TL;DR: The AMC 12 is a 25-question, 75-minute multiple-choice contest from the Mathematical Association of America for students in grade 12 or below, administered this cycle on November 5, 2026 (AMC 12A) and November 13, 2026 (AMC 12B). Scoring awards 6 points per correct answer, 1.5 per 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 85 points, replacing floating cutoffs that swung from 76.5 on the 12A in November 2024 to 96 a year later, and top scorers earn Distinction (top 5%) and Honor Roll of Distinction (top 1%). The AMC 12 is also the gateway to the USAMO, the senior national olympiad. Sources: Mathematical Association of America; Art of Problem Solving AMC historical results, 2026.
For juniors, this November is the last AMC cycle whose results land before early applications are read, which makes the planning question a strategy question. To discuss yours, schedule a consultation with Oriel Admissions.
What Is the AMC 12?
The AMC 12 is the senior division of the American Mathematics Competitions and the entry point to the full olympiad pipeline: AMC 12 to AIME to USAMO. The exam is 25 multiple-choice questions in 75 minutes covering the complete high school curriculum short of calculus – everything on the AMC 10 syllabus plus trigonometry, logarithms, and complex numbers. No calculators are permitted, and the scoring is identical to the AMC 10: 6 points per correct answer, 1.5 per question left blank, 0 per wrong answer, maximum 150.
The blank-answer credit is worth internalizing as arithmetic. A student who answers 11 questions correctly and leaves the other 14 blank scores 87 and clears the new AIME threshold of 85. The exam rewards knowing which problems to refuse.
Eligibility and the A/B Structure
The AMC 12 is open to students in grade 12 or below who are under 19.5 years of age on competition day. Like the AMC 10, it is offered as two different exams a week apart – the 12A and 12B – and students may sit both, with the higher score counting for AIME qualification. Mixed-level combinations across the two dates are allowed, and the classic one is deliberate: a strong sophomore or junior sits the 10A and the 12B, or the 12A and the 10B, keeping a foot in each division while grades still permit it. Two contests on the same date are never allowed.
The choice between divisions matters more than most families realize. Juniors eligible for both should weigh that the AMC 12 carries the USAMO path and covers the fuller syllabus, while the AMC 10 offers a friendlier problem set; under the new fixed thresholds, the qualification targets also differ – 100 on the AMC 10 against 85 on the AMC 12 – which changes the expected-value calculation for students near the line.
2026 Dates, Registration, and Logistics
| Milestone | 2026-27 Cycle |
|---|---|
| AMC 12A competition date | November 5, 2026 |
| AMC 12B 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 runs through schools and approved test centers via a competition manager – the MAA does not register individual students – and the exam is administered in person at official sites only. Students at schools that do not host should secure a seat at an approved center, commonly a university testing site, well before the late-October registration close.
AIME Cutoffs: The New Fixed 85-Point Threshold
Historically the MAA guaranteed that at least the top 5% of AMC 12 scorers would advance to the AIME, with the actual cutoff floating each year. The volatility was real: the 12A cutoff sat at 76.5 in November 2024 and jumped to 96 a year later. Beginning with the 2026-27 cycle, the threshold is fixed at 85 points regardless of the distribution, alongside two related changes – international results no longer affect cutoffs, and the former caps on qualification thresholds were removed.
| Exam | November 2024 AIME Cutoff | November 2026 (New) |
|---|---|---|
| AMC 12A | 76.5 | 85 (fixed) |
| AMC 12B | 88.5 | 85 (fixed) |
Source: Mathematical Association of America cutoff releases, compiled in the Art of Problem Solving AMC historical results archive. The November 2025 12A cutoff was 96.
Distinction, Honor Roll, and the USAMO Path
Above the AIME line, Distinction recognizes roughly the top 5% of scorers and Honor Roll of Distinction roughly the top 1%. In the 2024-25 cycle, Distinction required 108 on the 12A and 118.5 on the 12B, with Honor Roll of Distinction at 133.5 and 139.5. Recent AMC 12 national averages have sat near 60 points, so the recognition tiers sit far into the right tail of an already self-selected field.
The AMC 12 carries one credential the AMC 10 cannot: the path to the USAMO, the senior national olympiad. 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. USAMO qualification is a few hundred students nationally in a typical year, and it is the level at which a mathematics credential stops supporting an application and starts defining one.
What AMC 12 Scores Mean in Elite Admissions
Admissions readers at math-serious institutions treat AMC results as one of the few precisely calibrated signals in an application. MIT provides optional fields for AMC and AIME scores, and programs built around quantitative talent read the levels fluently: AIME qualification marks national-level ability, honor roll scores and USAMO qualification anchor a file outright. Below the AIME line, listing a raw AMC 12 score does little at the most selective programs; the credential begins at qualification, which is why the fixed 85-point target deserves deliberate preparation rather than a casual sitting. Where competition results fit among grades, coursework, and research is covered in our computer science admissions strategy guide, and the same logic extends to mathematics and physics applicants.
Timing is the junior-year point families miss. November of junior year is the last AMC 12 whose results – and whose February AIME – land before early applications are read the following fall. A senior sitting the November 2026 exams will see scores arrive after the November 1 early deadlines, useful only for regular decision updates through the additional information channel or a counselor letter. The honor itself belongs in the Common App Honors section at the national level, and it pairs naturally with the research and enrichment credentials in our overviews of selective summer programs and academic competitions – programs such as RSI ask for these scores directly.
How to Prepare for the AMC 12
Preparation is past-paper driven: full timed exams, then a rebuild of every missed problem, weighted toward the trigonometry, logarithm, and complex-number territory that separates the 12 from the 10 and toward the number theory and combinatorics that school curricula cover thinnest. The first ten questions are accessible to any strong student; the middle ten decide AIME qualification; the last five decide the honor rolls. With the qualification line fixed at 85, every practice sitting returns a direct verdict, and the accuracy-and-omission plan can be explicit: eleven confident answers and fourteen disciplined blanks clear the threshold.
Students below pace in September should sit both the AMC 10 division exam they remain eligible for and the AMC 12, or both the 12A and 12B, and treat the week between the two November dates as a targeted review window. The marginal return on blank-answer discipline alone is often 10 or more points, and under a fixed threshold those points are the whole game for students near the line.
Frequently Asked Questions About the AMC 12
Beginning with the November 2026 exams, a fixed score of 85 qualifies for the AIME regardless of the score distribution. In recent floating-cutoff years the line swung widely, from 76.5 on the 12A in November 2024 to 96 a year later.
Recent national averages have been near 60 points out of 150. A score of 85 now qualifies for the AIME, and in the 2024-25 cycle Distinction required 108 to 118.5 while Honor Roll of Distinction required 133.5 to 139.5 depending on the exam version.
The AMC 12A is administered on November 5, 2026 and the AMC 12B on November 13, 2026. Registration runs through schools and approved test centers, with late registration typically closing in late October.
Students in grade 12 or below who are under 19.5 years of age on competition day may take the AMC 12. There is no lower grade limit, so advanced younger students may choose it over the AMC 10, usually to pursue the USAMO path.
A junior can only take the AMC 12, since AMC 10 eligibility ends after grade 10. The real choice belongs to freshmen and sophomores eligible for both: the AMC 10 offers a friendlier problem set with a 100-point qualification target, while the AMC 12 covers the fuller syllabus, carries an 85-point target, and opens the USAMO path.
Yes. The 12A and 12B are different exams on different November dates, and students may sit both, with the higher score counting for AIME qualification. Mixed-level combinations across dates, such as the 12A and the 10B, are also allowed, but never two contests on the same date.
At math-serious institutions it is one of the most precisely read credentials available: AIME qualification signals national-level ability, and honor roll scores or USAMO qualification can anchor an application. 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 credit makes omission a strategy: 11 correct answers with 14 blanks scores 87, clearing the new 85-point AIME threshold.
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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