The last step towards state comes on Friday and Saturday for the more than a dozen Redhawks taking part in the UIL 5A Region II academic meet at Walnut Grove High School in Prosper.
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase different aspects of my math skills, but more importantly, I’m proud that my performance contributed to our team’s advancement,” sophomore Robin Kim said. “That team aspect makes the achievement more meaningful to me.”
Many students advancing to regionals for STEM competitions is a valuable achievement for the school this year, according to junior Zayan Hassan.
“I am going for Computer Science, General Math, Number Sense, and Calculator Applications,” Hassan said. “I feel proud because historically our school hasn’t done very well in STEM events except for science, so doing so well this year and team advancing in three of my four events while individually advancing in the fourth is a huge improvement.”
For junior Charlie Xu, who is competing in the Science, Math, and Calculator Applications categories for regionals, taking practice tests is a main method of preparation.
“Much of UIL is about practicing,” Xu said. “Though knowing the content is of course important, test-taking skills is another key aspect of the competition. Since a lot of the material is actually content I’ve already learned in the past three years of high school, I’m actually much more focused on speed and accuracy when working through the tests. It also makes sure I don’t forget something random, which always causes unbearable agony.”
Pattern recognition is something Kim is focusing on in order to prepare.
“Even with other commitments like upcoming AP exams, I’ve made an effort to consistently set aside time to prepare,” Kim said. “Since UIL competitions tend to follow recurring patterns, I focus on recognizing those patterns by practicing past problems and analyzing how questions are typically structured. That helps me anticipate what I might see in competition.”
While some choose to primarily focus on taking practice tests to be competition ready, others, like junior Rhea Kosuri, who is a regional qualifier for accounting, balance taking practice tests with reviewing unfamiliar content.
“I have done many practice tests, as well as reviewed unfamiliar concepts,” Kosuri said. “The major piece of advice I have is to familiarize yourself with the concepts in the test, and really practice those.”
Xu’s advice for people who want to do well at district competitions and advance to regionals is to review material periodically instead of all at once, and to get a good night’s sleep before competition day.
“One of my personal mantras is to always avoid letting myself down because I haven’t worked hard enough,” Xu said. “Advancing beyond districts is hard work, but to a passive observer, it’s veiled behind hours upon hours of studying and preparation. Even just locking in for your AP classes and reviewing that knowledge periodically can help you tremendously. Also, sleeping at a healthy bedtime is more helpful than you’d think.”
