Fall 2012 - Putnam Exam Seminar

Putnam Exam Information

Every year, usually the first Saturday of December, schools from the US and Canada compete in the William Lowell Putnam Exam Competition.  Undergraduates from each school may compete as part of their school team, and the best teams and individuals win prizes.

The Exam is divided up into two six-problem sections, the A section and the B section.  The A section is given during a three hour time slot in the morning, then there is a two hour break for lunch, and then the B section is given for three hours in the afternoon.  Each problem is worth 10 points, and it is possible to earn partial credit.  That being said, each year over half of the people who take the Exam score either a 0 or 1 out of the possible 120 points.  Ideally the Putnam Exam is more about a student's innate problem-solving abilities than it is about being good at specific mathematics classes.  A good analogy is that it takes more than a large vocabulary to be good at Scrabble, although a good vocabulary certainly doesn't hurt!

For more information, visit the MAA's Putnam Competition web page.

Who can take the Putnam Exam?

Anyone currently enrolled as an undergraduate at any university in Canada or the US can take the Exam, provided they have not taken the Exam four times previously.  This means that, currently, every undergrad at Trinity is eligible to take the exam!

The 2011 Putnam Exam

The 2011 Putnam Exam was administered on Saturday, December 3.  Students in attendance were Garner Cochran, Matt Galla, Loi Le, JJ Lubinski, Jay Majumdar, Dushyant Pattni and Aaron Price.

Trinity University's team came in 59th place.  The high scorers were Matt Galla (18), Loi Le (11), and Aaron Price (10).

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