San Diego Math Circle

USAMO

The United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO)

Date: April 30 & May 1, 2013

Time: 9:30AM - 2:00PM

Room April 28: Applied Physics & Mathematics Building (room to be updated)

Room April 29: Applied Physics & Mathematics Building (room to be updated)

The USAMO is an invitation-only competition with admission based on qualifying scores on the AMC 10 or 12 and AIME. Unlike prior tiers of the AMC series, the USAMO is a very challenging proof-based exam in which the "answer" contributes only a small part of one's score.

The USAMO is demanding, with a total exam period of 9 hours spread over two school days. Besides being challenging for the students, the staffing and space demands of the USAMO are sometimes a challenge for a student's school to meet. For such reasons, SDMC in cooperation with UCSD is authorized by the USAMO to provide a centralized administration of the exam for any San Diego area students who qualify, whether they qualfied with SDMC or with an area school. There are no fees for the USAMO, UCSD donates the use of space, and SDMC stages the exam as a community service.

Qualifying USAMO students who wish to participate in SDMC's USAMO session - and their teachers - should contact the SDMC Director so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Unfortunately, the timeline from the announcement of USAMO qualifiers to the actual USAMO exam is quite short, so it is helpful to develop contacts ahead of the actual announcement so that contingent planning can be done, especially arranging for appropriate space.

Students who qualify for the USAMO must file their form S-III, "Student/Parent Response Form" with the national office regardless of where they take the USAMO. Teachers, however, do not have to file any of the forms T-II (acknowledgement) or T-III (certification) if their students take the USAMO with SDMC; SDMC will handle all of the teacher paperwork from beginning to end on the teachers' behalf. The record of each student who takes the USAMO through SDMC remains identified with his/her home school; SDMC acts only as a facilitator and proctor.

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