Symm Polynom
Vieta formulas, Newton sums, and the fundamental theorem of symmetric polynomials. Involves some computational problems. In my opinion, this is probably the easiest unit.
Unit Overview
A unit featuring many computational problems from college competitions along with some easy Olympiad problems. This is probably one of the easiest units, comparable to EV. It includes one of the main Algebraic formulas for AIME, Vieta's. It also talks about Newton Sums, Factor Theorem, and the Fundamental Theorem of Symmetric Polynomials. This unit directly ties into Alg Manip and uses many similar concepts.
Notable Problems
2018 CMIMC A9 : A mix of number theory and algebra involving some clever manipulations.
2012 Black MOP : Introduces the idea of relating equations using roots of polynomials and Vietas.
2013 SMT A9 : A nice example of factoring.
Advice
I think this unit is very good for mid-late AIME algebra as well as algebra in college competitions. It also introduces some of the basics for olympiad algebra.