Local Students Invited to Special Harvard-MIT Math Tournament

November 7, 2008

In order to entice Cambridge, Mass. area high school students, undergraduates from Harvard and MIT have put together a special Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament for November 8, 2008. Already, 300 students have asked to participate.

The special contest, which will feature easier mathematics problems, is only open to students who have not participated in a top 10 HMMT team in past years and who go to high schools within 75 miles of Cambridge.  The traditional spring contest will take place in February as scheduled.

HMMT began in 1998 as a high school math tournament. Local students, from Lexington, Arlington, and Newton, routinely made it to top spots. But as HMMT grew popular, teams from other states and other countries came to dominate the contest. “”We had a team from Turkey last year, and a team from China will be participating this year,” said organizer Beth Schaffer. “”The growing competitiveness has made the [local] students intimidated,” said Schaffer.

There's one caveat. “”We have placed a warning [on our website]," said Schaffer.  "Participating in, or even scoring well at HMMT will not get you into Harvard or MIT,” she said. “We have no affiliation with the admissions offices at either of these schools.”

Source: The Tech (November 4)