If your child qualified for AIME, congratulations. That's a real achievement. But you might be wondering: what exactly is this test? How hard is it? And in a world where AI can solve most math problems instantly, why does any of this matter? Let me break it down.
Every July, six students represent the United States at the International Mathematical Olympiad. Six. Out of hundreds of thousands who started somewhere along this path. I get asked a lot about how this works. Parents want to know if their kid has a shot. Students want to know what they&
The AMC 10 is the gateway to AIME. But what exactly gets tested, and how has it changed? I analyzed 6 years of AMC 10 data (2020-2025), covering both the A and B versions. The patterns are clear—and different from what most prep advice suggests. The Big Picture: What
ChatGPT can pass the bar exam. AI can diagnose cancer more accurately than some doctors. When any question gets a "good enough" answer in seconds, what exactly should we be teaching our kids? I keep coming back to the same conclusion: what matters now is not knowing things.
If you're preparing for AMC 8 by "just working hard," stop for a second. I analyzed every single problem from 2016 to 2025. That's 225 problems across 9 years, classified by topic. What shows up most? What makes the hard problems hard? What'
Planning ahead is everything when it comes to AMC. Miss the registration deadline and you're out for the year. Here's the complete schedule for the current cycle, plus what we can expect for next year. 2025-2026 Competition Dates CompetitionDateAMC 10A / AMC 12ANovember 5, 2025AMC 10B / AMC
If you're looking for this year's AMC 8 problems right now, you won't find them anywhere yet. Here's why. AMC 8 Is a Window-Based Test Unlike a single-day exam, AMC 8 runs over an entire week. Different schools and test centers administer
You took the AMC 8. It's done. Now what? Here's the thing—how you review matters more than the score you just got. And if you're planning to take it again next year, what you do in the next few months will determine everything.
If you're moving up from AMC 10—or jumping straight into AMC 12—you need to know exactly what's different. Here's everything that's covered. The Short Version AMC 12 covers the full high school math curriculum. That means everything on AMC 10,
AMC 10 is a real step up from AMC 8. If you're preparing for it, you need to know exactly what you're walking into. Here's the full breakdown. The Short Version AMC 10 covers high school math through 10th grade—Algebra I, Geometry, and
If you're preparing for the AMC 8, knowing exactly what's tested is half the battle. Here's a clear breakdown of everything you need to cover. The Short Version AMC 8 covers middle school math—roughly what you'd learn in grades 6 through
If you're new to AMC or just want to get the facts straight, here's everything in one place. What Is AMC? AMC stands for American Mathematics Competitions. It's a series of math contests run by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), and it'
AMC
Most AMC 8 prep looks the same. Solve a bunch of problems. Check answers. Move on. Repeat until test day. This approach misses the point entirely. In an era where AI handles every calculation, problem-solving ability is the value that remains. And for training that ability in young minds, nothing
AMC
I've coached a lot of students through AMC 8. And the frustrating part is that most points lost aren't from the hard problems. They're from careless mistakes on the easy ones. The difference between a good score and a great score often comes down
AMC
I've been thinking a lot about what education should look like now that ChatGPT can pass the bar exam and AI can diagnose cancer more accurately than some doctors. When any question gets a "good enough" answer in seconds, what exactly should we be teaching our