I don’t have any STEM-related activities except learning various courses online, as activities are not that abundant where I live. However, my father is also a professor in a STEM field, and it really affected me/inspired me to pursue STEM. Would listing this be acceptable? And even then, I will have only 2 activities/experiences, but they ask for at least 3. Should I consider my chances as zero at Caltech and abandon applying, or is there anything I could do?
They ask for activities because they want to see what you do outside of the studying environment.
If you have your head in a book all day, and you don’t use community resources, how will you participate on campus? Apply, but you need to realize that they can be very picky about their students.
The problem is where I live in, there are very limited opportunities for activities. I participated in any activity I could, but none of them are STEM-related. That is the reason I relied heavily on the internet to learn.
That’s where you had to get creative and generate your own activities. The school realizes that some students don’t have the opportunities that US students have, but students get creative.
Caltech only admits ~200 students per year. It is a very small campus. Most students are rejected because there is not enough space.
Make sure you have other options.
Hmmmm…thanks alot.
So, with all of that taken in context, and your advice to just test my luck, what would you recommend me to do in that particular essay? Should I just list the above and don’t say anything, or should I mention briefly why I have only 2 activities/experiences?
You probably have experience, but you’re discounting it because, maybe, your activities are not formal programs or clubs, that sort of thing.
Here are some questions to help you brainstorm:
If you are doing things on the internet to teach yoruself, what are you doing?
Do you help around the house with siblings?
Have you held a parttime job?
What crafts do you do? Did you know that knitting is a great way to model some equations? Crafts have real scientific applications. Cooking = chemistry and time management and stress control.
How about if you brainstorm and about stuff you do all day and just forget that you do. Talk to your mom and dad and they may have some insight into what you do that maybe others don’t do (or do as well, but you don’t recognize it as in any way remarkable)
Thanks alot for your care and for the comprehensive reply!
First off, I may actually have some activities, but none are related to the STEM field, and the question specifically asks for “three experiences or activities have helped you explore your desire to study and possibly pursue a career in STEM”.
On the internet, I took lots of courses and independently studied many topics (from Calculus AB up to Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Multivariable and vector Calculus in math, for instance. Similar for physics) Other than that, I enjoy solving challenging problems, deriving already existing equations from others, and similar things, but I think everyone who has a firm understanding of the topic could do the exact same thing, so it is nothing special.
However, I have no research, no math club, and nothing that is counted as an activity/experience and related to STEM, other than self-studying and being a son of a STEM teacher, which actually helped define me.
While it’s not terrible to mention that you gained influence from your parents, the essay really is about you. Like you could mention it in 1/2 of a sentence, and then focus on you.
So this looks interesting to me. You could tease this into several things. If you lump all of this into “internet research” then it’s one thing. If you look at each topic, then they are separate things. “One day I was messing around with my legos and dropping a brick made me wonder: how would I graph that?. This led me to study calculus on my own in the 6th grade.” That sort of thing. They want to see how your mind works, that you’re self-motivated to learn the stuff that they teach. Similarly: While walking in the forest near my home, I noticed ABC happening. This led me to research XYZ on my own and I found that I was actually pretty good at MNOP. I took three more courses online about that, which led me to [another activity outside of the home]"
I’d be careful to alternate activities in the community and your environment, social and quiet, so that you don’t look like an anti-social shut in (even if you are, but I don’t think uyou are.)
You do research on your own. You are independent learner making the most of the resources given to you. What things have you figured out on your own?
Do you draw and paint? Also?
Hmmmm…very very insightful and extremely helpful. Thanks alot, I gotta do some work right now to furnish my ideas into essays!
“Like you could mention it in 1/2 of a sentence, and then focus on you.” That’s exactly what I did. I commented on how accompanying him to his work motivated me, and how I tried to solve assignments of his class, etc…
“I don’t think uyou are”. You are right, I am totally the opposite.
“Do you draw and paint? Also?” Nope. But I do several other things (like reading about philosophy, for example), but none is related at all to STEM.