National Science Olympiad (NSO) is a school-level competitive exam that is scheduled to be conducted on Oct 17, Nov 21, and Dec 5, 2024. The NSO 2024 is held for students from classes 1 to 12 annually by the Science Olympiad Foundation. Based on the respective class syllabus, separate question papers are framed for each class. Note that SOF follows the school curriculum, therefore, the questions prepared will be challenging enough to cultivate scientific reasoning and logical ability.
Table of Contents
- NSO 2024 Highlights
- NSO 2024 Eligibility Criteria
- NSO 2024 Registration Process
- NSO 2024 Exam Date
- NSO 2024 Syllabus
- NSO 2024 Admit Card
- NSO 2024 Answer Key
- NSO 2024 Results
- NSO 2024 Sample Papers
- NSO 2024 Exam Centers
- NSO 2024 Cut Off Marks
- NSO 2024 Preparation Tips
- NSO 2024 Awards
NSO 2024 Highlights
SOF NSO is the 24th National Science Olympiad Exam where about 5 lakh students from different states take part. The main focus of the NSO 2024 exam is on science-related subjects. The NSO Exam 2024 is held for students who have a higher interest in science and are excited about learning new terms and innovations in science and technology. Students must remember that the NSO 2024 exam is held under two levels and the students who successfully clear the NSO Level 1 will be eligible to participate in the NSO Level 2 exam.
The NSO 2024 Highlights are tabulated below.
| NSO 2024 Highlights | |
| Name of the exam | SOF NSO |
| Full-Form | National Science Olympiad |
| Parent organization | Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) |
| Mode of exam | Online |
| Frequency | Yearly |
| Question type | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) |
| Duration | 1 hour |
| Last date of registration | Up to 15 days before the last date of the NSO exam |
| NSO Registration fee | INR 125 |
NSO 2024 Eligibility Criteria
Based on the NSO Eligibility Criteria, the participant must be studying in India's recognized education board. Students of classes 1 to 12 are eligible for the Olympiad, and there are no minimum marks required to participate.
The following criteria must be met to qualify for the NSO 2024 exam.
- The top 5% of students class-wise who appear for the 1st-level exams are qualified.
- The top 25 rank holders zone-wise and class-wise are qualified.
- Class toppers of each participating school with a minimum of 10 participants are also qualified for the NSO 2024 exam.
Students from classes 1 and 2 are not required to appear for the 2nd level NSO 2024 exam. They are ranked and awarded based on their performance on the first level.
NSO 2024 Registration Process
Students must check out the details regarding NSO 2024 on the official website of the Olympiad. Further, they can download the date sheet and plan their studies accordingly. To participate in the NSO Registration Process students must pay the registration fee of INR 125 to appear for examinations.
Note that the students can register in two ways: through their respective schools and also as individual participants. For school registration, a minimum of 10 students need to be registered from each participating school. In addition, for individual participation, students must register under the guidance of their parents or guardians.
Read More: NSO Registration Form
NSO 2024 Exam Date
NSO Exam 2024 is a two-level exam, in which level 1 is conducted on three sets of 2 dates each. Further, each school can select a date to conduct the SOF NSO. Furthermore, each date of the NSO exam has a separate set of question papers.
The NSO 2024 exam date has been given in the table below.
| NSO Exam Events | NSO 2024 Important dates |
| NSO Level 1 Dates | Oct 17, 2023 Nov 21, 2023 Dec 5, 2023 |
| Answer Key Release Date | 3-4 weeks after the conduction of SOF NSO exam 2024 |
| NSO Level 1 Result | January 2024 |
| NSO Level 2 Notification | January 2024 |
| NSO Level 2 Admit Card Release Date | February 2024 |
| NSO Level 2 Exam Date | February 2024 |
| NSO Level 2 Results | Mar 23, 2024 |
NSO 2024 Syllabus
NSO Syllabus covers all the aspects of school education requirements followed by the topics prescribed by India's recognized educational boards, such as CBSE, ICSE, State Board and more. SOF NSO syllabus is available to download in PDF format on the official website. Further, the NSO 2024 syllabus covers the basic and day-to-day science concepts.
Read More: NSO Syllabus
NSO 2024 Admit Card
Students can download the NSO 2024 admit card for level 1 exams by using their student's registered email ID or mobile number on the official website. Further, candidates can view their NSO Admit Card number and verify their details once they are out. Furthermore, in case of any doubts, students can raise a query through their school coordinator or contact the SOF office at least a week before the selected exam date. Note that the students will not be allowed to write the NSO exam without an admit card.
Read More: NSO Admit Card
NSO 2024 Level 1 Admit Card
NSO admit cards for Level 1 will be available at the SOF official website, or students can get their NSO hall ticket from their school coordinator. Students must remember that the Level 1 admit cards will be released a week after the successful registration. The students need to satisfy the basic eligibility criteria to apply for the NSO 2024 exam. Those who don't satisfy the basic eligibility criteria won't be able to download the level 1 admit card.
NSO 2024 Level 2 Admit Card
The NSO admit card for Level 2 will be available only for the students who qualify for the Level 1 exam. Moreover, the top 25 zone-wise rank holders and class toppers from each participating school are eligible to participate in the NSO level 2 exam. However, the students with 50% qualifying marks in NSO Level 1 will also be eligible for NSO Level 2.
NSO 2024 Answer Key
Students can expect the Science Olympiad Foundation to release the NSO level 1 answer keys by December 2024 or January 2024. The NSO 2024 admit card will be released for all the exam dates that are conducted in three sets. Subsequently, the students can calculate their expected NSO scores with answer keys and the marking scheme. Those with minimum qualifying marks are eligible for NSO 2024 level 2, and the answer keys for level 2 will be released within two weeks of the exam conduction.
NSO 2024 Results
Students can expect the NSO 2024 result to be released by February 2024 on the official website. They are further advised to visit the official website regularly to stay updated with the information.
To view the results, students need to enter the following details,
- School code
- Class
- Section
- Registration number
- Date of Birth
Read More: NSO Results
NSO 2024 Sample Papers
The NSO Sample Papers give students a fair idea of the questions asked in the Olympiad. They also help in improving the pace of attempting the paper in time and managing one’s time overall. In addition, students also get a good understanding of the expected exam pattern.
NSO 2024 Exam Centres
Since the NSO 2024 registration process is conducted in two ways: through the school and on an individual level the NSO Exam Centers also differ.
Details regarding the NSO Exam Centers are given below:
- The NSO 2024 level exam centres for school registration will be at their respective schools within the school hours.
- For individual participation, the NSO 2024 exam centres will be mentioned on the admit card.
- In addition, students can take the SOF exams from their residents with a proper internet connection under the secured exam portal.
Read More: NSO Sample Papers
NSO 2024 Cut Off Marks
The Science Olympiad Foundation will release the level 1 NSO cutoff in the first week of February 2024 for all three sets of NSO exams. To be eligible for the NSO level 2 exam, students must qualify based on the cutoff marks released by the Science Olympiad Foundation.
Given below are the important factors that determine the NSO cutoff marks.
- Number of students who applied for NSO 2024.
- Number of students who appeared for the NSO 2024 exam.
- The difficulty level of the NSO question paper.
- Highest mark in the NSO level 1 exam.
The expected cutoff marks for NSO are tabulated below.
| Class | NSO 2024 Expected Cutoff |
| 3 | 33 |
| 4 | 28 |
| 5 | 43 |
| 6 | 41 |
| 7 | 40 |
| 8 | 38 |
| 9 | 35 |
| 10 | 40 |
| 11 | 32 |
| 12 | 33 |
NSO 2024 Preparation Tips
Students must go through the course books or NSO reference books suggested by the school board such as ICSE, CBSE, or state board to kickstart the preparation. Besides, they can also refer to books available for the Olympiad to get a good rank in SOF NSO 2024.
Students can check out the NSO 2024 preparation tips given below:
- Students must visit the organization's official website to learn about the exam pattern for the corresponding class.
- The NSO 2024 exam comprises 50 questions divided into three sections: verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, science, and high-order thinking questions.
- Participants must learn about the standard of questions asked in the SOF NSO 2024 exam.
- Those appearing for SOF NSO 2024 can expect questions of varying difficulty levels.
- The questions asked in the Olympiad test the logical and observational skills of the students instead of conceptual knowledge.
- SOF NSO 2024 provides practice books to all registered students that contain a syllabus and model test papers. The candidates are advised to solve questions from the booklet and identify the areas that demand extra attention to score better.
- Students who put in consistent effort and practice managed to have a good rank in SOF NSO every year.
Note: Get the complete list of Olympiads Exams conducted in India. For NSO 2024, There will be no direct questions.
NSO 2024 Awards
The participants of NSO 2024 are awarded based on their international, state, and school ranking. The NSO awards and SOF prizes are announced annually. These include cash awards, medals, gifts, certificates and more. Note that, the international toppers from each class are awarded a grand prize at an event conducted in Delhi, preceded by an eminent personality.
