Students gathered in Roberto Hall to crunch out numbers for the American Math Contest on Wednesday, Feb. 13. The American Math Contest, or the AMC 10, is a 75-minute math contest of 25 difficult math questions answered on a Scantron.

Moo Galbus, a freshman, took the test to “build a good resume” for college. Going into the contest, Galbus said she was “nervous but ultimately fine,” knowing the test was simply a competition to see where she ranked and didn’t count towards her yearly math grade. Galbus kept positive thoughts after the contest with the knowledge the test was meant to challenge her.

“It’s hard for a reason,” said Galbus. “Even if I felt a little discouraged I know it’s fine.”

Sophomore Molly Shapiro took the test because “it’s a good opportunity to do something a little unusual” and also test her math skills in an environment different than the typical classroom. Shapiro wasn’t “overly invested” in the contest, since she took it last year and was “aware of its difficulty.” Coming out of the contest, Shapiro was frustrated by the difficult questions and annoyed how she did “most of the calculations by hand” when they could’ve been “done easily with a calculator.”

Christa Mumley is a senior who took the test for her final year, but she would take it another year if she could. Knowing the contest would be difficult, she went in “prepared to try the hardest.” Mumley left the contest with a positive outlook on her future in math.

“I think that math contests like these let you know where your weak spots are, and where you can improve,” she said.

The girls were hand-selected by teachers based on their achievement in their respective math classes. However, the contest is optional, and no student was forced to participate. Galbus, Shapiro, and Mumley were all glad they decided to take the test and felt it was appropriately challenging.