<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Sorry for the long post. Maybe you will find it interesting. </p>
<p>I have just been accepted for a year at Caltech through an exchange program from the University of Edinburgh. I will complete my 3rd year of Computer Science/AI at Caltech. I still can't believe this is happening. Caltech, like MIT and Stanford, is one of those universities we always joked about going to in high school when we got a good mark. It was always a joke to us because we knew it would never ever happen to one of us - coming from a small school no one heard of in South Africa, leaving with a qualification that wouldn't be accepted by most overseas universities. I have still never met anyone in my country who has even thought about doing anything below postgraduate overseas. Yes, I live in South Africa, but I study overseas in Edinburgh. I am one of the few who can/chose do undergraduate overseas. </p>
<p>I got extremely lucky. Because of the way out schooling system works, you cannot usually get accepted to an overseas undergraduate program straight out of school unless you go to a special school to do A-Levels/IB/SATs. I did not go to a special school, so instead I did my first year of university in South Africa at a university that isn't known at all and has a very poor reputation. Our academic years run Feb-Dec so I started in Feb 2010.</p>
<p>I managed to convince that university to let me go on and their exchange program a semester early, to another unknown university in the UK. I completed that exchange program in June 2011. I returned back to South Africa but thought I may as well try apply to UK universities since I had a year of university they could look at. I was lucky enough to get accepted directly into 2nd year at the University of Edinburgh. The main reason I went to Edinburgh was because I wanted to apply for their exchange program to a university in the US. I knew Caltech was on the list but I never ever had any hopes of getting in as they are alot of very strong students at Edinburgh.</p>
<p>On arrival at Edinburgh, I was told that they had just introduced a new rule that forbade direct entry 2nd year students from apply for their exchange program. After many emails and meetings I finally managed to convince them to drop the rule and let me apply just few days before applications closed. I made Caltech my first choice - just in case, but I had absolutely no hope of getting in because they were judging my application on different criteria since I was a direct 2nd year entry student. The marks they looked at were actually my first year south african uni marks which 'looked' quite good because marking is done differently and the standard is actually a bit lower. I am definitely the only person in the world to get accepted for study at Caltech through marks obtained at that university...</p>
<p>I was blown away when I was accepted. I don't know why I was accepted. I really don't know what to say or do. Alot of people have told me I should seriously consider not accepting the offer because Caltech is definitely one of the most intense universities in the world and I will be going directly into 3rd year. There is a chance I may fail. I am smart, but not Caltech smart. I have often tried to get involved with research but that is really not something offered to students at places I have studied. I will never get this chance again of course, I cannot afford to study at Caltech other than through an exchange program, and I have no chance of getting in anyway if I was to apply formally as a full time student. </p>
<p>If you want an idea of my marks I have any average of 85% over 3 semesters of university, 1 year in South Africa, 1 semester in England. Both these universities are not in the top 1000 in the world and most of the programming I did there was a repeat of school. I did come first in 2 modules. I have not got any Edinburgh marks yet. I have never won any competitions or taken part in any research. I was rejected from Cambridge without an interview. I have never applied for or won a scholarship. I have also had a very disjointed education in computer science/AI since I have studied at 3 different universities in 3 different countries in the last 2 years. I have actually done more maths and statistics than I have done computer science. I am surprisingly behind with technology and have never messed around with Linux, overclocked anything, hacked anything or done anything that would make you think I have anything more than standard 'blow on the RAM until it works' technical ability. I prefer playing games - over and over again. I guess i'm not that 'proactive'. </p>
<p>What I am good as is getting things I really want, even when all the odds are against me. Getting to study at Caltech was one of those things I really wanted, but tried not to want it because I knew it was near impossible to get. I'm also more inclined to learning things when I talk to people. The most exciting thing for me about going to Caltech is not the modules, or the lectures, but the chance to get to talk with some of the smartest people on Earth. I'm not very good at absorbing alot of information from textbooks, or even learning new ideas presented in class (it takes me a bit longer than the average 'smart' person to get it). </p>
<p>So what do you think? Should I go for it even if there's a chance I may fail just because I'd never get this chance again? Surely the work is going to kill me? I think there's no way I can say no to this...</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
O just go for it and try your best</p>