How to Qualify for AIME Through AMC 10 and AMC 12

If you've spent more than ten minutes in math contest circles, the acronym AIME probably came up, usually in the same breath as cutoff or I was one problem away.

The AIME (American Invitational Mathematics Examination) is the narrow bridge between the AMC contests and the Olympiad level. It is not quite the mythical "final boss" of problem solving, but for thousands of students it marks the first real milestone on the road to the USA Mathematical Olympiad.

Qualifying is neither a lottery nor an accident. There is a playbook. Let's walk through it.

What Is the AIME?

The AIME is the next round after the AMC 10 and AMC 12, both run by the Mathematical Association of America.

It is invitation-only, and your AMC score must be high enough to clear that year's cutoff. Make the cut and you receive a ticket to a 15-question, 3-hour exam where each problem's answer is a three-digit integer.

For the official rules and dates, see MAA invitational competitions.

Who Can Qualify?

Anyone who takes the AMC 10 or AMC 12 can qualify. You can take both in the same year as long as they are not both of the same version, A or B.

For example, AMC 10A with AMC 12B works. AMC 10A with AMC 10B does not.

This is partly a scheduling rule, but it also keeps the playing field fair so that no one gets multiple tries at the exact same level.

What Scores Do You Need?

This is the part where people lean in and whisper like it is classified information.

The truth is that it changes every year.

The cutoff depends on the test's difficulty and on the overall performance of students. Historically:

• AMC 10: about 100 to 110
• AMC 12: about 90 to 100

Scoring works as follows:

• 6 points for each correct answer
• 1.5 points for a blank
• 0 points for an incorrect answer

A perfect score is 150.

A practical target is 17 or 18 solid solves, leaving the rest as strategic blanks rather than low-probability guesses.

For detailed yearly cutoffs, see historical cutoff data.

Improving Your Odds

Here is where the work matters.

1. Mine the past. Real past tests are invaluable. They reveal recurring problem archetypes and pacing patterns. Try sample competition problems or Math Prep Pro.

2. Identify your weak links. In contests, the weak link breaks first. AMC favorites include algebra, geometry, number theory, and counting. Spot your "miss zones" and give them deliberate attention.

3. Simulate test day. Time pressure turns friendly problems into strangers. Practice under official time limits. Learn the art of skipping and returning later to tough problems.

4. Post-mortem every miss. Every wrong answer hides a lesson. Understand why your reasoning failed, then drill similar problems until the pattern feels familiar.

5. Track your progress. Guesswork is for probability problems, not for knowing your readiness. Use detailed analytics or your own tracking system to see how your accuracy changes over time.

A Final Word

Qualifying for the AIME is an achievement, but it is also a side effect of something bigger: developing the craft of problem solving.

Some years you will hit your target. Other years you will learn more than you score. In both cases you are building the qualities that make contests worth entering: patience, creativity, and the joy of untangling something tricky.

Start early. Stay focused. Make every practice session count. When test day comes, remember that the problems are not your enemies; they are simply puzzles you have not solved yet.

Good luck, and see you on the other side of the cutoff.