On Tuesday March 7, MSMS juniors Leah Pettit and William Johnson competed in the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME).

With 15 questions and a 3-hour time limit, the AIME is the second of two tests that are used to determine qualification for the U.S.A. Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO), the first being the American Mathematics Competition (AMC).  The use of calculators is prohibited, and all problems require a proof-based response.

This was both Pettit and Johnson’s first year to qualify for the AIME after having made the cut-off score for AMC.

Despite the intimidating prestige that the examination holds, the two competitors seem to have enjoyed taking it.

“The problems are designed so that you can solve each one some long complicated way…or you can exploit some hidden shortcut that only applies to very few cases,” Pettit explained.  “I love that about these questions because I feel like it completely evens [the] playing field…In other words, this is one of the few tests I’ve seen that tests the student rather than the teacher.”

As the two competitors wait for their results to come in, they are already determined to qualify for the AIME again for their senior year.