AMC question

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey all, I have a question for those who know about/are involved with high school math competitions (i.e. AMC).</p>

<p>Basically, my brother (just graduated 7th grade) is really interested in math. Although I never took the AMC tests (didn't know about them until after high school), I was looking at a few previously administered tests this week and showed them to my brother. He worked on the AMC 12 (B) from 2009 for a while and correctly answered 12 of the 25 questions (without guessing, since I told him how the scoring works/that you're penalized for guessing randomly).</p>

<p>Anyway, I was posting here because he asked me what he could do now (if anything -- he's 13, by the way) to learn more of the concepts/tricks/ideas that are tested on these types of competitions. He was frustrated that he couldn't answer more correctly, but for a lot of the questions he simply hasn't had the instruction to be able to solve them. (Or are the second half of the questions very obscure applications of math principles that can't/generally aren't taught in school?)</p>

<p>Any ideas what I should tell him? Should he do anything now to learn more (advanced) math? If so, what? I would hate to stifle his thirst for knowledge, although at the same time it is the summer and he is only 13. But he is naturally inquisitive and loves to learn, and since I wasn't sure what to tell him, I figured I'd post here and see what people thought! Opinions?</p>

<p>Oh, and he is going to ask his guidance counselor (whom he knows well) to register for the AMC 8 next year for his middle school. :)</p>

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<p>Not sure if this was the right forum or not, but lemme know if anyone here has any insight, thanks.</p>

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<p>The Art of Problem Solving books are a canonical resource for those wanting to get the hang of contest math. artofproblemsolving.com is also a great resource (and you can buy the books there, too). At your brother’s level, he should probably start with AoPS volume 1, then move to more advanced books as he’s ready.</p>

<p>And of course, like any other endeavor, practice, practice, practice. Get him a problem book to go through–AMC publishes several. Eventually, he’ll want to take timed practice tests, but to start he should just go through and give each problem his best shot, then read the solutions to find out how it’s best done.</p>

<p>Does his school have a math team? If so, he should join it in the fall. Mathcounts is the nationwide middle school contest series, but there may be other local ones that run throughout the school year.</p>

<p>Edit: If you’re in New York, there are almost certainly local contests for middle school students. He could also look into joining the New York City Math Team if you’re in the city, although I don’t know how selective they are. It might also be a bit over his head, but he’ll meet many like-minded older students.</p>