<p>I know that Caltech asks for AMC scores on its application. As a sophomore, I got 104.5 on the first round of the AMC-12 so I qualified for the AIME. Is this score good enough to list on my Caltech app? (obviously, I will probably score higher next year) Also, if a student scored in the 80s or 90s, then should he just omit mentioning his AMC scores?</p>
<p>Also, what will happen if I report AMC-12 scores but not AIME scores? (while still qualifying for the AIME) Is it like taking an AP course without taking the exam? The Caltech app asks for slots for two AIME scores - this means - OMG - my score this year will count!! If I get a 0, should I just forget about mentioning it? I'm aiming for a 1, seriously (and is it good enough to merit a mention?). :P</p>
<p>Hmm.. I've just taken a glimpse through some past problems (a couple seem to be solvable by pure brute force taking over a span of a long time). Perhaps is it possible to get a 1 or 2 by using brute force on a couple of the problems? :P</p>
<p>Obviously I'm not in a position to really know, but I'll try to give my opinion. Getting a 1 on the AIME isn't really spectacular. Most people that qualify can probably get at least one question. I don't know if I'd report it or not. I definitely don't think that it'd help you, but it prolly wouldn't hurt.</p>
<p>I'm trying to think about how score distributions were in my school. A decent number of people take it each year, prolly something like 15 people. Last year (the only year I can remember), there was a 13 or so, a 7, a couple of 5's, and evenly distributed scores below that. My school's prolly somewhat unusual as far as distributions go, so I'm not sure how much could be inferred from looking at it. My take on the matter is that, sophomore year, 5+ is prolly worth reporting. Less than that, as I said before, prolly won't help, but also probably won't hurt.</p>
<p>I'm assuming that most people on this board are probably taking the AIME, but I'd be interested in seeing how many. Does anyone have a goal for it? I'm taking it, and am hoping to get around a 10.</p>
<p>We consider AMC 90-100 evidence of interest in math, but it's not really a plus. Below that, not worth mentioning. 100-110 is okay/good. 110-120 is good. 120-130 is very good, 130+ is excellent, 140+ is wow.</p>
<p>AIME -- Axlines who take the AIME tend to have 8-15. To matter, it should be above 4. Below that just indicates interest in math, no particularly strong ability.</p>
<p>I took AMC8 my 8th grade year and did really well. Then, I was never really informed of AMC10/12 until last year (junior year), wherein I only got a 100.5. Then on the AIME I got a 1. Both days I wasn't really trying all too hard and slept quite late because I didn't really care because I didn't think I'd do anything great. I thought I knew how to do a good 4-5 problems on the AIME, but I guess I just did stupid silly errors. I was wondering the same thing this year about whether to report them, but then I figured, if they ask for it, I should just be honest and give it to them. If they screen me, it's probably for my own good. I did get in EA for Caltech, but deferred for MIT. I listed my 100.5 and 1 on both applications. My essays concentrated on science interests too, so it's not like I thought I had any math prowess.</p>
<p>This year I had another dead day (I tend to get a lot of these...) and scored a 97 on the AMC12A and then got a 111.5 on the 12B. If I had realized that a sphere of radius one does not fit in a cube of side length 1, but actually in a cube of side length 2, I would've gotten a 115.</p>
<p>Yea I just "long-windedly" gave you my AMC history. I would list it. It really is for your own good in a way. One of the few sources of comfort I have when thinking about the loads of work I'll have next year is that Caltech thought I could handle it.</p>
<p>i got a decent score on the AMC by Caltech standards (111.5). does it make a difference if your school isn't great at math (about 5-7 people get into AIME a year and they only score 1-3) and you have the top score, even though the score isn't awesome? this will be my first AIME, and i'm shooting for a 5</p>
<p>Thanks for the information! :) I've looked at past AIME exams and the first question doesn't look so bad - so Ill shoot for a 2 or 3 this year, hopefully...</p>
<p>tokenadult, on the AMC form, there is a box for filling in whether you want your name shared with colleges or not.</p>
<p>Rams: Go ahead and list those, I was in a similar situation and listed them. </p>
<p>Adid: Listing below 100 is ok, but not great. Not really going to influence it one way or another.</p>
<p>You really should study for these things (I didn't, but should have), and absolutely should sleep the night before. People don't seem to realize that doing well on that one day can singlehandedly offset a bad grade or two... something that you have to work for for an entire term.</p>
<p>We use AMC and AIMEs like we use most others - they're a demonstration of competence and interest in an area. If they're especially high, they cause you to go "Hmm, this kid is pretty bright." It's hard to distinguish folks on AP/SATs/grades (which is why we care more about other things, like research, passion, etc.), so having these measures where only the very best ones get the really high scores can be helpful. </p>
<p>As per USACO, I don't think I was ever confronted with it while I was on admissions. I imagine that again it would be (assuming the ranking was good) an indication of passion/interesting/competence... which of course, is always good.</p>
<p>although Ben Golub stated that an AIME score should be above 4 to matter, should i just put a 3 on my app anyway? i mean, it couldn't hurt right and its still above average among AIME qualifiers</p>
<p>I got a 1 last year and put that on my app, and I got in. So it couldn't hurt too much, because my scores were good but not spectacular...although it was hardly a deciding factor for me. I have a feeling my "deciding factor" was in the form of research.</p>
<p>Er - wouldn't <em>any</em> score on the IMO be considered pretty good? (IMO is the international math olympiad, right? As in, you were one of the 6 highest-scoring USAMO participants? Or are we thinking of different things?)</p>