<p>yeah just comparing the two claims of merit haha...personally i got the 800 on the SAT math but didn't make the AIME (was REALLY close...got like 98.5 on the AMC 12...made an EXTREMELY stupid mistake on one problem that automatically dropped me down 6 points...if i'd just left it blank i would've qualified)...</p>
<p>but i realized something...both getting an 800 and qualifying for the AIME require being extremely careful...on the SAT, one problem wrong, and you're down to a 770...on the AMC 12, i just feel like the guessing penalty is just beyond horrendous...makes you not attempt a bunch of problems...and just simply being more careful and being a slightly better test taker (i.e. not killing time on one problem that trips you up but eventually see and figure out) could make you go up from like a 98 to like 110 (which is usually regarded as impressive)...</p>
<p>There are about 9,500 AIME qualifiers and about 10,000 SAT Math 800’s each year. Because many people don’t take the AMC tests who could do well on them, I would imagine that there are about 15,000 or so people who could qualify for AIME if everyone took it. So the SAT score is rarer. What that means is up to interpretation.</p>
<p>another thing is…AMC / AIME problems, though are heavily reasoning based…i feel like for some of them, it REALLY helps to have some background in number theory and probability…as well as knowing trig IDs like second nature…i never cared to learn that stuff too much bc i felt like it took the fun out of solving that type of problems…but i did find myself deriving wayy too much stuff on the AMC exam…</p>
<p>as far as SAT goes…granted the hard problems toward the end do involve some out of the box thinking…but i think it’s stupid that just ONE problem wrong and you’re down like 20 - 30 points…verbal on the other hand you can a few wrong and still get the 800…i think they should make the math part a bit more like that…however that’d be done…</p>
<p>I will only note that in the math heavy crowd I know, nobody every talks about doing well on the SAT 2 math test - everyone scored somewhere at or above 750 - but nobody much cares. None of the crowd I know retook MATH 2 to boost from a 750 and above either. AMC/AIME/USAMO scores are talked about, by students, and by professors/hosts of math camps and others of like ilk.
I would agree on the guessing penalty for the AMC12. But then, given that the primary purpose of the AMC12 is to select for even higher level math competition, it does make sense. It’s not selecting for math ability , but for math competition ability. The two are related, of course, but not exactly the same. Some very good mathematicians just don’t like competitions, and quite a few don’t like or do well with the time pressure element.</p>
<p>haha well if you guys wanna know…i got an 800 SAT I math, 770 SAT II Math IC, and only like 700 on the IIC…and then 98.5 on the AMC 12 (made one really stupid mistake that docked me down 6 points…should’ve just left it blank lol)…</p>
<p>but this was years ago (i’m 24 now and already graduated college and work as an engineer)…i find myself doing those types of problems for fun, and i can usually solve some really tough problems that even most of my engineer friends cant figure out…</p>
<p>i know i’m reviving a somewhat old thread here…but did anybody here ever come across this guy on the forums who got 690 on SAT I math, yet made USAMO??..that’s pretty crazy and kinda cool haha…</p>
<p>OP, I think either your lying or you have your data wrong. This year the cutoff for AIME was like 85.5 I believe, so you would have qualified with a 98.5 on AMC 12. I would know, I made AIME and nearly qualified for USAMO.</p>
<p>I have to disagree with “So the SAT score is rarer” comment. In terms of “rarity,” keep in mind that the majority of SAT takers are in the 11th and 12th grade. Although there are indeed people who take the SATs earlier, the overwhelming statistics do come from the 11th and 12th grade.</p>
<p>My point with the previous paragraphs is that if you’re going to add 5,500 people (which is an over exaggerated and unfounded number) to potential AIME qualifiers, you should also consider that NOT ALL potential perfect SAT math test takers actually take the test. Therefore, you should also add some arbitrary number to the total amount of SAT math perfect scorers.</p>
<p>If you think 5,500 more people will qualify for the AIME if they had the chance, then you should also consider the same for the SAT math section. For the SAT math section, you are not including those who choose not to take the SATs (those who take the ACT), majority of underclassmen, etc. If you take all those factors in, I believe that qualifying for the AIME is just as rare as a perfect math score on the SATs, if not more.</p>
<p>Yes, this was not accounted for. Neither was the fact that many people take only the ACT.</p>
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<p>Unless you have contradictory data, you cannot deem it exaggerated. And of course it was unfounded: I qualified with “I would imagine,” after all.</p>
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<p>It’s certainly possible, but you would also have to rely on not-necessarily-agreeable assumptions. In any case, we can agree that the rarities are not wildly different.</p>
<p>I would say add +4000 to AIME = 13,500 people</p>
<p>I would add about +13000 to SAT = 23,000 people</p>
<p>(I added so many people to SAT, because think of all the 10th graders and below who could get 800s. Also, think of all the midcoast kids who only take ACT, who also could get 800s).</p>
<p>AIME qualifier would probably be rarer, all think considered. And by MIT’s standards, above 750 doesn’t make any difference, so I would take AIME qualification any day of the week.</p>
<p>i’m not lying…i didn’t take it this year…i took it back in 2004…i’m 24 years old now…i got 98.5 (cutoff was 100)…i still got the highest in my grade…</p>
<p>i feel like just as much a few stupid mistakes can duck you down to like 700, one stupid mistake on the AMC 12 (back when i took it) can royally screw you over…i’m talkin same level of stupid mistakes as on the SAT…that’s literally what ducked me down from 104.5 to 98.5…i should’ve just left it blank and gotten a 101…</p>
<p>i do AIME problems for fun now when i get bored and i found myself getting 7 of them correct on the 1988 AIME i think it was…</p>
<p>i do agree that like for some cases, there’s no difference between like a 690 and an 800…i mean unless the 690 was a result of EXTENSIVE studying and memorization of how to do problems…</p>