Chinese Mathematics Competition (CMC)
Organizer: Chinese Mathematical Society
Overview
The Chinese Mathematics Competition for College Students (abbreviated as CMC) is a national high-level academic competition organized by the Chinese Mathematical Society for undergraduate students. It is divided into three groups: Mathematics Group, Non-Mathematics Group A, and Non-Mathematics Group B.
The preliminary round is at the provincial level. The top 15 candidates in each province can advance to the national finals.
Exam Content
- Mathematics Group: Calculus, Linear Algebra, Analytic Geometry
- Non-Mathematics Group A: Calculus
- Non-Mathematics Group B: Calculus (simplified)
Benefits
- Comprehensive evaluation (intellectual development) bonus points: Provincial first prize: 5 points, second prize: 3 points, third prize: 1 point (PS: Intellectual development points are tripled)
- Graduate recommendation bonus: National first prize can help with postgraduate recommendation
Registration Period
Mid-September to end of September. Follow announcements from the SCUT School of Mathematics.
Option 1: Outstanding in School Competition
Participate in the SCUT Mathematics Competition held at the start of the fall semester. First prize winners can have their registration fee reimbursed.
Option 2: Self-Registration
Registration fee: 100 RMB
Competition Date
Early November each year
Preparation Strategy (Mathematics Group)
Coming soon
Preparation Strategy (Non-Mathematics Group)
Crash Course (Suitable for freshmen looking to win awards quickly)
Disclosure: 2024 cohort, Oplisty, Guangdong Provincial First Prize
Since most of the exam focuses on Calculus, you must thoroughly study Calculus I. I recommend taking one month — that is, speed through Calculus I in the first month of the semester. I used the textbook Advanced Calculus (Tsinghua University Press). For each chapter, read the text and do the end-of-chapter problems, skip the chapter review exercises. This takes one month. Then in October, speed through Calculus II, using the same Advanced Calculus textbook. A week before the exam, log into the CMC official website to practice past papers. Memorize the solutions for problems you can't solve.
What, you've been slacking off?
No worries!
At its core, this is an exam, and its difficulty level is roughly comparable to finals at mid-to-top-tier 985 universities. Since they can speed through it, why can't you?
Go to Bilibili, search for crash-course videos, watch them, and then start solving problems immediately. Focus areas:
- Line, surface, double, and triple integrals
- Series (guaranteed to be the last problem, may also appear as fill-in-the-blank)
- Partial derivative calculations and the chain rule
- Common limit-solving techniques
- Differential equations
Prioritize the topics above — at minimum you'll get provincial third prize. With a bit more effort, second or first prize is achievable.
Study Materials
One book is enough — you probably won't have time for more anyway.
- CMC Analytical Tutorial Volumes 1 & 2 (Red book series: Science Press)