North Central College students score well in math competitions

North Central College students recently participated in two mathematics competitions: a regional competition called the ACCA Calculus Competition, and an international competition called the William Lowell Putnam Competition. Results show the North Central teams earned high marks in both contests.

This year 4,113 students from 557 institutions took part in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition. Approximately 50 percent of all who took the exam did not score. However, four of the nine North Central students participating in the competition scored on the exam. The combined team score of Joshua Albright ’14, Jackson Ramsey, Jack Ryan ’15 and Maggie Wieczorek ’14 earned the College a national team ranking of 143 out of 557.

The ACCA Calculus Competition, held in April, was a success for North Central students as well. All four of the North Central teams placed in the top 10, with 40 teams participating. Two of the College’s teams tied for third place: the team of Nicole Digweed ’15, Nathan and Jack Ramsey and the team of Katie Gallagher and William Noland ’17. One team placed sixth: Wieczorek, Albright and Melissa Baxter ’14, and one placed eighth: Kate Zumpf ’14, Kaitlin Burgess ’14 and John Ciolkosz ’14.

The competitions are open to any mathematically minded student, and faculty encourage all students to participate. The William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition—widely regarded as the toughest math competition in the world—covers material from the undergraduate math curriculum. The ACCA Calculus Competition covers only the calculus sequence, with an emphasis on Calculus I and II (differential and integral calculus), though there are multivariable questions on the exam.