49 Saratoga students qualify for national math competition, AIME

Photo by Ruiyan Zhu

Sophomore Brady Liang solves AIME problem sets.

This year, 59 students from the Los-Gatos Saratoga Unified School District (LGSUHSD) have qualified for the American Invitational Math Competition (AIME); the test will be given on Feb. 1.

Of the 59 students who qualified, 49 are Saratoga High School students and 10 are from Los Gatos.

Qualifying students scored approximately in the top 5% on the American Math Competition (AMC) 10/12 test, which they took in November 2023. 

Sophomore Brady Liang has taken AMC 10 for the past two years, qualifying for AIME both times. 

“I’m solving puzzles to get to the answer,” Liang said. “It’s like magic sometimes.”

The AMC has 150 points and consists of 25 multiple choice questions taken in 75 minutes. The national test aims to select participants to represent the United States at the International Math Olympiad (IMO). The national average hovers around 50-70 each year. 

To qualify for AIME, participants typically need to score at least 100 points. Correct questions earn 6 points, questions left blank earn 1.5 points and incorrect questions earn 0 points. This year, the cutoff scores were 103.5 for the AMC 10, 105 for the AMC 10B, 85.5 for the AMC 12A and 88.5 for the AMC 12B.

After qualifying through AMC 10/12, students take the AIME, a 15-question, 3-hour test, in hopes of eventually qualifying for the United States of America Mathematical Competition (USAMO) or the United States of America Junior Math Olympiad (USAJMO) for students in 10th grade or below. Around 50 top mathletes are selected each year to attend the Math Olympiad Summer Program (MOSP), held at Carnegie Mellon University. 

Liang said he has spent at least seven hours a week preparing for AMC 10 by doing practice problems and strengthening his understanding of concepts. 

“It feels good to qualify, and my months of preparation paid off,” Liang said. “I hope to continue that success in the AIME and make it to USAJMO.”