AMC 10 vs AMC 12: Which Should You Take in 2025?

Learn the differences between AMC 10 and AMC 12, including format, scoring, AIME cutoffs, and a smart practice plan. See how MathPrepPro’s timed simulations and analytics can sharpen pace and accuracy.

Why the choice is not really about easy or hard?

At some point you face the fork in the road. AMC 10 on the left, AMC 12 on the right. It is tempting to think that one path is easier. Morally speaking, both contests try to measure the same creative problem-solving voice, only through slightly different vocabulary lists. The punchline is that your decision should be strategic rather than sentimental.

The non-negotiables you must know first

Both exams have 25 multiple-choice questions and a 75-minute clock. Correct answers give 6 points, unanswered questions give 1.5 points, and wrong answers give zero for a total of 150 points. Calculators are not allowed. These facts come straight from official MAA AMC materials (Mathematical Association of America).

Eligibility and administrative details also live in the current Teacher’s Manual. If you need grade and age cutoffs or where the contest may be hosted, consult the manual before you plan your season.

The cutoff trap that fools many students

Intuition whispers that an “easier” contest gives an easier path to AIME. Reality is messier. Recent seasons show AIME thresholds announced by MAA after scoring is finalized, and they can differ substantially between AMC 10 and AMC 12 and between A and B sittings. You should monitor the official threshold announcements rather than rely on folklore.

A historical note that shapes strategy. The AMC scoring scheme discourages blind guessing and rewards disciplined skipping. AoPS’s reference pages summarize the six for correct, one point five for blank, and zero for wrong scoring with historical changes before 2007. This matters because your expected value flips once you eliminate one or two choices.

Sometimes the broader AMC 12 pool spreads scores in a way that makes its AIME cutoff comparable to or even lower than AMC 10 in a given year. Choose the exam that aligns with your topic strengths and pacing rather than the one that simply sounds easier. Then verify that the current year’s rules and thresholds match your plan.

A quick guided example because math is not a spectator sport

Find all integers n such that n² + 12n is a perfect square.

Brute force is the natural first impulse. Expand, test, and drown in arithmetic. Pause here. Quadratic plus linear usually begs to be completed to a square.

Write

n² + 12n = (n + 6)² – 36

Now the right-hand side is a difference of two squares. Set (n + 6)² – m² = 36. Equivalently (n + 6 – m)(n + 6 + m) = 36. You now have a clean factor-pairing problem with a small search space. The point is not just the answer. The point is the habit. When you see quadratic plus linear, be suspicious that a hidden square is waiting.

Training the habits that actually raise scores

• First Habit : Decide quickly whether you are solving, pruning, or skipping. The scoring scheme rewards restraint when you have no traction and rewards a calculated guess once you have eliminated options.
• Second Habit : Practice in conditions that feel like the real contest. A stopwatch is helpful, but a full simulation is better because it measures time spent per problem and exposes slow drift in the middle third of the test where many students leak minutes.
• Third Habit : Conduct a post-mortem immediately after a mock. Which topic families are chewing your time? Which items do you over-attempt? Which early problems do you miss due to rushing? Repeat the cycle with data rather than vibes.

Where MathPrepPro fits

On MathPrepPro you can run AMC 10 practice tests, AMC 12 practice tests, and AIME-style mocks with strict seventy-five-minute conditions. After each run you get step-by-step solutions and analytics that surface accuracy by topic and seconds per question. Use that dashboard to decide which units to drill next and when to practice strategic skipping.

Which contest should you actually choose

If you are in ninth or tenth grade, AMC 10 exists precisely for you. If you are older, AMC 12 is the intended route. If you can legitimately take either, run a few timed mocks of both and compare error profiles and pace. Then choose the one with the better risk profile relative to recent AIME thresholds and your topic strengths. Verify your plan against the current policy and threshold announcements from MAA before registration closes.

Kevin Scott Math Instructor & Co-Founder of MPP

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