SuMAC (Stanford University Mathematics Camp) 2014

<p>Hi guys!</p>

<p>I didn't see any discussions about this program, so I decided to start one.</p>

<p>Since the application closed about a week ago (Application deadline was March 14th, they extended it), possible discussions.</p>

<ul>
<li>Your stats for your application</li>
<li>Questions about SuMAC and the SuMAC application</li>
<li>Experiences?</li>
<li>Your reflection about the program (i.e., Do you think its a good program, did it help you, do you think it helped you on your college apps)</li>
</ul>

<p>Feel free to talk about anything that I haven't previously mentioned!</p>

<p>When will the results come out?</p>

<p>Thanks for making the thread! My stats:
Current sophomore at California semi-competitive high school
4.3 GPA (4.0 UW)
Taken AP Calc BC
Highest AMC10 score in school
Good recommendations
Finished all problems on the test.
Now that the test is finished, you guys mind sharing how you finished #2? I had and incredible amount of trouble on that question, it probably took half of my total time on the test, and I was wondering if I did it the hard way.</p>

<p>I would suggest that you guys avoid discussing SUMaC application problems publicly as some of the problems are recycled from year to year.</p>

<p>mm good point @ChainRuleIsHard. Anyways, I went to SUMaC last year with @ChainRuleIsHard last year, and it was definitely the best summer of our lives.</p>

<p>First off, you should definitely not go to SUMaC because of college apps. SUMaC is designed to be a fun and mathematical experience, not a resume-boosting line that says “attended SUMaC in the summer of 2014” or some nonsense like that.</p>

<p>Anyways, I thought it was a great program. We learned SO much and had SO much fun – @ChainRuleIsHard and some of our friends and I basically went to Panda Express every day, played too much Ultimate, did some mattress sledding, played bughouse for 9238729384729 hours (oh god I miss this so much), and had many field trips. Apart from learning math from one of the coolest people ever, we had tons of fun. If you get in, I totally recommend that you go – it’s well worth the experience, and Stanford is super pretty :)</p>

<p>Stats: I’m not an IMO participant. I haven’t taken real analysis or algebraic topology. I’m just a person. So, don’t sweat it – you can probably get in, too. [Although, not going to lie, there were IMO participants at SUMaC 2013]</p>

<p>Good luck, kiddos!</p>

<p>I see @ChainRuleIsHard I didn’t know about that, my bad.</p>

<p>I applied for SUMaC too.
I am a junior at a boarding school in California.
GPA 3.9 unweighted 4.6 weighted
Taken AP Calc AB, taking AP Stats, AP Calc BC and Honors Linear Algebra now
AMC12 score: 105 AIME: got 6 questions right
I didn’t have much time to do all the problems on the test, but I still finished most of them.
Hope I will get in lol…</p>

<p>@thatwhatitis nice job for finishing all the problems on the tests!</p>

<p>My stats:</p>

<p>Currently a sophomore at my high school in Florida</p>

<p>I’ve taken: AP Stats, AP Calc, and I’m taking Calc 2/3 (dual enrollment) at a local college. I’m going to take the Calc BC Exam this year as well.</p>

<p>AMC - got a 117 this year, kind of mad.</p>

<p>Finished most of the problems on the exam.</p>

<p>(5.0 Weighted GPA) (3.97 unweighted) (Rank: #1)</p>

<p>really hope I make it.</p>

<p>Hello everyone, SUMaC 2013er here, and I want to wish you all good luck on getting in!</p>

<p>I have a number of friends applying this year and best of luck to them too.</p>

<p>Anyway, as for the program itself, it was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me. Spending a month with people who were passionate about math but also loved to hang out and have fun was a great experience for me. It helped me fully realize my passion for math and made me certain that math would be one of my majors. It also made me fall in love with Stanford and the college environment. </p>

<p>If you guys would like my stats I would list them but otherwise I don’t feel like searching for them. It is an amazing program and while I agree that you should not go to SUMaC to put it on your transcript, if you do end up going it can help you get into some colleges (specifically Stanford). SUMaC kids have a much higher than average acceptance rate into Stanford (mainly because many of the qualities that Stanford looks for in applicants, SUMaC also looks for with a few exceptions).</p>

<p>If you get in good for you but also remember that the number of applicants has sharply increased in recent years. I believe last year saw around twice as many applicants as the year before. I know it isn’t exactly a representative sample but from my school we had 2 years where 1 person applied, then a year with 3, and now we have 9. And since the program only takes around 45, it is definitely not a cake walk to be accepted.</p>

<p>@thedoctor2031, could you look at our stats? Its only a general overview of what we actually wrote in our applications, but do you think we at least stand a chance to maybe go? I’m not the best math student (I failed the AMC lol) but I’m very passionate about math and would love to go to this program. I’m only a sophomore and sadly, I only took the AMC one before filling my application, so concerning Math competitions, I wasn’t part of many. Still, I answered most of the admission exam questions and was able to convey my love for math, so I hope that will be strong enough to put me aside other top applicants.</p>

<p>Thanks for helping</p>

<p>@doctor2031 I was wondering two things if you had some time. is the research done at sumac original research or is it more just looking at past concepts? and also do you know if after sumac, there are any opportunities to work with stanford professors? </p>

<p>bumping this thread</p>

<p>hey, to the applicants:</p>

<p>I went to SUMaC last year.
don’t worry too much about test scores, EC’s - they aren’t as important as the entrance exam, and even then, it’s not necessarily about getting every question right.
when I applied to SUMaC, I had never taken the AMC, or done any contest math in general. I wasn’t in a single math related EC. the most I did was tutor a peer in geometry.
if you end up going to SUMaC, the TA’s will go over your entrance exam with you on the first day. it was nice finding out that I didn’t get a single question on the exam completely right - but I had been going in the right direction on all of them, some further than others.</p>

<p>so don’t sweat it.</p>

<p>@endingpunc did you like SUMaC, like was it really good and prestigious (It’s Stanford)? What did you learn? Did you enjoy the program? Would you want to go again? Also, how many questions did you answer on the entrance exam?</p>

<p>I loved SUMaC, I don’t know of anyone who didn’t. last year TA’s said they got over 300 apps for 45 spots. yes it’s prestigious, but don’t make that the reason you want to go. you had better actually like math otherwise you’re not gonna have a good time.
I attempted every question.</p>

<p>I’m a 2014 SUMaC applicant. I have applied/will apply to a few other camps, but SUMaC is definitely my top choice. The topics for Program I look really interesting, especially since I am an “NT enthusiast.” Here are my stats:
-4.0 GPA (unweighted)
-AMC 12: 100.5
-AIME: 7 (not submitted)
-ACT: 34 Composite, 36 Math
-Just finished MVC, taking linear algebra</p>

<p>I think my application was strong but not stunning. I didn’t do exceptionally well on the AMC, and I didn’t take the AIME before the deadline. Fortunately, my courses/GPA/recommendations are all good (I hope). I answered every question on the exam, and extended a couple of them, but my answers to #8 and #9 were lackluster. They could have been improved with more time.</p>

<p>The strongest part of my application (in my opinion) was the writing section. None of my responses were proofread, outlined, or even deeply considered, but they really demonstrated my love of mathematics and explained the weaknesses of my application (for example, I suck at geometry proofs, but I hope to improve while studying nonconstructibility in geometry at SUMaC).</p>

<p>I also included a group paper I collaborated on at PROMYS last year. Not sure if that will help, but I doubt it will hurt.</p>

<p>@DiscipulusBonus that’s a better application than mine. I wasn’t able to solve one of the parts of question 5, the second part to question 2, and question 7 completely (it didn’t make any sense to me). Really the only strong part of my application are my responses to the questions and my GPA/recommendation. Do you think I still stand to be a strong applicant?</p>

<p>@Vigilante13 I believe I read somewhere that the criteria for admission was anyone who attempted all problems and got more than 7-8 correct stood a chance to being accepted, while anything less was probably a waitlist/reject. Don’t quote me on this, not even 100% sure this was about Sumac (maybe another camp) but I think this is what I read.</p>

<p>@thatswhatitis well,technically I got about ~7 correct (I only skipped a part of the questions). Still, from Stanford, I wouldn’t expect any less. I should have attempted all the questions, but I didn’t even though how to start each problem. Oh well, I pray to get in :).</p>

<p>I also have a question about the financial aid for this program? Did we have to turn in the application when we turned in our actual application for the program, or do we wait? I was only considering to apply for the aid if I actually got in.</p>

<p>Also, are we allowed to discuss admission exam questions now? I would like to know how to do some of my problems.</p>