Eligibility
Mathcamp is designed for middle school and high school students from all over the world, ages 13–18, who love mathematics and are excited to spend the summer learning new, challenging, and beautiful ideas. Alumni are automatically invited back, and students often return year after year. (The curriculum changes each summer, and it's not possible to run out of topics to study!)
Before coming to camp, we expect all students to have completed Precalculus and be fluent in polynomial, trigonometric, exponential and logarithmic functions. Many but not all of our students will have completed Calculus (and beyond), but there are plenty of classes at camp that do not require Calculus as a prerequisite.
Most Mathcamp students are already comfortable reading and writing proofs; the application process centers around the Qualifying Quiz, which asks students not just to solve problems, but to articulate their arguments through proofs. However, we do welcome applications from students who do not have formal training outside of the standard high-school curriculum, but show exceptional creativity and promise. At the beginning of camp, we offer an introductory course to cover proof techniques (e.g. induction, contradiction) and core topics (e.g. modular arithmetic, cardinality), so students without previous exposure to proof-based courses have a chance to catch up.
