Welcome to ORMC!

Fall 2026 Quarter Information

Enrollment in the Fall 2026 ORMC regular classes will open on 8/31 and close in the morning of 9/20. Returning academic-year students should apply to the level next to the one they attended in the Spring 2026. BNP students should apply to the Beginners 1 level, Beginners 1 students should apply to the Beginners 2 level, etc. The students who have attended either of the Advanced classes in the academic year 2025-26 can choose between applying to Advanced 2 or Advanced 3 class. For now, the plan for the Advanced 2 class is to focus more on Game Theory, including quantum, and for the Advanced 3 class to focus more on Topology. This can change based on the numbers of applicants.

We are not going to start new BNP classes in the Fall 2026. We are going to start two new BNP classes in the Fall 2027.

We do not have resources to teach three classes at the Intermediate 1 level. The academic year 2025-26 Beginners 2 students will be selected for enrollment to the Intermediate 1 level based on recommendations of their lead instructors.

If you/your child does not get enrolled, here are other options to study our curriculum:

• Our satellite Circles are listed in the middle of this page.
• The following company teaches our curriculum in person in Westwood and at other locations: https://mathika.com/
• The following company teaches our curriculum remotely: https://21centurymath.com/

Both do a great job!

Enrollment in the Fall 2026 ORMC auxiliary classes, AMC 8 Training, AMC 10/12 Training, Olympiads, and chess club will open on 9/21 and close in the morning of 9/26. Only students enrolled in ORMC regular classes are eligible to apply. Should the number of applicants exceed the number of openings, preference will be given to the applicants

• placed high on the earlier relevant math competitions, and
• students in higher grades.

Students in lower grades will have another chance later.

The Circle will be in session on Sundays: 9/27, 10/4, 10/11, 10/18, 10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15, and 11/22.

Attendance policy: we do not consider travel or attending other events, such as sports, music, theater, robotic competitions, etc., as excused absences. A student with two unexcused absences can be dis-enrolled from the program. If you plan to miss a class, please let the lead instructor(s) in the student's class know ahead of time and CC to the ORMC administration.

About us: "A standard curriculum builds the machinery. A math circle builds the mind that uses it." Irakli Ezugbaia, an ORMC parent.

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/magazine/olga-radko-endowed-math-circle-gifted-students

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/dept/faculty/ucla-math-circle-keeps-the-math-tap-on-for-schoolkids-affected-by-the-palisades-and-eaton-fires

Summer 2026 Quarter Information

Enrollment in all Summer 2026 ORMC classes is now closed.

The Circle will be in session on Sundays: 6/28, 7/12, 7/19, 7/26, 8/2, 8/9, 8/16, 8/23, 8/30.

Attendance policy: we do not consider travel or attending other events, such as sports, music, theater, robotic competitions, etc., as excused absences. A student with two unexcused absences can be dis-enrolled from the program. If you plan to miss a class, please let the lead instructor(s) in the student's class know ahead of time and CC to the ORMC administration. In a less official language, if you plan to travel when the Circle is in session, please do not apply.

Parents' Club: O. Gleizer will give a lecture, called The Path-in-Life Game, at 11:30 - 1:00 PM on 8/9 in MS 5200. Here is the abstract:

This talk has two goals. One is to bring attention to a new field of studies proposed by the lecturer, Societal Engineering, or SE. Not to be confused with social engineering, a hacking technique where attackers use psychological tricks to make victims share sensitive information, transfer funds, or compromise security. The combination of game theory and AI gives any person who has heard of the former and has access to the latter the power to engineer their own life, to make their choices more rational and more beneficial to the person, short-term and long-term. Facing any problem, personal, financial, professional or other, a modern man should act as follows. 

Briefly describe to an AI of your choosing the problem you face, then say, “Give me a simple game-theoretical model of the problem and help me analyze it.” Study the model suggested by the AI, employing this or other AI for help, if needed. Have a few back-and-forth rounds until the model is adjusted to your satisfaction to fit the problem your are solving and you fully understand the solution. Then act based on the solution.

The talk will use the above approach to answer the question, “How should a young man look for a path in life leading to his maximal success and self-realization?” The second goal of the talk is to give a game-theoretical answer to the question.

Donations:

Donations form a crucial component of the Circle's budget. Quarterly donations at the level of $300 per student are needed to sustain the high quality of our program.  Please consider ORMC as a part of your giving plans this season! Donations are not a factor in enrollment decisions and do not entitle your child to enrollment.

Summer 2026 Schedule:

Final classes taught at the Circle

The two superimposed photos below were taken on 3/8/26. Asher Avisar and Mikenever Dai have led their last ORMC classes, Beginners 2C and AMC 10/12 Training respectively. This would have been the last class taught by the Beginners 2C co-lead, Seth Nabat, but Seth was in Washington DC at the Regeneron awards ceremony. Many thanks to all the three of them for everything they did for the Circle!

Satellite Math Circles

ORMC may designate some Math Circles as ORMC satellites. A request for such a designation should be sent to the ORMC director. To qualify, a Math Circle 

1. has to be free-of-charge for participating students; 

2. have a substantial part, 50% or more, of their curriculum based on the ORMC curriculum; 

3. have instructors with ORMC training; and 

4. operate in close contact with ORMC so that ORMC could attest to the quality of instruction.

• An ORMC Advanced 1 student, Alicia Fei, and an Intermediate 2 student, Olivia Lee, are running an ORMC satellite program teaching 2-5 grade students in Torrance USD as well as in South Korea since Summer 2024. They have received a lot of positive feedback from parents and students. Here is their website: https://sites.google.com/view/uclamathcircle/home?authuser=0
• ORMC Advanced 3 students, Avery Yu and Prince Rohatgi, are running the Oak Park Math Circle at Oak Park Community Center teaching students in grades 3-5 the curriculum similar to that of the ORMC Beginners 2 classes.
• The Inspire Math Circle an ORMC student, Thomas, has founded in Santa Clarita, CA, has taught 69 classes at two levels of instruction last year and expanded to San Fernando with a Spring break camp. Supported by the CHEER Youth Group, they also participated in the Police Activity League Supporters (PALS), teaching math to disadvantaged kids. Remarkably, they had students achieving national and state rankings at the 2026 Math Kangaroo! Here is one parental feedback out of many: "My child greatly enjoyed this Math Circle program. The volunteer high school instructors were outstanding and the entire program was exceptionally well  organized, from the preparation of materials to the classroom environment. They did an amazing job fostering curiosity and enthusiasm for mathematics among the students. These remarkable young people have made a real difference in the community through their dedication, leadership, and willingness to give back. We are very grateful for their hard work and inspiration."
• A former ORMC student, Madison Tran, has started a Math Circle in Reno, NV: https://mathcirclenv.github.io/Math/
• A former ORMC student, Pranav Boyapati, has started a free online program called Enlightening Math, teaching Pre-Algebra and Algebra I in an engaging way that utilizes the problem-solving style of Math Circles. The program has been running successfully for over a year, with students joining from different parts of the country. Classes happen on Saturdays over Zoom, and a few volunteers have helped Pranav get things rolling: https://www.enlighteningamc.org/
• An ORMC Intermediate 2 student, Brandon Tso, has started a satellite Math Circle at Eagle Rock Elementary School, a magnet school within the Los Angeles Unified School District, for students in grades 3 - 5.
• An ORMC Advanced 2 student, Lawrence Pang, along with his six friends, continues their ORMC Satellite Program at Wittmann Elementary School. The class is currently in its 4 year, currently having 25 students and 4 instructors.  Many students and parents gave lots of positive feedback and have enjoyed the active learning and engagement.

Thank you notes

• ORMC would like to thank the Circle's major donor, Ms. Sierra Chen, for her unwavering support.

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/sierra-chen-grad-supports-olga-radko-math-circle

• Ms. Lily Hsu has pledged to donate 45K to the Circle over the course of five years. Thank you, Lily!
• ORMC is grateful to Jane Street for their annual 10K donations. Our Financial Literacy program was in part inspired by the highest level of math they use at Jane Street. We train our students in financial math so that they have a chance to join the company later on.

• The Jarmain/Lukas family has pledged to donate 10K to the Circle this year. Thank you!
• The Circle would like to thank the Cho/Collins family for their unwavering support of the circle for the past decade. While Marcus volunteers as a lead instructor in the Beginners 1C class, Shirley and Eddie have donated 5K this year only!
• The Circle would like to thank the Vira family for their unwavering support of the circle for the past decade. While Adyanshi volunteers as a lead instructor in the Beginners 1A and 1B classes, Vineendra and Shalini have donated 5K this year only!
• The Circle would like to thank the Schlessinger family for providing food and beverages for the beginning and/or end of the quarter parties for ORMC instructors for five years in a row. They do it even after their child has stopped attending the Circle!
• The Circle would like to thank the Berenji family for their generous support of the Circle. They have donated about 5K this year only!
• ORMC would like to thank Prof. Sucharit Sarkar for supporting the Circle through his NSF RTG grant.
• The Circle would like to thank all the parents helping with fundraising.

Weigh the Coins Game, courtesy of Prof. Romyar Sharifi

https://www.math.ucla.edu/~sharifi/oddcoin.html