<p>So I got my school to host the AMC for the first time this year, and needless to say I haven't had much time to prepare/procrastinated. I've gotten through about 1/4 of AoPS, but with the test date coming up fast (Feb 25), it's not realistic to expect to finish the whole book. So I have a couple of options in preparing:</p>
<p>A. Try to get through as much as possible of the rest of the book
B. Target specific chapters in the book and do those
C. Work through the compendium of problems in the back of the book (Ch 29)
D. Do old AMC 12's available online</p>
<p>What do experienced test takers recommend I do? My goal is not to ace the exam (wouldn't that be cool though :P), but to qualify for the AIME.</p>
<p>I'm curious how different the AMC 10 and 12 are. I recently took a 10 and got 123 (with the scoring used at that time). I haven't really looked at a whole 12 yet, but it seems a lot harder.</p>
<p>just chill and have fun with it
don't worry that much about what you get or what other people are getting
i always went in there cold...and i never qualified for usamo but every year the test would be one of the funnest things i did. i think if i'd made preparing for it into a big deal or an obligation it wouldn't have been nearly as fun</p>
<p>oh and qualifying for the aime isn't that hard, you definitely don't need to prepare if all you want is to qualify.</p>
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just chill and have fun with it
don't worry that much about what you get or what other people are getting
i always went in there cold...and i never qualified for usamo but every year the test would be one of the funnest things i did. i think if i'd made preparing for it into a big deal or an obligation it wouldn't have been nearly as fun</p>
<p>oh and qualifying for the aime isn't that hard, you definitely don't need to prepare if all you want is to qualify.
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<p>Haha but I couldn't make it into Caltech as a junior ;) Good advice though. I'm not stressing too much because it's not like it counts for a grade.</p>
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Have you checked out discussions on Art of Problem Solving?
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<p>I've skimmed over the forums, but thankfully that website with all the problems (thanks latenightworker) has the solutions. I don't think I'd need someone to explain a solution to me unless I qualified for AIME. Then I'd be screwed :)</p>
<p>Well, I'm going to sleep, eat, work, play, and go through the days prior like any other day.</p>
<p>On the day of the test, I'll be halfway to the locker room before I realize that the test was scheduled for that day. I'll stroll into the room, get reprimanded for my lateness, borrow a pencil from the guy sitting in front of me, sigh out loud, and take the exam.</p>
<p>Avoid careless mistakes, check your work. I scored 30+ points higher my freshman year than sophomore year because I didn't make any mistakes that year. No point in missing points on questions you know how to do (that was an odd sentence). Sleep well.</p>
<p>I have a quick question about the grading...</p>
<p>I know it's 6 pts/correct, 1.5/blank, 0/wrong. So basically it's to my advantage to try to spend the whole 75 minutes on 15 questions I know how to do and get those right, leave the rest blank? I'd rather spend 5 minutes each on 15 questions I have a good shot at getting right than 3 minutes each on 25 questions of which I'll probably get a good chunk wrong.</p>
<p>The best strategy for simply qualifying for AIME by means of the AMC 12 is to do 16-17 questions that you know for sure and then leaving the rest blank.</p>