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Why is getting a rec from this Zuming Feng guy so "outstanding"?
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<p>Hi, xjayz, that's a good question. In the world of competition math, Zuming Feng is quite famous because he is the coach of the United States team to the International Mathematics Olympiad. He also has helped compile a lot of training materials for math competitors. His name has been familiar to me for years, even though I have never met him. Feng gets to meet many (not quite all, but a large percentage) of the most outstanding math competitors in the United States, so if he writes someone a favorable recommendation, I figure that student is the real deal in math ability. </p>
<p>One teen I know, who used to live in another part of my state and now studies at Exeter, has had Feng as a math teacher. Exeter recruits math students very actively--my son has received recruiting letters in two successive school years. Feng being on Exeter's faculty is a big recruiting draw for Exeter among math-liking students. Not everyone decides to make the trip off to boarding school, but a lot of young people think about that seriously partly because the opportunity to have a teacher like Feng is a rare opportunity. </p>
<p>Does that help explain what impresses people about a recommendation from Zuming Feng? I suppose there are famous teachers and coaches in other disciplines, whose names I don't know, who would be equally impressive to parents who know those disciplines well.</p>
<p>Every year in April, a week or two after USAMO test (two afternoons 4.5-hour each), Zuming would personally call the winners homes (top 12) and invite them into black MOP (Math Olympiad Program). The whole thing starts from AMC10/ AMC12; 1% AMC10 and 5% AMC12 top finishers were invited to the next round, AIME; 500 (use to be 250) top scorers (mostly 9-12 graders, some 8th and rare 7th) in the whole country from AIME get invited to USAMO. From there, 12 winners and additional 15-18 top scorers in 10th and 11th grades (blue MOPpers) plus 25 top scorers of 9th graders (red MOPpers) move on to MOP for a few weeks training under Zuming and other people, many of them previous IMO medalists. The 6 US-IMO team members are generated from the 12 winners (through additional test TST) to represent USA in the IMO. Zuming literally met and trained all the top math students in the country.
In the current college applicant pool, about 150 students are USAMO qualifiers.</p>
<p>In the summer of 2007, US sent its first female student team (8 top female USAMO scorers) to China to compete in Chinese Girls Math Olympiad. That team was led by Zuming, Melanie Woods and Alison Miller. Five of the eight girls now are seniors and in the current college applicant pool.</p>
<p>OMG! lol, i bet zuming feng gets a lot of requests for recs from ppl from exeter, lol. i wonder if he turns most of them down. lucky facebook guy.</p>