Math competitions are a fantastic extracurricular activity for high school students. Math competitions help students improve their math skills, earn scholarships, and stand out as college applicants.
If you are interested in getting into high school math competitions but aren’t sure where to begin, this article is for you. We’ll give you all the details on 12 math competitions for high school students, including the eligibility requirements and cash prize opportunities for each competition.
We’ll also briefly explain how to decide which math competition is right for you and how math competitions can help you shine as a college applicant. So let’s get started!
How to Use This List
We know that different students have unique reasons for wanting to participate in high school math competitions. With this in mind, we carefully selected a variety of math competitions that will suit the needs and priorities of a range of students.
Our list of 12 math competitions includes:
Competitions located in different regions of the U.S.
Competitions for individual students and for teams of students
Competitions that test students on different mathematical subjects
Competitions that provide cash prizes
Competitions that give non-monetary awards
That way, you can search our list for the competitions that are right for you! Also, to account for the varying abilities of high school students, we also made sure to include math competitions that range from extremely competitive to more inclusive.
We also want to note that this list of math competitions isn’t a ranking from best to worst or worst to best. It’s simply meant to give you the lay of the land concerning high school math competitions so you know that there are a variety of options for student math enthusiasts of all kinds!
12 High School Math Competitions
Eligibility: 10th graders - 12th graders
Cash Prizes: No
The AMC 10 and AMC 12 are both 25 question, 75 minute multiple-choice mathematics exams designed to promote the refinement of problem solving skills in high school student competitors.
Eligibility: 2nd graders - 12th graders
Cash Prizes: Yes
The Caribou Mathematics Competition is the only worldwide math competition that is held totally online. This contest is held six times throughout the school year, and students that complete all six tests can compete for the “Caribou Cup.” Each contest engages students in 60 minutes of math puzzles, interactive questions, and a wide variety of problem solving activities.
Eligibility: 9th graders - 12th graders
Cash Prizes: Yes
The ARML is an annual, national high school mathematics competition held simultaneously on four different university campuses in the United States: the University of Iowa, Penn State, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Eligibility: 9th graders - 12th graders
Cash Prizes: Yes
Trig-Star is an annual, national competition for high school students who excel at trigonometry. The purpose of the Trig-Star competition is to recognize students who excel at trigonometry, to introduce students to practical applications of mathematics in professional environments, and to grow awareness of surveying as a profession among mathematically-skilled high school students.
Eligibility: 7th graders - 12th graders
Cash Prizes: No
TEAMS is an annual, state and national mathematics, science, and engineering competitionfor middle and high school students.
Eligibility: 9th graders - College undergraduates
Cash Prizes: No
SCUDEM, or “the SIMIODE Challenge Using Differential Equation Modeling,” is a team-based math challenge that takes place over a week-long period.
Eligibility: 11th graders - 12th graders
Cash Prizes: Yes
The M3 Challenge is a contest that gives high schoolers the chance to experience working as a team to tackle a practical problem under time and resource constraints. The challenge is meant to give high schoolers a sense of the kinds of problems faced by professional mathematicians working in the real world. Students who are gifted at coding might consider this competition since extra credit awards are available for teams who incorporate outstanding code as part of their solution.
Eligibility: 11th graders and below (only open to students who identify as female)
Cash Prizes: Yes
Math Prize for Girls is an annual competition held at MIT. The competition consists of 20 challenging problems that test mathematical creativity and insight, and all 20 questions must be answered in two and a half hours. Only high-school level mathematics will be covered in the questions, but there are no questions pertaining to calculus in the contest!
Eligibility: 4th graders - 12th graders
Cash Prize: None
MathCON is a nonprofit national mathematics organization recognized for its annual student math competition for students in grades 4-12. The organization has helped 200,000 participants advance their math skills through this competition since 2008. A major pro of the MathCON competition is that, in addition to public school students, private, charter, and homeschooled students are eligible to participate as well.
Eligibility: 9th graders - 12th graders
Cash Prizes: Yes
The Mathematical Minutes Video Contest invites students who are members of Mu Alpha Theta to select a math topic and create a fun, informative, two- to five-minute video that would be of interest to high school students. Videos may include mathematical content through high school calculus, and final versions of students’ videos must be uploaded to YouTube for submission.
Eligibility: 6th graders - 12th graders
Cash Prizes: No
The JMHT is an annual math competition open to middle school and high school students located in and around Baltimore. The JMHT competition tests competitors’ ability with proofs, algebra and number theory, geometry, calculus, probability and combinatorics, and general math. Students compete as individuals and on a team. Individual competitors are scored on a two hour test, and teams compete in a series of two 45-minute proof rounds.
Eligibility: 9th graders - 12th graders
Cash Prizes: N/A
The HMMT is an extremely competitive, student-organized math tournament that occurs each year in November and February. Most students compete in teams of four to six or teams of six to eight, but the competition also has space for a limited number of individual competitors as well. Students can apply to participate in the November or February tournaments online.
Read More: https://blog.prepscholar.com/high-school-math-competitions
Comments