<p>While HSMC may not be as “intense” as Ross, I think that’s just means that the camps focus on different things. Though I’ve never been to Ross, the descriptions provided make it sound like it’s a program more focused on improving your individual ability to problem-solve through its intense atmosphere - like infinity8 mentioned, competition at Ross is “a 10”. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with that, I don’t think I would have personally benefited from the experience simply because I’m not that interested in competition math and the like. </p>
<p>I highly enjoyed HSMC because I believe the camp did a great job of encouraging us to work in groups and to discover the beauty and elegance of math. The Number Theory course starts from concepts that are unbelievably simple and builds upon itself to progress to complex topics such as Quadratic Reciprocity. I thought this class and its progressive structure were great - several of the theorems we proved were equations/relations that I had always taken for granted and simply assumed to be true. The focus on proofs, which was something that I initially dreaded, emphasized the importance of thoroughly understanding the maths that we were doing each day.
While what ArtLuvr said - that the math taught at HSMC is “not very applicable to every day school math” - is true, I view that as a positive: school math is usually taught in a Maslow’s-Hammer-type method and doesn’t usually take the time to fully explain concepts, instead presenting them to students as undeniable facts that are simply assumed to be true. HSMC claims to teach the discovery of the joys of math and does a good job doing so. Although I admittedly do not have the proof for quadratic reciprocity from two years ago memorized and could not reproduce it on command now, I have gained a newfound passion for maths and believe that I owe this to my experience at HSMC.</p>
<p>(By the way, I really think there’s no need to worry about “not being good enough” for the camp: the teachers, counselors, and even fellow students were, in my experience, kind and willing to help. There were times when I didn’t understand some problems and received plenty of help until I finally saw how the proof worked haha. If you guys decide to go to HSMC, you’ll have a lot of fun and make great friends! Best of luck!)</p>