<p>barium:
Yes, I have heard of the Putnam exam. I have looked up several old ones, out of curiosity, and found the problems - though quite involved - to not be out of my league. In fact, some of the problems are actually quite simple; the main thing keeping me from doing much better on the ones I’ve looked at is the fact that I am not a math major, and lots of the terms are alien to me. But, almost universally, the problems I understand I have had little trouble solving in a respectable (though by no means stellar) amount of time. Sadly, only math majors are allowed to be sponsored at my school, regardless of the fact that <em>no participant from my school has ever correctly answered a single question on the Putnam</em>. Oh well, I honestly don’t care. Silly math people.</p>
<p>And I mean, sure it depends on the program and the student. Alright. But I also think that general questions merit general responses. And I can only speak from experience…</p>