The Math Prize for Girls is one of the world's premier high school math competitions for female-identifying students, and it carries the largest math prize for young women anywhere: $100,000 in awards, including $50,000 for first place.
Here's a complete overview of the competition, including eligibility requirements, key dates, and how to earn an invitation.
What Is Math Prize for Girls?
Math Prize for Girls is an annual, one-day competition hosted at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Each fall, roughly 250 to 300 of the strongest young female mathematicians in the US and Canada gather on campus for the contest itself, plus panel discussions, campus tours, networking, and a game night. The event's mission is to promote gender equity in STEM and encourage young women with exceptional mathematical potential to become scientific leaders.
The contest is a 2.5-hour test of 20 challenging problems. Every answer is a specific number, calculators aren't allowed, and the material stays within high school topics, without calculus. The problems reward creativity and insight over speed.
Beyond the $50,000 first-place award, the prize pool includes a $2,000 Youth Prize for the top scorer in 9th grade or below, and Honorable Mention trophies for 25 additional top performers. There is no fee to apply or participate, though families cover their own travel and lodging.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible, you must meet all of the following criteria:
You must be in 11th grade or below as of March 1 of the contest year, and not slated to graduate high school or start full-time college before the contest.
You must be female in gender identity.
You must live in the United States or Canada; US or Canadian citizens and permanent residents living abroad may apply but must email additional documentation, such as a scanned passport or permanent resident card.
Finally, you must have taken an official administration of the AMC 10 or AMC 12 in November of the qualifying competition cycle.
The application itself is refreshingly simple. There are no essays, no recommendation letters, and no fee. You enter your AMC scores (plus your AIME score and any previous Math Prize score, if applicable) on a short online form by the late-spring deadline, and invitations go out in early summer.
One rule works strongly in your favor: cutoffs are set separately for the AMC 10 and AMC 12, and a low score on a second exam will not hurt you if you're above the cutoff on another. If your AMC 12A score clears the cutoff but your AMC 10B score doesn't, you still get an invitation.
How to Qualify: Your AMC Score Is the Application
Since there are no essays, the entire selection comes down to your AMC performance. The key to getting in is scoring as high as possible on the AMC 10 or AMC 12, and that means a deliberate preparation plan.
Choose Your AMC Exam Strategically
Both the AMC 10 and AMC 12 are 25-question, 75-minute exams. The AMC 10 is open to 10th graders and below, the AMC 12 to 12th graders and below.
The AMC 12 covers more material, but qualification cutoffs on it tend to run lower, and many competitors find the extra content manageable to learn. If you're eligible for both, taking both the A and B administrations gives you multiple chances to clear a cutoff.
Start Preparing Early
The AMC is administered each November, with registration typically closing in late October. Competition math is a skill built over months or years, not weeks. If you're early in high school, you already have the foundation from your core classes; the work is building problem-solving intuition on top of it.
Practice With Real Problems
Work through previously released AMC 10 and AMC 12 exams, then diagnose which topic areas need the most attention. Foundational resources like the Art of Problem Solving book series, AoPS online courses and community boards, and video series like 3Blue1Brown give you structured paths from fundamentals to contest level.
You don't need to be a prodigy to do well in math competitions. Most strong scorers are simply students who practiced continuously.
Why Math Prize for Girls Is Worth It
An invitation alone signals top-tier mathematical ability to colleges, since it requires an AMC score near AIME-qualifying territory. The event also connects you with a community of similarly driven young women, and the prize money is life-changing for winners. Participation pairs naturally with other recognition aimed at young women in STEM. Our guide to the top scholarships for women in STEM covers programs worth applying to alongside it.
Strong math competitors also tend to be strong candidates for selective research programs. If a summer at MIT appeals to you, competitions like this pair well with MIT's free summer programs for high school students, including the Research Science Institute, where a standout math record is a genuine advantage.
Students who prefer building to proving can showcase that side through the MIT THINK Scholars Program or, come application season, the MIT Maker Portfolio.
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard, and competition math rewards consistency above all. Start practicing, stay patient with the process, and the invitations follow.
Get STEM Support With ScienceFair
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