<p>How important is participating in these competitions to admissions? Taking high level mathematics courses at a local university can be just as good, in my opinion. I mean, some people just don't have the same opportunities as other people, especially when tests taking and competitions like those are concerned. Pursuing math and science into the university level can be just as rewarding and show just as much passion as taking exams for added stats to your application, right?</p>
<p>Doing well in these tests show mathematical ability as well as passion. Taking a college math class doesn't necessarily show that you're very talented in mathematics.</p>
<p>It's not very important unless you can show that you are devoted to math/science mostly in the form of related ECs. Of course if you plan on majoring in a field that uses mathematics heavily, such as actuarial science, economics, or engineering, doing well on the exams can show you ability above all else. </p>
<p>Imo, taking high level math courses do not compare to doing well on even just the first round, the AMC. Colleges want to see that you can take high level mathematics courses at THEIR institution, not a local college. As for an rewarding experience, becoming a better problem solver will help in all endeavors whereas learning advanced math just develops your mathematical maturity.</p>
<p>But I am a senior who is currently taking Calc BC so people who have taken higher math in high school may not agree with my previous statement.</p>
<p>As for opportunities, you can try to take it at a nearby school or local college or try to talk to your principal about hosting it. Copies of previous years of the exam can be found on the internet and doing (struggling with) as many problems as you can before looking at the solutions is the best way to practice.</p>
<p>How can you prepare for those exams other than finding things online? are there any books that are devoted to them, just like AP or SAT prep books?</p>
<p>Art</a> of Problem Solving</p>
<p>nice website, thanks a ton.</p>
<p>Who even administers these exams? I'd never even heard of them before CC, and none of the seniors at my school ever mention having taken them. Lol, I feel ignorant.</p>
<p>Usually your school administers the exams, but there are also some colleges and other organizations that also administer them too. There's a list of colleges that will offer it this year at Additional</a> Locations for the AMC 10B/12B at Higher Education Sites, and you might be able to get your school to offer them too by talking to some math teachers.</p>
<p>your school.</p>
<p>to the OP, I'll let you know how important they are when I find out what colleges I got into. (AIME Qualifier, scored a 5) Getting into USAMO would probably be the more helpful one though.</p>
<p>apathy,</p>
<p>that would be pretty good. maybe if i see a trend of USAMO qualifiers getting in to all the colleges that they applied to, then i will do it too. just kidding, though. :) where did you apply btw?</p>
<p>shravas,</p>
<p>that link would be great if there was a college in northern california. where can we find a complete list of all the sponsoring sites, if there is one?</p>
<p>.....
you don't decide to do USAMO cuz you want to get into college
it takes WAY too much time and pain (lol), if you ever tried going thru the textbooks and the proofs and the practice problems...like 5 hours/day for a couple months is the MINIMUM (depends on how smart you are/what ur math ability is)...it's great for college (if you make USAMO you would probably statistically get into one or more of HYPSM) but it's only worth it if you really love math
and dude, taking the AIME is quite prestigious too...people have written that they got 0's on the AIME for MIT and have gotten in.
takin higher level math classes/getting a 5 on calcbc, etc, are NO WHERE near as hard as even the AMC12. just go look at the practice problems. anyone, basically, can take college classes--you just needa have passed high school math and sign up at your local college. it shows passion, sure, but the USAMO probably shows a lot more dedication, passion, and lotss of talent. if you're still deciding whether or not you want to do well on the AMC, and you're a sophmore, you better decide fast.</p>
<p>what about the Physics Olympiad? has anyone done that before? what tests do you need to take in order to qualify? there is also one in astronomy, but I don't think the U.S. participates in it.</p>
<p>This past year's USAMO winners are going to schools like Harvard, Princeton, Caltech, and MIT.</p>
<p>'Course, these students were accepted there before they participated in USAMO.</p>
<p>All i can say is, for me, getting AIME is a piece of cake. doing higher level math for me however, is time comsuming and hurts my brain.</p>
<p>even [getting qualified] for the USAMO is no where near the amount of effort needed for even like something simple as AP calc BC. </p>
<p>but that's just me. it's opposite for most people</p>
<p>-_- USAMO is only fer American citizens, right?</p>
<p>nope, permanent citizens, canadians and a lot others. I took it as a green carder.</p>
<p>
[quote]
All i can say is, for me, getting AIME is a piece of cake. doing higher level math for me however, is time comsuming and hurts my brain.</p>
<p>even [getting qualified] for the USAMO is no where near the amount of effort needed for even like something simple as AP calc BC. </p>
<p>but that's just me. it's opposite for most people
[/quote]
wait...are you serious</p>
<p>and lol, that website <a href="http://www.maa.org/news/052207usamoceremony.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.maa.org/news/052207usamoceremony.html</a> is for the top 12 USAMO scorers only--the usamo "winners". a few of them even had IMO before they were seniors, i remember sherry went to IMO as a sophmore. they were more than qualified to go to any school in the US.</p>
<p>but just qualifying is really good enough to probably get into hypsmc; if you're asian, top 10 and a 4.3 and no other ECs is good enough. if you're white then top 10%, and...are there black/hispanic USAMOers :| ... not to be racist or anything but every picture i've seen on the UNL site (the AMC perfect scorers, USAMO winners, etc) are either asian or white :)</p>
<p>And if you want to do math/science stuff but don't do well on these tests, don't worry. The best I ever did was a two on the AIME, and I got into MIT. ^_^</p>
<p>lol yeah, doing well can get you into college (altho sometimes not) but not having taken them/doing "bad" on them doesn't mean anything.
lol ppl have written down that they got a 0 on the AIME and have gotten in, so even having taken it is good (altho of course it wasn't the only thing that got them in -_-)</p>