Apurva Lodha
I had completed UCMAS in 2007 that makes me feel an era old. However, for statistics i may tell you there had been 10 levels and 2 grand levels which were all completed by me. The number of levels might have changed with time.
So UCMAS is the ability to do mental calculation at a very high pace and if you want to see it you may please YouTube it.
PROS
CURIOSITY- UCMAS helped me to do mental calculation at a great pace because of which i was appreciated by my teachers and my colleagues. As a child when you get attention you try to seek more attention which made me involved in MATHS to a very deep level.
LOVE for MATHS as a subject-Throughout my school and college i have excelled in the subject of math as I had interest in it which was developed because of UCMAS. Also, this is an unsaid rule that if you are sorted with math you are then sorted with all subjects.
RECOGNITION at university and workplaces- I remembered that when i had joined my university there were more than 10,000 people on campus and all wanted to make an impression, create as many friends as possible and be a part of a good group.
In the 1st month itself there was competition for “Mr and Miss Fresher”- people were excellent in field of dancing, singing, drama and then I entered. What I did was to calculate different problems of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division on the fly and the entire auditorium could verify it with their mobiles or calculators.
I never won the tag of MR Fresher but yes, I did become famous on campus. People used to talk that there is some weird guy who calculates like robot. Some passerby used to ask me what is 4539+8492 and i would reply with the correct answer and an instant smile.
An extra-curricular activity for your profile- I have been through a lot of interviews and by UCMAS on my resume i do get to impress the interviewer with something most of the other candidate cannot offer. Also, it adds to the extracurricular column of your resume and you do get a topic to speak on whatever be the place or situation.
Competition participation and interacting with different people- I had participated and won the 5th prize in the international competition held at Malaysia. There, I did get a chance to interact with students of USA, UK, UAE, China (too sharp), India and many others. It was a wonderful experience. Hence participation in such competition did make me do things outside school and added to my profile.
HELP in entrance exams like CAT, GRE- The whole game of these exams is correctness along with speed. So, the faster you give the CORRECT answer the better it is and UCMAS does help you to save a lot of time by excluding all the tedious calculations which other students are trapped into.
CONS
TIME- It took me 2.5 years to complete the entire course. Also, I had to take a month off for the preparation for international competition. Hence, one thing it asks for is time. But trust me it is totally worth it.
AGE barrier- Students above the age of 15 can’t pursue this course. It is similar to language. The earlier you learn, the easier it is.
PERSEVERANCE (NOT going the easy way)-Initially, my mom made sure that i never used calculator for all the problems given to me as homework but later I had developed a resistance of not using it. The journey was difficult but the DESTINATION was breathtaking.
So, as a concluding remark, I may say that if you can opt for the course do opt for it. It will change your life and make it better.
P.S. I haven’t mentioned one more con i.e. your wife or girlfriend may hate you as you can easily keep a track of all the bills. Cheers.