Many students across the country were shocked when they saw the cutoff scores for the USAJMO- a prestigious math olympiad- this year, because they were more than 10 points higher than what they had been in previous years and for tests of similar difficulty. Even more surprising was the fact that only 158 students qualified for the exam, when there are usually around 250 every year. 

There are 3 reasons why I am creating this petition:

1. MAA never announced that less people were going to qualify this year. It is understandable that they might have grading issues with more contestants, but they need to let all students know. Otherwise, students have the false impression that they will make it, and are disappointed when they see the scores. MAA built up students' hopes just to dash them at the end.

2. Students sacrificed a lot to get the scores that they got. Many students who participate in the AMC and AIME have the ultimate goal of making the USAJMO, and dedicate a good portion of their middle school and high school lives to achieving this goal. I, for one, have quit innumerable swim practices and tennis classes(all of which cost money) to get to the position I am at now. I am sure many other students have similar experiences.

3. Lastly, many students whose indices are between 215 and 229.5 feel like their effort has all been a waste. As stated previously, many students have been waiting for this moment their whole lives. It feels like we won the last point of a match, but at the end, we don't receive the trophy. It is many students' last chance of making the USAJMO, and they need some recognition for their efforts. 

A quick disclaimer: We are not suggesting that MAA give students recognition that they do not in any way deserve. Instead, we are questioning why, without any notice at all, the number of qualifiers was changed. In any other year, 100 more students would have qualified. Those 100 students are now feeling robbed of their chance to participate in the Olympiad. 

Thankfully, there is a solution: make an honorary qualifiers list, with students who would have made it in an ordinary year. This, I assume, will take very little time to create. It will also solve some of our problems, because it gives recognition to students who would have ordinarily made it, and it does not put any pressure on the MAA's grading system. All our sacrifices to qualify for the Olympiad will not be totally in vain, because we will receive the recognition we worked so hard for all these years.

Thank You.