The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is the premier collegiate mathematics competition in North America. The competition consists of an exam split into two three-hour sessions. Exam problems are designed to test your originality and creativity more than your mathematical knowledge. For most people the competition is against the exam itself, and scoring any points at all is a major accomplishment. Solutions usually (always?) require justification; writing a good solution is just as important as finding the correct answer.
The 2017 exam will be held on Saturday, December 2 from 8:00am to 11:00am and from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.
Additional information
- The official web site.
- Past exams (with and without solutions).
- Wikipedia on the Putnam.
- Problem-Solving Through Problems by Loren C. Larson.
- Tricki, a math tricks wiki.
- Some practice problems.
Updated February 28, 2018