<p>Asian male, qualified scores and other grades are As in toughest classes possible.</p>
<p>Good: Self-studied for Physics B (5) and self-studying for Physics C. (4 other people in my grade at my school are doing the same thing, so I don't think it's very helpful.) Doing research in an astrophysics lab this summer. Some random math stuff, including self-studying AP Calc BC.</p>
<p>Bad: I'm predicting a B in AP Chemistry this semester (currently 4% away from an A), and I got a B+ in chemistry last year as well. These are/were my only science classes for their respective school years. Didn't make AIME or USPhO semifinals. Mediocre recs.</p>
<p>I really like Caltech, but I feel like I'm going to get auto-rejected due to chemistry grades. So should I spend the money on the app fee? Our school limits how many colleges we can apply to, so if I don't apply to Caltech, that spot will be filled by a school like WUSTL or Northwestern, at which my chances will probably be better.</p>
<p>^I’d say admission is very unlikely. Considering that the # of apps is limited (which I think sucks btw,) I would fill it with NU or WUSTL. One thing though. Although NU is somewhat more selective than WUSTL, WUSTL has been known to waitlist strong candidates if they think they will go elsewhere, otherwise known as Tufts syndrome. So you might be better off applying to NU. Alternatively, you could still apply to MIT, which is more forgiving with academic blemishes.</p>
<p>Regardless, I would do everything possible to try to rock the final in AP Chem so you can eke out an A-. Push for it. It’ll make your record a lot more attractive.</p>
<p>^^Sounds reasonable. I’m applying to MIT no matter what happens because it has been my dream for a long time. I’ll try my hardest to bump up my grade, though!</p>
<p>^10 private and/or OOS public schools in total. We can apply to as many in-state schools as we want.</p>
<p>Not everyone who goes to op schools has straight A’s. If you like the school, go for it. If you feel like you have a weakness, make sure the other parts of your app are really good.</p>
<p>I don’t think those grades alone will ruin you. Show your dedication to math & science and show your academic ability through test scores and other courses, and the B’s won’t mean as much as you think they do. They’re certainly not “good”, in the Caltech sense, but you’re not immediately rejected based on those two Bs.</p>
<p>And just as stated above, you have a 0% chance if you don’t apply. So apply!</p>
<p>So chances are always hazy, but let’s get the basics. There are a lot of asians here, being asian won’t necessarily help or hurt you. Also, the fact that your school limits you to applying to a lower number of colleges actually helps if you choose to emphasize it. This tells admissions that you really want to get in here, and you’re not applying just because it’s the west coast doppelganger of MIT. A lot of people here self-studied subjects, and maybe admissions likes that. Also, most non-chem majors just take two terms of Core chemistry and never see chem again.</p>
<p>Science isn’t limited to chemistry. As long as you show you’re very strong in something else, I don’t think it will really make that big of a difference.</p>
<p>^^You appear to be a current student at Caltech; am I correct? How does Caltech award AP credit (if at all)? I’m guessing that Caltech uses placement tests rather than AP tests for math and science.</p>
<p>Thanks for the more encouraging remarks.</p>
<p>Our school’s system of transcripts, counselor recs, and teacher recs prevent us from applying to more. I live in California, so the limit is fairly reasonable considering the caliber of our in-state public schools (except for budget cuts…).</p>
<p>I plan on taking physics courses either at the local CC or with EPGY next year (unless I can convince my school to let me take Physics C), so hopefully that can help me show strength/depth in physics.</p>
<p>I still don’t know if I’ll apply to Caltech or not, but it’s not off my list yet.</p>
<p>There is no AP credit at all, considering AP level is not Caltech level. If you’re really sure in your abilities, you can take the placement exams to get out of the intro classes.</p>
<p>The B+ in a semester in Chemistry isn’t that important, especially if your school is known to be strong academically. What is important is showing a passion for science. That’s really what it comes down to.</p>
<p>Can you not apply on your own to out of state/private schools? How is your school able to prevent you from applying to colleges? That seems like they are overstepping their boundaries and limiting your freedoms (though I don’t know for sure). I feel like it would be within your legal rights to apply to colleges.</p>
<p>It’s designed to limit the workload of the guidance counselors, so they don’t end up having to spend all their time dealing with paperwork from the 20 different schools some kid applied to. It would certainly be legal to ignore them and apply to other colleges, but I’m not sure the school would be legally obligated to send transcripts and such to said colleges.</p>
<p>it’s not worth applying to more than 10 oos schools, given excellent in-state option in cal. the school is doing the students a favor by forcing them to make tough choices.</p>
<p>What is the limit though. If it is 5 that is unreasonable but if it is 15, that is quite reasonable. Caltech is no match or safety for anyone and so it should be designated as one of your reach schools anyway and you should be distributing the list among reaches, safeties and matches anyway.</p>