Hello, I am an 11th grader who qualified for the AIME through the AMC 12B with a score of 100.5 (floor 91.5). This is my first time taking it, and I have a few questions pertaining to this and college apps:
Is qualifying for the AIME a substantial achievement if I were to apply as an Applied Mathematics/Statistics major?
Will my score on the AIME matter? Will a low score (0-3) hurt my chances?
Hey there! I’m taking my AIME II next week. Qualifying for the AIME is definitely a substantial achievement, and the general rule I followed for my college apps was just to report my AMC scores that were at or above 90. Yes, qualifying for the AIME is fantastic because you’re essentially part of the top five percent of the top math students in the country, and studies have shown that the AMC is actually a better predictor of math ability for top math students than the SAT math section.
However, when it comes to the AIME, your score will matter depending on what exactly it is. If you get a 0 - 2, it’s best not to report it, and if you get a 3 - 5, that’s up to you. In my opinion a 6 or above is something you should definitely report because you’ll be at or above the average and median scores for sure.
The schools I applied to that had the option of reporting AMC/AIME scores were Harvard, Yale, Brown, and MIT. I think Caltech and Carnegie Mellon ask for them too but I didn’t apply there so don’t take my word for it lol.
Hope this helps!
Yes, a few schools specifically ask for AMC and AIME scores (optional). For schools that don’t specifically ask, add it as an Activity/Accomplishment.
I’d probably put in a score of 5 or higher and leave it blank otherwise. The AMC score will show your abilities, even without an AIME score.
How substantial an accomplishment it is depends on the context. For most schools, yes it differentiates from most students. At Caltech, it’s probably a minor differentiator. An AO at MIT said, several years ago, that AIME qualifiers were accepted at about twice the normal rate, 15-20%. But there’s likely a correlation with overall application quality. It’s not until the USAMO qualifying level that it makes a big difference - about 50% admission, iirc.
But most schools aren’t MIT/Caltech, so it means more.
(My D is taking it tomorrow for her third time.)
Congrats on qualifying for the AIME!!! Good luck!
Good luck be sure to head in with a clear mind!
Hope it went well!