The American Mathematics Competition (AMC) won’t allow you to succeed on natural talent alone. And cramming will also fail you here. This may be your first encounter with a challenge that you can’t master easily. It presents intricate puzzles, elegant solutions, and the exhilaration of pushing your mathematical problem-solving skills to their limits. But don’t let the daunting challenge intimidate you. Instead, be glad: proving yourself here matters more than proving yourself in most other places, precisely because it’s so hard, even for talented students like you.
Like many of your peers, you already have most of what it takes to conquer the AMC, and to unlock a treasure trove of valuable skills that will enrich your academic journey (and beyond). All you need is the right approach to this unique challenge in order to master the last few pieces.
One of those pieces is a strategic approach to preparation. That is what we’ll discuss today, with a special emphasis on your most powerful ally: expert coaching. Although practice tests, textbooks, and online resources have their place, the personalized guidance and expertise of a great coach belong at the center of your preparation plan.
But first, what are you aiming for?
It’s okay to commit to preparing for the AMC for the purpose of obtaining a high score (and all the benefits that come with it). But once you’ve committed, you should stop thinking about your score for a while. Focusing on your score primes your brain to worry about failure, which only makes preparation harder and less effective. Instead, practice focusing on the joy of challenge and the pursuit of excellence. It may sound funny, but letting go of your desired outcome (for now!) is an important part of priming your brain to do what’s required to succeed here.
That’s because the AMC is designed to both test and improve your mathematical skills and creativity. The mistakes that you’ll make in preparation are meant to help you get better at learning from your mistakes. But notice this: learning from your mistakes means becoming comfortable making mistakes in the first place, and it also means changing your habits as the result of those mistakes. Being able to make mistakes comfortably, and being able to change habits in response to mistakes are two skills that most bright students have never had to learn before.
It’s precisely because the needed skills are so foreign to you that will find a great coach to be an invaluable resource and guide. After all, you can’t improve in areas you don’t even perceive! Over time, you’ll discover that your only limits will be the ones set by your tutor’s competence (both in their knowledge and in their ability to communicate this knowledge).
If that sounds interesting to you, then get in touch with us at Wes Carroll Tutoring and Coaching (WCTC). Students like you are the reason we do what we do.
How does coaching help?
Imagine that you’re a climber scaling a challenging mountain. Would you grab a map and compass and head straight for the base of the steepest slopes? Of course not. You’d also hire an experienced guide, someone who has already traveled the terrain, who knows all the potential pitfalls, and who understands the most efficient ascent routes.
This is what you need if you’re aiming for brilliant success in the AMC. An excellent AMC coach helps you tailor your training approach to your unique needs and style, using wisdom gleaned from working with the hundreds of students who came before you.
Charting your course
Regarding study plans you’ll find online: If you do what everyone else is doing, you’ll get what everyone else is getting. Most of the people who take the AMC 10 or AMC 12 expect to make it to AIME (the next level of the competition), but, unfortunately, most do not. Part of the reason is the quality of their preparation plan.
Get a coach who can come to know you inside and out, who can help you train your strengths into game-changers, and who can identify your weaknesses and help you keep them out of your way. The right training partner sharpens your critical thinking skills and unleashes your creative potential, all the while adapting to your unique learning pace and style. It’s hard to compete with someone who has that advantage.
Fueling your motivation
Let’s be honest, staying focused on challenging material can be a test in itself. But with an experienced coach by your side, you’ll never feel alone. Their encouragement and accountability will keep you on track, celebrating your wins and providing a safety net when you stumble. The best coaches understand that keeping student motivation and focus strong is the surest path to all-around success.
The AMC requires a surprisingly deep grasp of the test’s subtleties and pitfalls. It’s very powerful to have an advisor who is not only familiar with those subtleties and pitfalls but who understands how to best take advantage of them. The consequent boost to your performance can be an unbeatable advantage.
Conquering test-day jitters
Ever feel that you might fail and that if you fail, you might disappoint those who have supported you to this point? We’ve all felt it. It’s a feeling that can intrude at any moment. But it’s the sharpest students who are most commonly affected by thoughts like these. After all, they are the ones in whom most has been invested, and they are also the ones with the least experience of authentic challenge. But this too is just another of the barriers to success that can be confronted and overcome with the help of a guide who has seen it many times before, and who has helped hundreds before you learn to consciously work with and through these thoughts, rather than to be negatively affected by them.
Complementary strategies for your arsenal
Practice perfect practice
Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Perfect practice is what makes perfect. I’m talking about a practice that stretches your limits, just the right amount, every time. Let’s not kid ourselves: this is uncomfortable work, which is part of why so few succeed in doing it. An excellent coach who knows your limits helps you stretch in this way without letting you lose your motivation along the way.
Connect with the community
There are a number of online forums and groups where you can connect with other AMC aspirants (Art of Problem Solving comes into mind). Forums like this can be a great way to share experiences, tips, and strategies. You can also find additional support and encouragement from other people who are on the same journey.
Quality over quantity
The more you practice effectively, the better you will become. It’s as straightforward (and difficult to achieve) as that. Set achievable goals for yourself and celebrate your progress. Never lose sight of your objective: becoming an even better version of yourself.
Embrace the challenge, reap the rewards
By spending your time and energy wisely as discussed here, you turn the AMC from a cold and unfamiliar mountain range into a reachable summit. The journey will be difficult, yes, but the rewards are vast. Not only will you dominate a prestigious exam, but you’ll develop priceless problem-solving skills, critical thinking mastery, and a deep confidence that will help you in many disparate aspects of your life. So jump into this intellectual adventure, welcome the challenge, and join your WCTC coach on a journey to develop your innate mathematical genius further. It’s closer than you realize.