Frequently Asked Questions
Who can be on a team?
Any student in high school (or a highly gifted middle school student) may participate. A full team will have 6 competitors. A team can have members from different schools. If you can't make a full team, the contest organizers can attempt to pair you with other students for the team round, but you would then be ineligible for team awards.
How much does the contest cost?
The fee for all test sites is $15 per competitor. This includes lunch and covers the cost of awards. Competitors will be given T-shirts, and additional shirts can be purchased at the competition, while supplies last. Everyone involved in hosting the contest is a volunteer.
What's the format of the contest?
The individual round is a 12-question, 75-minute test. All of the questions are weighted equally and have only numerical answers.
In the "mathathon" round, you work together with your team to solve small packets of questions. When you submit your final answers to one packet, your team may move onto the next one. The point values for each question increase, and so does the difficulty. You may spend as much time as you'd like on any one packet, but your team will only have 75 minutes to get through as many packets as it can. (Note: this round is similar to HMMT's Guts round.)
The individual tiebreaker round is a 4-question, 75-minute, proof-based test. Each question is independent of the others and scored out of 10 points.
For the "mixer" round, we randomize the teams. Each of the newly formed teams will have 75 minutes to work on a variety of challenging questions. The individuals in the tiebreaker round will arrive late to this event. They will be split into teams and have to catch up to the rest of the room!
In the "mathathon" round, you work together with your team to solve small packets of questions. When you submit your final answers to one packet, your team may move onto the next one. The point values for each question increase, and so does the difficulty. You may spend as much time as you'd like on any one packet, but your team will only have 75 minutes to get through as many packets as it can. (Note: this round is similar to HMMT's Guts round.)
The individual tiebreaker round is a 4-question, 75-minute, proof-based test. Each question is independent of the others and scored out of 10 points.
For the "mixer" round, we randomize the teams. Each of the newly formed teams will have 75 minutes to work on a variety of challenging questions. The individuals in the tiebreaker round will arrive late to this event. They will be split into teams and have to catch up to the rest of the room!
What is the schedule of events?
The following is the 2017 schedule. Participants will be notified of any significant changes.
Yale:
9.00 - 9.30: Registration
9.30 - 10.45: Mathathon Round
11:00 - 12:00: Guest Speaker
12:00 - 1:15: Individual Round
1:15 - 2:00: Lunch
2:00-3:15: Mixer / Tiebreaker
3:15 - 4:00: Admissions Panel
4:00 - 4:30 Awards Ceremony
Columbia, Florida, Michigan, Virginia:
9.00 - 9.30: Registration
9.30 - 10.45: Mathathon Round
10.45 - 11.00: Break
11.00 - 12.15: Individual Round
12.15 - 1.00: Lunch
1.00 - 2.15: Tiebreaker/Mixer
2.15 - 2.45: Break
2.45 - 3.15: Awards Ceremony
All times are local.
Yale:
9.00 - 9.30: Registration
9.30 - 10.45: Mathathon Round
11:00 - 12:00: Guest Speaker
12:00 - 1:15: Individual Round
1:15 - 2:00: Lunch
2:00-3:15: Mixer / Tiebreaker
3:15 - 4:00: Admissions Panel
4:00 - 4:30 Awards Ceremony
Columbia, Florida, Michigan, Virginia:
9.00 - 9.30: Registration
9.30 - 10.45: Mathathon Round
10.45 - 11.00: Break
11.00 - 12.15: Individual Round
12.15 - 1.00: Lunch
1.00 - 2.15: Tiebreaker/Mixer
2.15 - 2.45: Break
2.45 - 3.15: Awards Ceremony
All times are local.
What type of math will be tested?
Questions will challenge students' problem-solving abilities in areas such as algebra, geometry, probability, and combinatorics, just to name a few. No individual questions will require the use of mathematics beyond precalculus. Only a small number of team questions might require the use of calculus, so we recommend that every team has at least one member familiar with calculus.
How many teams can each school send?
Team limits are decided on a site-by-site basis. However, we currently don't anticipate a limit at any of the sites this year. If we run out of room, we'll let you know in the email in which we would have sent you the mailing address for the check.
Is there a registration fee?
The registration fee is $15 per student. Payment is accepted in cash or check. Further information on how to pay will be emailed to coaches and sponsors after registration,
Is there a refund for withdrawing participation?
A 50% refund of the registration fee will be offered until the week before the competition is to be held. No refund will be offered if participants withdraw within the week before the competition.
What if I have a question that isn't answered here?
Odds are, someone else has that same question! So please message us under the "contact" tab, and we'll try to answer your question. And then we'll add your question to this page. Thanks for your interest!
