How much does AIME help?
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dcmom12345
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Hi,
My daughter is applying to colleges this fall with very high stats: 1570 sat, 3.9 uw gpa, put a lot of time in her essays, AIME qualifier, and lots of leadership. I understand all the top schools are a reach, but was curious how much of an impact AIME would haven the application as its one award that almost no one seems to have. Usually I would put HYPMS out of discussion for EA/ED due to pure numbers but was wondering if AIME was significant enough to make them a possibility. Any experience with AIME effects on admission? |
Anonymous
| DD should definitely post her AMC10/12 scores if they meet AIME cutoffs, especially if she is applying to STEM programs. The more years the better. |
Anonymous
| It may help with MIT but since even AMO/JMO qualifiers and winners don't get much of a bump at HYP, I don't think AIME qualification alone might will be much of a push. |
Anonymous
If you are at a stem focused HS many qualified for AIME. |
Anonymous
| I think it will definitely help but I don't think it will be a deal maker/breaker. Highly selective schools receive so many high stats applicants. These will go in National/International awards bucket. Often what sets apart each applicant is the "other" category. Besides impressive stats and national/international awards, what impact did the applicant create. |
Anonymous
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Qualifying for AIME is something several thousand students do nationally, so it's about the same as passing 1 AP test or qualifying for (not winning) a state-level EC, like being in All-State Orchestra Scoring high on the AIME (over 5) but not qualifying to qualify for Olympiad) is like winning a prize in a state level contest. |
Anonymous
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I don't have any knowledge of the impact of AIME qualification in admissions. However, I would say that, based on what I have learned about modern admissions, it can be a bit easy to be in a bubble of sorts and not fully realize the breadth of not only the talent of many students, but also the myriad avenues of competitions to validate those talents.
AIME, International Linguistics, The various Olympiads, Science Fairs, National Latin Exam, Eagle Scout, Scholastic Writing, Young Arts, FIRST Robotics, etc. Winners of these and more are applying to the same schools. Is AIME qualification 'worth' more than others? I have no idea, but my guess is not really. It has value, I would think, in further demonstration academic aptitude (and perhaps interest in Math), but your daughter already shows that in GPA and SAT. I would think her leadership experience will carry more weight for her as conveyed in her essays. As for REA/ED, I would go for the school of greatest interest to her. If picking from a couple of equal appeal, shoot for the one with best fit which should lead to the one with greatest odds for admission |
Anonymous
^I suppose Eagle Scout is not a competition, but you get the idea 
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Anonymous
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What's AIME?
Over the years I've had multiple meetings with admissions officers, multiple meetings with private counselors, and researched college admissions extensively for my own children. If I don't know it, it probably isn't that impressive, OP. |
Anonymous
| you don’t know it because your children don’t do math contests. |
Anonymous
Right, and to PP's point, they do other things and also did well in admissions. It's just one of many things. |
Anonymous
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Years ago, Stanford used to send a special mailing to any junior with a 6 or better on the AIME. At that time, there were about 200 in the US. I think fewer than 50 were female. It was a pretty big boost.
The test has changed and more people prep for it, so I don't know what the numbers are now. I think AIME still helps, ESPECIALLY At colleges that aren't in the top 10 or so for math because they are rarer in their applicant pools. |
Anonymous
| Just chiming in to say this is not at all comparable in difficulty to 1 AP. |
Anonymous
Yeah, this was just ridiculous. PP is relying solely on numbers, but there is a lot of self-selection going on here. |