(1) The percent of AMC 10 contestants to qualify for the AIME is only half of the percent of AMC 12 contestants.
The curve for the AMC 12 is much more generous. In fact, for AMC 10, invitations for taking the AIME are issued to the top 2.5% of all scorers. For AMC 12, invitations for taking the AIME are issued to the top 5% of all scorers.
(2) The cutoff scores for AMC 10 contestants eligible to qualify for the AIME are approximately 14% to 24% higher than that for AMC 12 contestants.
It is easier to achieve the AMC 12 cutoff scores than the AMC 10 cutoff scores. The AMC 10 and the AMC 12 contests have about 10 to 15 questions in common. Two contests have 40% to 60% overlapping questions, and the difficulty levels of a majority of these questions are easy.
The following are cutoff scores for AIME qualification from 2019 to 2021.
Year | AMC 10A | AMC 10B | AMC 12A | AMC 12B |
2021 Fall | 96 | 96 | 91.5 | 84 |
2021 Spring | 103.5 | 102 | 93 | 91.5 |
2020 | 103.5 | 102 | 87 | 87 |
2019 | 103.5 | 108 | 84 | 94.5 |
Average | 101.6 | 102 | 88.9 | 89.2 |
In fall 2022, the AMC 10A and AMC 12A had 12 overlapping questions, and the AMC 10B and AMC 12B had 11 overlapping questions, as shown in The 2021 Fall AMC 10 and AMC 12 Have 11 to 12 Questions in Common.
For instance, in 2022 Fall version B tests, the AIME floor for the AMC 10 was 96, 14.3% higher than the floor for AMC 12, 84. Even if the AMC 12 problems are more difficult, the difference in 12 points is just from two problems. To qualify for AIME through the AMC 10, the minimum correct answers needed are 15 to 16. For the AMC 12, however, you only need at least 13 correct answers.
Furthermore, the AMC 12 questions have about at least 9 questions out of the first 15 that are the same as the AMC 10’s and they do not get significantly harder until after Question 16. In fact, the difficulty level of most of these overlapping questions are easy or medium. This entails that beyond correctly answering most of their overlapping questions, a student taking the AMC 12 only needs to correctly answer very few nonoverlapping questions. By contrast, a student taking the AMC 10 needs to correctly answer much more than that.
Hence, it is easier to qualify for the AIME through the AMC 12 than the AMC 10.
See more at:
- The 2021 Fall AMC 10 and AMC 12 Have 11 to 12 Questions in Common
- This Year It Was Much Easier to Qualify for the AIME Through the AMC 12A ThanThrough the AMC 10A
- AMC 10 versus AMC 12
- Every Student Should Take Both the AMC 10A/12A and 10 B/12B!
- The AMC 10 and AMC 12 Have 10-15 Questions in Common
- Students Can Easily Qualify for the AIME Through the AMC 12 During 11th and 12th Grades
- How the AMC contests can help you get into the Ivy League Schools
More details can be found at:
- 365-hour Project to Qualify for the AIME through the AMC 10/12 Contests
- American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10)
- American Mathematics Contest 12 — AMC 12
- Notable Achievements of Our Students
- AMC 10/12 Historical Results
Click HERE find out more about Math Competitions!
Click HERE to find out more about SAT Prep!