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X Post: MATHCOUNTS vs. Math Olympiads ??


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My son (6th grader this fall) is interested in participating in a math competition of some sort. I've looked at websites for both MATHCOUNTS and Math Olympiads--both seem to be active in my state.

 

Can anybody demystify the world of math competition for me? What are the primary differences between MATHCOUNTS and Math Olympiads, and which would you recommend for a first-time participant? Would you recommend that my son compete as an individual or should we try to assemble a team?

 

I'd greatly appreciate your opinions and advice.

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Just a quick reply as I'm short on time.

 

My children have participated in Math Olympiads for the past 3 years, and we've been very pleased with it. One of our local homeschool support group sponsors it so the few families that participate don't have to pay any fees. (We raise money solely through Box Tops collection.) It's worked very well for the kids to have friends/teammates who are working on the same topics and problems.

 

I investigated MathCounts a bit, and the problems looked more difficult, but that was just a first impression. They do have a free kit of materials that you can request, so that might give you a sense of the difficulty level.

 

HTH,

 

Tiffany

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My middle dd did MathCounts as part of a homeschool team that was grandfathered in this past year. She will compete again this year, probably as an individual, unless they change their stance on homeschool teams (they aren't allowing them anymore.) She used Competition Math for Middle Schoolto prepare, and she did very well. It was held at the local university, and the atmosphere was great and very inspiring.

 

We are also doing the AMC-8 and AMC-10 this coming year. I am going to reserve a room at the library (it has to be given in a public place with a non-relative adminstering) and ask for a volunteer to give the test. I don't know if I'll get any other homeschoolers, but my dds really want to do them.

 

I liek the one-time contests personally, as we have a lot of little things to fit into the year (NLE, other Olympiads, etc.)

 

Art of Problem Solving has information on using their materials to prepare for the various contests at this page.

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Tiffany: I didn't know I could request a free kit from Mathcounts. Thank you. It does look like Math Olympiad would be more realistic for us here, too. To complete in Mathcounts as an individual sounds a bit daunting.

 

Angela:

 

What is AMC-8 and AMC-10? We're switching to AoPS in September (doing Thinkwell Algebra I currently.) I should have quoted your post so I could remember what book you used. Did you use the number theory book or the Mathcounts Basics and Beyond books to prepare? Which books would you recommend. DS is really wanting to compete, but I'm not sure if going the individual route is best. Maybe Math Olympiad this next year for 6th and reconsider Mathcounts for 7th?

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Tiffany: I didn't know I could request a free kit from Mathcounts. Thank you. It does look like Math Olympiad would be more realistic for us here, too. To complete in Mathcounts as an individual sounds a bit daunting.

 

Angela:

 

What is AMC-8 and AMC-10? We're switching to AoPS in September (doing Thinkwell Algebra I currently.) I should have quoted your post so I could remember what book you used. Did you use the number theory book or the Mathcounts Basics and Beyond books to prepare? Which books would you recommend. DS is really wanting to compete, but I'm not sure if going the individual route is best. Maybe Math Olympiad this next year for 6th and reconsider Mathcounts for 7th?

 

She used the Competition math for Middle School that I linked to prepare, and we had done their Art of Problem Solving, volume 1 during math time. I'm going to get them volume 2 for the fall.

 

Here's a link to the American Mathematics Competitions.

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