United States of America Mathematical Olympiad
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The United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) is a prestigious mathematics competition held annually in the United States. Since its debut in 1972, it has served as the final round of the AMC series of contests. Top scorers on the USAMO usually represent the United States at the International Mathematical Olympiad.
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Eligibility
In order to be eligible to take the USAMO, a participant must be either a citizen of the United States or a legal permanent resident. This rule has been relaxed in recent years so that Canadians and international students can take the test, but cannot join the American IMO team. In addition, all participants, regardless of geographic location, must meet qualification indices determined by previous rounds of the AMC contests. Entry to the USAMO is by invitation only.
Participant selection process
The USAMO is restricted to approximately 250 participants each year. To keep this quota constant, the AMC Committee uses a selection process, which has seen a number of revisions in the exam's history.
Post-2002
Since 2002, the following set of guidelines have been adopted for use in determining each year's USAMO participants:
- The goal is to select about 250 of the top scorers from the prior AIME and AMC 12A, AMC 12B, AMC 10A and AMC 10B contests to participate in the USAMO.
- Selection will be based on the USAMO index which is defined as 10 times the student’s AIME score plus the student’s score on the AMC 12 or the AMC 10.
- The first selection (consisting of participants from all grade levels) will be the approximately 160 highest USAMO indices of students taking the AMC 12A or AMC 12B contest.
- The lowest AIME score among those 160 first selected will determine a floor value. The second selection of USAMO participants (consisting of participants from the tenth grade and under only) will be from the highest USAMO indices among students who took the AMC 10A or AMC 10B and the AIME, and got an AIME score at least as high as the floor value.
- The student with the highest USAMO index from each state, territory, or U.S. possession not already represented in the selection of the first and second groups will be invited to take the USAMO.
- To adjust for variations in contest difficulty, the number of students selected from A & B contests will be proportional to the number of students who took the (A & B) Contests.
- The selection process is designed to favor students who take the more mathematically comprehensive AMC 12A and AMC 12B contests.
Source: American Mathematics Competitions (http://www.unl.edu/amc/e-exams/e8-usamo/usamo.html)
Recent qualification indices
| Year | 11th grade and above | 10th grade and below |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 233 (AIME I); 220.5 (AIME II) | 9/15 on AIME |
| 2004 | 210 | 7/15 on AIME |
| 2003 | 226 | 8/15 on AIME |
| 2002 | 210 | 6/15 on AIME |
2001 and earlier
Prior to 2001, the following guidelines were used:
- First Group: The top 120 students.
- Second Group: The next 20 students in grades 11 and below.
- Third Group: The next 20 students in grades 10 or below.
- Fourth Group: The next 20 students in grades 9 or below.
- Fifth Group: One student from each state, one student from the combined U.S.A. Territories, and one student from the APO/FPO schools- if not represented in the first four groups.
Source: American Mathematics Competitions (http://www.unl.edu/amc/e-exams/e8-usamo/e8-1-usamoarchive/2001-ua/01usamo.html)
Test format and scoring
Post-2002
Since 2002, the USAMO has been a six-question, nine-hour mathematical proof examination spread out over two days. (The IMO uses the same format.) On each day, four and a half hours are given for three questions.
Each question is graded on a scale from 0 to 7, with a score of 7 representing a proof that is mathematically sound. Thus, a perfect score is 42 points. The number of perfect papers each year has varied depending on test difficulty. Regardless, the top 12 scorers are all named contest winners.
1996 to 2001
The test consisted of two three-problem sets. Three hours were given for each set; one set was given in the morning, and the other in the afternoon.
1995 and earlier
The test consisted of five problems to be solved in three and a half hours.
Test procedures
In most years, students have taken the USAMO at their respective high schools. Prior to 2002, the problems were mailed to the schools in sealed envelopes, not to be opened before the appointed time on the test day. Since 2002, test problems have been posted on the AMC website (see links below) fifteen minutes prior to the official start of the test. Student responses are then faxed back to the AMC office at the end of the testing period.
In 2002, the Akamai Foundation, as a major sponsor of the American Mathematics Competitions, invited all USAMO participants to take the test at a central event at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, all expenses paid. In addition, Akamai invited all 2002 USAMO participants who were not high school seniors (approximately 160 students) to take part in an enlarged MOP program. Since holding this central event every year would be prohibitively expensive, it has been discontinued. In 2004, however, funding was found to send 30 9th graders to MOP as well, in a program popularly called "Freshmen Farm."
Each year, the top 12 scorers on the USAMO are considered for selection to the IMO team for the United States. The students are trained at the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (also known as "MOSP" or "MOP") in Lincoln, Nebraska, and then six are selected to the team. The next approximately 18 high scorers, usually excluding high school seniors, are also invited to MOP.
Related articles
External links
- The Official AMC Home Page (http://www.unl.edu/amc/) - Contains rules, problems, qualifiers, and winners for each year since 1999
- An archive of all USAMO problems, as well as other olympiad-style math problems (http://www.kalva.demon.co.uk/)