I’m well aware that both these schools are (high) reaches and I’ve drafted a list of matches and safeties so I’m posting this thread to get some views on whether I’d be competitive for these particular reach schools. I will not require financial aid. My intended major is astrophysics/physics.
Stats:
Background info: I am a high school junior (Asian female) and a US citizen studying in India. I studied the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) curriculum in grades 9 and 10 and am now doing the AS and A-levels.
Courseload (11th and 12th Grades):
Physics (A-level) Predicted grade A*
Chemistry (A-level) Predicted grade A*
Math (A-level) Predicted grade A*
CS (A-level) Predicted grade A*
Further Math (A-level, self-studying this)
Eng. Lit and Lang (AS-level) Predicted grade A
Global Perspectives (AS level) Predicted grade A
Awards & Honors:
3 CBSE Merit Certificates for outstanding results in Grade 10
NMS Semifinalist
A few regional science awards
A distinction in Carnatic violin awarded by a national academy
Several school awards for spell bee, french olympiad and so on
Test scores:
Took the SAT once, scored 1570.
800s in Math L2, Physics and Chemistry SAT II.
Didn’t take the ACT
ECs:
9 years violin training
Regional science olympiads and spell bees
Active member of math and data clubs at school
Doing weekly astronomy activities with the junior science club at my school
President and founder of a student-led initiative which does volunteering activities around the city
Member of the pulsar search collaboratory- involves analysing pulsar data plots
Founder and president of physics club at school
Participating in a selective country-wide asteroid hunt
Participating in NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest
Cofounder of a small business which donates 70% of profits to charity
Am I competitive for either Caltech or Princeton (or both)? Is there anything I could possibly work on to improve my chances?
There is nothing in your resume that definitely stands out and says you’re in, nor does it say you’re out…you’re in the grey area with a lot of other applicants which makes your essays a very important part of the application.
Sorry, I forgot to mention my marks. My aggregate in tenth grade was 98% and I scored around the same percentage in ninth grade too. No, I do not need financial aid, and I am of Indian origin, but a US citizen.
I agree with the rest of the posters. theres nothing standout about you, but don’t get your hopes down. there are plenty of schools that might fit your nature . to list a few : UCSD, UCLA, UC Davis, all of those are decent schools.
As other have written, you’re competitive. Unfortunately, there are about four-five times as many competitive applicants as there are places. So apply, but you are still much more likely to be rejected. Luckily, there some amazing astrophysics programs out there, at the same level, such as Berkeley and Cornell as lower reaches. Other top-notch programs, of the same caliber academically, but with higher acceptance rates are Penn State, Ohio State, and U Arizona. You should also look at UW , U of Colorado, Case Western, Haverford (if you want to attend a LAC).
Thank you all for your responses. MWolf, drowforgdc, I’ve looked into the schools you’ve mentioned, and I have shortlisted some as matches and safeties. Disregarding my fairly average extracurriculars and grades (in the context of these top notch schools), how much do you think my chances will improve if I write stellar essays? (Qualifying ‘stellar’; I believe I have a background that’s unique in comparison to domestic applicants, and I have a few distinctive hobbies as well.)
I understand this sounds ambiguous, but will expressing that I’m a good fit for the school, and that I have a unique personality and background make much of a difference when weighed against other applicants’ more impressive stats?
Nobody can actually tell you how much an essay will help you, since, among other things, the quality of an essay is very subjective. One AO will read your essay and think it’s amazing, while another will say “meh”, and third may hate it. You could also write what you think is a killer essay, but the essay that the OA read before it was by a future poet laureate, and yours simply cannot compare.
Although you are a US citizen, you’ll be lumped in with the other Indians applying from the subcontinent. This is not an easy demographic to distinguish yourself.
If financial aid is no barrier, then your best bet would be to pick one college and apply binding early decision. Princeton has single choice EA, and it is unclear if applying early provides any meaningful benefit. There are many other private schools where applying early provides a good boost: UChicago, Columbia, Darmouth, Penn, etc.
Caltech has nonbinding EA, and applying early won’t really help your chances much. As others point out, you certainly have the scores, but the other distinguishing factors are lacking. Most of it will depend on whether an admissions officer finds you appealing or not – and this is anyone’s guess.
What is your ultimate goal? What would your backup plans be if you were rejected from both Caltech and Princeton?
Also, I understand my application will be viewed by an AO who is familiar with the Indian education system, but doesn’t my citizenship give me an edge over comparable international applicants?
Yes. As a US citizen, you won’t face the additional barriers that an international student from India would face, and you’ll be treated as if you were a domestic student, albeit from a different school system than other domestic students. However, even as a domestic student, the challenge to be admitted to these two universities are still enormous and the odds are low, very low.
You will be treated as an expat US citizen. But living in India won’t help. While geographic diversity is important, they don’t take too many students from India/China.
For example, last year Harvard had 20 from India. So about 5 per year. Of these 5, probably 1-2 were athletes. So this leaves about 3 students that you will be competing with. Are you one of the top 3 from India?
The biggest advantage of being an expat US citizen is that you won’t have to worry about financial aid. The need-blind colleges don’t give out much financial aid to international students.
Being full pay, you may have a slight advantage applying to need-aware colleges. They are looking for full-pay internationals. I know that the midwest big state colleges (UIUC, UMich), and the U California schools are always looking for international full pays.
Have you considered UK colleges? Less focus on holistic review, more focus on grades/scores. Plus its only 3 year degree. Would probably be cheaper than going to US for a degree?
Hi! Honestly, in my opinion, you seem very competitive for top tier schools. A 1570 on the SAT is a really great score, so you don’t need to do anything academically to improve your chances. 1570 is the 75% score of students admitted to Princeton, and above the average score of students admitted to Caltech according to Prep Scholar. Your leadership of clubs at your school looks great, and the fact that you own a business and do community service is exactly what these types of schools are looking for. The fact that you are participating in a NASA competition will also look really good on applications. Of course, there is no guarantee, but to me it seems like there isa good chance of you getting into one of these schools and I would definitely apply to these and other top-tier schools if I were you.
sgopal2, I’m not considering UK colleges because I want to take advantage of the opportunities my citizenship will allow me to explore in the US. For example, I haven’t been able to participate in Olympiads and prestigious programs because I live outside the US, and these things and others are easier to participate in if one is a US resident and citizen.