ACC Early College Start Student Outscores Competition

Austin – During his first year as an ACC Early College Start student, Charles Meeks outscored 4,998 students to place second in a national math competition sponsored by the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges. The 16-year-old home-schooled student outperformed 500 students to win the association’s regional contest.

“I was actually pretty excited when I found out I was 12th after round one,” Charles says. “I sure wasn’t expecting to move all the way up to number two.”

For the third consecutive year, the ACC team was ranked first in the southwest region, outperforming 16 other colleges from Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Four of the top 11 students in the southwest region were from ACC. Nationally, ACC placed 10th out of 156 community colleges that participated.

The competition consists of three pre-calculus tests, which are administered at each participating college. The first exam is given in the fall and the second two in the spring. Pre-calculus and calculus are required for many science and technology majors, including engineering, math, and pre-med.

“These exam questions require good insight and good problem-solving skills,” says ACC math professor Mike Dellens, who coordinated the contest. “It’s not a straight computation. These problems are very difficult, but theoretically if you have pre-calculus skills, you know the topics.”

About 120 ACC students participated in the contest this year, a 57 percent increase over last year. The ACC Foundation encouraged students to participate in the contest by awarding $5,000 in prize money to the students who had the top five scores after each exam. The highest mark received $500, as did the overall winner. Charles earned the highest score for each exam and was the overall winner among ACC students. Twelve other students also won prize money.

Charles had been taking online math courses offered by Stanford University when he decided he wanted to interact with a live teacher. He enrolled in ACC’s Early College Start program last fall and has since taken calculus, music theory, chemistry, and physics.

“I like how mathematics can explain how things work,” Charles says. “There is no subjectivity; you’re either right or you’re wrong each time.”

When he’s not solving calculus problems, Charles spends his time playing the piano and working on music compositions. He’s studying music theory at ACC and is enjoying learning more about ear training and sight singing.

“I’ve played the piano since I was 9 years old, but recently my interests have turned more toward composing,” Charles says. “Music appeals to me the most because I have always found sound fascinating.”

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