American Invitational Mathematics ExaminationAIME

You cannot register on your own, and no school needs to organize it. AIME is invitation only: you must first meet the MAA's published threshold on that year's AMC 10 or AMC 12 — 100 on AMC 10 or 85 on AMC 12 for 2026-27. Qualifiers receive an invitation by email and book their own Pearson testing appointment from there; the process is the same everywhere, with no extra steps.

No — the MAA has retired the two-administration format. For 2027 there is a single competition window, February 5-6, 2027, and each qualified student picks one appointment inside it and takes the exam once. So the old questions about choosing between I and II, or which paper is harder, no longer apply. The only thing to do now is book a convenient slot and site early.

Starting in 2027 it is no longer proctored at schools. AIME is a computer-based exam at Pearson Professional Centers, with more than 200 sites across the U.S. and Canada, so most families find one nearby. The registration fee is $85 plus applicable tax, and the MAA has said financial assistance is available for students who need help with the fee or significant travel costs. The invitation email links to Pearson, where you choose your site and time.

The exam is 15 fill-in questions in three hours, answers are integers from 000 to 999, and there is no penalty for a wrong answer, so 15 is the maximum. As a guide: 5-7 confirms a solid AMC foundation; 8-10 is persuasive for top STEM applications; 11 or above usually falls in the USAMO/USAJMO invitation range. For University of California (UC) applicants, an 8 or higher is enough to list under Activities & Awards as quantifiable evidence of math strength.

The MAA has confirmed that 2027 USAMO and USAJMO qualification is based primarily on the AIME score, with AMC scores no longer a factor — the old index formula of AMC score plus 20 times the AIME score no longer applies. Roughly 250-300 students are invited to each, and the MAA publishes the thresholds after results based on the actual distribution, so there is no fixed number. Rely on the official announcement.

The AMC is 25 multiple-choice questions in 75 minutes and rewards fast pattern recognition. AIME is 15 questions in three hours and rewards a twenty-minute derivation without slipping, with an exact numeric answer and no options to back-solve from. Preparation should shift toward depth on single problems, disciplined written work, and habitual verification; EDUBUS's in-person prep classes are built around exactly this shift in pacing.

Yes. Beyond clearing the AMC threshold, the MAA requires students to be at least 13 years old on the day they take AIME. Irvine Unified's math acceleration track starts in grade 7, and students who work through Algebra and Precalculus early can post a qualifying AMC 10 score in middle school; see the IUSD Math Pathway guide. That group may not yet be 13 when AIME rolls around. USAMO/USAJMO eligibility further down the line carries its own residency rules, so check the MAA's current policy.

Once. For 2027 there is a single competition window on February 5-6, qualifiers book one appointment inside it, and each student may take AIME only once — there is no makeup or retake. This differs sharply from the AMC, where you can sit both the A and B papers and keep the better score. Plan the date, the travel distance to the center, and the student's condition that day accordingly.