<p>I want college admissionaries to know that math is my passion and that I am very good at it, but I am facing a dilemma:</p>
<p>This year, I won two of the largest math competitions in the southeast: the UGA Mathematics Tournament and the Furman University Wylie Mathematics Tournament.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, when I participated in national competitions, I didn't do as well as I could have: I got a 132 on the AMC12 (which was fine), but then I got a 7 on the AIME (a fluke), failing to even qualify for USAMO (by two index points), and a 4 as my individual score at ARML (an even bigger fluke). I'm sure I'll qualify for USAMO next year, but my applications will already be in by then.</p>
<p>I am wondering whether colleges will take regional competitions as seriously as they take national competitions. National competitions are obviously more well-known than regional ones, and although I beat 8 students who would go on to qualify for USAMO this year when I won UGA, I fear that my achievements are not going to be given proper credit by admissionaries.</p>
<p>An AMC composite of 202 is pretty awesome by itself. They'll recognize that that's impressive. Any recognition they give to the regional ones is just candy.</p>
<p>@dchow: I'm not talking about winning a national competition; I'm talking about doing relatively well. I would argue that it's harder to be first in Georgia than to be top 500 in the nation (USAMO qualifier).</p>
<p>@hoonose: I know that I will get some recognition for my 202, but I think that my UGA win is worth more recognition than the 202.</p>
<p>They are fine. I am also a math student, but my AMC/AIME scores were reversed. I got a 114 on the AMC (huge fluke), and 7 on the AIME. Obviously, your index is much better than mine.</p>
<p>Regional competitions show that you pursue math out of school. Add your AMC and AIME scores, and they will consider you passionate and accomplished in competitive mathematics.</p>