@CAEngineer Thanks for your advice. My school only offers AP Physics 1. I called the UG admissions office to clarify. Caltech requires one full year of physics plus the expectation that the student takes the highest level course offered. If admitted, I would definitely spend the summer to take college level Physics before enrolling.
Taking Calc BC as a senior is weak?
I don’t know the percentages but plenty of incoming students highest math is Calc BC. Obviously, a higher level of math is better. Also, I know GT defers EA applicants who haven’t completed Calc BC, so I was wondering if Caltech did.
My son took Calc BC as a senior and was admitted EA.
@vhsdad Did your son win national level awards in any STEM subject? Many accomplishing high school students today would have taken Calc BC by the 10th or 11th grade the latest. After Calc BC, we can take MVC, Linear Algebra and other college math classes online at the same pace as a college student.
He did not win any awards, and I can say without a doubt that you don’t need anything beyond BC to thrive at Caltech. I know a kid that graduated a year before my son was admitted to and attends Caltech despite taking Calc AB as senior (whether he took concurrent colleges courses I don’t know). I think Caltech is looking for more than just who got the farthest in math courses.
I have a question about RD. Can someone confirm the submission deadline. I know it is Jan 3, but can I assume it would be midnight? And if so, ET, CT, PT? The Caltech website hasn’t really provided that information. Thx.
Through the common app I’m pretty sure it’s midnight whatever time zone you’re in. That said, there’s no reason to cut it that close.
[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted **[/color][/size]
[ b]Objective:**
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 780/770/19
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): one sitting
ACT: 35
ACT superscore (breakdown): one sitting
SAT II (subject, score): 730 on Physics; 800 on Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Weighted GPA: 4.29
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 1%
AP (place score in parentheses): CSA (5); CSP (4); HuG (5); Euro (5); USH (5); Physics C Mech (5); Eng Lang (5); Spanish Lang (5); Calc AB (5); Calc BC (5;5 on AB subscore);Stats (current); Microecon (current); US Gov (Current); Eng Lit (current); Enviro (current); Chem (current)
Senior Year Course Load: Stats (AP), US Gov (AP), Microecon (AP), Chem (AP), Enviro (AP), Lit (AP), Phys. Ed (don’t laugh lol)
Number of other EA applicants in your school: 0
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): none
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.):
National AP Scholar, NHSRP, Caltech Up Close Attendee
[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Science Olympiad Captain (4 years, been doing it 9-10 years)
MUN Officer (3 years, been doing it 5 years)
AP Calc AB/BC Tutor/Ambassadors Tutor (Officer of club 2 years, freelance tutor 4 years)
Job/Work Experience: Worked as a graphic designer for a magazine, 30 hours a month
Volunteer/Community Service:
Freelance tutoring, Youth Activation, volunteering at a youth camp
Summer Experience:
Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science Program Alum
[ b]Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):**
On average a 7/10, definitely not a strong suit but not uninteresting. Take the most abnormal or mundane thing in your life and tie it to your passion. Make clipping grass for your neighbor or the meditation you do in the morning meaningful in your essays. You may not see it, but little idiosyncrasies are the gateway to opportunity and are a great hook to get your reader interested into your journey.
Essays:
Link to all my essays: https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/drive/folders/19Sgyot0YVL-RAx2-PluzM3i9_woYn4lu?usp=sharing
Teacher Recommendation #1: AP Lang Teacher
Teacher Recommendation #2: Computer Science Teacher who was also my robotics coach and teacher freshman, junior, senior year.
Counselor Rec: Temporary counselor filling in for my actual counselor. I miss him dearly. He got the job done and absolutely loved working with me. Dream counselor. Transferred after my actual counselor returned from maternity leave.
Additional Info/Rec: MITES evaluations from program professors
Interview: No
Art Supplement: No
[ b]Other**
Date Submitted App: Day before it was due
U.S. State/Territory or Country: California
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Mexican/Hispanic or Latino
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: 60,000-100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development):
Science Olympiad test writer, though I doubt this was much of a draw individually.
[ b]Reflection**
Strengths: Science Olympiad, MITES alum, a LOT of APs
Weaknesses: Could’ve done more community service, Subject test scores were low
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Definitely My research at MITES, outreach with Science Olympiad, volunteerism with Youth Activation, and even the admissions officers meeting me and giving me tips at Caltech Up Close, for those of you who aren’t seniors, look into it, it is an awesome experience!
What would you have done differently?: Studied for subject tests for sure, AP=/= SAT!
Where else did you apply?
MIT EA (Accepted), Harvard, Stanford, Yale, JHU, Columbia, Princeton, Brown, UChicago, HMC, Williams, Pomona, Cornell, UPenn, Norteastern, YaleNUS, UCSD,UCLA,UCB,UCI
[ b]Other Factors: **
Took a summer Trig course to get ahead in math my Freshman year
[ b]General Comments & Advice:**
If you are not set on being a STEM major, you have no business applying to Caltech. There are opportunities for humanities here, but they should not be your focus.
Do something you care about that ties into stem. For example, teaching underprivileged kids about computer programming or computer science is a fairly standard example. I’ve seen friends get into MIT and Stanford with these sorts of activities, but please don’t make college your motive to do anything. These guys are like Santa Claus: they KNOW. If you do nothing but suck up to universities without coming into your own you will get rejected (I’VE SEEN IT).
Congrats @Cruzss. Is Caltech your first choice? Do you know how many students were admitted during EA?
( ohitsnotme ) My Daughter has applied RD also with not the best scores but has very good engineering EC’s. Would you share your scores in private so I can give her a little hope
I applied for early decision and got weight listed
4.35 weighted
4.0 unweighted
34 ACT
1580 Sat
Applying for Chemistry
How do i insure i can get in
800 on physics and math subject tests
@gRw110 slightly below MIT, the one I attend is truly dependent on the financial situation.
Congrats on your admissions.
I couldn’t help but notice the extraordinary long list of remaining colleges: MIT EA (Accepted), Harvard, Stanford, Yale, JHU, Columbia, Princeton, Brown, UChicago, HMC, Williams, Pomona, Cornell, UPenn, Norteastern, YaleNUS, UCSD,UCLA,UCB,UCI
Those schools vary greatly from each other - the feel, the approach, the location, the emphasis. I imagine you have some preferences. (large, small, rural, urban, all STEM, LAC).
Given you background (scores, MITES, etc) I am certain many of these schools would be excited to admit you. Also, with the income you listed, you should get significant money from many (and similar amounts from the Ivies and MIT - and if you haven’t heard from your EAs, you should very soon).
I wonder given your admission to MIT and Caltech whether you have consider pulling some of these applications.
Post #73 by @CAEngineer got me thinking. In my high school, students admitted in the EA/REA/SCEA round are urged to withdraw their RD applications to make room for other students from the same high school, unless the EA college doesn’t provide a full need-based financial aid. Most T20 EA colleges provide a very generous aid package.
I think it is at best a questionable practice. Even assuming applicants from the same school crowd out each other (which is not a given; in son’s class of less than 50 there were two students admitted EA to MIT and Caltech each), having put the work (and the money) into the applications, one deserves to have all their options on the table, because, conceivably, they may change their mind.
We were thinking son was going to MIT for sure until he got GT’s Stamps semifinalist invite. Now we’re not as sure. Who knows what else may change between December and May. He is keeping his Princeton, Stanford, and a few other applications in the pot. (Although he did toss Yale and Columbia applications that weren’t yet submitted)
@gRw110
You are absolutely correct. When students sit on acceptances it not only hurts the current seniors, but also kids who will apply from the school in the future. I have seen it many times when colleges hold grudges against schools after acceptances are turned down, esp when students hold their acceptance to the end of the cycle.
If someone knows they are not going to attend a school, the application should be pulled.
Just to provide a specific counter-example, MIT and Caltech each admitted one student from son’s very small (<50 graduates a year) and very well-known special program last year.
Both of them ended up attending elsewhere, and Caltech’s admission rep did lament the fact that they routinely lose students to MIT in a small group meeting with prospective students son was invited to.
This year, MIT and Caltech admitted two students each from son’s class in EA.
There may exist schools that retaliate in the way @CAEngineer describes, but, leaving moral judgement of their institutional behavior aside, Caltech is certainly not one of them (and neither is MIT). Unlike some other schools that are trying to play the rankings game, they admit the best and let the yield chips fall where they may.
…In fact, I just reviewed the past years’ data, and looks like Caltech offered an admission to at least one graduate from son’s program in three out four prior years (2016-19), and not once did anyone matriculate.
Didn’t seem to negatively impact this year’s applications.
Using a sample size of one - esp. when that one school appears to be exceptional and not the norm - you could reach almost any conclusion you want, but it is well known that colleges are extremely cognizant of their yield (MIT certainly does care greatly about yield), act to protect it and often adjust accordingly. My original post had nothing specifically about MIT /Caltech, but simply about encouraging people to be considerate once they know a college is no longer in the running.
Generally, I would not feel comfortable drawing grand, overarching conclusions based on one high school. I am certain, for example, that no matter how many kids from TJ turn down MIT, quite a few students from TJ will continue to be accepted. But TJ and equivalent schools are the exception, not the rule.
Perhaps MIT and Caltech will continue to accept students from your son’s school regardless of the apparent trend since you seem to indicate that the school is more at the caliber of a TJ than the average HS. Perhaps MIT and Caltech don’t care that students at a specific high school repeatedly decline offers of acceptance, but many colleges do - that was the point of the initial post. And, except for the very few exceptional high schools, one never knows when a college may start reducing acceptances after years of students continually declining their offers.
Regardless, if a student knows he/she will not attend a college that student should decline an acceptance as a courtesy to both the college and other students - it is simply the right thing to do - and the crux of my original post.