The Math Olympiad Contest is sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America and consists of a series of math problems that can qualify a competitor as a member of the team to compete at an international math contest. This is a high honor to be able to represent America in the competition. For the first test, anywhere around 150,000 students take it, and the judges take the top 25,000 students to qualify for the second round. Junior, Ross Coker, was a competitor in the second round of the Math Olympiad Contest on March 26.

In preparation for the first test, which is open to anyone, Coker taught himself and “found tests and problems online.” Coker says that he made sure to learn all the math that was available to him and did the majority of his preparation on his own.

“A lot of it wasn’t stuff I learned in school,” Coker said.

In preparation for the second competition, Coker simply took harder practice tests. He was asked if he had any special routine he followed before he competes in competitions. Coker said he did at one point, but he no longer listens to his warmup song, a recording of an Argyle High School band performance. However, he still has confidence in his abilities on his upcoming test. Keep an eye out on The Talon twitter page for results.