How Should Students in Grades 7–12 Prepare for AMC10/12? A One-Stop Preparation Guide

For students aiming to achieve strong AMC10/12 scores and secure a solid qualification for AIME, the most critical first step is choosing the right time and strategy to begin preparation.

To help students assess their readiness and experience AMC-style problems, a limited-time AMC10/12 experience class for the 2026 season is now available.

AMC10/12 Experience Class (Limited-Time Offer)

Special Offer: RMB 9.9 for the 2026 season

The Key to AMC10/12 Success: Choosing the Right Starting Point

AMC10/12 exams are held annually in November. The recommended preparation cycle ranges from 3 to 12 months, depending on the student’s grade and background.

Lower grades benefit from long-term foundational development, while higher grades should focus on short-term, precision-driven improvement—avoiding the common pitfalls of starting too early without efficiency or too late under pressure.

The Ideal Preparation Timeline by Grade

Grades 6–8: Foundation Building Stage

Students at this stage should begin exposure to core AMC10 concepts without focusing on intensive problem drilling or scores. The emphasis should be on developing logical reasoning, algebra–geometry connections, and smooth transitions between middle school and high school mathematics.

This stage significantly reduces future preparation pressure.

Grade 9: The Golden Starting Year

Grade 9 is widely regarded as the optimal year to begin formal AMC10 preparation. With sufficient time available, students can systematically master all major topics, aim for high scores, and achieve a stable AIME qualification.

Grade 10: Transition Stage

Students should prioritize achieving strong results in AMC10 while gradually bridging into AMC12 foundational topics. This dual-track strategy allows students to prepare for both competitions and strengthen their academic profile for U.S. college applications.

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Grades 11–12: Short-Term Intensive Stage

At this stage, students should avoid overly difficult or low-frequency problems and focus instead on high-frequency core topics. The primary goal is to improve accuracy on foundational and intermediate-level problems and reliably surpass the AIME cutoff score in a limited timeframe.

A Universal AMC10/12 Preparation Framework

Regardless of starting grade or preparation length, effective AMC preparation follows a consistent three-step structure:

1. Solidify the Fundamentals

Students must fully master the foundational topics across algebra, geometry, number theory, and combinatorics, ensuring 100% accuracy on Problems 1–10, which are typically straightforward but decisive.

2. Targeted Problem-Type Mastery

Rather than blindly practicing full exams, students should systematically work through AMC10/12 problems from the past 10 years, organized by topic.

For Problems 11–20, which require deeper insight, students should develop personalized solution strategies and aim for an accuracy rate of at least 80%.

Recommended Practice Resources:

• AMC10 Past Papers (2010–2024)

• AMC12 Past Papers (2010–2024)

• AIME Past Papers (2010–2025)

3. Mock Exam and Final Sprint

In the final phase, students should repeatedly review incorrect and time-consuming problems, identify weak areas, and refine exam pacing through mock tests.

AMC Participation Eligibility

• AMC10: Students in Grade 10 or below who are under 17.5 years old on the exam date

• AMC12: Students in Grade 12 or below who are under 19.5 years old on the exam date

• AIME: An invitational exam for top scorers in AMC10 and AMC12, featuring significantly higher difficulty

Final Takeaway

Preparing for AMC10/12 is not about starting as early as possible—it is about matching preparation strategies to grade level and executing efficiently.

To help students evaluate their current level and experience the structure of AMC-style problems, we have curated AMC10/12 experience classes for the new season, providing a practical and low-risk entry point into competition preparation.