How do I do well this year’s AMC? I have both AoPS volume 2 and Volume 1. I’ve been scoring lower than 100 and I feel like I’m dumb. How can I score at around 114-120?
Last year’s problems were difficult, meaning it will only get more complex after this, with that being said, what can I do to do well with a short amount of time I have?
Also, what was your experience taking the AMC with AoPS books?
First - you are likely to make many more responses on the AoPS forums.
The only way to get “better” is to learn and practice. Just like the SAT, there is no magic “do this and get x points” that some people think there are.
Everyone also has a specific innate ability. Most people will never score 150 even if they spent 8 hours/day for a year preparing.
100 on last year’s 12B would have been about top 1000. That’s out of 8,000,000 11th and 12th graders eligible to take it. Much rarer than a Math 800, on the order of a 1590 or 1600 combined. My D’s math team had a 2x IMO Gold Medalist. He was identified as math gifted in elementary school and spent thousands of hours studying/learning/etc. over years outside of school. That’s what it takes to get the top scores.
Yes, the problems are difficult. Exceedingly. They’re supposed to be. To be honest, looking the day before the A test and a week before the B test on how to get better isn’t going to get you much - there’s no short term fix.
Try some mock tests, scan through the book and review key topics so they’re fresh. That’s about the best approach in the last few days.
The books can give you the basic approaches, formulas, etc. The AoPS classes are useful to talk you through the step by step techniques of “problem solving”, not just the formulas. The old tests may be the best tools available - AoPS has them going way back (not long ago I re-took the AHSME Test I took in high school - still have my award pin)
My D has Vol 1., but spent most of her time in three of the topic courses plus the AMC12 prep course and was in the range you mention last year as an 8th grader on the 10, which is about 100 on the 12. This year has just been more practice tests and covering topics at her math circle/team. I guess I’ll know tomorrow if she improved.
It’s too late for this year test. For next year - practice with old tests; maybe start with couple tests and find your weak spots. Go back to AoPS Vol.1 and re-read the chapters in the areas you are weak (this is assuming that you already did vol.1 - if not, read it and practice cover-to-cover first). Then do the earlier tests again and make sure that you understood the solutions and can workout every problem. Now do a new test or two and re-assess. Rinse and repeat. For more detailed background go to AoPS books on specific subject like Geometry/NT etc.
AoPS has lots of resources including all previous years papers and many user-generated practice tests. Once you are done with AMC10/12 tests (make sure to save a few for test-time practice) practice with AIME tests. Especially previous years AIME problems 1-6 can be on the same level of difficulty as AMC problems 15-25.
Its a long haul - there is no easy fix for a test as difficult as AMC/AIME. Those athletes dont get enough credit but there is a lot of work involved. At the end of it all there are no guarantees that score will improve dramatically - at some point everyone plateaus.