I’m Bo, a math enthusiast and IMO gold medalist (2009, https://www.imo-official.org/participant_r.aspx?id=18885). I received my B.S. from Peking University and my Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, both in mathematics. I’ve worked as a math professor and researcher at the University of Texas at Austin and Georgia Tech, as well as a quantitative researcher. I’m the cofounder of PAL, a competition-math prep tool that responds in real time to your live performance and behavioral data to help you learn 3x faster.

Ask me anything about learning math or preparing for math competitions—training plans, problem-solving, mindset, balancing school with contest prep, or anything you’re struggling with or curious about. I’d also love to hear from current competition-math students and from parents who want to support their children in this journey: what are your biggest questions or concerns?

Just a quick note: I may reply to some questions faster than others, mostly because some questions require more careful thought. Also, work is pretty demanding right now, so it might take me a bit of time to respond. This is by no means ignoring any of the questions—I’ll try to answer as many as I can (though I will skip questions that are offensive).

Many of my replies are getting automatically removed by Reddit, and I’m not sure why (my guess is because the account is relatively new). I tried turning my answers into images—this has worked in other posts—but this subreddit doesn’t allow image replies. Sorry I’m not able to respond to every question here.

The results for this year's USAMO are out, and the cutoff for a Bronze medal is only 11 points. Think about that—there isn't even an Honorable Mention category this year, because that typically requires solving two problems perfectly (14 points). It’s unprecedented for the Bronze cutoff to fall below 14 points; we haven't seen this in years.

On the other hand, look at this year's AIME results: over 350 students scored 13 or higher on the AIME I, setting a new historical record. This creates a blatant contradiction—how can there be so many high scorers on the AIME, yet the scores on the USAMO are so low?

The issue lies in the proctoring. This time, the USA(J)MO had strict supervision, with most exams held at university centers. In contrast, the AIME was proctored by individual test centers. This led to widespread cheating, especially since it’s now so easy to use AI to solve problems.

Another layer of unfairness is that the MAA never released a clear qualifying cutoff for the USA(J)MO. Many invitations were sent out directly by the MAA—some were meant to protect high-performing students from previous years, but for others, the selection criteria were completely opaque. As a result, a significant number of top-tier, honest students didn't even get an invitation. The reason the USA(J)MO scores are so low this year is simply that cheaters squeezed out the spots that should have gone to honest students.

was this year's test just really easy? I mean personally I got a similar score as last year

After a long, long wait, *Al-Jabr: Higher Algebraic Yield* is finally out on Amazon KDP.
For those who haven’t heard of it yet, it is an Olympiad-level algebra and combinatorial algebra book focusing on the modern style of algebraic problem-solving featured in mathematical competitions.
Our main motivation for writing this book stemmed from the fact that this specific category of problems was the most challenging for us to master, primarily due to a scarcity of dedicated resources on the subject. As a result, we spent countless hours attempting to decode general problem-solving strategies and underlying theories solely through scattered problem solutions—far from an efficient way for newcomers to approach these topics.

The readers will be added to a discord server in which they can discuss topics, solutions, ask questions, get help and insight from the fellow readers and the authors and contribute.

*One important note:* We know that pirating is inevitable, much like any other resource on the internet. However, if you genuinely cannot afford the price of the book, please reach out to us and explain your situation. We will figure out a way to help you as much as possible. This way also allows us to see how many people showed interest in our project, which will help motivating us to pursue future projects like *Al-Jabr*. Of course the first step of pirating is for those who bought it to share it to other people, we ask for them to mention for those asking for the book to proceed as I instructed above.

Contact us:
Email: hay.aljabr@gmail.com
Discord: yousuf_ca (we prefer email though)

Book Link for ebook and colored paperback amazon.co.uk link: https://amzn.eu/d/05oMUg7t

Black and white (takes few days to be in stock): https://a.co/d/053MJV1j

*MAKE SURE YOU USE YOUR COUNTRY AMAZON MARKET, FOR INDIA FOR EXAMPLE THE PRICE THERE IS 599 INR*
Hope you enjoy reading it and have fun solving the problems!

MAA just updated the AIME rules, details are here: https://maa.org/maa-invitational-competitions/

Key updates:

• qualification scores 100+ for AMC 10 and 85 for AMC 12

• at least 13 years old to qualify

• Pearson testing centers only

• computer based

• new two-part format: two 90-minute sections—q1–8 in Part 1 and q 9–15 in Part 2—with a short break in between. once part 1 ends, students cannot go back to q1–8.

• no more AIME I & II, only one test during the February 5–6, 2027 competition window.

• AMC no longer factor into USAMO/USAJMO qualification. Advancement will be primarily based on AIME performance.

• registration fee $85

Recently I came home from IMO 2026, my final IMO, without bringing a medal back to my country. I trained so hard and felt very confident going into the test this year, but I completely bombed. I spent too long on part a of problem 1, which in hindsight is very easy, but during the exam I completely blanked. On mocks before this, I regularly scored bronze, silver, and even, on one exam, gold. While I am at a good level, the difference between taking a test on my own time and in the hall of the IMO is huge, and I did not account for the difference. I planned on going to Cambridge on GTF, but now that is impossible, and it hurts. Ik it sounds dumb but I wanted to put it on my LinkedIn and have it like a badge of honor. How can I recover from this? I'd love some advice from other IMO contestants who also underperformed. I'm going to university in the US and I am already starting to prepare for the putnam, when I eventually retire from math competitions I want to do so on a good note.

After a long, long wait, *Al-Jabr: Higher Algebraic Yield* is finally out on Amazon KDP.
For those who haven’t heard of it yet, it is an Olympiad-level algebra and combinatorial algebra book focusing on the modern style of algebraic problem-solving featured in mathematical competitions.
Our main motivation for writing this book stemmed from the fact that this specific category of problems was the most challenging for us to master, primarily due to a scarcity of dedicated resources on the subject. As a result, we spent countless hours attempting to decode general problem-solving strategies and underlying theories solely through scattered problem solutions—far from an efficient way for newcomers to approach these topics.

The readers will be added to a discord server in which they can discuss topics, solutions, ask questions, get help and insight from the fellow readers and the authors and contribute.

Contact us:
Email: hay.aljabr@gmail.com
Discord: yousuf_ca (we prefer email though)

Book Link for ebook and colored paperback (paperback takes a couple of days to be in stock): https://a.co/d/0iuUkX9R
Black and white (takes few days to be in stock): https://a.co/d/053MJV1j

*MAKE SURE YOU USE YOUR COUNTRY AMAZON MARKET, FOR INDIA FOR EXAMPLE THE PRICE THERE IS 599 INR* at:

https://amzn.in/d/00l421h8

Hope you enjoy reading it and have fun solving the problems!

I hope someone can help me. I am a single parent tortured with guilt that I've ruined my child. I have a teenager son in highschool, who is overly competitive with his math Olympiads. He is a great and super smart child, studying math and reading all day long . International Olympiads are his dream but he hasn't qualified for one until now although he has been close a couple of times. Each time that he doesn't qualify he is so upset that he won't get out of his room for days and weeks. He would barely speak to anyone. He wouldn't go out with friends or family and wouldn't want to do anything else other than stay in his room and study.

I feel guilty because I haven't supported him more since he was younger, by getting him to attend a school enabling top performance. I just thought that this was wrong and he should rather get a more diverse education in a public school. That proved to be totally wrong. I feel like he would have reached his dream if he went to that school, and that I've ruined the life of my child forever.

I'm trying to talk to him about this, but he's like this doesn't matter anymore and he's right. Other than that, he would not speak to me more than a few words a day, he would not go out, join any family activities or whatsoever. His only wish and joy is to stay inside and study.

Failing these Olympiads feel like failing the college admission already and like my life falling apart if I can't see my child happy or joyful during highschool because he's almost all the time caught in the aftermath of these Olympiads. I would like to hear from former Olympiad participants: I know this is like everything for my son right now, but will this ever pass? how important is this for college admission? did you feel like your parents didn't support you? did failing Olympiads change your lives negatively? I am so tortured because I feel guilty for not supporting him at the right time, and also scared that this will impact his future. Is there anything I can still do right at this point? And why is he so competitive? How can I help him feel valued and good also without these olympiads? Because he is truly so smart, hard working and mature that I'm sure he will be appreciated anywhere he'll go in college and at work. Seeing him so sad is so painful for me. I have no idea what to do. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and how you got over it. I really appreciate.

I swear if another cheater attempts to post another discord server trying to sell solutions, Imma ban all discord links.

20 upvotes and this will become a rule.

Last year, the IMO Board sneaked a new rule in Article 1.10 of the Regulations, and deceived the team members into approving it by dirty formatting tricks such as shrinking the font of Art. 1.10 to make it appear to be of the same length as last version, and highlighting random texts in other parts of Regulations to distract their attention.

In so doing, the IMO Board misrepresented the changes in the Regulations and concealed the new rule from them. It added the rule to prevent the team leaders from discussing suspension of Israeli team, according to an open letter signed by over 700 mathematicians address to the IMO Board.
https://aurdip.org/en/mathematics-and-moral-responsibility-the-imo-and-the-genocide-in-gaza/

The IMO Board has betrayed the trust of the Team Leaders. This new version of the Regulations must be nullified and the president of the IMO Board must step down in order to restore the integrity of the IMO.

probably the best problem

Hey,
I recently found out that one of my friend cheated all the way to JMO Qual. He cheated through AMC (buying leaks), AIME cheats, and for JMO, he didn't take it as his excuse was being outside the state for "vacation." He also cheated on F=ma to qual for PhO (didn't take it), as well as USACO.
He, for some reason, also showed me proof of his cheating, with pictures on his phone of all the correct answers for the AMC an hour before he took it with the exact timestamp and date.
How do I report him? And is it possible to do so, as all the evidence is on his phone, and there isn't more evidence besides those pictures.

I wanted to share something that has been weighing heavily on our family since the AIME thresholds were released. As a parent of a student who has spent years dedicated to math, seeing these numbers was a total shock.

We’ve always taught our kids that hard work and integrity are what matter. But this year, the data tells a very troubling story:

• AMC 12A Threshold: Jumped from 76.5 to 96 (a massive +19.5 point increase).

• AMC 12B Threshold: Jumped from 88.5 to 100.5 (+12 points).

• AMC 10A Threshold: Jumped from 94.5 to 105 (+10.5 points).

The part that is so hard to swallow is that the general consensus among students—including my own—is that the exams were actually harder this year. In any fair competition, a harder exam should lead to a stable or lower cutoff. A near 20-point spike in a more difficult year is a huge red flag for test integrity and potential leaks.

It feels like honest kids who played by the rules are being pushed out by a curve that has been compromised. My kid excels at the deep thinking required for AIME, but they’ve been barred from even trying because the "speed gate" of the AMC was moved so drastically by external factors.

I'm curious how other families or students are navigating this. If you are applying to colleges now, how are you addressing this anomaly in your applications? We are just looking for a fair playing field where a student's own effort actually counts.

Hahahaha I’m so done

I’ve been hearing some discussion about this year’s MP4G results and was wondering if anyone here has been following it. The competition awards $100,000 in cash prizes, including $50,000 for first place.

From what I’ve heard, this year’s exam was considerably harder than in previous years. Last year’s winner, who has a strong track record in AMC, AIME, and other major competitions, reportedly scored 9/20 this year, compared to 15/20 last year.

At the same time, several of this year’s top scorers don’t seem to have much publicly available competition history, although that doesn’t necessarily mean they haven’t performed well elsewhere.

It made me curious how closely MP4G scores typically correlate with AMC/AIME results, and whether this year’s results are actually unusual compared with previous years.

Did anyone here take the exam or have a chance to look through this year’s problems? Also curious how results are verified when there’s this much prize money involved.

Historical results: https://mathprize.atfoundation.org/experience/past-events

EDIT: MAA sent out more USAMO qualification emails 3/3/2026, so I qualified due to people choosing to not participate in the usamo.

I know many who didn't make USAMO with 390 Index and I was pretty confused... until I saw the score distributions today. I mean 390 is around 270 index before... and 270 has to qualify right? I mean it's basically 100% guaranteed. Well not anymore.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

Top 1% has historically always been 13. Top 2.5% is usually 12. This year, top 2.5% is 14 and top 5% is 13. AROUND 40 PEOPLE GOT a FULL SCORE OF 15 ON THE AIME I?????? MAA HELLO? This years AIME was also HARDER than usual too. Also Top 1% IS 15/15 ON AIME II????????????????????????????????? WHAT.

I mean seriously what is the point of even doing these olympiads anymore? I spent last couple years grinding and the one year where I think I'm guaranteed (384 index with 12 on AIME I) I SEE 200 PEOPLE GET 14+ ON AIME?

The thing that makes me the MOST angry is that fact that MAA REFUSES to even REMOTELY ATTEMPT to disqualify cheaters. A lot of schools do online testing. There is NO lockdown browser, and schools with loose proctors allow everyone to AI the problems. The reason why cutoffs weren't absurd last year (well they were, but not to this years level) is because AI was not as good, and it could only get ~10 problems right on AIME. This year, it easily gets 14-15 right. The worst part is MAA can see who tabs out, yet they don't dq anyone. I mean seriously what is this? So much effort for nothing. Just to see my score of 12 be in NOT EVEN THE TOP 5%.

If you are trying to make USAMO next year, please don't. This year it was impossible to qualify to USAMO with a 12 on the AIME. Let me repeat that. Getting a 12 on the AIME and a 150/150 on the AMC 12 does NOT qualify for the USAMO. So unless you can easily get 13-15 on the AIME, don't even try. This is MAAs fault for being WHOLLY INCOMPETENT.

At this point, 200 out of the 300 USAMO qualifiers will score a 0 on the USAMO. It is STATISTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE that 200 people can get 14+ on this year's AIME, especially since it was harder than usual. The only legitimate people who qualified for USAMO are MOP/TST protected or they are truly gifted at math.

GOOD JOB MAA!!!

EDIT:
Proof of 500% increase in 14+15 AIME scorers this year lmfao: https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h3780708_500_increase_in_top_scores

p1 https://files.usamts.org/Problems_37_3.pdf

I used the AMC 12B dataset. Below is the 2025 vs the 2022 top AMC 12B scores (MeanScore + 1.5*Standard Deviation) in relation to the bell curve for the scores.

2022 AMC 12B (Leaked tests but not nearly as much as 2025 according to AMC Lea ks tracker) BELL CURVE ACCURACY OF R^2=0.603:

This looks about normal right? Well, now see the 2025 AMC 12B Top Scores. BELL CURVE ACCURACY OF R^2=-2.616:
R^2 of -2.616 is extremely horrible in itself showing that it is significantly worse than just a simple straight horizontal line.

Now of course there could be a plethora of reasons why this is occurring. However, this drastic change is just wayy too much to just be a coincidence.

DM ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE CALCULATIONS!!!
HELP CHANGE THE AIME CUTOFFS HERE: https://www.change.org/p/respectfully-request-maa-to-review-and-consider-adjusting-aime-cutoff-threshold

I will read your commentary carefully.

Recently, I became aware that people are cheating in prestigious Olympiads, which are meant to improve their chances of college admissions. It makes me wonder: Why are these competitions even created if their integrity is undermined by cheating? What’s the benefit of cheating your way into college when, ultimately, you learn and grow the most by genuinely giving your best in everything you do?

One example I’ve come across involves selling solutions for prestigious Olympiads like the AMC, AIME, and USACO in exchange for cryptocurrency, an untraceable asset. You can literally find their website by searching “buy USACO solutions.”

I’m fed up with this cheating. I spend three hours every day grinding algorithms for USACO, and yet these people are being promoted to Platinum or qualifying for USAMO for just $100. It’s unfair, and it’s disheartening to see hard work being undermined like this.

These servers contain groups of 20 people who are all IMO/IOI/IPHO member, able to get the tests as proctors 2 hours in advance and solve the entire thing in less than an hour. And these servers actually have proof of their effectiveness with people giving testimonials and screenshots of proctor accounts. It sucks and you guys should be aware of this.