The University of South Carolina hosts a High School Mathematics Contest in the Spring
semester every year. All South Carolina high schools are cordially invited to participate.
The 39th High School Math Competition will take place on Saturday, February 7, 2026. High-School Math Advisers can now register the students who will participate.
Since 1986, the Department of Mathematics of the University of South Carolina has
been inviting all interested South Carolina high schools to our exciting events. Our
goal is to stimulate interest in mathematics among high school students and to recognize
those who exhibit exceptional talent.
The main event is a 75-minute multiple-choice exam with 30 questions—the Individual
Test. Schools participate as a team in our Team Event: a 60-minute open-answer exam.
The top finishers on the Individual Test will also be invited to participate in a
tournament at the end of the contest.
Individual Awards
The top scorer of the Written Exam receives a medal, a plaque, and $500 cash prize.
The participant obtaining the second place in the Written Exam received a medal, a
plaque, and $300 cash prize.
The participant in third place obtains a medal, and $200 cash prize.
Participants in places fourth to sixth receive a medal and $100 cash prize.
Team Awards
Team awards will be based on the Team Event and on each school's top three finishers
on the Individual Test. Schools are separated into divisions, and the top three schools
from each division receive trophies.
The High School Math Contest was started in the late 1980's while Colin Bennett was
department chair. At that time, Colin suggested to Charles Nicol, an associate professor,
that he set up contacts with high schools. As a result, Nicol established a high
school math contest which would bring some of the brightest high school students to
campus.
The contest was successful from the very beginning, with hundreds of high school students
participating and good relations built with the high school math teachers. The department
has always organized this event on its own.
~ George McNulty
Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.
