Top grades in school math do not always translate into success in competitive exams. Non routine mathematics demands a different kind of thinking where strategy matters more than speed and logic matters more than memorized steps. This article explains why exams like AMC 8, AMC 10, Math Kangaroo, AIME, UKMT, MathCounts, and SASMO reward students who can invent a path when no method is given. At Wisdom Point, we guide students from being fast calculators to confident problem ar