For the second year in a row, Soo Young "Harry" Park '18 has earned the opportunity to compete against the brightest high school math minds in the country.
After his performance on two rounds of extensive tests, Harry will participate in the third and final round of the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competition, which will be held April 18-19.
"It's great," Harry beamed. "I was happy to see my index improve compared to last year. I feel like I didn't waste my whole year. I can see my effort and hard work toward math paid off. The result shows how well I prepared for the exam. It's a great honor. Not everyone advances to the final round."
That's for sure. Of the 60,000 students who took the initial exam, only 4,000 advanced to the second round. Harry earned a perfect score on the first exam before answering 12 of 15 questions correctly on the second round, making him just one of approximately 300 students to earn a seat for the final exam.
"They released the answers and solutions 24 to 48 hours after the exam," Harry described. "I went on the website and checked my answers and discussed solutions with other people. I knew I got a decent score and no matter what the cut-off would be, I would make it."
The final round includes three proof-based questions and 4½ hours of work for two grueling days.
Harry's hoping to improve on his final-round performance from last year, as well as seeing other WMA students strive to make the final round in years to come.
"I hope I won't be the last one to qualify at this school," Harry said. "I hope someone will tryout and in the future there will be more people who qualify for the third round and this trend continues."