how important is AMC 12 for US universities application?

grace_2022

Hi parents with teenage children in international schools, does AMC play an significant role in good US university applications? I saw young children starting from AMC 8 already, thus wondering how important it is/whether it is worth all these efforts etc… thanks!

Radiomama

No single element for US universities.
One should be all rounded, with good academic records (4 years before) and sound/relevant competitions award, preferably known by US admission officers.
Plus pretty SAT/ACT scores and attractive essays.

grace_2022

Radiomama 發表於 23-1-27 18:05
No single element for US universities.
One should be all rounded, with good academic records (4 yea ...

Hi there, many thanks for sharing. What are the typical awards for those students? My child is in primary 3 and (unfortunately) not very athletic. I am trying to come up with something.

Radiomama

grace_2022 發表於 23-1-28 09:03
Hi there, many thanks for sharing. What are the typical awards for those students? My child is in p ...

Relaxed! Your kid is just in P3, let him do whatever he likes, encourage to explore, to learn simultaneously.

Youweird

首先，看你的目标学校是什么。如果前30，竞赛没有都可以申请上；如果仅仅哈耶普斯麻，那么amc12根本不够看，

其次，amc12的前2.5%才能进入aime, 后者才是imo的储备力量。但是你需要打听清楚哪怕进了前2.5%，非美籍是不是可以参赛。而且即使imo得奖，也未必申请得上。

再次，数学好是不是能够好到竞赛这个层次。数学是100%天赋学科，没有天赋，从生下来开始天天25小时学数学也不会有机会在数学上出人头地，反之亦然。

最后，申请美国好大学的途径很多，华人理工特性小男孩反而是可能性最小的一种。

Youweird

我看过了太多把所有时间精力财力都花在数学上的中国父母，（中国特别是大陆，喜欢把数学成绩等同于孩子的智商，以至于学校选拔最重要的标准就是数学），也许小学还能有点成绩，到了middle school high school 就变成了什么数学天赋就是什么数学成绩。而真正可以搞数学竞赛的更是万里挑一。

grace_2022

Youweird 發表於 23-1-30 21:52
首先，看你的目标学校是什么。如果前30，竞赛没有都可以申请上；如果仅仅哈耶普斯麻，那么amc12根本不够看 ...

谢谢分享，这样看对于99%没有天赋的孩子，参加amc12作为大学加分项的性价比说很低

grace_2022

Radiomama 發表於 23-1-28 19:27
Relaxed! Your kid is just in P3, let him do whatever he likes, encourage to explore, to learn simul ...

I saw some younger children taking AMC8 exams which is really impressive, but yeah every child is different lol

Radiomama

grace_2022 發表於 23-2-2 22:26
I saw some younger children taking AMC8 exams which is really impressive, but yeah every child is d ...

Let the boy do something he wants. Maths is not the only key

barque

grace_2022 發表於 23-1-27 16:44
Hi parents with teenage children in international schools, does AMC play an significant role in good ...

Top US universities emphasise on applicants’ intellectual vitality.

964000

grace_2022 發表於 23-1-28 09:03
Hi there, many thanks for sharing. What are the typical awards for those students? My child is in p ...

You don’t need to “come up with something “ at this age for your kid, he is only 9, no university cares about what’s your kid’s “achievement” at 9.
At this age, you need to cultivate your child’s passion, curiosity, confidence, love for learning, resilience, family relationship, expressiveness, social skills etc. There is no point to be over-planning, just let him be a child and do things he enjoys, expose to diverse experience so he will come up with his passion and find his own way. There is no specific formula or sets of useful ECA and kids change a lot anyway. These are the advice from my kid’s school university counsellor to kids of this age.
Doing the AMC may worth a try if your kid is interested in maths, and if this can boost his interest and confidence in maths, so that may help him to find a new passion, but it could be counterproductive if it works otherwise, like being forced into drilling and being too focused on the results.
In fact the US unies have already noted that Chinese candidates are all of the same profile that appear really boring, who got excellent maths results/awards and SATS as standard package and that’s all. Instead they are more interested in who you are and what you could become on top of these.

grace_2022

Thanks. That’s very well said. Agree that Asian candidates are of identical profile so it is difficult to stand out via AMC etc..