Basic Information

1. Teams consist of 8 students. Teams do not have to be high schools and can be regional teams or home-schooled teams, but must come from a well-defined geographical region. Beginning in 2017, we no longer accepting half team applications, but are accepting Individual applicants for the Main Competition (see below for details).

2. Registration has closed at this time, and PUMaC is at capacity. If you have any questions about your current team status, please email us at pumac.staff@gmail.com (although if you have not been accepted, that is unlikely to change). Also note that the Power Round is due on Thursday, November 21, 2024 instead of on the day of the competition.

3. PUMaC has two distinct competitions: the Power Competition, in which teams only take the Power Round, and the Main Competition at Princeton University, of which the Power Round is a single portion. (The Power Round is a proof-based test released a week before the competition and turned in on the required due date.) Teams should register for at most one of the two Competitions.

Registration Types

US Teams (Main Competition): Registration will be done on an application basis. Coaches and teams will be able to make changes to their application details up until the registration deadline, at which point applications will be finalized. Teams will be notified of their acceptance status no later than one week after the registration deadline. US teams who require a decision sooner (e.g. need time to arrange cross-country travel) may contact us with their reason, but we make no guarantee that we will be able to extend an early acceptance.

International Teams (Main Competition): International teams will use the same application, but will be considered separately from US Teams. The deadline for international teams is the same as that of US teams. However, international teams may receive notification of acceptance before the deadline since we understand international teams need more time to arrange travel. Therefore, it is advantageous for international teams to apply as early as possible, Teams will be notified of their acceptance status no later than one week after the registration deadline.

Individuals (Main Competition): As in the previous years, the Main Competition is accepting Individual applicants. Deadlines and restrictions for individual applicants are indicated above.

Power Competition (full teams only): Teams applying to the Power Competition use the same application form as Main Competition teams and should abide by the same deadlines.

Individual Registration Details

• Individual registration will take part in two phases: General Individual Registration and Secondary Individual Registration. The deadlines for these dates are listed above.

• During General Individual Registration, Individuals may not apply if they are part of a school or organization that has an active application to compete in the upcoming competition. Failure to abide by this rule may result in the rejection of both the Individual and all teams from the school or organization.

• During Secondary Individual Registration, only students from schools or organizations all of whose teams were rejected may apply. We will indicate a certain number of students each school or organization can send, based upon space remaining after General Individual Registration.

• Individual applicants will be granted the opportunity to participate in PUMaC on the basis of merit, just as with full team applicants. They will have the opportunity to indicate their mathematical accomplishments on the registration form. We also wish to encourage students who are part of an underrepresented group in mathematics, or students who would not otherwise have opportunities to participate in math competitions, to apply.

Additional Notes

• Please check your emails often for updates regarding registration!

• Full teams that are rejected from the Main Competition will be given the opportunity to join the Power Competition on a first-come-first-served basis.

• Teams/Individuals that are accepted to either Competition and fail to show up/participate without prior notification may be barred from competing in future years of PUMaC, at the discretion of the PUMaC Director. The no-show will be considered particularly egregious if an agreement to pay on the day of the competition was arranged.

Payment and Fees

To reflect the increased costs of an in-person competition, we have returned rates to their pre-COVID prices. The registration fee depends on the Competition. Please only send in payment for your team if your team has been accepted.

Main Competition: $12.50/student, for a total of $100/team or $12.50/individual

Power-round Only Competition: $5/student, for a total of $40 per team.

PUMaC will accept both check and credit card payments. Details will given in acceptance emails. Teams may also pay by cash or check on the day of the competition, but must notify us of their intent to do so.

• All payments should include the team number that is issued to the team upon acceptance. Teams coming from the same school/organization do not need to pay separately, but the payment should include the team numbers of all teams that the payment covers.

• Please see the Important Dates above for the fee payment deadline. If a registered team that has not indicated they wish to pay on the day of the competition does not pay before the deadline, we may replace the non-paying team with a team on the waitlist.

• If a team pays its fees and then must withdraw, we will give a full refund, so long as we are notified of the withdrawal one week before Contest Day. We will not offer refunds to teams that withdraw after that date.