Does qualifying or placing in USAMO/USA(J)MO help with admissions?

[Anonymous]

The thread on debate piqued my curiosity. Are kids who get medals in USAMO (USA Math Olympiad) or winners in USAJMO (especially middle schoolers) looked at favorably for admissions? Or is it just a nice EC to have?

[Anonymous]

Of course. It's considered a very significant achievement, but not something that can guarantee admissions (likewise for all other factors/merits).

[Anonymous]

MS achievements aren't listed on your HS record though. So would need to keep it up for HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thread on debate piqued my curiosity. Are kids who get medals in USAMO (USA Math Olympiad) or winners in USAJMO (especially middle schoolers) looked at favorably for admissions? Or is it just a nice EC to have?

In theory, middle school achievements play no part in admissions. In practice, those kids are likely to make it even further by highschool, which looks great. I know MIT specifically asks for AMC 10/12 scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thread on debate piqued my curiosity. Are kids who get medals in USAMO (USA Math Olympiad) or winners in USAJMO (especially middle schoolers) looked at favorably for admissions? Or is it just a nice EC to have?

In theory, middle school achievements play no part in admissions. In practice, those kids are likely to make it even further by highschool, which looks great. I know MIT specifically asks for AMC 10/12 scores.

There's not much more to the AMO ladder, other than making MOP or IMO, the latter of which is perhaps too tall an order for even a bright AMO medalist. But your point stands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thread on debate piqued my curiosity. Are kids who get medals in USAMO (USA Math Olympiad) or winners in USAJMO (especially middle schoolers) looked at favorably for admissions? Or is it just a nice EC to have?

In theory, middle school achievements play no part in admissions. In practice, those kids are likely to make it even further by highschool, which looks great. I know MIT specifically asks for AMC 10/12 scores.

I won a Math Olympiad award in MS and quit math in HS because I thought it was uncool. So there's always the adolescent wildcard.

[Anonymous]

Huge benefit if you have the rest of the academic profile. Immensely huge.

[Anonymous]

Any insights from the dozens of TJ/Blair parents whose kids did well in these?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thread on debate piqued my curiosity. Are kids who get medals in USAMO (USA Math Olympiad) or winners in USAJMO (especially middle schoolers) looked at favorably for admissions? Or is it just a nice EC to have?

In theory, middle school achievements play no part in admissions. In practice, those kids are likely to make it even further by highschool, which looks great. I know MIT specifically asks for AMC 10/12 scores.

I won a Math Olympiad award in MS and quit math in HS because I thought it was uncool. So there's always the adolescent wildcard.

Oh geez, that’s kinda sad. Math is pretty awesome and it’s tough to hear this. Probably lots of kids who are talented in Math steer away for this same reason.

[Anonymous]

Here are the results from the 2022 USIMO team:

Kevin Kong is currently a student at Harvard. He attended Exeter Academy which sends 1/3 of its students to Harvard. It's debatable whether he received a bump from being on the USAMO team.

Ram Goel currently attends MIT. He was a homeschooled student from Oregon who also attended the national Regeneron science fair with a project mentored by a Harvard professor. His brother who was also homeschooled also attends MIT.

Andrew Gu is currently a student at Harvard.

Derek Liu is a current high school senior. He was also a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar.

Luke Robitaille is currently a student at MIT. He was a homeschooled student from Texas who came in 10th overall at the Regeneron Science Fair.

Eric Shen - I don't know

Since USAMO has more kids, I would guess it would help but not to the extent of IMO.

[Anonymous]

IMO is just the top six. And I’m sure representing the country in any activity is a huge deal. But I wi see how much garden variety USAMO/JMO medalists/winners fare.