If you enjoy math and you want a practical way to see how strong you really are, math competitions are hard to beat!
Math competitions take you beyond routine exercises and force you to solve problems that don’t match a textbook pattern. You practice logical thinking, speed, and accuracy, but you also build patience, because some questions only open up after a few failed attempts. These contests come with different styles, so you might face short multiple-choice rounds or longer written responses where you have to explain every step.
Why should you participate in a math competition?
Competitions build the kind of problem-solving skill that shows up everywhere. You learn how to break down tough questions, spot patterns, and stay organized under pressure. Before choosing a competition, it helps to know what kind of challenge you enjoy. You might prefer timed problem sets, team rounds, or proof-style questions that take longer. Most contests cover topics like algebra, geometry, number theory, trigonometry, and counting.
Competitions also help you build a track record. Even if you do not win, placing well or qualifying for later rounds gives you something concrete to include in college applications. It is also one of the few math activities where your results speak for themselves.
With that in mind, here are 15 math competitions for high school students worth checking out! You can also check out our guides on awesome math programs here and math research programs for high school students here.
15 Math Competitions for High School Students
1. Math Majors of America Tournament for High Schools
Location: Various college and university campuses across the US
Cost: $15 fee per student for registration if paid before the contest date, and $20 if paid on-site
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: Up to 6 students per team
Dates: Vary by location. Typically mid-November
Application Deadline: November
Eligibility: High school students and some advanced middle schoolers
The Math Majors of America Tournament for High Schools is built for speed and teamwork. You rotate between individual solving and team problem sets, so you need both accuracy and coordination. The guts round is the main pressure test, where you keep receiving new problem sets as you finish earlier ones. The questions stay within precalculus, but they are written in a contest style, so they reward pattern spotting more than routine school methods. You spend most of your time on algebra, geometry, number theory, and combinatorics. If you like fast contests but do not want calculus, this fits.
2. Mathematical Association of America’s American Mathematics Competitions
Location: Conducted all over the USA and 30 more countries
Cost: Early bird registration fee is $55, regular registration is $75, and Late registration fee is $115
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: About 300,000
Dates: AMC 10A and AMC 12A on November 05 and AMC 10B and AMC 12B on November 13
Application Deadline: Early bird deadline is September 30, regular deadline is October 15, and late deadline is October 28
Eligibility: Open to middle and high school students
The Mathematical Association of America’s American Mathematics Competitions are the most common entry point into U.S. contest math. You sit for a timed multiple-choice exam with 25 questions and a difficulty curve that ramps up hard in the last third. The AMC 10 and AMC 12 cover algebra, geometry, number theory, counting, probability, and some trigonometry. The goal is not to finish everything; it is to score well by choosing battles and staying clean on the early problems. Your AMC score can qualify you for later rounds like AIME, depending on the cutoffs. It is one of the few contests where a single exam can open a whole pipeline.
3. American Regions Mathematics League
Location: Penn State University, the University of Iowa, the University of Georgia, and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas
Cost: $400 per team, and $65-$75 per person
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: More than 120 teams
Dates: May 29 and 30; generally the Friday and Saturday following Memorial Day
Application Deadline: Registrations open in late March
Eligibility: Open to high school students
American Regions Mathematics League is a team-based competition where you spend two days rotating through different formats. You solve a standard team round, a long power round that demands proof-style writing, and multiple relay rounds where speed and division of labor matter. You also take an individual round, so you cannot hide behind your team. The topics are classic contest areas: algebra, geometry, number theory, combinatorics, probability, and inequalities. The structure forces you to practice many contest skills in one place.
4. Eastern Shore High School Mathematics Competition
Location: Salisbury University, Wicomico County, MD
Cost: Not publicly available;
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: Students from about 19 schools
Dates: November 20 (tentatively)
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Open to high school students in Delaware and Maryland
Eastern Shore High School Mathematics Competition at Salisbury University mixes individual problem solving with a written team round. The team round matters because you must show work and explain your steps, not just give final answers. The individual round is closer to a test, with a set of problems you solve on your own without a calculator. The content stays inside high school math, but it includes a wide range: functions, logs, trig, probability, algebra, and geometry. After the contest, you also attend math talks that go beyond standard classroom topics.
5. W. Varick Nevins III High School Mathematics Competition
Location: Alfred University, Alfred, NY
Cost: Cash prize of $100 for 1st place, $50 for 2nd place, and $25 for 3rd place, plus scholarships for 11th and 12th graders who win. Top winners in the Senior Division often receive scholarships to Alfred University ranging from $6,000 to $10,000 per year.
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: 300 to 350
Dates: First Friday in November
Application Deadline: Typically in October
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
The W. Varick Nevins III High School Mathematics Competition at Alfred University is a timed, no-calculator multiple-choice contest. You get 75 minutes to answer 30 questions drawn from the first three years of high school math. The structure is simple, but the pacing is not, because the later questions are designed to trap careless thinking. You compete in separate divisions depending on grade level. The event also ties into prizes and scholarships for older students, so there is a real incentive to place
6. Competify Hub International Math Championship
Location: Online using a laptop or a desktop that has a webcam and a microphone
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Taken any time from February 8 – 15; summer sessions are also available
Application Deadline: Open throughout the contest window
Eligibility: Open to high school students from over 60 countries (ages 18 and under)
Competify Hub International Math Championship is an online contest where you receive questions in timed sets. You answer 24 questions total, broken into three groups, and each group has its own time limit. The scoring is straightforward, so your rank depends purely on how many you get correct. It is not proof-based, and it is not a long-form contest, so it rewards quick execution. The competition also allows different levels, but high schoolers compete in the high school category. If you want a simple online contest experience without travel, this is one of the easier formats to enter.
7. Berkeley Math Tournament
Location: University of California, Berkeley, CA, and Online
Cost: $15 per student until October 20; $25 if you register during the late registration period
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: More than 2000 students
Dates: November 8 for in-person BMT and December 6 for online BMT
Application Deadline: Registrations open on September 15, and there are multiple deadlines until October 20; late registrations are available until October 31
Eligibility: 9th to 12th graders
Berkeley Math Tournament runs in both an in-person format at UC Berkeley and an online format for remote participation. The contest is built around three classic rounds: individual, power, and guts. The individual round tests your solo problem-solving, the power round pushes you toward proof-style reasoning, and the guts round is a timed sprint with problems released in batches. The questions are original and often feel different from AMC-style writing. Because the participant pool is large, the competition environment is intense. It is one of the most recognized student-run tournaments in the U.S.
8. HMMT
Location: Harvard University and MIT in Cambridge, MA
Cost: $80 per team and $10 per individual
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: Up to 1000 students
Dates: November 8 at Harvard and February 14 at MIT
Application Deadline: September 21
Eligibility: Open to high school students
HMMT is run by students at Harvard and MIT and is known for problems that go beyond normal high school routines. You take an individual test, a team round, and a guts round that rewards speed under pressure. The individual test has 10 problems in 50 minutes, so each question is meant to be hard. The team round is more about strategy, division of work, and not wasting time. The guts round is long and fast, with 36 questions and a strict time limit. If you want a tournament that feels close to Olympiad-level thinking without being an Olympiad, HMMT is one of the main ones.
9. Princeton University Mathematics Competition (PUMaC)
Location: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Cost: $12.50/student, for a total of $100/team or $12.50/individual
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: 8 students per team
Dates: November 22
Application Deadline: September 9 – October 7
Eligibility: Open to high school students globally
The Princeton University Mathematics Competition is built around both solo work and team problem-solving. You take an individual round and team rounds, including a power round that is proof-based. The power round is unusual because the problem is released in advance, so you can work on it with your team before the event and then submit a final solution during the competition. That makes it closer to real mathematical writing than typical timed contests. The rules also require clear reasoning and complete work, not just answers. Failing to do so may have your answers marked as incorrect, so here is the full set of rules.
10. Carnegie Mellon Informatics and Mathematics Competition (CMIMC) Math
Location: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Cost: The registration fee details will be sent to you by email after you or your coach registers on CMIMC’s registration website.
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: Up to 6 students per team
Dates: March 28
Application Deadline: Not publicly available
Eligibility: Open to all high school students and grades below.
Carnegie Mellon Informatics and Mathematics Competition. Math has an individual format that is split into topic-based exams. You take separate tests focused on different areas, such as algebra and number theory, combinatorics and computer science, and geometry. Each exam is timed and has a mix of difficulties, with a tiebreaker section. The team round is shorter and more sprint-like, with 10 problems in 40 minutes. The event also includes math activities the evening before, like panels and integration bee-style events.
11. Purple Comet! Math Meet!
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: 60 plus teams
Dates: April 14 – 23
Application Deadline: Registrations can be done until the last day of the competition
Eligibility: Middle school and high school students from anywhere in the world
Purple Comet Math Meet is an online team contest where you choose your test time within the competition window. Your team needs an adult supervisor to register and start the clock. The high school division gives you 30 problems in 90 minutes, with difficulty ranging from easy to very hard. The questions are designed so teams can split work, but the harder ones usually require group discussion. Because it is free and global, it is one of the easiest team contests to run from a school.
12. Advantage Testing Foundation/Jane Street Math Prize for Girls
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Monetary prizes for students who secure the first ten ranks
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: About 250
Dates: October 10 and 11
Application Deadline: May 31
Eligibility: Open to high school students who are in 11th grade or lower as of March 1, live in the USA or Canada, and have taken an AMC exam. Students who do not live in the USA or Canada but have citizenship or permanent residency can also apply too.
Advantage Testing Foundation Jane Street Math Prize for Girls is a contest for students who identify as female. You solve 20 problems in 2.5 hours, with questions limited to pre-calculus topics, so there is no calculus. The problems are written to reward creativity and clear reasoning, not just speed. The event also includes other activities around the contest dates, such as tours and sessions with women in STEM. Eligibility includes having taken an AMC exam, so it is connected to the mainstream contest ecosystem.
13. USA Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS)
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Across September to February
Application Deadline: Open all year round
Eligibility: Middle and high school students who have citizenship in the USA; if you are a US citizen living in a foreign country and have a US address, you can apply too
USA Mathematical Talent Search is structured around long-form solutions, not timed multiple-choice. Each round gives you a month to solve five problems, including one puzzle-style question and several proof-based problems. You must write full solutions and show reasoning clearly. You are allowed to use books and online resources, but you cannot ask others for help, so the work has to be yours. A major feature is that you receive feedback on your solutions, which is rare in contests. This makes it one of the best competitions for learning proofreading.
14. MathCON
Location: Online for Round 1 and McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago, IL, for Round 2
Cost/Stipend: $60 for the online round one and $95 for the in-person round; these are the fees if you register as an individual.
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: 628 students are selected for the final round
Dates: January 14 – March 6 for the online round and May 23 for the in-person round
Application Deadline: August 20 – March 6 for the online round and March 11 – April 10 for the in-person round
Eligibility: 4th to 12th graders from the US and Canada
MathCON is a two-stage contest where you qualify online and then compete in person if you advance. Both rounds use multiple-choice questions across algebra, geometry, number theory, and combinatorics. The questions are weighted by difficulty, so you earn more points for harder ones. The final round brings together a fixed number of top scorers, so the in-person event has a clear cutoff. The format is closer to a structured exam than a proof contest. If you prefer scoring systems and clear ranks, MathCON fits that style.
15. Rocket City Math League
Location: Remotely from your own school or anywhere in the world
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/ Cohort size: Not specified
Dates: November 13 – December 3 for the interschool test, and the spring individual rounds are conducted from January 14 – March 25
Application Deadline: Registrations are open all year round, but they have to be done by your team sponsor, who can be a math teacher or math coach
Eligibility: Open to all middle, high school, and two-year college students enrolled in pre-algebra through precalculus and above math courses
Rocket City Math League is run by Mu Alpha Theta and combines a team test with later individual rounds. The team portion has you answer 15 questions on one sheet, with your school competing against other schools. The spring individual rounds are split by course level, so you compete in a division based on what math you have taken. Each test is timed and submitted online. The structure makes it accessible because you can participate through your school without traveling. It is also one of the few contests that organizes individual rounds by class level instead of pure grade. Check your level here.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects related to mathematical modelling, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image source – MathCON