<p>According to my math major child, who has participated in math competitions in high school and college, AIME qualification is much more impressive than scoring an 800 on SAT math. For kids who are strong math students, it is not a stretch to do some practice tests and get an 800. But not all those kids can do well enough on the AMC to qualify for AIME. As an example, 12 kids in my child’s high school school scored 800 on SAT math; less than half that number qualified for AIME.</p>