Applying before dipolmia

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
1

<p>Can a student enter Caltech early, without having finished high school? </p>

<p>Yes. A high school diploma is not required for admission to Caltech. </p>

<p>I just found this out. I am wondering whether I should apply next year (I will be a junior in 05-06). Assuming I do apply and am not accepted, will my applying early have any influence on my application when I'm a senior?</p>

<p>Here are my stats-</p>

<p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p>

<p>I'm a white male, both parents born in Iran.
I learned Farsi before English, but now my English is stronger.
I attend Phillips Academy, Andover as a new 10th grader. My previous school was Lynnfield High, where I was ranked 1 of ~130 with a GPA of 4.518.</p>

<p>My courses right now and my grades (on a 6-point scale):</p>

<p>........................................Fall...... Winter...Spring (What I currently have)
Honors AP BC Calculus............6...........5..........6
AP Chemistry.........................5..........5.... ......6
Second Year French...............5...........6..........6
English.................................6......... ..5.......(no grades yet)
(The Required Course
for 10th graders)
History.................................4......... ..-..........-
( A one term requirement
for 10th graders)
Human Nature.......................-.............4.........-
(Same as History)
P/E (Requirement)..................-............-..........P
Computer Programing
(1 term in Java).....................-............-...........6</p>

<p>My advisor told me after fall term that there were seven 10th graders (out of about 280) with a 6.0, unweighted (I had 5.5 unweighted).</p>

<p>Taking AP and SAT II's in both Math and Chemistry this year.</p>

<p>Next year I'm taking a six-course load with two AP's. I'm pretty much taking the toughest courses I can. My schedule next year looks like this:</p>

<p>Linear Algebra and Mutlivariable Calculus
AP Physics (W/ spring elective for Quatum Mechanics and Relativity)
Third Year French
English (The one for 11th graders)
AP Computer Programing
Molecular Biology Laboratory Research (Fall)
Molecular Biology Independent Research (Winter)</p>

<p>E.C.'s</p>

<p>Cross Country/Indoor Track/Outdoor Track (Not that good though)
Math Club (Got 106.5 and 113.5 on AMC 10, did well on other tests, too)
Chess Club
Ping Pong Club
Andover Astronomical Society (VERY small club)
Debate Team (Not a regular member though)</p>

<p>I like to program. I'm very good at QBasic, learning C++ outside school.</p>

<p>I'm currently working on a website for a small business
Preliminary Site at <a href="http://www.gis.net/%7Earash/Edge/%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.gis.net/~arash/Edge/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I'm hoping to enroll in the NASASHARP program next summer.
<a href="http://www.nasasharp.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.nasasharp.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I've haven't taken any real SAT's, but I did take a practice one on my computer a while back and got 790 math and ~630 verbal (I know I need to work on this).</p>

2

<p>please reply, i need some info on this</p>

3

<p>I think you have enough background to be competitive, if that's your question. If you feel that you are ready to go to college a year early, you should apply. I'm pretty sure that it is NOT held against you if you apply early and get rejected, then apply again as a senior. That extra year just means that you have accumulated more background, making you a stronger candidate.</p>

<p>I think you have to look at what the opportunities will be if you stay where you are, what you might be giving up if you leave high school a year early, and how "ready" you feel socially and emotionally to be a college student. My son considered going to college a year early, and ultimately decided not to. He was already taking grad courses at a local university, so there was no issue of running out of academically challenging courses. And he was heavily involved in several activities that he would become ineligible for by starting college a year early. </p>

<p>(btw - if you like programming, check out the free internet contests and training material at <a href="http://www.usaco.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.usaco.org&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p>

4

<p>Don't bother.</p>

5

<p>thanks for the info</p>

<p>if i apply and get accepted, can i wait until after finishing HS?</p>

6

<p>It basically sounds like you're looking at having two shots instead of one for admission. I advise you not to apply - applying before senior year is, should be, imo, reserved for students who are completely ready to move on. Since you ask about finishing high school, this wouldn't be you.</p>

7

<p>I agree with tetrahedron - apply when you are actually ready to move on. It is possible to defer matriculation for a year after a college accepts you, but that is normally used for something like travel rather that finishing high school.</p>

8

<p>how would caltech treat me differently if i did apply early?</p>