The Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) awards are distributed based on several criteria at different levels. During 2017-18, Science Olympiad Foundation has spent over INR 15.2 crores on awards, scholarships, gifts, and cash prizes. For the academic year 2019-20, SOF has spent about INR 18 crores for the awards. The SOF prizes listed below are awarded to the winners of the NCO, NSO, IEO, IMO, and IGKO exams.
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SOF Student Awards
International, zonal, and class topper awards will be given to NCO, NSO, IEO, IMO, and IGKO exam winners. In addition, each winner will be entitled to one Science Olympiad Foundation 2023-24 award for each exam.
Detailed awards offered for SOF winners are as follows.
SOF International Awards
The SOF winners will be entitled to the higher level Science Olympiad Foundation 2023-24 award only.
Given below are the International SOF awards and recognition.
| Rank | Scholarships | No. of Awards |
| 1st |
|
12 |
| 2nd |
|
12 |
| 3rd |
|
12 |
The top 3 international rank holders will be entitled to scholarships based on their international ranks.
SOF Zonal Awards
Students scoring national awards won't be entitled to zonal awards. However, students with the next highest ranks will be awarded the top three zonal ranks in such a case. Similarly, students eligible for zonal awards won't be entitled to class-based awards.
Given below are the Zonal SOF awards and recognition.
| Rank | Zonal Level Awards | No. of Awards |
| 1st |
|
312 |
| 2nd |
|
312 |
| 3rd |
|
312 |
| 4th-10th |
|
2184 |
| 11th-25th |
|
4680 |
| Ranks 26th+ | Participation certificate | All |
SOF School Awards
When ten or more students from a class (including all sections) can write the SOF exam, the top three rank holders will be awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively. Whereas between 5 to 9 students from a class (including all sections) can write a SOF exam, only the topper will be awarded a gold medal.
In addition to the above, for each section from a class where 25 or more students write an exam, the top three rank holders will be awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals.
Some of the key SOF awards include,
- Participation certificate for each student.
- Merit certificate to 2nd level participants.
- The top 25 ranked students from each class & each Olympiad Exam will be awarded medals of distinction. It will be applicable for the winners from 20 zones for performance in the 1st level Olympiad.
Student Performance Report (SPR)
Every student who appears in NCO, NSO, IEO, IMO, and IGKO will be provided with a student performance report. An SPR report is a detailed analysis of the student who has attempted the NCO, NSO, IEO, IMO, and IGKO exams. The objective of SPR is to give an idea of areas they need to work harder on, i.e., strength & weakness, which require improvement in absolute time. SPR also provides a competitive level analysis consisting of lakhs of students who appeared in the Olympiad Exam.
The SPR consists of six sections.
- Section A provides the students' marks and ranks at the school, city, zone, and international levels.
- Section B provides the topic-wise performance score of the student in the SOF exam.
- Section C compares the student's performance in the Olympiad Exams during the past eight years.
- Section D gives correct answers to questions asked in the Olympiad Exam, the student's answers, and a performance comparison of the student's responses compared to other students in the zone and at the international level.
- Section E provides a percentile score analysis of the student with a collation with the class, zone, and international percentile.
- Section F compares average marks analysis at the school level, zonal level, and international level.
- Section G: Provides a topic-wise performance analysis for a subject.
SOF Awards Tie Breaker
If two or more students achieve the same rank, a cash award in the appropriate category will be distributed under the following criteria.
International Winners
- For up to 5 students getting the same rank, the award amount will be distributed equally. In addition to it, each winner will be awarded a certificate and a medal in the appropriate category.
- If more than 6 or more students get the same rank, each winner will be awarded gifts worth INR 1000 and a medal in the appropriate category, and a certificate instead of a cash award.
Zonal Winners
- For up to 4 students getting the same rank, the award amount will be distributed equally. In addition to it, each winner will be awarded a medal in the appropriate category and a certificate.
- If more than four students get the same rank, each winner will be awarded gifts worth INR 1000 and a medal in the appropriate category, and a certificate instead of a cash award.
SOF Awards for Schools
Given below are the school awards for Science Olympiad Foundation.
| Category | Awards | No. of Awards |
| International Level | ||
| Best Principal | INR 25,000 each+Citation+Trophy | 20 |
| Best Teacher | INR 10,000 each+Citation+Trophy | 10 |
| Zonal Level | ||
| Best Principal | INR 10,000 each+Citation+Trophy | 130 |
| Best Teacher | INR 5,000 each+Citation+Trophy | 78 |
| District Level | ||
| Best Principal | INR 2,500 each+Citation+Trophy | 500 |
| Best Teacher | INR 1000 each+Citation+Trophy | 400 |
SOF Special Scholarship Schemes
SOF also offers special awards and scholarships to students from different categories, apart from the general category winners.
Various special scholarships given to students are,
- Girl Child Scholarship Scheme (SOF GCSS)
- SOF Scholarship For Excellence in English (SOF SEE)
- SOF Academic Excellence Scholarship
Girl Child Scholarship Scheme (GCSS)
SOF GCSS is a special scholarship provided by SOF to educate girls among students all across the country. Financial assistance is provided for girl students. Three hundred students will be selected from the total nominations received.
Fund allocation will be:
- INR 5000 each for 300 eligible girl students
- Recommendation forms can be collected from schools or the official website.
Scholarship for Excellence in English (SEE)
SOF-SEE is a scholarship that SOF launches in collaboration with the British Council. It is to reward and recognize students who have excelled in English.
The rewards offered are as follows.
- Recommendation forms can be collected from schools or the official website.
- INR 5000 each for 120 students exhibiting excellence in the English language
SOF Academic Excellence Scholarship (AES)
SOF-AES is to recognize students who have better all-rounder performance in olympiads conducted by SOF.
AES rewards are as follows.
- INR 5000 scholarship and trophy to 208 students from classes 3 to 10.
- There will be one winner from each class.
- Therefore, there will be eight winners from one school/zone and 208 winners from the 26 zones.
