MCM/ICM Frequently Asked Questions
This section answers your basic questions about the MCM and ICM contests.
If you have questions that are not addressed here, you can also consult our Contest Instructions page which give more in depth details on the contest.
Q How many teams can an institution sponsor?
Q How many teams can an advisor sponsor?
Q Can a student with an associate's degree participate?
Q Is the registration fee $100 per team or $100 per institution?
Q Can I use a school purchase order to pay the registration fee?
Q Can teams participate without paying the registration fee?
Q Where can I find a copy of my Receipt/Invoice?
Q When do the team members need to be named?
Q Where and when do we find the problems?
Q Where do I submit my team's electronic solution?
Q How important is the summary sheet?
Q Can teams send a disk?
Q Who are the judges?
Q What are the judging criteria?
Q When will the contest results be available?
Q Whom do I contact if I have a question?
Q Who can act as an advisor?
Q What are the differences between the designations?
Q Can teams request that a paper be rejudged?
Q Can students from a different school be on the same team?
Q Can high school students participate in MCM/ICM?
Q Can a graduate student participate in MCM/ICM?
Q Is it the case that a paper’s summary must fit on the summary sheet, or can the summary extend to a second sheet?
Q Should the summary that will go on the summary sheet also be included in the electronic submission?
Q Can a team choose problem A, B, C, D, E or F?
Q Where can I find my teams certificate?
Q Do I have to be a math major to compete in the MCM/ICM contest?
Q Are teams allowed to publish their solution?
Q How many teams can an institution sponsor?
A The MCM and ICM contests allow Unlimited teams per institution, with Unlimited teams per department.
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Q How many teams can an advisor sponsor?
A An advisor can sponsor Unlimited teams.
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Q Can a student with an associate's degree participate?
A Yes, if they are currently enrolled in a four-year institution. A Bachelor’s degree or above is not allowed.
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Q Is the registration fee $100 per team or $100 per institution?
A $100 per team.
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Q Can I use a school purchase order to pay the registration fee?
A No, registration fees are only payable online via Visa or MasterCard.
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Q Can teams participate without paying the registration fee?
A No.
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Q Where can I find a copy of my Receipt/Invoice?
A You can download a copy of your Receipt/Invoice online click here see how.
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Q When do the team members need to be named?
A Team members can be named up to 5pm EST on Thursday January 23, 2025.
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Q Where and when do we find the problems?
A Problems will be posted at the MCM web site at https://www.contest.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/ at 5pm EST on Thursday January 23, 2025.
The contest problems will become available precisely at 4:50PM EST on Thursday January 23, 2025 on the following mirror sites:
https://www.comapmath.com/MCMICM/index.html (Asia)
https://www.comap-math.org/mcm/index.html (North America)
https://www.mathportals.org/mcm/index.html (North America)
https://www.immchallenge.org/mcm/index.html (North America)
If you cannot access any of the sites, there may be a problem with your local Internet connection. Contact your local Internet service provider to resolve the issue.
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Q Where do I submit my team's electronic solution?
A Each team is required to submit an Adobe PDF electronic copy of its solution using the new online submission page https://forms.comap.org/241335097294056. Any team member or the advisor may submit the PDF submission..
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Q How important is the summary sheet?
A The summary sheet is very important. It is unlikely the judges will read much beyond a poorly constructed summary.
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Q Can teams send a disk?
A No DO NOT include programs or software as they will not be used in the judging process
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Q Who are the judges?
A The judges are mathematicians, math educators, and others who are in fields directly related to mathematics.
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Q What are the judging criteria?
A Please look at the Contest website under Teams prepare solutions. A list of guidelines details what the judges are looking for.
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Q When will the contest results be available?
A They will be available on or before May 31, 2025 and will be posted on the website.
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Q Whom do I contact if I have a question?
A Please send your questions to mcm@comap.org.
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Q Who can act as an advisor?
A Any faculty, staff member, or student at the team's institution can fulfill the role of Advisor. The advisor will act as the main point of contact for the team, and does not have to be from the mathematics department. We encourage faculty members to serve as team advisors; however, one team member or another student at the school may act as the advisor.
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Q What are the differences between the designations?
A Disqualified - The team's report was found to be in violation of the contest rules.
Unsuccessful Participant - The team's report did not adequately respond to the requirements of the contest problem.
Successful Participant - The report responded to the requirements of the contest problem and communicated those results to the judges.
Honorable Mention - The team's report contained elements that were judged to contain good progress in modeling and problem solving.
Meritorious - The team's report was judged to be excellent in many aspects of modeling and problem solving. The report showed elements of modeling, problem solving, and communication that are exemplary for the scope of the contest.
Finalist - The designation Finalist recognizes those reports that reached the final round of judging. Reports reaching the final round of judging constitute at most two percent of all reports.
Outstanding Winner - The team's report was judged to be at the highest level relative to the contest submissions in terms of modeling, solving the contest problem, and communicating the solution. These reports are generally published and used as examples of outstanding student work.
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Q Can teams request that a paper be rejudged?
A Contest submissions cannot be re-judged. All contest papers go through a rigorous judging process and COMAP stands behind the designation awarded to your paper. We do however suggest that you review the outstanding papers and read the judges commentary which will be available after the reuslts are announced on our web site.
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Q Can students from a different school be on the same team?
A No, students from different schools may not compete on the same team. Students must all be enrolled at the same school at the time of the contest.
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Q Can high school students participate in MCM/ICM?
A Yes, the contest is open to all high school students.
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Q Can a graduate student participate in MCM/ICM?
A No, A Bachelor’s degree or above is not allowed.
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Q Is it the case that a paper’s summary must fit on the summary sheet, or can the summary extend to a second sheet?
A Yes, it must be on a single page with a readable font (12).
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Q Should the summary that will go on the summary sheet also be included in the electronic submission?
A Yes, an electronic version should be included with your electronic submission. Make the first page of your electronic submission the summary page.
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Q Can a team choose problem A, B, C, D, E, or F?
A Yes, you can choose from any of the 6 problem choices.
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Q Where can I find my teams certificate?
A Click here to download your teams certificate.
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Q Do I have to be a math major to compete in the MCM/ICM contest?
A A math major is not required and students may be from any field of study.
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Q Are teams allowed to publish their solution?
A All contest submissions and all rights to its publication become the property of COMAP and COMAP reserves the right to use in materials relating to this contest, the names of the team members, their advisor(s), and their affiliations, without further notification, permission, or compensation. Teams are allowed to request permission to submit their solutions to be published and in most cases COMAP will allow the paper to published as long as COMAP Inc. and the contest are referenced. Teams can make this request by emailing mcm@comap.org. NOTE: COMAP is aware that teams have been approached by some predatory journals. For more information about Predatory open access publishing click here.
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