Princeton University Math Competition (PUMaC)

The Princeton University Mathematics Competition (PUMaC) is an annual competition run by the Princeton University Math Club. PUMaC is an entirely student-run competition; Math Club volunteers have organized PUMaC since 2006. We are now in our 14th year! In the competition, participants from all over the US and various international teams come to the Princeton University campus and spend the day taking various mathematics assessment tests and having fun.

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The goals of PUMaC are simple. We want to motivate high school students to both enjoy the study of and foster a love for mathematics. We aim to expose these students to the creative thinking and rigorous application of skills necessary for a successful future in mathematics. We hope that through our competition, students get to enjoy solving certain kinds of problems, and they get a feel for the fun inherent within a subject traditionally viewed as dry and esoteric. Furthermore, PUMaC also aims to introduce students to the beautiful Princeton campus, in the hope that they will consider applying here and will one day become part of the Princeton family.

As a competition, we hope to one day be one of the premier high school math competitions in the world.

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PUMaC started on December 16, 2006, when the 1st PUMaC was held on the Princeton campus with 200 participants in teams of ten or fewer. At the time, PUMaC was a small competition in its tentative first year. Today, it is already one of the premier high school mathematics competitions in the United States, and is one of the first of its level to go international. PUMaC has witnessed some of the best mathematical minds of the world at work, representing some of the best schools. We know this event will only continue to expand as the years pass. Past competitors have been admitted to some of the best universities in the world, including Princeton and its peers.

Full Teams:

• A full team will consist of 8 members. (Historically, half-teams have been allowed; beginning in 2017, only full teams and individuals may apply.)
• A team member must not have reached his or her 20th birthday before the PUMaC competition date.
• A team member must not have been enrolled full-time in a post-secondary institution before the PUMaC competition date.
• Generally, teams should come from single high schools, but teams from well-defined geographical regions (comprising members from several schools) coming from a long distance will be allowed for their own convenience. The current Director of the Princeton University Mathematics Competition will have the final word on the legitimacy of teams that do not come from an individual school.
• When registering, teams may indicate a preference between the A Division and the B Division. The A Division is designed for the more experienced teams, and the B Division is recommended for teams newer to competitions. Teams competing in the A Division will receive more challenging individual tests. The Power Round, Team Round, and Live Round will be identical for both divisions. Awards for the two divisions will be separately calculated. Teams that do not come from a single high school must compete in the A Division. However, teams may petition the PUMaC organizing staff for exceptions. The Director of the Princeton University Mathematics Competition has the final word on which division a team will compete in, and reserves the right to place a team in a division different from the one for which it had a preference.

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Individuals:

• An Individual must not have reached his or her 20th birthday before the PUMaC competition date.
• An Individual must not have been enrolled full-time in a post-secondary institution before the PUMaC competition date.
• Individuals will be combined into teams of 8 for the Power Round and the Main Competition.
• Individual applicants may register for the A or the B Division. However, the Director of the Princeton University Mathematics Competition reserves the right to move Individuals to a different division based upon perceived strength and application numbers. Individual applicants will be contacted before the change is made.
• Individual registration will take part in two phases: General Individual Registration and Secondary Individual Registration. The deadlines for these dates are listed on the Registration Info page.
• During General Individual Registration, Individuals may not apply if they are part of a school or organization that has an active application to compete in the upcoming Main Competition. Failure to abide by this rule may result in the rejection of both the Individual and all teams from the school or organization.
• During Secondary Individual Registration, only students from schools or organizations all of whose teams were rejected may apply. We will indicate a certain number of students each school or organization can send, based upon space remaining after General Individual Registration.
• Individual applicants will be granted the opportunity to participate in PUMaC on the basis of merit, just as with full team applicants. They will have the opportunity to indicate their mathematical accomplishments on the registration form. We also wish to encourage students who are part of an underrepresented group in mathematics, or students who would not otherwise have opportunities to participate in math competitions, to apply and indicate this in their application.

• October 31st, 2025

• Coaches must complete the online registration form. 
• Participants must select either the A Division or B Division when registering.