Why should you consider a summer math camp, in particular, us?

Because you will have so much fun!.

Fun because you will be with your tribe. Fun because of the math. Fun because of the leisure activities.

Math Fun. Each week you pick 2 courses from 12 options. In recent years we have had courses about non-Euclidean Geometry (there may be no parallel lines), Fair Division (how math helps ensure fairness), Cryptography (secret codes), the Mathematics of Origami, Mathematica (the computer program), Heavenly Mathematics (how the ancient Greeks invented trigonometry to measure the heavens and the earth), Knot Theory (how can you tell if two knots are the same?) nd Special Relativity (Einstein). Sometimes we have a problem writing course and sometimes a Kendoku course. We also have several competitions practice courses, typically MATHCOUNTS, AMC 8, 10, 12, AIME and Olympiad level. Every day we have a puzzle Problem of the Day. We also teach material that is standard to mathematicians but not covered well in school, e.g., combinatorics, number theory, symbolic logic, and induction. Finally, each year some faculty teach some one-of-a-kind courses that are hard to categorize because of their catchy titles, for instance, just in the last year we have had Guessing Games, Graph Ramsey Games, Polygon Differencing Games, Taming the Torus, Polygonal Area & Corset Theorem, If Gauss & Abel did it.... , Exploding Dots, It Slices It Dices You get a lot of choice of what to study. Take a look at our course list and our course catalog for this past summer, accessible from here. (Sometime in spring 2019 this link will instead go to the course catalog for the coming summer.)

Leisure fun. Leisure activities typically include: chess, table tennis, card games, arts and crafts, music, dancing, soccer, basketball, tennis, and pickleball (pickleball?). Not to mention just hanging out with other mathy, zany kids. We also have optional off-campus trips like cycling, water sports, indoor rock climbing, puzzle rooms and museums. It all depends on the location and what new ideas the counselors think up. In summer 2019 we will be at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Allendale, Michigan, in West Michigan near Grand Rapids, the second larget city in Michigan. It's an excellent arrea for leisure activities of interest to MathPathogens – starting with the beaches and harbors on Lake Michigan, moving on to hiking and biking along the shore and in the countryside, and proceeding to museums, zoos and amusement parks in the in Grand Rapids and other cities.

Take a look at these photos. We picked out about 45 particularly illustrative photos about MathPath from the last few years, showing typical actives and typical facilities. There are no photos of GVSU since 2019 will be our first year there, but the facilities are similar to what we have had in the past. (One of our regular MathPath faculty, David Clark, is a professor at GVSU and has checked things out for us.)

But don't take our word for how great MathPath is; check out the many comments by "MathPathogens" themselves. Click on the student comments in the navbar to the left, both the comments on our own site and on the AoPS MathPath Forum. Caution: Mostly what they say is accurate, but not always.☺ (Parents, if you are reading this, naturally you will want to click on the parent comments!)

So, ready to apply?

Please take the first easy step: fill out our 2019 online application form. It takes about 15 minutes and there's no application fee. Best to fill to fill it out with a parent, as your parent probably knows some of the information requested off the top of their head when you don't. Next start on our QT (Qualifying Test); it takes some time and thought, but if you like the problems, MathPath is for you. Most applicants spend a few weeks on the QT on and off. Yes, a few weeks, and some of that time you will be stuck and frustrated, but that is not a bad sign. Creative frustration is part of being a mathematician!

Before long be sure to go to the How to Apply page near the top of the navbar. It gives the complete description of how to apply, including details about submitting the QT.

We hope to hear from you. If you will be 11–14 this summer, MathPath is the one national math camp just for you. Questions are welcome. To contact us, see the bottom of the navbar.

Sincerely,

Executive Director, MathPath
Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, Swarthmore College

Page last updated September 23, 2018   MathPath
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MathPath is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization.