Advice appreciated, criticism

collegealum314
Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:26:21 +0000

Well, first of all, it’s a mistake to make decisions based on what other people are doing. I know what that’s like, though. I went to school with a guy who got a perfect on the international math olympics (IMO) exam. He was pretty incredible, and I think a lot of talented people in the school decided against majoring in physics/math in college because they compared themselves against him. Anyway, I think that’s a big mistake.

As for AMC, don’t be intimidated. You might even qualify this year, and there’d be no pressure on you. I ended up missing the cut-off by a few points as a freshman, and I had no real math team training and was half-way through Algebra 2 like you. (Art of Problem Solving didn’t exist then; in fact, I don’t think I or anybody at my school had internet access!)

Again, don’t compare yourself to your friends. These math contest experiences are supposed to train you in problem-solving, and whether or not they translate into national distinctions is secondary. I was better at college math than a lot of guys who were a lot better at math contests, but I still think I got something out of contest math.