<p>Hi!
I have recently been interested in the Stanford University Mathematics Camp (SUMaC). Can anyone who has been to the camp tell me a little about his/her experience? For example, how prestigious is it? Is it very intense and challenging? And what level are the participants (math level at school, what math competition awards, etc.)? Thank you so much! I love you all! <3</p>
<p>Bumpppp</p>
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<p>I never attended SUMaC so I can’t answer most of your questions but I will touch on the prestige one. I’ve attended Ross for the past three summers and know a bunch of people from USA/Canada Mathcamp. My general impression is that USA/Canada Mathcamp is the most selective and has the best students. Ross is the oldest and seems to get the most outside funding. The program at Hampshire and PROMYS are also comparable to Ross and USA/Canada Mathcamp. I think SUMaC is maybe a little less selective and prestigious than those four although more selective and prestigious than most other math camps. Ultimately though prestige shouldn’t be the most important or even one of the most important factors in selecting a math camp.</p>
<p>Okay, thank you! :D</p>
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<p>See the last sentence of UMTYMP’s post. When choosing a camp, find one that fits you and will give you the kind of experience you’re looking for. Some things to consider:
- Personality of the camp. This is hard to describe, but read the camps’ websites and you’ll start to see what I mean.
- Topics. Ross/PROMYS do exclusively number theory. SUMaC does group theory or topology. HCSSiM and Mathcamp have a variety of things available. What are you interested in? Are you looking to learn the foundations of higher math, improve your contest performance, or just see some cool stuff?
- Logistics. Where is the camp? How long is it? What are the living arrangements? How much does it cost?
- How intense do you want to be? I’m told that Ross counselors will kindle their wrath against you if you don’t do enough math. SUMaC counselors, for example, do the opposite–encourage you to take breaks from your math lest you burn yourself out.</p>
<p>@Sly Sci Thanks! So far, SUMaC is the only mathematics camp that can fit into my schedule, so I really wanted to know a lot about it to see what it might be like. But truly, I agree with you that many factors account into making decisions about summer programs. And honestly…my parents don’t want me to do it 
but I still want to 
But thank you again for your help!</p>
<p>I heard good things about SUMAC from a friend.</p>
<p>Hi! I am also a student considering about SUMaC 2013 this year. Can anyone who went to SUMaC or is familiar with it provide some information or stats? Will financial aid affect my chances to get in? And how many international students are admitted each year? Thanks guys :D</p>
<p>My sibling went to sumac two summers ago and some friends of mine got in too (Around the bay area). I think acceptance ~ 20% for first year students. The people who I know went had USAMO and everything you’d expect from math buffs, but others who got in didn’t even know what the “AMC’s” were. It really depends on the <em>effort</em> you give on the exam (it’s not required to even finish them) and to “show a focus, keep the focus, keep consistent” through your essays. </p>
<p>I was actually going to apply this year but then decided I probably could’t spend one month doing math. I’d get grilled…</p>
<p>Good luck, everyone!</p>
<p>Well, I just took the AMC 12A yesterday and got a 99, so I think I might get into the AIME 
Would this help a bit?</p>
<p>Anyways, I am now debating if I should do this program or not. I am already (hopefully) attending the Virginia Governor’s Latin Academy program (3 weeks), and SUMaC starts on the day it ends. In addition, I am doing research with a professor at the College of William and Mary, and I think the topic has some potential for a publication. Although I know I’m going off topic a bit here, which would be better: to go to SUMaC, OR just attend one summer program and spend the rest of the summer focusing on research and preparing for the SATs?</p>
<p>Still, I’m really interested in the program. Thanks for everyone’s help! :)</p>
<p>mayee107 - I recommend doing research with the intent to submit your project for Siemen’s or Intel science competitions. College admissions use these competitions to screen and validate your candidacy.</p>
<p>It depends what you interests are. If you are primarily interested in math I think a math camp is probably a better use of time than “math research”, which is not a particularly good use of time for all but the most brilliant high school students. However, if you are more interested in the research than that seems like a good use of time. I would worry more about learning than college admissions because unless you get far in the science competitions they won’t have a significant impact on college admissions.</p>
<p>Thanks guys! You all really help me I’m definitely still thinking though…
By the way, does anyone know about the deadline for sumac: it says march 13th/14th I think, but is that the deadline for turning in the math test they send out, or just the preliminary application?</p>
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<p>Also, don’t expect SUMaC to be a ticket to Stanford. I know that one of my friends was banking on Stanford cause of SUMaC and he got deferred early.</p>
<p>I know that almost all program 2 participants who also attended program 1 got in eventually.</p>
<p>To the people who submitted the solutions , how many pages you filled? Did you get all?</p>
<p>I went to SUMaC in 2011. I completed 8 out of the 10 questions as far as I can remember, although my solutions were really detailed with lots of diagrams etc (about 30 pages). However when I actually got there they told me that I hadn’t got all of it right. If anyone has any more questions I’m happy to answer them :)</p>
<p>Hey, what exactly is the SUMaC test??? And generally just what are all the requirements?? You said that you completed 8 out of 10 problems… they’re probably challenging problems since you had about 30 pages of work?? So, in conclusion, I just want to know what are the requirements (what kinds of grades in math classes, the admission test, other tests?) Thank you!</p>