The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition
The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is the most famous North American college-level math contest, and probably the hardest. It is administered each year on the first Saturday of December. The 75th contest took place on December 6, 2014 and is now officially over. The results will be available in late March or early April. Stay tuned.
The competition consists of a morning session (3 hours, 6 questions, A1-A6) and an afternoon session (3 hours, 6 more questions, B1-B6). The problems in part A are roughly in order of difficulty, and so are the ones in part B. Each question is worth 10 points, so the maximum total is 120 points.
The competition emphasizes ingenuity rather than knowledge, so freshmen are not at much of a disadvantage compared to seniors. Interest in or experience with problem solving is important. Not just math majors have done well; some recent winners have come from nearby disciplines, including physics, computer science, and engineering.
Usually contestants who complete just one problem correctly will rank somewhere in the top 20% to 50% of the students who take the exam, and those working two problems correctly, often rank in the top 10% to 20% (inter)nationally.
The competition is open only to regularly enrolled undergraduates, in colleges and universities of the United States and Canada, who have not yet received a college degree. No individual may participate in the competition more than four times. An eligible entrant who is also a high school student must be informed of this four-time limit.
To learn more, click here for the official rules.
Each school's contestants participate in the Putnam
Competition on the first Saturday in December. They
take an examination, called the Putnam Exam, consisting of two
three-hour
sessions of six problems each. Each problem is graded out of 10 points,
however the score on each problem can only be 0, 1, 2, 8, 9, or 10
points
(i.e. there are no scores in the "middle range"). A score of 2 is for
significant progress, and a score of 8 means an almost perfect
solution. This suggests the following strategy: it is better to pick
just one or two problems and write them really well, then to try to get
a lot of partial credit on many problems (because you won't).
Prizes are awarded to the departments of mathematics of the institutions with the top five teams. In addition, there are prizes awarded to each of the members of these teams. The five highest ranking individuals are designated Putnam Fellows by the Mathematical Association of America. Prizes are awarded to each of these individuals and to each of the next twenty highest ranking contestants.
The trustees of the Putnam Fund also award at Harvard University the annual William Lowell Putnam Prize Scholarship to one of the Putnam Fellows. This scholarship is available either immediately or on completion of the undergraduate course of the successful candidate and carries a value up to $12000 plus tuition at Harvard.
Institutions throughout the United States and Canada are encouraged to offer fellowships to high ranking contestants in the competition.
The Elizabeth Lowell Putnam Prize is awarded periodically to a woman whose performance on the Competition has been deemed particularly meritorious. This prize would be in addition to any other prize she might otherwise win. Women contestants, to be eligible for this prize, must specify their gender.
A web page with resources useful for aspiring contestants has been set up, see the link below.
Also, if there is enough interest, we will run some preparation sessions. Stay tuned for announcements.
Questions? Suggestions? Contact me.
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