Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2340 superscored (770 CR, 780 M, 790 W)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 780 Chem
Unweighted GPA: Don’t know. Not a Canadian HS thing
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Didn’t take
IB (place score in parenthesis): (not 100% sure about the predictions my teachers gave me) HL Math (6), SL Physics (7), SL Chem (7), HL CS (6), HL English (6), SL French (7), HL Economics (6)
Senior Year Course Load: All of the above minus French
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None of significance
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Chess (international level, senior school team captain and club leader), Astronomy club (founder and leader), variable star observation, 4 online edx astrophysics courses, research at a synchrotron, school music council (vice-president), intern at financial services company, symphonic band (section leader)
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Non-profit chess-teaching program (treasurer)
Summer Activities: Some Canadian STEM and entrepreneurship camp (SHAD) and more chess
Essays (rating 1-10, details): To be honest, I thought they SUCKED (and some people that edited them told me they sucked too!). Technically started them in May 2015, and wanted to cry every time I was editing them. College apps were so stressful for me, to the point where I started to question my self-worth (yeah, my self-esteem issue is embarrassing)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Honestly have no idea. Probably were stellar given the result!
Additional Rec: None
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Astrophysics
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Canada
School Type: Public magnet
Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 50,000 - 60,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Two X chromosomes? Sort of first-gen?
Reflection:
Strengths: I…honestly don’t know? Sorry but…I really just can’t say 
Weaknesses: No major awards, personally thought my IB scores were terrible (though when they get converted to percentages, they’re all 90s), Chem II could have been better (people at my school absolutely killed it -.-), didn’t take SAT II for physics even though I wanted to major in it?
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I hate to repeat but…I don’t know? I hope just my objective stats will be of use to future applicants
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted:
Waitlisted:
Rejected:
(no results from anything yet)
General Comments:
I have trouble comprehending that I am really replying to a CC thread talking about my CALTECH ACCEPTANCE. This was by far my first choice, out of all the American, Canadian, and British schools I applied to.
To any future applicants reading this, please don’t let my negativity get to you. Though apps were stressful, they really made me think about what I learned from my activities and appreciate my personal qualities. Though I don’t know exactly why I was accepted, I do know that I don’t regret the time and effort I put in my activities and I loved every second (yes, even the late nights) of my high school life. I do know that I see the best in people, and I thank Caltech for seeing the best in me.
To all those accepted, here’s to many late nights that we will never forget with people that we will also never forget 