TL;DR: The AMC 10 is a 25-question, 75-minute multiple-choice contest from the Mathematical Association of America for students in grade 10 or below, administered this cycle on November 5, 2026 (AMC 10A) and November 13, 2026 (AMC 10B). Scoring awards 6 points per correct answer, 1.5 points per question left blank, and 0 for wrong answers, for a maximum of 150. Beginning with the 2026-27 cycle, the MAA fixed the AIME qualification threshold at 100 points, replacing floating cutoffs that ranged from 94.5 to 105 over the previous two cycles, and top scorers earn Distinction (top 5%) and Honor Roll of Distinction (top 1%). Sources: Mathematical Association of America; Art of Problem Solving AMC historical results, 2026.
For students aiming at the most selective universities, the line that matters is AIME qualification, and the new fixed threshold makes it a knowable target for the first time. To discuss your strategy, schedule a consultation with Oriel Admissions.
What Is the AMC 10?
The AMC 10 is the entry point to the American mathematics olympiad pipeline: AMC 10 to AIME to USAJMO, and onward to the national olympiad training programs. The contest itself is 25 multiple-choice questions in 75 minutes, drawn from the curriculum through grade 10 – algebra, geometry, number theory, and counting and probability, with no trigonometry, logarithms, or complex numbers. No calculators are permitted.
The scoring system is the strategic heart of the exam. Each correct answer earns 6 points, each question left blank earns 1.5 points, and each wrong answer earns 0, for a maximum score of 150. Leaving a question blank is worth a quarter of a correct answer, which means disciplined omission is a scoring strategy, not a concession: a student who answers 14 questions correctly and leaves the remaining 11 blank scores 100.5 and clears the new AIME threshold.
Eligibility and the A/B Structure
The AMC 10 is open to students in grade 10 or below who are under 17.5 years of age on competition day. It is offered twice each November as the AMC 10A and AMC 10B – two different exams a week apart, not two sittings of the same test – and students may take both, with the higher result counting for AIME qualification. A student may also combine levels across dates, sitting the 10A on the first date and the 12B on the second, but never two contests on the same date. Serious competitors routinely sit both the A and B versions, because a bad day on one exam stops mattering.
Younger students compete on the same exam: the AMC 10 has no lower grade bound, and students in grade 8 or below who score 90 or higher earn separate young-student recognition. For advanced middle schoolers already comfortable with the material, a strong AMC 10 score in eighth grade is one of the earliest external math credentials available.
2026 Dates, Registration, and Logistics
| Milestone | 2026-27 Cycle |
|---|---|
| AMC 10A competition date | November 5, 2026 |
| AMC 10B competition date | November 13, 2026 |
| Site registration | Tiered deadlines through the fall; late registration typically closes in late October |
| AIME (two 90-minute electronic parts at Pearson testing centers) | February 5 to 6, 2027 |
Source: Mathematical Association of America, 2026-27 AMC calendar.
Registration is handled at the school or approved test-center level by a competition manager; the MAA does not register individual students, and the exam is administered in person at official sites only. The practical consequence: if a school is not already registered, a teacher or administrator must complete site registration before any student can enroll, and families at schools that do not host need to secure a seat at an approved center – university testing sites are a common route – well before the late-October registration close.
AIME Cutoffs: The New Fixed 100-Point Threshold
For years, AIME qualification floated: the MAA guaranteed that at least the top 2.5% of AMC 10 scorers would advance, and the actual cutoff moved each cycle with the difficulty of the exam and the strength of the field. Beginning with the 2026-27 cycle, the MAA fixed the AIME qualification threshold at 100 points on the AMC 10, regardless of the score distribution. Two related changes preceded it: international students no longer affect the cutoffs, and the former score caps on qualification thresholds were removed.
| Exam | November 2024 AIME Cutoff | November 2025 AIME Cutoff | November 2026 (New) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMC 10A | 94.5 | 105 | 100 (fixed) |
| AMC 10B | 105 | 99 | 100 (fixed) |
Source: Mathematical Association of America cutoff releases, compiled in the Art of Problem Solving AMC historical results archive.
The fixed threshold changes preparation more than it changes the exam. A student no longer aims at a moving percentile; the target is 100 points, knowable from day one, and score-path arithmetic becomes concrete. Fourteen correct answers with everything else left blank scores 100.5. Sixteen correct with four blanks scores 102. Preparation can now be built around a defined accuracy-and-omission plan rather than a guess about where the field will land.
Distinction, Honor Roll, and What Counts as a Good Score
Above the AIME line sit two percentile-based recognitions: Distinction for roughly the top 5% of scorers and Honor Roll of Distinction for roughly the top 1%. In the 2024-25 cycle, Distinction required 105 on the AMC 10A and 114 on the AMC 10B, and Honor Roll of Distinction required 132 and 138. The national average on recent AMC 10 exams has sat near 60 points, which puts the achievement levels in context: a score of 100 or more places a student far into the right tail of a self-selected, mathematically strong field.
Beyond AIME qualification, the pipeline continues toward the USAJMO, the national junior olympiad, and onward to the Mathematical Olympiad Program. The MAA has retired the old combined AMC-plus-AIME qualifying index for the 2027 cycle: AIME performance is now the primary driver of olympiad qualification, with the full criteria still to be published. Each step is a categorically stronger credential, and each is rarer by an order of magnitude.
What AMC 10 Scores Mean in Elite Admissions
Admissions offices at math-serious institutions treat the AMC pipeline as a calibrated instrument. MIT provides optional fields on its application for AMC and AIME scores, and readers at STEM-focused programs know exactly what each level means: participation signals interest, AIME qualification signals genuine national-level ability, and USAJMO qualification or an Honor Roll of Distinction score anchors an application by itself. For most strong applicants the honest goal is the middle tier – AIME qualification is the line where the credential starts doing real work in a file.
The AMC 10 also feeds the credential architecture beyond applications. The most selective summer research and enrichment programs ask for competition scores directly: RSI requests PSAT and AMC results, and immersive programs such as the Ross Mathematics Program draw from exactly this pool. A strong sophomore AMC 10 score is therefore double-duty: a reportable honor in the Common App Honors section and an admissions ticket to the selective summer programs that generate the next credential.
Timing follows grade level. The highest-leverage AMC 10 cycles are eighth, ninth, and tenth grade, after which students age into the AMC 12; a sophomore who qualifies for AIME has two more Novembers to convert that trajectory into olympiad-level results before applications are read. Families comparing this contest to the broader field of options can see where it sits in our overview of academic competitions for high-achieving students.
How to Prepare for the AMC 10
AMC problems reward technique under time pressure, not curriculum coverage: the first ten questions are accessible to any strong student, the middle ten decide AIME qualification, and the final five decide the honor rolls. Effective preparation is therefore past-paper driven – working full timed exams, then rebuilding every missed problem – concentrated in the highest-return topics of number theory and counting, where school curricula are thinnest. With the qualification line now fixed at 100, each practice exam yields a direct verdict: on pace or not.
The calendar back-plans from November 5. A serious attempt means starting structured practice by late summer, sitting both the 10A and 10B, and treating the week between them as a targeted review window. For students below the threshold in September, the blank-answer discipline alone is often worth 10 or more points: wrong answers on the final five questions cost 7.5 points of omission value that most students surrender out of habit.
Frequently Asked Questions About the AMC 10
The national average on recent AMC 10 exams has been near 60 points out of 150. A score of 100 now qualifies for the AIME under the fixed threshold introduced for the 2026-27 cycle, and in the 2024-25 cycle Distinction required 105 to 114 while Honor Roll of Distinction required 132 to 138 depending on the exam version.
Beginning with the November 2026 exams, a fixed score of 100 qualifies for the AIME regardless of the score distribution. In the two prior cycles the floating cutoffs ranged from 94.5 to 105 across the 10A and 10B.
The AMC 10A is administered on November 5, 2026 and the AMC 10B on November 13, 2026. Registration happens through schools and approved test centers, with late registration typically closing in late October.
Students in grade 10 or below who are under 17.5 years of age on competition day may take the AMC 10. There is no lower grade limit, and students in grade 8 or below who score 90 or higher earn separate young-student recognition.
Yes. The 10A and 10B are different exams on different November dates, and students may sit both, with the higher score counting for AIME qualification. A student may also mix levels across the two dates, such as the 10A and the 12B, but may not take two contests on the same date.
At math-serious institutions, yes, and the levels are read precisely: AIME qualification is where the credential starts carrying real weight, and honor roll scores or USAJMO qualification are stronger still. MIT provides optional application fields for AMC and AIME scores.
Each of the 25 questions is worth 6 points if correct, 1.5 points if left blank, and 0 if wrong, for a maximum of 150. The blank-answer credit makes disciplined omission a real strategy: 14 correct answers with the remaining 11 left blank scores 100.5, which clears the new AIME threshold.
Strong eighth graders often take both, since the AMC 10 is offered in November and the AMC 8 in late January. The AMC 8 provides an age-appropriate field, while a 90 or higher on the AMC 10 earns young-student recognition and an early start on the olympiad pipeline.
Sources: Mathematical Association of America – AMC, MAA AMC 10/12, Art of Problem Solving – AMC Historical Results, University of Houston AMC Testing
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