Indulge in Math: How to Get Involved in Competition Math in 2025
Do you enjoy puzzles and logical thinking? Is math your favorite subject? Do you like watching mystery movies and trying to figure out for yourself who committed the crime before they reveal it? Is your favorite day Pi Day?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then competition math may be an extracurricular worth looking into. Competition math involves tackling challenging math problems, and each competitor’s accuracy is compared to that
of other competitors. You will develop strong analytical and logical thinking skills, along with strong problem-solving skills. In addition to the academic benefits, the competitive aspect is fun, provides a community, and gives you a reason to practice math. You will be surrounded by other math enthusiasts and get the opportunity to interact with people from across the world during competitions. If you attend an in-person competition, you get to dress all snazzy—and who doesn’t like that? So now the question is, how do you get involved in competitive math?
The most direct way to get involved in competitive math is by joining your school’s math club (if they have one). If you join an existing club, it will have an advisor who can register you for competitions and can help you and other competitors in the club prepare for the exams. There are many advantages to joining an existing group; namely, the logistics of the events and competitions are already figured out, and the teacher/advisor in charge would already be familiar with competitive math. You would also find older students in the club who could serve as mentors and give you a peer perspective on how to master competitive math.
I joined the existing math club at my school, where one of the math teachers served as the advisor and had been organizing AMC 10, 12, and (for those who qualified) AIME prep for many years. She also handled all the competition logistics. I decided to join because the math club was highlighted on the morning announcements, and since I loved math in middle school, it seemed to be a good fit for me.
Another way to get involved is to initiate a competitive math club at your school. You would need to talk to your principal or guidance counselor and find an advisor/teacher to oversee the club. Make sure you are professional with your proposal and have a trusted teacher backing up your idea—a math teacher could be a perfect fit! Your club advisor would need to register to be a competition manager with the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) by September 25, 2025, so that you and your peers can have time to prepare and get registered. Additionally, you should decide how frequently the club will meet and ensure that the adult can attend. Your principal can guide you and ensure that you are following all the correct procedures to start a club. Also, through the MAA, your advisor can purchase study material for the American Mathematics Competitions (AMC). Within the AMC, there are divisions based on age. This allows each individual to compete fairly within their respective categories. A senior who has completed AP Calculus BC should not be in the same exam category as a middle schooler who has just started learning algebra.
AMC 8 is the lowest competition level offered through the MAA. The AMC 8 is for students in 8th grade or below and under 14.5 years old. This exam focuses on pre-algebra and basic algebra topics, some of which you would have learned in school. The AMC 10 is for students in 10th grade or below and under 17.5 years old, and is harder than the AMC 8. The AMC 10 covers topics in algebra, geometry, number theory, and probability. This may sound like a lot, but typical advanced math students take geometry freshman year and algebra 2 sophomore year, so your required math classes will provide you with a foundation for AMC 10 topics. The AMC 12 is for students in 12th grade or below and under 19.5 years old. This is the most challenging of the AMC exams and includes advanced algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and combinatorics. Like the AMC 10, this sounds like a lot of topics, but by 12th grade, an advanced math student would have taken advanced algebra and calculus classes at a minimum. You will want to register for the exam that matches your grade/age category. In addition to academic math, the exams will also test your critical thinking skills. It is imperative that you have the critical thinking skills required to approach math problems from a unique angle.
Although I didn’t start a math club at my high school, I did start a club, and the process was pretty streamlined. First, I found a staff member who was willing to be my club advisor and stay after school for meetings. Then I emailed the principal with my club proposal and cc’ed my club advisor. The principal then reached back out to me and gave me the go-ahead to promote the club and gain members. I made flyers, which I posted around the school, and wrote an announcement to be shared over the morning announcements. I also made a social media account to gain more traction for the club. My school had specific steps for club creation, which were easy to follow. If you want to start your school-sanctioned club, I would say go for it!
Some schools may not allow the creation of clubs, or a student may be homeschooled and thus not have access to school-sanctioned extracurricular activities. If you fall into these categories, no worries. You can still participate in math competitions. There are two options for you: the first is to find a local school with a competitive math club and see if they would allow you to register under them. Alternatively, you can register as a homeschooler directly with the MAA. The main difficulty of registering as a homeschooler is that you need a designated proctor who is not related to you and will monitor you as you take the exams. The proctor will also need to submit information to the MAA, and once approved, you will be eligible to take the AMC. I don’t personally have experience going through the homeschool route, but many competitors are homeschooled, so it is possible.
Once you join, you will be given materials to prepare yourself for the competition and will be surrounded by a community that cares about your passion. It is not enough to simply attend club meetings—you also need to dedicate time to studying for the competition, as the problems will be different from your conventional math problems in school, and what these competition questions cover is slightly different from what is usually covered in your school curriculum.
This article specifically dives into how to join the Mathematical Association of America: American Mathematics Competitions; however, many math competitions are similar, so feel free to research competitions in your own country. Some other competitions include MATHCOUNTS, Math Kangaroo, and Noetic Learning Math Contest (for younger students). If you score well in the AMC10/12 competition, you may qualify for selective competitions such as the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME), USAMO/USAJMO (United States of America Mathematical Olympiad), and International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). Remember to research each competition thoroughly–each will cover different topics, have a different structure, and even have different rules.
There is so much mathematical enrichment embedded in math competitions that it would be illogical not to explore options near you. Maybe you will soon find yourself a mathematical champion! Good luck on your mathematical journey!
Written by Claire S.
Edited by Anvi R. and Alex M.