About

The AIME is an invitation-only competition based on performance in the AMC 10 and AMC 12. The AIME features 15 questions requiring integer answers between 0 and 999 — no multiple choice, no partial credit, and no calculator. Unlike the AMC exams, every problem demands genuine mathematical reasoning rather than strategic elimination. Administered each February in two versions (AIME I and AIME II), students may take only one; taking both results in disqualification. Qualification requires scoring in the top 2.5% on the AMC 10 or top 5% on the AMC 12, with exact numerical cutoffs set after each competition cycle based on score distributions.

The AIME's significance operates on two levels. Internally, combined AMC and AIME scores determine eligibility for the USAMO or USAJMO — the proof-based olympiads from which the US IMO team is ultimately selected. Externally, AIME qualification alone is already a recognized credential; a strong AIME score — particularly double digits on a 15-point scale — is the kind of result that admissions officers at mathematically rigorous universities notice and understand without explanation.

AIME qualification marks the point at which a student transitions from competitive mathematics participant to serious mathematical talent — and a strong score here opens doors, both in the pipeline toward the IMO and on a college application, that the AMC exams alone cannot.