Philippine Mathematical Olympiad
The Philippine Mathematical Olympiad (PMO) is a series of tests for advanced math students in the Philippines. This series of contests is the oldest in the Philippines, and the country uses the test to determine the participants of the IMO. The contest has three stages, with the first two being regional and the third one being national.
Qualifying Stage
The Qualifying Stage takes place in October and is the first stage of the PMO. Schools send at most 30 students to participate in a testing center of each region.
The test has 30 questions and is part multiple choice and part free response. The first 15 problems are 2 points, the next 10 problems are 3 points, and the last 5 problems are 6 points.
Area Stage
The top 50 participants in each region from the qualifying stage move on to participate in this round during November. The first 20 problems only require a written answer and are worth 3 points. However, the final three problems require a full solution, and each of the three problems grant a maximum of 10 points.
National Stage
The top 20 participants overall from the area stage move on to participate in the final stage of the PMO, held in January. The first part of the test lasts 4.5 hours and has four written problems. All of the four problems require complete solutions. The second part of the test is oral. Problem-solvers need to answer each question within a certain amount of time. Around 70% of the score is on the written part, and around 30% of the score is on the oral part.
