How many months do I have to practice for the AMC 10, so that I can at least make AIME? The next AMC 10 is Feb 7, 2018. Do I have enough time to start preparing now? I am a good math student, but I didn’t do math counts.
AMC 10s and 12s have generally gotten more difficult in recent years, so you could try a few recent AMC 10 tests to see where you’re at.
There are lots of tricks and theorems that are useful to know for the AMC that aren’t often covered in the regular HS algebra/geometry curriculum. For example, a lot of counting methods such as stars and bars or PIE (2- or 3-way), cyclic quadrilaterals and properties, Vieta’s formulas, etc.