<p>This school has always been my dream school to go to, even though I already know it's really, really, really hard to get into. Thanks for putting time in to evaluate me.</p>
<p>SAT - 2270 (M - 790, CR - 730, W - 750)
SAT II - Math II - 800, Physics - 770</p>
<p>By the end of this senior year, I will have taken 13 AP Classes (5's on all previous ones except English) and two classes at UCLA over the summer (multivariable calculus and introduction to computer science, since my school doesn't offer these (got an A in calc and an A- in computer science due to not following instructions and getting an F on my last homework assignment))</p>
<p>I also started an American Math Competitions Club at our school in my freshman year, and every year I scored the highest at our school, although membership never really rose above ten since my school kinda looks down on that stuff as nerd stuff, and so my scores weren't actually that great. I qualified for AIME in sophomore year, and then in junior year I messed up really bad and missed AIME by one point (it haunts me to this day).</p>
<p>I've also played varsity tennis since freshman year, if that helps, and I've played piano for ten years, and I'm president of backstage crews for school productions. As for winning statewide or even nationwide science or math things or conducting Nobel Prize-worthy research on quantum physics or cancer.... I'm a bit lacking on that. And I know that's what I'm running up against.</p>
<p>Caltech admitted 237 students for the class of 2018; my son was one of these students. </p>
<p>All I can tell you is that it is a luck of the draw. His SAT score was 100 points more than yours (he missed 2 questions on the SAT), so he wasn’t perfect like his classmates, but he got in, and somehow, they didn’t. </p>
<p>We don’t know what was different nor what they saw in him. He did hold a number of leadership positions for all of his clubs and athletics. He is also an Eagle Scout. My son was #5 out of 536 in his class. He is a very good writer.</p>
<p>He received awards, commendations from several state legislators. I don’t know if this helps because it sounds so self-promoting, but it should help to show you what caltech admitted. </p>
<p>@"aunt bea" : no one cares. @noodle123: you have the numbers. Missing AIME by one point is not “mess[ing] up really bad.” Missing AIME by one point is scoring better than 19/20 people who took the test.</p>
<p>Have you done anything spectacular in the technology world? Keep in mind hundreds of the front line app developers and science competition winners are applying. </p>
<p>From our school at least, Caltech seems to favor very high SAT scores and stellar performance in math and science classes (our school said they get calls from caltech every year asking what percent a student had in each of his/her STEM classes). </p>