Programs are intended for students in the 4th to 11th grades
The IDEA MATH 2021-2022 year-round program offers five types of series during the school year. These series are:
Students may enroll in combinations of the courses depending on their learning goals. In particular, students can also consider the Contest Edge (CE) Series as a supplement to any of the School Enrichment (SE) Series and Extra Curricular (EC) Series, and some times to the Accelerated Championship (XC) Series.
This web page is intended for the Accelerated Championship (XC) Series.
In the past 25 years, the Phillips Exeter Academy Red Lion (PEARL) math team, under the supervision of IDEA MATH academic director Dr. Zuming Feng, has become a dominant force in US high school math contests. From 2000 to 2020, students from PEARL have been USAMO winners more than 40 times and have won 26 IMO Gold medals, 11 Silver medals, and 8 Bronze medals. These students have diverse background, skillsets, and characters. What do they have in common? Well, almost all of them have studied Math Transition 3X (or 31X-40X-41X) and Math 431-511-521, and worked extensively in PEARL math club activities with Zuming. The Accelerated Championship (XC) Series builds upon materials Zuming used in 31X-40X-41X and 431-511-521 courses with additional contest flavored challenge sets and projects.
The IDEA MATH 2021-2022 Accelerated Championship series will offer X7/X9/X10 via remote learning -- Zoom based LIVE classes. Each course consists of two parts: part 1 will be offered/taught in the session 1 (or fall session) and part 2 will be offered/taught in the session 2 (or spring session), and part 2 is a continuation (not a repetition) of part 1. In each session, there are 12 class days and each class day has a 2.5-hour class for a total of 30 class hours. (Therefore, for each course, we have 2*12*2.5 = 60 total class hours--- 30 hours for part 1 in session 1 and 30 hours for part 2 in session 2.) We intend to cover our materials via our classroom activities. Hence we expect less than 1 hour of homework for each class day and no more than 10 hours of homework per session (half academic year).
The tuition for each of these courses is $1970= $985*2 (to be paid in two payments: $985 per session) for a total 60 in-class hours (30 in-class hours per session, unit rate is less than $33 per hour) of teaching and homework/test grading.
The XC series intends to improve students' command of the core knowledge leading to higher studies in mathematics. Students will be surprised to discover that the school curriculum could be as challenging and as useful for preparing for higher level contests (such as AMC12/ARML/AIME/HMMT/USAJMO/USAMO), if the right questions are posed, and more importantly, the school curriculum could and should be far more important, if learned with good depth and breadth. While math contests are not the main focus for this course, this course cultivates young talented math students’ vision on the flow of mathematics and ability to reason and argue mathematically. Therefore, students’ achievements in math contests become a natural result.
We apply seminar-style teaching in our classes. Class sizes are small to ensure that students receive plenty of individual attention. Students are expected to work as a group and present their solutions and ideas to the class.
To protect students' privacy, we ask our students to:
For more detailed online class policy please visit here.
The unique strengths of IDEA MATH can be summarized as follows:
For more details, please visit our FAQ page.
As always, we welcome parents' specific academic questions about our curriculum and teaching styles, as well as students' class-work and preparation. Please contact info@ideamath.org---make sure to include the following info in your email subject: student's full name, 4-digit IDEA MATH ID, and intended program.
IDEA MATH provides an extensive curriculum. The course list shown below consists of projected courses we will offer in this program. Two of the major strengths of our program---a strong academic team and a full range of materials---allow us to create new courses/groups to meet the needs of the students body. Therefore, the course list (and course schedule) is subject to change based on actual enrollment and staff availability.
Please visit detailed curriculum grid for a more complete reference of IDEA MATH course curriculums.
Courses* | Date** | Class Time** |
---|---|---|
XC7 | Saturdays | 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm (US ET) |
XC9 | Saturdays | 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm (US ET) |
XC10 | Saturdays | 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm (US ET) |
Note: All course information can be found at our curriculum page here.
* Each course will only be offered when a minimum number of students have enrolled. Some courses might run multiple sections. To maintain the high standard of our students' learning experience, class sizes will remain small---about 8 to 16 students for PC0/PCA courses, about 8 to 20 students for other courses.
** All class times are in the US Eastern Time Zone. Each course will meet 12 times per session. Check calendar here.
IDEA MATH provides an extensive curriculum. Please see the projected course offerings below and their (main) corresponding placement levels. In general, each applicant not recently enrolled (that is, who has not completed an IDEA MATH course in the spring or summer of 2021) in our programs shall take a placement test in one of our open online/onsite placement test sessions. (For more details on our placement test/course placement process, please visit here.)
Test Level | Targeted Course |
---|---|
S0/T0 | School Enrichment Series: PC0/Pre-Algebra 1 and PCA/Pre-Algebra 2 Extra Curricular Series: PC0/Pre-Algebra 1 and PCA/Pre-Algebra 2 Winter Online Contest Prep program: CW0 |
S1 | School Enrichment Series: Algebra |
S2 | School Enrichment Series: Geometry |
S3 | School Enrichment Series: Algebra 2 |
T1 | Extra Curricular Series: PC1 and PC2 Contest Edge Series: CE1/CE2 Winter Online Contest Prep Program: CW1/CW2 |
T2 | Extra Curricular Series: PCX and UC1 Contest Edge Series: CE3/CE4 Winter Online Contest Prep Program: CW3/CW4 |
T3 | Extra Curricular Series: UC2 and UC3 Contest Edge Series: CE5/CE6 Winter Online Contest Prep Program: CW5/CW6 |
T4 | XC Series: XC7, XC9, and XC10 MO Series MO1 Winter Online Contest Prep Program: CW7/CW8 |
T5 | MO Series MO2 and MO3 Winter Online Contest Prep Program: CW9/CW10 |
It is important for each applicant to input accurate, complete, detailed, and up-to-date academic background information (i.e., age, grade level, math courses taken, official contest scores, etc.) in the applicant's IDEA MATH student account. We review this information to make initial course placement/placement test level decisions.
In general, each applicant not recently enrolled (that is, who has not completed an IDEA MATH course in the spring or summer of 2021) in our programs shall take a placement test in one of our open online/onsite placement test sessions. (For more details on our placement test/course placement process, please visit here.) We will find the most appropriate course placement based on the information entered in the student’s IDEA MATH account and (if applicable) placement test work. Please note that our academic team will make the final decision on your course placement based upon your academic background and your work in the placement test. (Further course placement adjustments can be made, by our academic team, based upon your class work.)
Please click this link to register for the placement test. The placement test fee is non-refundable and non-transferable. An extra charge may be applied if a student wishes to change testing dates after registering and paying for the placement test. If you would like to request a different placement test, please email us and an additional charge may be applied.
Placement Test Date/Time* | Placement Test Location | Registered by | Test Fee** |
4:30 pm, July 25, 2021 (US Eastern Time) |
Online | July 21, 2021 | $50 |
4:30 pm, August 8, 2021 (US Eastern Time) |
Online | August 3, 2021 | $75 |
4:30 pm, August 22, 2021 (US Eastern Time) |
Online | August 17, 2021 | $100 |
8:00 pm, September 2, 2021 (US Eastern Time) |
Online | August 29, 2021 | $100 |
* Each placement test is 90 minutes long. Students should arrive at the testing location (onsite or online) 10 minutes prior to the test. All test times are in the US Eastern Time Zone.
** The placement test fee is non-refundable and non-transferable; that is, it cannot be transferred from one applicant/student to another applicant/student, and it also cannot be transferred from a registered/chosen test session/date to another placement test session/date for the same applicant/student. Special test sessions (test fee starting at $150) can be arranged depending on staffing availabilities. Please contact info@ideamath for inquires on special test sessions.
Placement Test Date/Time* | Placement Test Location | Registered by | Test Fee** |
4:30 pm, November 14, 2021 (US Eastern Time) |
Online | November 9, 2021 | $50 |
4:30 pm, November 28, 2021 (US Eastern Time) |
Online | November 23, 2021 | $75 |
4:30 pm, December 12, 2021 (US Eastern Time) |
Online | December 7, 2021 | $100 |
* Each placement test is 90 minutes long. Students should arrive at the testing location (onsite or online) 10 minutes prior to the test. All test times are in the US Eastern Time Zone.
** The placement test fee is non-refundable and non-transferable; that is, it cannot be transferred from one applicant/student to another applicant/student, and it also cannot be transferred from a registered/chosen test session/date to another placement test session/date for the same applicant/student. Special test sessions (test fee starting at $150) can be arranged depending on staffing availabilties. Please contact info@ideamath for inquires on specail test sessions.
Note that registration is only the first step of towards enrollment. Enrollment (for each session) is completed only after the tuition is paid in full. The tuition payment is independent to student's course placement because the tuition is for the program, not for a specific course. The IDEA MATH staff will work with students on course placement by reviewing their academic backgrounds, assigning placement test levels, reviewing placement test work, and more. IDEA MATH staff make the final decision on students' course placements. (Please see our Course Placement Policy section for details.) All tuition refund for withdrawal will be processed based on the refund policy.
Please log in to your account to pay the tuition online.
Registered By | Tuition Paid By* | Tuition Amount** |
---|---|---|
August 15, 2021 | August 30, 2021 | $985 (less than $33/hour) |
* The tuition payments may be stopped earlier than the published date if the program has reached to its upper capacity.
** After the tuition payment deadline date, a late fee ($150) will be applied to the tuition and admission can only be given if space is available.
Registered By | Tuition Paid By* | Tuition Amount** |
---|---|---|
December 15, 2021 | December 31, 2021 | $985 (less than $33/hour) |
* The tuition payments may be stopped earlier than the published date if the program has reached to its upper capacity.
** After the tuition payment deadline date, a late fee ($150) will be applied to the tuition and admission can only be given if space is available.
For the class schedule, please check the course schedule.
Course | Time* | Dates* |
---|---|---|
X7 | 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm (US ET) | Saturdays: Sept 11, 18, 25, Oct. 2, 16, 23, 30, Nov. 6, 13, 20, Dec. 4, 11 (2021) |
X9 | 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm (US ET) | Saturdays: Sept 11, 18, 25, Oct. 2, 16, 23, 30, Nov. 6, 13, 20, Dec. 4, 11 (2021) |
X10 | 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm (US ET) | Saturdays: Sept 11, 18, 25, Oct. 2, 16, 23, 30, Nov. 6, 13, 20, Dec. 4, 11 (2021) |
* All class times are in the US Eastern Time Zone. Each course will meet 12 times per session. Check calendar here.
Course | Time* | Dates* |
---|---|---|
X7 | 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm (US ET) | Saturdays: Jan. 15, 22, 29, Feb. 12, 19, 26, Mar. 12, 19, Apr. 2, 9, 23, 30 (2022) |
X9 | 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm (US ET) | Saturdays: Jan. 15, 22, 29, Feb. 12, 19, 26, Mar. 12, 19, Apr. 2, 9, 23, 30 (2022) |
X10 | 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm (US ET) | Saturdays: Jan. 15, 22, 29, Feb. 12, 19, 26, Mar. 12, 19, Apr. 2, 9, 23, 30 (2022) |
* All class times are in the US Eastern Time Zone. Each course will meet 12 times per session. Check calendar here.
Withdrawal Request Made | Refund Amount |
---|---|
After tuition payment is submitted and before the 1st class day of the session | Paid Tuition - $150 | From the 1st class day of the session and before the 3rd class day of the session | Paid Tuition - $350 |
On or after the 3rd class day of the session | No refund |
Please note that only tuition is refundable per the above policy. Other fees such as the application fee, the registration fee, and the placement test fee are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Credit cannot be transferred between different type of programs---say, from summer, year-round, winter, etc.
For programs of a similar type (e.g., between summer programs), we will follow the withdrawal/refund policies. For example, after tuition is submitted and before date X, we will apply the transfer in the following way (assuming space is available for the intended program): switching series is considered a withdrawal from one series and an enrollment to another, and any difference in tuition rates applies.
To request a refund and withdraw your student, please send a complete request in writing to info@ideamath.org. You must include the payee name and mailing address matching the information in the student's account in order for your request to be deemed complete and submitted. Please include "Refund Request" and the student's name in the subject line. The amount of the refund will be based on the time that a complete request is submitted; incomplete requests will not be deemed to meet deadlines for withdrawal.
If the student is ill and chooses to withdraw from the program, we can offer prorated credit (proportional based upon the first refund policy: paid tuition deducted by $150, then prorated per day) towards a future program. A note from a licensed physician is required. The doctor's note should clearly assert that the student's current medical status does not allow the student to complete the remainder of the program. The date when the doctor's note is submitted to IDEA MATH (via info@ideamath.org) is considered the initial date for the prorated refund (credit) calculation. The same policies apply if the IDEA MATH staff determine that the student must withdraw due to illness in order to protect the health and welfare of themselves or other students.
For all purposes related to this refund policy, a day shall be deemed to begin at 12:01am local time in the US Eastern Time Zone (US ET).