Math kid- What next for that top 0.1%?

Parents Forum
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Which Number Theory class is this?

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Is boarding school a possibility?

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Edited to add that even though the name is “Online High School” they are actually grades 7-12.

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A fellow MIT parent here (one kid a recent early grad and another a fresh admit) from a state not considered academically competitive.

Our older made USACO Platinum and USAPhO, and the younger USAJMO and USAPhO.

The reality is that outside a very small handful of highly visible coastal high schools that may have a small handful of USA(J)MO/USAPhO/USACO Platinum qualifiers every year, pretty much anywhere else in the country those kids that make it have no true peers at their schools. They are self-motivated outliers. That’s just the math of it.

Almost qualifying for AIME in middle school is no small feat, especially for a girl (not to sound sexist - that’s just the reality of this competitive field, so all the more kudos to her!)

So she clearly has what it takes. But the question is whether this is something she is interested in commiting the necessary time to.

Online programs have their place, but they are not your first line of offense in my opinion.

If the kid is truly passionate about the subject to pursue it to their limits, then it is easier to know what to do.

But if the question is how to get them to be passionate enough about it to rearrange their other priorities, and whether this is even something that should be done, that is a much harder question to answer.

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Yes, it is.

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My kid loved this class


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Ah, nice to know a MIT parent! So far she seems interested hence the question. I understand there is passion required but she could not have come this far without having the drive. Not sure how else I can explain this point on this forum. She has other activities that she pursues, but not that she prefers Math any less.
My elder one does tell me that most of these kids who have qualified know each other from several different camps as well. Also, I heard BS like TJ or Exeter/Andover definitely have strong teams and it does help the kids get motivated. I am just looking for a similar math circle or math camp where she could enjoy and find that peer group.

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Thank you! I will look into this!

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That man’s a hero.

Our younger got his autograph at the MATHCOUNTS Nationals (and one of his co-author’s elsewhere I won’t disclose here:)

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Has anyone heard about how the Athemath program is?

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Anything with Evan Chen’s involvement has my implicit approval.

The list of sponsors and the caliber of its staff (our younger knows one of the TA’s pretty well) also speak in its favor.

:slight_smile:

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I think (to nearest order of magnitude) of AIME as being top 0.1% and USA(J)MO as being top 0.01% (rarer for earlier grades).

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Thank you!

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Well, let’s do some math, shall we! :slight_smile:

There are almost 4 million high school graduates in the US every year. Let’s round that down to 3 million kids per class. There are also around 300 USA(J)MO qualifiers every year. They are obviously not all the same age, but we will round it up to 300.

300/3,000,000 = 0.0001 = 0.01%

Ha! Whaddayaknow!

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Duke has a new summer program that is replacing Duke Tips. Many of my students are going this summer. They appear to have day, residential, adn online courses. I’ve also had students do online courses through NCSSM (NC School of Science and Math), Johns Hopkins, and Art of Problem Solving. Pre-College Programs | Continuing Studies

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Not sure if this was mentioned earlier but my son did mathpath, which is the younger version of Canad/USA Mathcamp and he really enjoyed it. Might be something your daughter might want to look into this summer as it is for 11-14 year olds.

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Thank you! Is their QT more important than their essays? How is the camp from other perspectives like security etc.?

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I have a friend who is on staff with mathpath. She is totally obsessed with math and so dedicated to the students. If the rest of the staff are half as enthusiastic as she is, I don’t see how a kid wouldn’t get excited about what they’re learning there.

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I’m not sure about that but I assume both the QT and essay are important. My son handled both of those on his own. FWIW, it seemed easier to get into mathpath than the high school math camps that my son applied to in freshman year last year - he didn’t end up getting into any of them but he will try again this year as a sophomore.

Mathpath is a blast though for middle school kids that enjoy math and my son really enjoyed the experience.