Questions

Circles are weekly gatherings that follow a model of education that emphasizes interactive education and deep engagement. Our enrichment circles are evening after-school programs intended for students who are passionate in a given subject and want to learn more beyond what is available in their schools. Through lectures, activities, and hands-on engagement, circles encourage students to develop creative and critical problem solving skills. 

Yes! Students from any geographic location are welcome to enroll in the online Circles program. Students are expected to attend all live online classes, and should only register for sections that are appropriate for their schedule and time zone. Please note that all class times are in Pacific Time.

The Thursday in-person course for grades 9-12 will be held at either the Stanford Historical Main Campus or at the Stanford Redwood City campus. The specific location will be communicated via email from precollegiate@stanford.edu closer to the beginning of the quarter.

We will post the link to our online registration as it becomes available. When the registration period is closed, please sign up for our mailing list to be notified when the application will be available for next quarter.

Section Switch Policy

If you are no longer able to attend the section you registered for, you will need to re-register online for an available section, and request a refund less a $50 fee for the original registration by forwarding your receipt email with your mobile phone number and mailing address to registrations@stanford.edu. You do not need to sign the waiver form again. You will need to do this by the refund deadline.

Section switch requests cannot be processed for the three-quarter registration (Fall, Winter, Spring) option. Register using the single-quarter registration option if you are unsure about your student’s schedule.

Refund Policy

Refunds are unavailable after the deadline for single-quarter and three-quarter registration. There are no exceptions for waiving refund fees, grade or section changes, tuition credit towards a future quarter—regardless of the reasons and timing. Communication is via email only.

Orders will be refunded less a $50 fee ($150 for three-quarter registration) without notice if you didn't register for the student’s current grade or registered more than once for the same student.

If you want a refund less a $50 fee ($150 for three-quarter registration), you will need to forward your receipt email to registrations@stanford.edu with mobile phone # and mailing address by the deadline. Refunds after 35 days from order date will be issued by check and sent via regular mail within 15 business days from the refund request date.

Each student should have a notebook with graph paper that is dedicated to Stanford Math Circle, a small pencil case with a few pencils, markers or colored pencils, an eraser, a glue stick, and scissors with rounded edges. Students will not need to purchase textbooks for the program.

Yes. Math circle homework is an essential part of the class. It is important that parents and guardians spend some time with their children discussing what was done in class and spending time working on (not necessarily solving) the homework problems.

We will do some practice sessions for middle school and high school mathematics contests (such at the AMC contests, BAMO, ARML, etc.), but that is not our primary emphasis.

We do restrict participation the elementary math circle to students in first grade and above. This is because of social readiness, not mathematical ability! We do recognize that there are many kindergarten students who are capable of exceptional mathematical reasoning. Similarly, we do not permit students in grades 1–2 to participate in the 3–4 grade circles.