AMMOC is “Math Monastery.” Applications are invited throughout the year! The upper cap on the number of current mentees [at any point in time] is two dozen! Therefore, sometimes it may be difficult to admit a new incoming student. However, once we receive your application, we will shortly let you know the exact status.
The only way a new spot opens up is if (1) a student graduates (which takes years) or (2) a student is removed due to lack of rate of adaptation and cognitive endurance.
We want you to read every word, and this is a test of how well you grasp the philosophy of the candidate’s selection for admissions at AMMOC.
- Students are not examined at the time of admission. However, as the course proceeds, the rigor and the mathematical difficulties increase substantially. Therefore, “the survival and continuation in the program” requires continual hardship, time commitment, and willpower. We won’t reply to emails pertaining to queries whose answers are already stated on this page. Please read this page, therefore, very carefully before sending your application.
- Unlike most of the programs in existence, where “filter (entrance exam)” happens at the front door, AMMOC’s model is opposite: the door is open, but the room is deep and moving at 100 mph, which metaphorically means that we have a very difficult curriculum where everything is proved and constructed from the first principle. So the responsibility of self-selection lies entirely on the student. Instead of testing what you already know, AMMOC will test your rate of adaptation and cognitive endurance.
- AMMOC is not a filter of access; it’s a filter of attrition. Most programs filter for talent (via exams); we filter for character and obsessions. We avoid “test-prepped kids” and instead admit those who are keen on cultivating scientific and mathematical temperaments.
- If you are looking for “tricks and tips” for the contests, well, this is not a place for you. Though our pupils have won every single prestigious contest, AMC, AIME, BMT, SMT, HMMT, USAMO, UKMT, BMO, EGMO, and IMO with near-perfect scores, DHR, and distinctions, they are not here for that purpose. They are here for “mathematization.”
- If we sense you and your parents have a different plan, like a very competition-oriented training, we will terminate our engagement. Once you are admitted, you do not get to choose and pick courses. You would have obligations to attend every segment of the curriculum, and if you aren’t looking for a “mathematical education in an institutional setting,” AMMOC is not the right place.
AMMOC academically engages with the following audiences:
- Pre-university students of grades VIII to X aspiring to pursue mathematics as a career path or keen on rigorously learning pre-college mathematics and having an objective to write international mathematics contests.
- Pre-college students are looking forward to early career research initiation through its ”Individual Nurturing Program.” ” Kindly refer to this document for further details, such as, eligibility criteria and a list of projects under the INP scheme.
Application for Admissions at AMMOC
Who do we choose and foster mathematically? To achieve our mission, we want to identify and foster mathematical talents that weren’t noticed ever before in incoming pupils of AMMOC. Therefore, criteria for admission to any course at AMMOC are hardship and willingness to keep doing things even if they are mathematically challenging. Furthermore, during this process of mathematization of the pupil’s brain, each child receives continued encouragement of a mathematical and emotional nature. Program mentor and instructor, Golovanov, believes that at this tender age, “emotional connection with pupils plays a fundamental role in crafting students in the way he dreams them to be.” “We chose pupils who aspire to study serious proof theoretic mathematics; see our curriculum, of pre-college years, which is precisely done by closely following the style of the USAMO/IMO and at least the first two years of UG mathematics. Students’ grasp of the IMO curriculum is regularly checked through their participation in leading international contests of the USA (MAA), UKMT, Australian Math Trust, Canadian Math Contest of the CMS and CEMC, and national and international olympiads. The effectiveness of their understanding of the UG curriculum is evaluated by Director Golovanov and the committee of other professional mathematicians constituted, headed by Director Golovanov, and by their participation in university-level contests such as the power round of the CMM (Caltech), PUMAC (Princeton), SMT (Stanford), and BMT (Berkeley).
- Application destination: apply@ammoc.org and telegram account and your message must include/address the following points:
- Primary details: current school grade, location, and a brief account of mathematics that you have studied outside your school curriculum, and why you want to join AMMOC. How many weekly hours can you commit, in general, to attend seminars and classes at AMMOC and doing assignments based on those seminars
- Period of engagement: Note that AMMOC doesn’t entertain any short-term engagement. The minimum period of engagement is at least a year, and if you do not have that time, kindly refrain from sending admission inquiries. Let us say you have a year to study mathematics at AMMOC; then clearly state what your objectives are that you would like to achieve through your mathematical education at AMMOC. To say the least, you must have time for 24 hours of seminars each month and to complete assignments based upon them.
- Participation in mathematical contests: in case you have won in any math contest, please do share records of your distinction/medal/merit.
- Future academic plan: If you are in the last two years of your high school education, then it would help your case if you wrote your possible plan. For example, which stream do you want to study in your undergraduate studies, and what is the set of universities/institutions that you are aiming to enroll in for UG education?
- Participate, perform, and protect your position: At any point in time, there are around two dozen students from all around the world. You would never know if there is availability unless you write to AMMOC, the reason being that “there is a continuous process of admitting and removing non-performing students.” Everyone gets a single “two-month warning period” to improve his/her performance by asking questions, answering questions raised by other participants, doing assignments, reading pages from books, writing proofs, and coming back with doubts in the next seminar. If the situation doesn’t improve, the participant is removed from the program, and once removed, one is never taken back. This is a ritual to be followed and the only way for your continued position in the seminar of AMMOC.
Mode of Instruction, Class structure, Cost of Attendance and other details
- Since its inception, AMMOC has functioned only in online mode.
- Each class happens in a group, and the number of participants varies between 3 and 9.
- Once your application is received by AMMOC, you will be invited to an ongoing seminar. After 3 to 5 classes, you would be informed about decisions on admission, a suitable group, and schedule of class.
- Applicants who can fit in the existing schedule shall be admitted. We do not honor requests pertaining to changes in schedule or in the frequency of classes.
- The cost of attendance is 20 USD (equivalent amount in respective currency) per hour. Payments are received through PayPal or another mode of internet banking. We accept payments in USD/CAD/Euros/INR.
- You would only pay for a class if you were in the class and not if you were absent.
- We do not honor any request to prepare a kid for an immediate upcoming contest. Though, in every academic year, every student of AMMOC writes at least 15 international math contests of high academic values.
The decision of choosing a suitable group for incoming students is solely AMMOC’s prerogative and depends upon the following factors:
- Your time zone and availability
- Current state of mathematical knowledge
- Your current grade or the performance at the school certainly does not play any role in deciding the group for you.