Textbook
1. Introduction
1.1 What is the AMC?
1.2 What's so special about this course?
1.3 What will we achieve?
1.4 Start with the right mindset
1.5 What to do now
2. Algebra
3. Geometry
4. Number theory
5. Probability
6. Combinatorics
7. What's next?
Achievable logoAchievable logo
1.3 What will we achieve?
Achievable AMC 10/12
1. Introduction

What will we achieve?

Our goals

  • Your goal is to score very well on an AMC 12 exam this coming November. Ideally, you’ll do so well that you’ll qualify for the AIME, and possibly even get a Distinction-level score.

  • So, this course’s goal is to put into your head all the math knowledge you’ll need in order to achieve that goal. (But we won’t spend much time on things that you already know.)

What does this course do?

  1. It puts knowledge directly into your head, quickly and permanently.
  2. It contains all of the knowledge you need to have there, and nothing more.
  3. It can tell whether you really know it or not.

How is that even possible?

  1. Recently there was a big breakthrough in the science of memorization. The learning engine that powers this course is built on that research, and it works better than anything you’ve seen before. Basically, the Achievable team figured out how to turn that research into a tool that uses the research without making you know anything about it. It works unbelievably well. Like in, you will literally have trouble believing that certain things have been put into your memory.
  2. Your guide here (me!) is Wes Carroll. I’ve been coaching AIME qualifiers for over 20 years. I know exactly what you need to know, and what you really don’t.
  3. The multiple-choice quizzes in this course contain very smart “trap” answers. If you only mostly know the material, I’ll catch you. (Then you can really learn it.)

This course puts the right knowledge, directly into your memory.

Why do I need this?

Couple reasons. First, doing really well on the AMC 12 is hard. I mean, you’ve probably heard it before, and maybe you pretty much coast through every math class and still get an A, and you think you know that “difficult” is a word for other people. That’s fine.

But consider who takes the AMC 12 in the first place. Are these the people who have to work hard for B+'s in precalc? No. Instead, they are the people who coast through BC Calc and get a 5 without appearing to try very hard. All of them think that they will ace the AMC 12. And most of them will be very disappointed. Because only a small percentage of AMC 12 competitors get the top honors. So you need more help than you may realize.

Second, this course will help you take advantage of a serious flaw in the mindset of most competitors. This flaw will prevent them from working as effectively as you will. Therefore, you’ll get a better score than people who believe that they “deserve” to out-perform you.

That mindset, in a nutshell, is that the way to learn math is by doing problems. That’s misleading. Doing problems is a terrible way to learn the math building blocks you need for this competition. Practice problems are for after you know all the building blocks.

Learning this stuff in the right order makes you improve tons faster. And that means you’ll have enough time to rise to the top of the pack.

This course gives you the first stuff first, so that you don’t get distracted with unproductive activities like doing problems before you know the building blocks cold.

What does this course not do?

  • It doesn’t focus very much on practice AMC problems.
  • It doesn’t give you problem walkthroughs.
  • It doesn’t give you any “nice to have” knowledge. (Only the necessary stuff!)
  • It doesn’t often explain to you how to think; instead it gives you the right ideas to think with.

This course is about putting the necessary knowledge into your mind. It does it well, it does it fast, and it does it permanently.

Once you’re done with this course, you’ll feel like everything you need to know just pops into your head when you need it.

From the outside, your speed and comfort will look like an unbelievable magic trick.

Why does this course work like this?

Because learning the material, and learning how to effectively use the material, are two different skills. confusing the two leads to roadblocks. Separating them out leads to champions.

It all works because we do the first stuff first, and we do it right.