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Mathematical Association of America -- American Mathematics Competitions

AMC

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions 2008-2009

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Topic Areas: General AMC 8 AMC 10/12 AIME USAMO

General

 Q #1. Who can take the AMC tests?
A. The AMC tests are available worldwide and are a big part of shared experience of young math-interested people around the world. Participation can be entirely by postal mail and is growing in the US as well as in countries of Asia and Europe.  Any student in any registered school who meets the age/grade restrictions for the AMC 8, AMC 10 and AMC 12 may take them.  The AIME is by invitation to the top 1% of scorers on the AMC 10 and the top 5% of scorers on the AMC 12.  The USAMO is restricted to students attending school in the United States or Canada and citizens the United States living abroad.  The only requirement for participation is registration.
Q #2. How young can a person start in the AMC program?
A. Students can begin at any age that they and their parent/teacher/mentor believes them to be ready.  Students as young as 8 have participated.
Q #3. What are the tests that lead to the United States of America Mathematics Olympiad (USAMO)?
A.The AMC 8 is a standalone contest with benefits of its own (listed in the AMC 8 section of the FAQ). The path to the USAMO begins with either the AMC 10 or AMC 12.  Approximately the top 1% of AMC 10 students and top 5% of AMC 12 students are invited to take the American Invitation Mathematics Examination (AIME).  The top 500 students on the AIME are then invited to take the USAMO.  Taking it a step farther, the top 12 students named USAMO winners take the Team Selection Test (TST) to determine the 6 member United States International Mathematics Olympiad team.
Q #4. What if my school doesn’t offer the AMC tests?
A. Urge your principal, math teacher, gifted education coordinator or anyone else you can think of to help you out and register for the contest.  If your school doesn’t offer the AMC tests to you, then you can offer the tests to it.  You could make your local school an offer it would be silly to refuse by signing up for the AMC test of your choice at your own expense, and then letting the local school know you have an opportunity for other students at the school that is already paid for.  Please make arrangements with your school prior to registering as we must send the contest materials to the school directly.  Many colleges and universities also host the contests, particularly the “B” date of the AMC 10/12.  Check our web pages for a list of participating Institutions of Higher Learning.
Q #5. How can I get all my scores from past years if our school didn't keep everything?
A. Write a letter or an email to the AMC office with your request. Our postal address and our email address are on all of our literature.
  • Be sure to specify your name, exactly as it was used on the contest, the years that you took the contests, the name of the school where you participated (the school’s CEEB will help us look it up faster, if you know it), the city, the state and the Zip/Postal Code.
  • Requests for scores are answered only for the student who took the test and received the scores, their parent/guardian, or school counselor.
  • Please allow up to two weeks for an answer.
Q #6. Where can I get past AMC papers and solutions?

A. You can order copies of problem papers and solutions directly from the AMC office. See

http://www.unl.edu/amc/d-publication/publication.shtml
and
http://www.unl.edu/amc/d-publication/d1-pubarchive/Pub,Revision.pdf

• I recommend that you get the CD with all contests since 2001.
• Also see the Teachers' Manual and our Archives.

Q #7. Could you please clarify how the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals (Intramural school awards) are awarded?
A.
  • To earn a medal requires taking the same test consecutively: AMC 10 or AMC 12
  • There are no medals for the AMC 8
  • Earning top place on the AMC 8 Middle School Contest does not qualify you for earning a consecutive medal on the AMC 10 or AMC 12
  • Earning top place on the AMC 10 does not qualify you for earning a consecutive medal on the AMC 12.
  • Awards are earned in consecutive years, not consecutive tests, so if a student earns a top score in 2005 on the AMC 10B, and earns a top score on the 2006 AMC 10A and AMC 10B, they would receive 2 Bronze medals. If in 2007 they receive the top score on only the AMC 10A they would receive 1 Silver Medal. Then if in 2008 they earn the top score in both the AMC 10A and AMC 10B they would receive 2 gold medals.
  • All top scores do not have to be at the same school. As long as the student is the top score at the school they are currently attending, they will earn the appropriate award. The challenge to us comes with matching a student name from two different schools, and we generally need to be told. For example: we would have trouble matching top scorer Suzie Quezy at Lincoln High School in 2007, with the name Suzie Quezy at Omaha Central in 2005 and 2006. Sometimes we know a student has moved (parents call) but most of the time we don't. There are many similar names that have no relation to each other, even within the same school, let alone across the country, so generally we need to be told.
In General:
  • If you take one of the high school contests (AMC 10 or AMC 12) in either middle school or high school, and you are the top student, you receive a pin (first year top award for a specific contest).
  • If in the second year in a row you take the same contest and are again the top student, you receive a bronze medal ( 2nd year top award for a specific contest).
  • If in the third year in a row you take the same contest and are again the top student, you receive a silver medal ( 3rd year top award for a specific contest).
  • If in the fourth year in a row you take the same contest and are again the top student, you receive a gold medal ( 4th year top award for a specific contest).
  • If in the fifth year in a row you take the same contest and are again the top student, you receive a another gold medal.
In this way it is possible for one person to earn top honors in a school every year they take a specific contest.
  • If they start in 6th grade winning top school honors for the AMC 12 there would be 7 first place finishes. They would have received a pin, a bronze medal, a silver medal, and 4 gold medals.
  • If they start in 6th grade winning top school honors for the AMC 10 there would be 5 first place finishes on the AMC 10. They would have received a pin, a bronze medal, a silver medal, and 2 gold medals. Then they would have to take the AMC 12, and they would receive 2 first place finishes, but the tally starts over again, and they would receive a pin and a bronze medal for those two years

AMC 8

Q, AMC 8 #1. What score do you have to get on the AMC 8 to be invited to take the AMC 10?
A. We send a letter of invitation the Contest Manager of ALL schools which participate in the AMC 8. No school or student needs an invitation, nor is any minimum score required. The AMC 10 is an open competition.
Specifically, included in the AMC 8 report which is sent to ALL participating schools is the following message:

"An AMC 10/AMC 12 Invitation Brochure has been included in this mailing. ... Any of your students may participate in the AMC 10/12. High Scoring AMC 8 students should find the AMC 10 interesting and instructive."
Q, AMC 8 #2. What’s covered on the AMC 8?
A. The material covered is the middle school mathematics curriculum. No problem requires the use of algebra or a calculator. This includes, but is not limited to, such topics as:
  • Probability
  • Estimation
  • Percent
  • Spatial Visualization
  • Everyday Applications
  • Reading/Interpreting Graphs
Q, AMC 8 #3. What calculators are allowed?
A. The 2007 AMC 8 was the last exam to allow the use of a calculator.  All subsequent exams at all levels will not allow calculator usage.  No problems on the contest will require the use of a calculator.
Q, AMC 8 #4. What accommodations for students with disabilities are there?
A. For the AMC 8 students with learning disabilities have a 70-minute time allowance to take the AMC 8. The time limit set by the Committee on the American Mathematics Competitions for visually impaired students is 70 MINUTES.  Please note that a certified teacher or a school administrator may read the questions to the student and mark the answers as directed by the student.  Braille and Large Print exams are available at an additional cost.  As we only order the number of Braille and Large Print tests that we need, orders for them must be received no later than three weeks prior to the contest date.  Please see the registration form for more information on ordering Braille and Large Print tests.
Q, AMC 8 #5. What accommodations are there for English Language Learners?
A. English Language Learners may use a book or electronic type dual-language nontechnical dictionary between their native language and English. A student may use the dictionary only the first time that he/she takes the AMC 8. The dictionary must be given to the school contest manager to examine and retain for the 24-hour period preceding the test. The proctor must announce to other students that the student(s) has/have been given special permission to use the dictionary during the contest.
Q, AMC 8 #6. Who can proctor the contest?
A. The proctoring of the AMC 8 contest should be by
  1. In the first preference, a math teacher at the school
  2. In the second preference, a teacher or administrator at the school
  3. In the third preference, a college or university teacher of mathematics or a responsible adult not associated with or related to any of the participants who is a math club or team coach for the group of participants.
  4. In the fourth preference, a responsible adult not associated with or related to any of the participants such as librarian, clergy, etc.
  5. The proctoring of the contest must take place in a public building, (e.g. school, library, college or university, church).
  6. The proctor should not be related to any of the participants.
Q, AMC 8 #7. Why take the AMC 8?  It’s a one shot test, so what’s the reward?
A. The AMC 8 can discover mathematical talent at a time when it really matters and encourage those students to continue on to the higher level tests.  There are also awards for individual students for the exams as listed in the Teachers’ Manual.

AMC 10/12

Q, AMC 10/12 #1. Is there an improvement award for the AMCs?
A. Yes, but the award goes to schools based on team score, not to individuals.
• Recall that the school team score is the sum of the top 3 scores from a school.
• From the 2007 award letter that goes to schools:
"The American Mathematics Competitions program of the Mathematical Association of America annually sponsors a pair of challenging mathematics contests at the high school level, the AMC 10 and the AMC 12. Your school and mathematics teachers have participated in these challenging contests for at least the last two years. As a result of your school's improvement in performance from the 2006 AMC contests to the 2007 AMC contests, your school is the State/Provincial Winner of the 2007 Pedagoguery Award. One award goes to the school in each state or province with the best difference in team score on the AMC 10 and also to the school in each state or province with the best difference in team score on the AMC 12 from 2006 to 2007. The actual award is a set of die-cast aluminum mathematical models of the five platonic solids and three additional truncated platonic solids. This award is provided courtesy of Pedagoguery Software Inc. of 4446 Lazelle Avenue, Terrace, British Columbia, Canada V8G 1R8. Through the generosity of Pedagoguery Software, Inc, the American Mathematics Competitions is making this award to stimulate continued year-to-year interest in the AMC contests and to reward teachers who coach their teams to greater levels of achievement on the contests and in mathematics generally. “
• A brief description of the award is in the AMC 10/AMC 12 Teachers' Manual in the section on awards.
• We do not have an improvement award for individual students.

Q, AMC 10/12 #2. What is the frequency of different types of problems on the AMCs?

A. In the AMC 10/12 Math Club Package, we have a chart of problem type frequency as classified here at the AMC using the protocols from MathWorld.com.
- The AMC 12 chart is reproduced here.

AMC 12 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Average
Problem Content A B A B A B A B A B A B A B
Algebra 0 1 1 0 1 1 4 1 2 4 3 0 3 3 1.71
Applied Mathematics 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.21
Calculus & Analysis 2 3 2 3 6 7 4 5 5 2 4 6 5 2 4.00
Discrete Mathematics 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 3 0 1 1 1 1.07
Foundations of Mathematics 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0.71
Geometry 9 4 8 11 8 9 7 9 7 6 9 11 8 12 8.43
History & Terminology 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.14
Number Theory 11 12 8 8 4 4 4 8 6 7 6 6 8 6 7.00
Probability & Statistics 2 2 3 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 1.36
Recreational Mathematics 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.36
Total Questions 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25

Note 1: Probability does not occur as a problem type classification in this chart, indicating that problems involving probability are likely classified under "Problem Solving" or "Other".
Note 2: AMC 12 problems often involve several topics. What we have labeled as Number Theory, you might consider as something else. Likewise for probability and trigonometry.
Note 3: Many problems can be worked in several ways, e.g. with trig functions and also without.
Note 4: What are classified as Triangle Geometry problems may or may not involve "trigonometry" in whatever sense you use the term.
Q, AMC 10/12 #3. What score do you have to get on the AMC 8 to be invited to take the AMC 10?

A. We send a letter of invitation the Contest Manager of ALL schools which participate in the AMC 8. No school or student needs an invitation, nor is any minimum score required. The AMC 10 is an open competition.
• Specifically, included in the AMC 8 report which is sent to ALL participating schools is the following message: "An AMC 10/AMC 12 Invitation Brochure has been included in this mailing. ... Any of your students may participate in the AMC 10/12... High Scoring AMC 8 students should find the AMC 10 interesting and instructive."

Q, AMC 10/12 #4. When will the results come back by email, roughly?

A. It takes about 3 weeks to score and report the AMC 10 and AMC 12 contests.  The email report is sent to the school contest manager.  The official hard copy report is mailed at the same time.

Q, AMC 10/12 #5. What’s covered on the AMC 10?

A. The AMC 10 covers subject matter normally associated with grades 9 and 10. To challenge students at all grade levels, and with varying mathematical skills, the problems range from fairly easy to extremely difficult. Approximately 12 questions are common to the AMC 10 and AMC 12.  One way to explain what is on the AMC 10 contest is to say what it excludes (that is still fair to put on the AMC 12).  What are excluded are trigonometry, advanced algebra, and formal geometry.  Another way to explain what is on the AMC 10 is to say that it assumes elementary algebra; basic geometry knowledge including the Pythagorean Theorem, area and volume formulas; elementary number theory; and elementary probability.  It is recommended that prior year copies of the AMC 10 contest and solutions be ordered to see precisely what the AMC 10 contest is like.

Q, AMC 10/12 #6. What’s covered on the AMC 12?

A. The AMC 12 covers the high school mathematics curriculum, excluding calculus. To challenge students at all grade levels, and with varying mathematical skills, the problems range from fairly easy to extremely difficult. Approximately 12 questions are common to the AMC 10 and AMC 12.

Q, AMC 10/12 #7. What calculators are allowed?

A.  The 2007 AMC 8 was the last exam to allow the use of a calculator.  All subsequent exams at all levels will not allow calculator usage. 

Q, AMC 10/12 #8. What accommodations for students with disabilities are there?

A. For the AMC 10/12 the time limit set by the CAMC for students who are visually impaired or learning disabled is 120 minutes. A teacher or a school administrator may read the questions to the student and mark the answers as directed by the student. Braille and Large Print exams are available at an additional cost.  As we only order the number of Braille and Large Print tests that we need, orders for them must be received no later than three weeks prior to the contest date.  Please see the registration form for more information on ordering Braille and Large Print tests.

Q, AMC 10/12 #9. What accommodations are there for English Language Learners?

A. Students learning “English as a Second Language” (ESL) may use a book or electronic dual-language non-technical dictionary between their native language and English. A student may use the dictionary only the first time that he/she takes the AMC 10/AMC 12. The dictionary must be given to the school contest manager to examine and retain for the 24-hour period preceding the contest. The proctor must announce to other students that the student(s) has/have been given special permission to use the dictionary during the contest.  The AMC 10 and AMC 12 are also available in Spanish and French.  Please see the registration and order form for more information on obtaining these materials.

Q, AMC 10/12 #10. Should I take the AMC 10 or AMC 12?

A.  The answer probably depends as much on the personality of the student as on the mathematical ability and training of the student.  Some students can take a very difficult examination, not score as well as they had expected, and take the experience as incentive for future study.  The same experience for another student could be devastating and lead to a decreased interest in mathematical problem solving, and perhaps even in the study of mathematics.  The latter situation should, of course, be avoided at all cost.  When advising students regarding the choice of contests, please keep in mind that the primary goal of all the American Mathematics Competitions contests is to provide students with a positive experience in mathematical problem solving.  The awards that can sometimes accompany this experience are nice, but distinctly secondary.

Q, AMC 10/12 #12. Can a student take both contests?
A. Yes, as long as a student is eligible to take the appropriate contests, that is
  • A 10th grader or below can take the AMC 10 A and the AMC 10 B
  • A 10th grader or below can take the AMC 10 A and the AMC 12 B
  • A 10th grader or below can take the AMC 12 A and the AMC 10 B
  • A 10th grader or below can take the AMC 12 A and the AMC 12 B
  • An 11th or 12th grader can take the AMC 12 A and the AMC 12 B
However, in order to do this the school would have to register for both dates and order contest bundles to have the contests on hand.
Q, AMC 10/12 #13. Who can proctor the contests?
A. The proctoring of the AMC 10 and AMC 12 contest should be by
  1. In the first preference, a math teacher at the school
  2. In the second preference, a teacher or administrator at the school
  3. In the third preference, a college or university teacher of mathematics or a responsible adult not associated with or related to any of the participants who is a math club or team coach for the group of participants.
  4. In the fourth preference, a responsible adult not associated with or related to any of the participants such as librarian, clergy, etc.
  5. The proctoring of the contest must take place in a public building, (e.g. school, library, college or university, church).
  6. The proctor should not be related to any of the participants.
Q, AMC 10/12 #14. Can a school register for both dates?
A. Yes, but the school will have to pay the appropriate registration fee for each contest date, and purchase the contest bundles for each date.  The problems on the A & B exams are different.
Q, AMC 10/12 #15. What would stop a school from registering for both contests?
A. Nothing, except the cost in registration fees and the time to administer the contest on two separate days.
Q, AMC 10/12 #16. What if a school registers for one date, then later wants to change the registration to the other date?
A. Although we discourage a change in date because of the extra handling and potential confusion, nevertheless a change in date is permitted, as long as time permits according to the registration schedule and as long as the corresponding change in registration is paid.  Increases must be paid with charge card, both to expedite changes and to eliminate billing costs.
Q, AMC 10/12 #17. What do I do in the event of school closure on the day we have registered to take the Contest A date?
A. In the event school is closed due to weather or any other insurmountable situation, you will be given the option to register your school for Contest B (registration fee plus bundles), or you may elect to give Contest A on a later date as an unofficial administration.  You MUST contact the AMC office promptly to make appropriate arrangements.  We do not have access to all school closings in the country and cannot automatically roll your registration forward.  Please note that unofficial participation means students will not be eligible for national awards, nor will their scores qualify them for AIME.  All schools taking Contest A unofficially will still receive a school report and all intramural awards.
Q, AMC 10/12 #18. Isn’t it unfair to allow schools and students to take the contests twice within two weeks time?
A. Not really.  The contest problems for more than 50 years of high school contests are available in books and in copies of old contests.  The problems are basically the same from contest to contest, so there is plenty of common material to study.  The addition of another 25 contest problems with two more weeks to study is not a significant advantage for any student.  Furthermore, it is the philosophy and purpose of the AMC to encourage students to engage in significant mathematical problem solving. If we can do this by offering more contests, then we are better meeting our goal.
Q, AMC 10/12 #19. What if a student is sick or absent or at another school activity on the date of the A contest? Can the student take the B contest?
A. Yes, if the school has registered for the B contest date and has contest bundles available for the contest, a student can take the second contest.
Q, AMC 10/12 #20. Why do you charge registration fees for both contest dates?
A. Because we have to create, print, handle, store, ship, grade, summarize and send intramural awards for an entirely distinct and new set of problems for both contests, our production costs are proportionately increased.  In addition in order to avoid confusion and errors in administering the two contests, we send the B contests by expedited shipping to arrive after the A contest has been given.  The expedited shipping costs significantly more.
Q, AMC 10/12 #21. What is the rewards structure for the two contest dates?
A. A School Winner Pin is given to the student in a school with the highest score on a given test date. Thus, it is conceivable that a student could win two School Winner Pins, if the school elects to administer both the A and B contests. It is also conceivable that a school could have two different School Winners if it elects to give both the A and B contests.
  • A Gold Medal is given to a student who achieves the highest score in his/her school for four consecutive years. The highest score could be on either the A contest or the B contest.
  • A Silver Medal is given to a student who achieves the highest score in his/her school for three consecutive years. The highest score could be on either the A contest or the B contest.
  • A Bronze Medal is given to a student who achieves the highest score in his/her school for two consecutive years. The highest score could be on either the A contest or the B contest. However, as a national award, a student can only win one Bronze Medal, even if the student was high score in 2007, and took both the A contest and the B contest in 2008 and was high score on both.
  • An Honor Roll of Distinction Pin is awarded to the top scoring one percent of the AMC 12 A and the AMC 10A and the top scoring one percent of the AMC 12 B and the AMC 10B. A Certificate of Distinction is awarded to all students who qualify for the AIME.
  • A Certificate of Achievement is awarded to the students in grade 10 or below with a score of 90 or above on the AMC 12 A or AMC 12 B.
  • A Certificate of Achievement is awarded to the students in grade 8 or below with a score of 90 or above on the AMC 10 A or AMC 10 B.
  • A Certificate of Honor is awarded to schools with a team score of at least 400 on the AMC 12 A or AMC 12 B. Thus it is conceivable that a school could receive two Certificates of Merit if it chooses to register for both the AMC 12 A and AMC 12 B contests.
  • A Certificate of Merit is awarded to schools with a team score of at least 300 on the AMC 12 A or AMC 12 B. Thus it is conceivable that a school could receive two Certificates of Merit, or a Certificate of Honor and a Certificate of Merit if it chooses to register for both the AMC 12 A and AMC 12 B contests.
For national and regional awards only one award will be issued based on the higher score from the A and B contests. For intramural awards it is possible to win an award for both the A and the B contest.

AIME

 Q, AIME #1. Do I have to go through precalc before I take AIME?
A. No, you do not have to go through precalc before AIME.
• As you can see from prior years' AIME contests, a few questions with
  1. complex numbers
  2. trigonometric functions, graphs and identities
  3. sequences and series
  4. function notation
occur on the AIME. A student who wishes to solve these problems or understand the published solutions needs to be familiar with these mathematical concepts. These topics are typically, but not always or exclusively, covered in a "precal" course. Of course, it does not matter where or when or how the student learns the concepts. You should find your best learning plan and follow that.
• Remember too, AMC 10, AMC 12 and AIME questions often cross course and curricular boundaries, combining ideas that occur in several courses.
Q, AIME #2. If you take both A and B tests, but one score is higher than the other, do you get to choose which score to use with your AIME score?
A. We use the higher numerical score, wherever it came from, whatever test it was achieved on.
Q, AIME #3. Can a student take both the AIME and the Alternate AIME (AIME II)?
A. No.  Students are only allowed to take one AIME.  There are no circumstances in which this may be waived.
Q, AIME #4. What accommodations for students with disabilities are there?
A. For the AIME if one of your AIME qualified students is visually impaired and/or learning disabled, please call the AMC office, and we will discuss the options available to you. We do not have copies available in Braille. The time allowance for students with learning disabilities is 4.5 hours.
Q, AIME #5. What accommodations are there for English Language Learners?
A. Students learning “English as a Second Language” (ESL) may use a book or electronic dual-language non-technical dictionary between their native language and English. A student may use the dictionary only the first time that he/she takes the AIME. The dictionary must be given to the school contest manager to examine and retain for the 24-hour period preceding the contest. The proctor must announce to other students that the student(s) has/have been given special permission to use the dictionary during the contest.
Q, AIME #6. What calculators are allowed?
A. No calculators are allowed on the AIME.  No aids other than scratch paper, graph paper, ruler, compass, and protractor are permitted.  In particular, calculators and computers are not permitted.
Q, AIME #7. How do I qualify for the AIME?

A. Students who score 100 or above or finish in the top 5% on this AMC 12 or students who score 120 or above or finish in the top 1% on this AMC 10 will be invited to take the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME).
Q, AIME #8. Why is it only 1% (120) to qualify for AIME on the AMC 10?
A. First, the AIME can be quite intimidating, and we do not want young students to be discouraged by poor performance on this examination.  Second, we would like to ensure that any student qualifying for the AIME by virtue of placement on the AMC 10 would likely also qualify for the AIME in subsequent years when taking the AMC 12.  It could be very disappointing for a student to be an AIME qualifier in grade 10 but not in subsequent high school years.  By restricting the number of AIME qualifiers from the AMC 10 to about the top 1%, we hope not to exclude any very good young students for whom the AIME would be an appropriate experience, but also not put students in a situation where they do not have much opportunity to succeed.
Q, AIME #9. Who can proctor the contest?
A.  The proctoring of the AIME contest should be by
  1. In the first preference, a math teacher at the school
  2. In the second preference, a teacher or administrator at the school
  3. In the third preference, a college or university teacher of mathematics or a responsible adult not associated with or related to any of the participants who is a math club or team coach for the group of participants.
  4. In the fourth preference, a responsible adult not associated with or related to any of the participants such as librarian, clergy, etc.
  5. The proctoring of the contest must take place in a public building, (e.g. school, library, college or university, church).
  6. The proctor should not be related to any of the participants.

USAMO

Q, USAMO #1. When do we get our USAMO Scores?
A. Grading of the USAMO takes place about 3-10 days after the test with results posted thereafter. As it says in the Teachers' Manual in the Sample S-I letter: "USAMO winners and MOSP invitations will be telephoned after grading."
• We do not return your USAMO papers to you. We will send a copy of the USAMO and the USAMO solutions to your Exam Manager along with your total score. We do not report individual problem scores, only the total. Of course, you can already obtain a copy of the USAMO problems and solutions on our website.
Q, USAMO #2. What calculators are allowed?

A. No calculators are allowed on the USAMO.  No notes, books, headphones, cell phones, ipods, slide rules, mathematical tables, computers, calculators or calculator watches are allowed during the exam. The only instruments permitted are writing and drawing instruments (ruler, compass, protractor, graph paper, carbon paper).
Q, USAMO #3. What accommodations for English Language Learners are there?
A. For the USAMO Students learning English as a second language, who are taking the USAMO for the first time, are permitted to use a non-technical translation dictionary during the exam. However, the proctor must examine and keep the dictionary in his or her possession for the 24 hours preceding the USAMO, and the proctor must announce to any other participants that the student has been given special permission to use the dictionary.
Q, USAMO #4. Who can proctor the contest?
A. The USAMO must be taken on the official days under the supervision of a certified professional educator--absolutely no exceptions. It is possible, however, for a student to take the test under the supervision of a teacher at a site other than the student’s school for valid reasons. The student’s teacher must call the AMC national office for permission.
Q, USAMO #5. How do I qualify for the USAMO?
A.

Selection for the USAMO will be made according to the following rules:

  1. The goal is to select about 500 of the top scorers from this years’s AIME and AMC 12A, AMC 12B, AMC 10A and AMC 10B contests to participate in the USAMO.
  2. Selection will be based on the USAMO index which is defined as 10 times the student’s AIME score plus the student’s score on the AMC 12 or the AMC 10.
  3. The first selection will be the approximately 330 highest USAMO indices of students taking the AMC 12A or AMC 12B contest.
  4. The lowest AIME score among those 330 first selected will determine a floor value. The second selection of approximately 160 USAMO participants will be among students in the 10th grade and below who received an AIME score at least as high as the floor value. If there are more than 160 young students with a score above the floor value, then approximately 160 students will be selected from this group by using the USAMO index.
  5. The student with the highest USAMO index from each state, territory, or U.S. possession not already represented in the selection of the first and second groups will be invited to take the USAMO.
  6. To adjust for variations in contest difficulty, the number of students selected from A & B contests will be proportional to the number of students who took the A & B Contests. This also applies to the students who tale AIME I vs. AIME II.
  7. In advising young students (in grade 10 or below) who desire to be selected for the USAMO whether to take the AMC 12 contest or the AMC 10 contest, please be aware of the following facts:
    1. In 2008, among 503 students invited to take the USAMO, 232 were in 10th grade and below. Those students had scored 6 or greater on the AIME.
    2. Among those 232 students, 69 had their AIME qualifying high score based on the AMC 12 and 163 had their AIME qualifying high score based on the AMC 10.
    3. In 2008, among 8,702 students who took the AIME, 3,039 were in grades 10 and below. Of those, 845 qualified for the AIME from the AMC 12 and 2,194 qualified from the AMC 10.