reason why I think that you should do Number Sense and Calculator is because without them, you're having difficulty improving in Math (your progress over 3 months has been minimal, if any at all.) In combination with these, there is a chance that you will start to see some serious progress. You will have to work hard, however.
Unless you feel that you have been working yourself very hard over the past 3 months, and you cannot handle any more events, then do this. However, there are a few problems.
You are worried about spreading yourself too thin. If you were in a more competitive District, then yes, you would be. You can't do what I just said against Kevin Chen. However, you have a shot here.
If you take too many tests, there is a chance you will "burn out" during competition. This would mean you probably will have done Number Sense, Calculator, and Science, with Social Studies and Math being sub-par in terms of your performance. Maybe, you should consider taking a nap between competitions, and you should DEFINITELY get a good night's sleep before the competition if you do this many events. Eat a good breakfast as well, and give yourself the best opportunity you can get.
Now, I don't like to just "get out of District." I looked at your Region scores (looked for what school the Josh Allen guy was in, and what Region Cromwell was in). To get to State (I know this sounds ridiculous as a suggestion, but it's true), your best chance is in Number Sense. Last year, the cutoffs to beat the #3 in NS, MA, CA, and SC respectively were:
95, 213, 207,159. With enough practice, assuming you reach Region in all 4, the easiest to get would be 95 in Number Sense. Science with a 159 would be next, and Math and Calculator would be a decent challenge. I'll leave it to you to assess these possibilities. One thing though: Imagine yourself, going to State in Number Sense!!!!! That would be something you would've laughed at, before you came to this realization and thought about posting this as a possibility.
This is my opinion, and I say, the time to start is NOW! You're going to have to make your decision as quickly as possible.
2013 District 1/Region:
NS - 319/355
MA - 340/332
CA - 294/287
SC - 344/292
CS - 212/124 (fail)