New Hyde Park Memorial High School seventh-grader Fiona O’Reilly was accepted into the Institute of Creative Problem Solving for Gifted and Talented Students at SUNY College at Old Westbury. Fiona is among 85 students who will pursue the study of mathematics and its applications.
To qualify, Fiona and 84 other students competed against approximately 500 of the top-ranking students nominated from school districts on Long Island. Selection by the institute implies that a student is among the top one-tenth of 1 percent in math of all students on Long Island in his or her grade. Acceptances were based on four criteria: school transcript, teacher recommendation, a brief written statement by the student and a rigorous entrance exam.
Each student is expected to spend 50 hours in class over the course of 20 Saturday mornings. The curriculum covers mathematical topics including algebra, discrete math, number theory and more.
