What is the MathPath summer camp?

MathPath is a four-week residential summer camp for students showing high promise and interest in mathematics to extend their knowledge and skills in mathematics and to immerse them in the mathematical culture. All students should be in the age range of 11 to 14 years. This is why MathPath has the slogan "Bright and Early."

Most students applying to MathPath are either homeschooled or attending grade 6,7, or 8 at the time of application. We rarely take students attending grade 5 at the time of their camp application. A student satisfying the age requirement can be attending a grade higher than grade 8.

MathPath is a suitable "first camp" for the profoundly gifted students of middle school age - 11 to 14 years. How come it is suitable? See Why MathPath. The reason we say "first camp" is that we have observed the age of eleven years as suitable for the highly gifted in general to attend a residential camp far from home and where the algebra skills they possess are not insufficient for the work on mathematical concepts or the problem-solving.

How each student gets a program that suits their level of knowledge, skill, and gift
Students are tested on the first day of the camp. The purpose of the test is to find the knowledge level and the problem-solving ability. The student's advisor then recommends specific instruction that is implemented in the following manner. Except for special sessions like the hour of visiting speaker lecture, or the 50 minutes of math history, or the 30 minutes of qualifying quiz discussion, the daily class schedule has several sessions running in parallel. Students, with the help of their advisors, sign up for one session in each time slot. For instance, in the 9 to 9:50 am period, you would sign up for, say, hyperbolic geometry. If you find that the session is too easy, you move to another session in the same period that is recommended as tougher. This freedom to move up or down not only provides a tailor-made program for each student but also makes the program neither too easy for the grade 8 student nor too tough for the grade 6.

Two types of students
MathPath is the first camp for students who love math. And those who love math fall under two types - those who love fast-paced problem-solving as in the national mathematics contests and those who do not. MathPath caters to both types. This also means MathPath is not a program for problem-solving exclusively. While there is ample training by some of the most experienced problem-solving experts, the program is balanced with foundation-building courses as well as sessions on problem-solving heuristics and hands-on problem-solving that both types of students will find it suitable for them.

An enrichment program, not an acceleration program
MathPath does not teach courses offered in schools or universities. The emphasis is on fundamentals, not formulas or problem solving just for competitions. Fundamentals are defined as seminal concepts and methods. Methods include how to discover, how to prove, how to solve, and how to communicate. Of course, methods cannot be taught in the absence of subject matter (e.g., geometry, number theory, algebra), but the subject matter should be secondary to the methods. Hyperbolic Geometry, Spherical Geometry, Analytical Geometry, writing in mathematics, proof in mathematics, and history of mathematics form the core of the program, and these are taught by university professors. These sessions are interspersed with a daily lecture by a distinguished visiting speaker and by problem solving training at different levels for various competitions, including Mathcounts for younger students and AIME (American Invitational Mathematics Examination) and USAMO (USA Mathematics Olympiad) for older students.

The camp is conducted at a university campus and moves annually in an orbit of campuses. The intensity of mathematics is balanced by the fun of student participation in evening field games and weekend trips to natural and local attractions.

MathPath - "BRIGHT AND EARLY"