UMD HS math contest

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone seen this advertised in an MCPS newsletter? This is the first I've seen of it, but you would think that the attraction of a UMD scholarship would bring out a lot of students from a range of HS.

This competition has been going on for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD runs a high school math contest for Maryland and DC (not VA).

Top 3 scores win full scholarship to UMD.

https://mathcomp.math.umd.edu/

Here are this year's results:

https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blog.umd.edu/dist/f/613/files/2025/12/2025-Winners-1.pdf

Top 3 probably won’t even attend UMD.
And MCPS wants to destroy Blair? Poolesville isn’t even comparable.

Blair students live closer to UMD than Poolesville students. Also the SMCS program is twice as large. Just not as many PVHS students competing

Both rounds are proctored at local HSs and every public HS math coordinator within Maryland should have received registration information long before the competition. This competition has been established almost 30 years ago and happens annually. Also, PVHS SMCS program is about 75% in size compared to Blair SMCS, but both of them are great programs (and RMIB).

Great and top-notched are not the same. Yet MCPS seems intent on dismantling one of its strongest assets.

OK in a few years the winners will be spread across more schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK in a few years the winners will be spread across more schools.

Exactly! It is never about the school. It is about students!

If you switch Blair students with PHS students, Blair will suck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK in a few years the winners will be spread across more schools.

Exactly! It is never about the school. It is about students!

If you switch Blair students with PHS students, Blair will suck!

+1

It is always the students. A good student will thrive no matter where they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK in a few years the winners will be spread across more schools.

Exactly! It is never about the school. It is about students!

If you switch Blair students with PHS students, Blair will suck!

BS

[Anonymous]

Thanks for not telling us, MCPS math teachers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK in a few years the winners will be spread across more schools.

Exactly! It is never about the school. It is about students!

If you switch Blair students with PHS students, Blair will suck!

Schools with strong internal competition, especially robust math clubs, are the ones that tend to excel. When top students are spread too thin, that high level of competition is lost, and excellence becomes much harder to achieve. In a few years you’ll only see them coming from 1 or 2 strong regional magnets, never going to be across more schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD runs a high school math contest for Maryland and DC (not VA).

Top 3 scores win full scholarship to UMD.

https://mathcomp.math.umd.edu/

Here are this year's results:

https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blog.umd.edu/dist/f/613/files/2025/12/2025-Winners-1.pdf

Top 3 probably won’t even attend UMD.
And MCPS wants to destroy Blair? Poolesville isn’t even comparable.

Blair students live closer to UMD than Poolesville students. Also the SMCS program is twice as large. Just not as many PVHS students competing

What does living closer have to do with it? It shoes that there is no consistency with teaching and opportunities offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK in a few years the winners will be spread across more schools.

Exactly! It is never about the school. It is about students!

If you switch Blair students with PHS students, Blair will suck!

Schools with strong internal competition, especially robust math clubs, are the ones that tend to excel. When top students are spread too thin, that high level of competition is lost, and excellence becomes much harder to achieve. In a few years you’ll only see them coming from 1 or 2 strong regional magnets, never going to be across more schools

There are enough kids to fill six magnets. Why are you so scared of other kids having the same opportunities as your get?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK in a few years the winners will be spread across more schools.

Exactly! It is never about the school. It is about students!

If you switch Blair students with PHS students, Blair will suck!

+1

It is always the students. A good student will thrive no matter where they are.

They will not thrive when their schools don’t have equal opportunities. That’s why more magnets are needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone seen this advertised in an MCPS newsletter? This is the first I've seen of it, but you would think that the attraction of a UMD scholarship would bring out a lot of students from a range of HS.

This competition has been going on for a long time.

But, parents don’t know if not told. Many schools don’t have math clubs or admin who encourage these things.

[Anonymous]

Congrats to the students!

Also, these results make me a little embarrassed as a white person. I don’t want to play into stereotypes but man those Asian kids are kicking butt on these math competitions. My kid did math competitions in MS but didn’t stick with it through HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Congrats to the students!

Also, these results make me a little embarrassed as a white person. I don’t want to play into stereotypes but man those Asian kids are kicking butt on these math competitions. My kid did math competitions in MS but didn’t stick with it through HS.

Different people are allowed to have different interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone seen this advertised in an MCPS newsletter? This is the first I've seen of it, but you would think that the attraction of a UMD scholarship would bring out a lot of students from a range of HS.

This competition has been going on for a long time.

But, parents don’t know if not told. Many schools don’t have math clubs or admin who encourage these things.

It’s the kids, not the admin. If the kids want it, the admin will support it.

[Anonymous]

UMD offers a lot of nice programs for our area students.

UMD Math Comp: https://mathcomp.math.umd.edu

UMD Math Credits after BC
https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/news/high-school-students-leap-ahead-umd-math-credit-program

If you're school isn't listed and you want to participate in the program, maybe reach out to your math coordinator.