<p>I'm not asking if it's required; I'm just asking if it would be useful.</p>
<p>I'm preparing for these competitions:)</p>
<p>AND ALSO, can anybody recommend helpful books to prepare? I already have AoPS volumes 1 and 2, and I know it will help me prepare for AMC 12, but I'm not sure if it'll help me prepare for AIME, USAMO, and IMO. Thanks!</p>
<p>i doubt you have any chance in making USAMO. even aime would be a reach. unless your a naturally gifted and talented student in the field of mathematics.</p>
<p>if you do make the aime, it would be a very stunning achievment. colleges will take in consideration of this. If you make the USAMO, you chances of getting into a top school such as an ivy league increases by 200%. make the summer program, your chances of being accepted to all ivyleagues are 99.999999999999999%.</p>
<p>Yeah, I thought I was good at math before I took the AMC 12, it will really put you in your place. No, Calculus won’t help at all, I didn’t study that much though, I’ve heard AoPS is a must.</p>
<p>None of those tests test math higher then precalc. However, the questions get really advanced - basically, they use precalc concepts but at a higher level. Calculus could possibly be helpful on a few problems, but it is not necessary. I’ve heard that if you work through both AoPS books and understand all the concepts, you can easily make it to AIME and score a 12-13. I scored pretty low on the AMC12 last year (around a 70), but I bought the AoPS books this summer and have done a lot of problems. I hope to make it to AIME this year. You can go to to the Art of Problem Solving website for a lot more info. Good luck!</p>
<p>jw, are the AoPs books good for AMC 10 or is there another prep-book you’d recommend for that?</p>