AMC Strategy

Today, I will be posting about the final strategy for the AMC. As the exam date is approaching, this strategy will be very useful, so please read it till the end to learn effective methods.

Assuming you have 2-3 weeks left until the exam, this will be very helpful. I will explain what strategy to use, which parts to focus on, and why you need to study during the remaining period.

The AMC is taken in the order of AMC 8, AMC 10/12, AIME, USA(J)MO, and IMO. First, you need to build your skills in AMC 8, then achieve good scores in AMC 10/12 to qualify for the AIME exam. Many students challenge themselves because just qualifying for AIME can positively impact college admissions.

Students with high combined scores in AMC 10/12 can compete in AMO or USAJMO, but to advance to these higher-level competitions, you need high scores in AMC. Today, I will focus on strategies for AMC 10, which has many applicants.

AMC Scoring Criteria

Let’s look at the AMC 10 scoring criteria. There are 25 questions in total. Each correct answer gives you +6 points, skipping a question gives you +1.5 points, and incorrect answers give you 0 points. The maximum score is 150 points.

AIME Cutoff

Let’s look at the history of the AIME cutoff. In 2016, the cutoff started at 110 points out of 150, and in 2022, it went down to 94.5 points. Over time, the cutoff has been decreasing, indicating that the questions are getting more difficult. I will explain how to surpass the cutoff to advance to AIME.

AMC Strategy

Let’s see how many questions you need to answer correctly to advance to AIME. If a student answers 16 questions correctly, skips 9, and gets 0 wrong, they will score 109.5 points, comfortably surpassing the cutoff. However, it is unrealistic to assume that you will get all 16 questions correct. A more realistic approach is to answer 16 questions, get 2 wrong, and skip 9, resulting in 97.5 points. If you get 4 wrong out of 16 and skip 9, you will score 85.5 points, making it difficult to advance to AIME.

A strategy of answering 12 questions correctly and skipping the rest will result in 91.5 points, which is likely not enough to advance to AIME. If you answer 13 questions correctly and skip the rest, you will barely make it to AIME based on the 2021 cutoff. Therefore, you need to aim to answer at least 14 questions correctly!

Strategy to Answer 14 Questions Correctly

It is difficult to answer all 14 questions correctly, so let’s assume you get 2 wrong. In this case, you need to answer 2 more questions correctly from the remaining questions to have a total of 14 correct answers. Instead of aiming to answer all questions from 1 to 14 correctly, I will provide a realistic strategy.

Work hard on questions 1 to 14, assuming you get 2 wrong, then answer 3 questions from 15 to 25, getting 2 correct. Skip the remaining questions to score 96 points, which will qualify you for AIME!

I have analyzed AMC 10 questions. The AMC exam covers 29 chapters, and I have looked at which chapters the questions come from. If you work hard on the earlier questions to increase your accuracy and choose 3 questions from the 15-25 range, getting 2 correct and skipping the rest, it is important to know where the later questions come from.

The chapters with many questions in the later part are marked in red. These chapters are:

• Equations Solving Skills, Function Notation

• Triangle Area and Area Method

• Counting by Permutation and Combination/Factorial/Counting

• Counting - Balls and Boxes

• Counting with Geometric Figures
  

Therefore, strategically focus on these chapters. If you solve 3 questions from the later part and get 2 correct, your chances of advancing to AIME will increase.

Our academy also focuses on these parts in AMC supplementary classes and homework. By concentrating on these chapters, you can achieve good scores in AMC and advance to AIME.

Today, I have shared practical and efficient strategies to advance to AIME. I hope you use these strategies to achieve your goals. This concludes today’s post.

If you have any questions about AMC or AIME, please contact us at A-One Institute.

Thank you.