AMC 8 Winners for the U.S. Ivy League Education Center

Warmest Congratulations to the Students Who Earned Top Scores on the 2014 AMC 8 Contest!

Mathematical Associations of America (MAA) announced the results of the 2014 American Mathematics Contest 8 (AMC 8).  Four of our students were among the National Winners (Perfect Scorers): Adam A., Shaan B., Ritika S., and Ivan U. In addition, 6 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers and 6 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers.  4 students in grade 6 or under received National Achievement Roll Certificates.

In 2014, there were 26 students in grades 3-8 to attend our AMC 8 Prep or AMC 10 Prep Classes, including One-on-One Private Tutoring and Small Group (4-10 students) Classes. Among them, 23 students attended the AMC 8 contest on November 18, 2014, and their average score is 20.43. Remarkably, 19 students received National Certificates for the Mathematical Associations of America. For a full list of our top students, see Table 1.

Table 1: Notable Achievements of Our Students on the 2014 AMC 8 Contest

Over 150,000 students worldwide participated in the AMC 8 contest from over 2,000 schools. The average score is 11.18 out of a maximum of 25. In Maryland, 1,058 students participated and the overall state average score is 13.06. In Virginia, 5,975 students took and the overall state average score is 11.61. In Washington, D.C., 1048 students attended and the overall state average score is 9.16. All our students achieved a score that is much higher than the Maryland/Virginia/D.C. and national average.

There are a total 178 students worldwide received perfect scores with 7 from Maryland, and 18 from Virginia. No student from Washington, D.C. got a perfect score. If our Center is a state, our number of perfect scores would have let us beat Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and North Carolina. Each of these states has 3 perfect scorers.

Top scorers and statistics can be found at
http://amc-reg.maa.org/reports/generalreports.aspx

Premier National Mathematics Competition — AMC 8

The American Mathematics Contest 8 (AMC 8), called the AJHSME until 2000, began in 1985. The AMC 8 is the most rigorous nationwide mathematics competition at the middle school level, dedicated to the goal of strengthening the mathematical capabilities of our nation’s youth. The AMC 8 is a 25-question, 40-minute, multiple-choice contest for any student grades 8 and below. It is run by the Mathematical Association of America. A correct answer scores 1 point and an incorrect or blank answer receives neither gain nor penalty. Hence a score of 25 is considered perfect.

Grade Level: The AMC 8 is designed for middle school students in grades 6, 7, and 8. Highly motivated 4th and 5th grade students are encouraged to participate as well.

National Awards:

• Certificate of Distinction — is given to all students who receive a perfect score.
• Distinguished Honor Roll (top 1%). In 2014, this was 23-25 correct out of 25 problems.
• Honor Roll (top 2-5%). In 2014, this was 19-22 correct out of 25 problems.
• Student Achievement Roll (6th grade and below placing in the top 10%). In 2014, this was 15-25 correct out of 25 problems.

Challenge Level: Problems progress from relatively easy to very challenging. Middle school students of all abilities who enjoy math problem solving are encouraged to participate.

More details can be found at:
http://www.maa.org/math-competitions/amc-8

There are many math competitions in the United States. Of those, only AMC → AIME → USAMO sequence would take you to the IMO (International Math Olympiad), the highest level math competition for high school students in the world.

In an increasingly competitive college application pool, the process of mastering math skills through our courses and participating in the American Math Competitions will help students strengthen and diversify their extracurricular activities. These contests can motivate students’ interest and passion in math, and they can discover their talent through solving challenging problems different from those in the school classes. Both MIT and Caltech have entry blanks on their official admission application forms for the applicant to enter their best AMC and AIME scores. Ivy League Colleges and Stanford ask for to the AMC and AIME scores in their Supplement to the Common Application Forms. Good AMC scores will greatly enhance admission opportunities for students to elite colleges.

As a typical example, every year MIT admits about 1,600 freshmen. Out of these 1,600 students, almost 1,200 students have AMC 10 scores greater than 120. However, out of these 1,600 students there are only 2 students who are nationally ranked piano players. Likewise, there are only 2 nationally ranked swimmers. A high score on the AMC 10 is a golden ticket into MIT, especially for girls. Why? Because in terms of extracurricular activities, prestigious colleges such as MIT and Caltech value math much more than anything else. This just reveals the critical importance of mathematics in the competitive academic environment. Students will benefit much more from participating in competitive math than participating in sports, arts, and music programs.

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Henry Wan, Ph.D.
Senior Instructor in Math
Senior Math Coach Certified by Mathematical Association of America
Tel:  301-922-9508
Email:  chiefmathtutor@gmail.com
Address: 1001 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852 and 13902 Bromfield Road, Germantown, MD 20874
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Investing in your children’s education is an investment in their future, which pays the best interest!

Education: A debt due from present to future generations.

                                                                        — George Peabody

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

                                                                        –W.B. Yeats

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FROM — The Secret: What Your High Schools Don’t Tell you? by Elizabeth Wissner-Gross

Forget what other parents may tell you about the value of just “letting kids be kids”. Fun, play, relaxation are important for kids and adults alike, but most would agree that being engaged in an educational activity that they are passionate about is fun and also has long-term benefits to get into college and ultimately enhancing one’s career.

Competition for admission to America’s top colleges is more cutthroat than ever. Gone are the days when parents could afford to let high school guidance counselors handle the admissions process alone-gone, also, are the days when a student could wait until senior year to prepare for it. If you want to raise a kid colleges will compete for, you must act, EARLY and AGGRESSIVELY, as opportunity scout, coach, tutor, manager, and publicist -or be willing to watch that acceptance letter go to someone whose parents did.