How much does high school contest skill improve your grades in university math?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the impact of high school contest skills on university mathematics grades. Participants explore whether skills gained from math contests translate to success in university-level math courses, including specific examples like topology proofs.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that contest tricks learned in high school have little relevance in university courses, emphasizing that textbook study is more important.
  • Another participant implies that the initial claim may be self-evident.
  • A third participant expresses that their view is subjective.
  • One participant argues that while specific contest tricks may not be useful, the problem-solving skills developed through contests are beneficial.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the relevance of contest skills, with some emphasizing the lack of direct application while others highlight the value of problem-solving skills gained from contests. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the overall impact of contest experience on university performance.

Contextual Notes

Participants do not provide a consensus on the relationship between high school contest skills and university math performance, and the discussion reflects personal opinions rather than established conclusions.

mathboy
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How much does high school contest skill improve your grades in university math courses? Currently I find that all the contest tricks that I've learned play almost no role in my university courses, and studying my textbooks is all that matters now. Any clever thinking I had for those contests is just not helping me much in my topology proofs, for example, at least not directly.
 
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It sounds like you've answered your own question.
 
That's my opinion only.
 
The tricks themselves don't really help, however the problem solving skills learned helps tremendously.
 

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