Among more than 250 contestants from the U.S. and Canada, freshman Celine Liang took fourth place at the fourth annual Math Prize for Girls contest at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Sept. 22.
She received a $2,000 cash prize and also the Youth Prize for being a top performer in ninth grade or below.
“She is among the best, boy or girl,” math club adviser PJ Yim said.
According to Yim, Liang’s placement in this competition is the highest ever by a Saratoga participant. In the written round of the 2012 National Mathcounts Competition, a middle school mathematics contest last school year, Liang had placed 10th among 256 participants from around the country, the highest finish by a female. The next highest finishing female was 44th.
Senior Amanda Chow and freshman Kristine Zhang joined Liang in taking the two and a half hour 20-question test on the morning of Sept. 22. This year was Chow’s third year participating in the contest.
The girls qualified for the contest by earning scores on the AMC (American Mathematics Competitions) this past spring that qualified for the AIME (American Invitational Mathematics Examination).
Liang and Zhang felt tired after the trip but expressed a desire to return next year if they qualify.
“Math Prize is a great opportunity to get to know other girls with similar interest in math and science,” Liang said.
