How Classes Work

Our subject courses have diagnostic tests, which you can access by clicking on the course name in our Course Catalog. We also have a recommendations page, and you can click here to receive a detailed recommendation from an AoPS instructor.

You can take as many as you like, but we'd recommend making sure you have enough time to handle multiple courses. Including time in class, students should expect to spend 5-7 hours per week for the subject classes, and 2.5-3.5 hours per week for contest preparation classes. Many of our students successfully double-up with two courses, and many of these students do so by taking one subject course and one contest preparation course at the same time.

That varies from course to course. The Introduction-level courses fill up fastest. You should be safe waiting until 3 weeks or so before a class, but you should keep an eye on the Class Schedule page. That will tell you when a class is almost full.

Yes we do! When the class fills you will automatically be given the option to join the waitlist. When space becomes available in the class, people will be invited off the waitlist and into the class. Invitations are sent to the earliest people to subscribe to the waitlist first.

There is no age limit. We have students in a very wide age range.

There are no discounts for late enrollments. Students who enroll late will have access to all of the course materials, including the transcripts from the classes they missed. They will also have access to a course message board on which they can ask any questions they have about the material in the missed classes.

Enrollments through Charter Schools or similar entities must be completed through a purchase order submitted through your school's Education Specialist, Teacher Facilitator, or the person with a similar title at your school. Check our Institutional Orders page for more details.

Any online course (except Special Seminars) may be dropped anytime before the start of the third class session (weekly live classes) or within 14 days of activation (self-paced classes) for a full refund of the course enrollment fee. Bridge to Prealgebra may be dropped before the start of the 2nd class session for a full refund of the course enrollment fee. Special AMC and AIME Problem Seminars may be dropped before the start of the 1st class session for a full refund of the course enrollment fee. No refunds after the above stated drop dates.

Yes. Art of Problem Solving courses are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. You will need to discuss with your school whether or not our classes will be accepted for credit, or if completing an AoPS course will allow you to skip the corresponding course in your school.

This depends on your school. You should ask your school if you can use AoPS courses to replace regular school courses. We can provide grades and course completion documentation as needed.

Art of Problem Solving is an approved provider of NCAA Core Courses. This means that student-athletes whose home institutions grant credit for our courses may use our courses to help establish their NCAA eligibility.

The following AoPS courses are NCAA approved: Intro to Algebra A, Intro to Counting & Probability, Intro to Number Theory, Intro to Algebra B, Intro to Geometry, Intermediate Algebra, Intermediate Counting & Probability, Intermediate Number Theory, Precalculus, Calculus, and Olympiad Geometry.

To learn more, visit the NCAA Eligibility Center (our high school code is 050389).

We can assign grades for subject courses on request. You'll receive instructions during the course about how to request a grade.

Grades are primarily determined by student performance on the homework. We take a holistic approach to grading; we don't have strict percentage levels for grades. Our courses are structured much like courses at top-tier colleges in that the assignments are extremely challenging, so students can earn high grades with a lower percentage correct than they would need in less rigorous classes.

Yes. The type and amount of homework varies from course to course.

Subject courses have assigned readings in the textbook most weeks and a weekly set of problems that reinforce lessons from the text and class. Most of these problems are short-answer questions, and students receive immediate feedback. Each week, one or two of the weekly problems are "writing problems" on which students must write complete solutions. We provide detailed feedback on the accuracy and presentation of students' solutions. Introduction-level subject courses also have assignments from Alcumus, our adaptive online learning system.

Contest preparation courses have weekly sets of practice problems. Most of these problems are drawn from major competitions. These problems are all short-answer questions, and students receive immediate feedback and solutions.

For all classes besides WOOT, students type their answers into the AoPS webpage. Our homework system also allows student to upload files, so they can complete their work on their own paper and scan in submissions if they so choose.

We won't send the AoPS ninja squad to your house if you don't do your homework, but you will learn less if you skip the homework. If you expect to request a grade or course completion confirmation at the end of the course, then you should do as much of the homework as you are able.

Alcumus is our online learning system that delivers problems to students based on their performance on earlier problems. All of our Introduction-level math courses include assignments from Alcumus.

Most of our students are very busy, and some miss classes from time to time. So, we make a complete transcript of each class available to enrolled students. The transcript remains available throughout the remainder of the course, and it includes everything that happened in class. Students also have access to a course message board on which they can ask questions outside of class time for instructors and assistants to answer. If they wish, students can post these questions anonymously.

Every course has a course message board on which students can ask questions outside of class time. Notifications about student questions on the message board are emailed to course instructors and AoPS staff members. Students are able to ask questions anonymously, and can connect their questions directly to homework problems, class transcripts, and other course items, which makes it particularly easy for students and teachers to discuss course content outside class time.

In any course with at least five classes, you can drop the course before the third class starts and receive a full refund. There are no drops after the third class starts.

Including time in class, students should expect to spend 5-7 hours per week for the subject classes, and 2.5-3.5 hours per week for contest preparation classes.

No calculators are needed for any of our courses.

LaTeX is a mathematical typesetting system that allows us to make math symbols on our website and in our classroom. You will never be required to learn LaTeX for anything in our courses. Some students do pick it up during the course, but it is not required for students to do so.

All of the classes offered through this website are online; however, we offer in-person classes through our AoPS Academy learning centers. Learn more about AoPS Academy here.

We currently offer Prealgebra 1, Prealgebra 2, and Introduction to Algebra A as self-paced courses. For updates about future course offerings, you can join our mailing list.

Self-paced classes cover the same material as our weekly live classes, except that automated, interactive lessons replace live classroom meetings. Unlike weekly live classes that have a set schedule of classroom meetings and homework assignments, self-paced classes allow students to work on their own schedules.

• Interactive, automated math lessons created by our expert curriculum developers that guide students through the material
• Several homework problem styles, from basic practice to mind-stretching challenges
• Individual feedback from our team of instructors on open-response problems designed to teach students mathematical writing skills
• A course message board, where students can post questions and receive live assistance during weekday office hours
• Scheduling tools that allow students to enter how long they plan to work each day and then receive a matching list of activities to aim to complete each day
• Supplementary video instruction from AoPS founder Richard Rusczyk

Self-paced classes are accessible for 9 months after the student’s start date, though we expect that students will take about 3-6 months to complete a course.

Yes! The self-paced class is designed to adjust to your schedule. Students can schedule time off if they’ll be on vacation, and the system won’t assign them any work during that time period. Once they’ve returned, students can jump right back to where they left off.

Yes! Each student can create a schedule adjusted to their pace.

Yes! We've made it easy for students to move between formats:

Students can transfer from a weekly live course as long as a self-paced version is available and the student has completed less than three-fourths of the weekly live class sessions.

Students can also transfer from a self-paced course to a weekly live course that is at approximately the same point in the material.

Either way, the majority of their completed assignments will transfer as well.

No! Students can work through the material as quickly as they wish. We plan for students to finish each self-paced class in about 4 months, working 5 hours per week, but some students will complete the course much faster.

Yes! Self-paced courses have required reading assignments just like the equivalent weekly live courses. When you enroll in a self-paced class, you’ll be given an option to purchase either the paperback or online version of the book, or both.

Yes! Students can work with AoPS instructors and teaching assistants in real time during weekday office hours on the course message board. Our instructional staff also provides detailed feedback on student solutions for the writing problems. The interactive lessons include immediate commentary to guide and encourage your student.

Self-paced classes can be completed on any internet-connected desktop, laptop, or tablet (including touch devices) with an updated version of one of the following web browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari.

You don't need any special software or hardware. You need a modern browser on Windows, Mac, or Linux. You can read more detailed requirements here.

Yes. Well, probably. But you'll likely be much happier using a laptop or desktop. Our classes are highly interactive so you may want to invest in a wireless keyboard as well.

Our classes don't have audio or video. This page includes many of our reasons for structuring our classroom this way.

The classroom caches around 100 lines of the discussion, so the most recent discussions will load into your classroom when you arrive. Hopefully, you can use that discussion to catch up. There will also be a full transcript of all of the classroom activity during class available within 24 hours of the end of class. You'll also have access to a course message board on which you can ask any questions you have upon reviewing that material.

The classroom is moderated: students can type into the classroom, but only the moderators can choose a comment to drop into the classroom. So, when you send a message, it will not appear immediately, and may not appear at all. This helps keep the class organized and on track.