I’m not sure about the very slightly part. All kids my son knows who got into MIT early this year are athletes. They are great students but clearly not the most accomplished academically.
@yucca10 Based on data and secondary anecdotes, I said “very very slightly”.
I also agree that almost all/all athletes are recruited Early by any top school, as basic logic goes. Maybe thats why there was this disparity.
I agree with your 2nd pt. as well.
But then again, if you average the holistic approach out on factors such as ‘time spent doing stuff of value’ and so on, a good athletic record balances out a low academic one in this case.
I’ve heard your point a lot as well.
2 days left…
Is it 12 PM or 12 AM?
I think its 3-4PM
I’m pretty sure it’s 3 PM EST
Yes. 12Noon PST.
So is it Noon or 3PM? I’m getting mixed responses. Caltech Adcom isnt giving any specific time or date through any media (social, phone, professional websites).
IMO its noon.
Decision: Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1500
ACT (breakdown): 35
SAT II: Math II: 780 Physics: 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 14 / 560
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 AP German, 5 English Literature and Language, 4 AP World History
IB (place score in parenthesis): None yet
Senior Year Course Load: BC Calculus, IB German HL/ AP German VI, AP Statistics, IB HL English IV, IB World History SL, Theory of Knowledge, IB HL Physics, IB SL Computer Science
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Dean’s list Finalist (National Robotics Award), National Merit Semifinalist
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Robotics FRC (President), Orchestra (1st Chair of Cellos), No Place for Hate (Founding member), SACOT (Founding member), Amigos, NHS (Secretary)
Job/Work Experience: Internship at NASA, DLR (German NASA), Bosch (German electrical engineering)
Volunteer/Community service: a lot with NHS and Amigos
Summer Activities: internships, online programming classes, traveling
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 7 - it was well polished, but could have had more personality; Short answers: 9 - had humor and were well structured; Optional essay: 8 very personal and I hope represented me well
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 7 - she was my ToK teacher, but I didn’t have her senior year
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 10 - she has been my math teacher for 3 years and we are really close
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 7 - big public school, so maybe not too personal
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 8 - my manager when I did research, but she is used to German students; 8 - my manager at NASA who proved the experiences I had; 8 - my robotics mentor who knows me very well
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 6 - we got along well, but I don’t think we clicked
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Reflections: I’m so happy!!!
Strengths: My internships
Weaknesses: No hook, no national awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My internships and fun quirky essays?
General Comments (if any): YAYYYY
Whoops meant to put results here instead of the other discussion. Oh well…I can’t delete it anyway.
Rejected from Engineering and Applied Science
Out-of-state
WGPA: 4.79 out of 5
UWGPA: 4.0
Does not rank
Took/Taking 9 AP classes, doing Dual Enrollment for Multivariable Calculus (Fall) and Differential Equations (Spring)
SAT: 1490
Honors: NMHS, NTHS, NSHS, NEHS, NHS, Top 10 Finalist of M.C. Council’s Councilmember of the Day, Superintendent’s STEM Breakfast, AP + PLTW Achievement in Engineering
Extracurricular Activities/Experience: President of Interact Club (Rotary-sponsored), Co-VP of Anime and Manga Club, Co-Leader of Women in Engineering, Manager and dancer of Last Minute Crew, Exploring Engineering (WIE program) @ University of Maryland, College Park, Counselor-In-Training (CIT) at Gaithersburg Summer Camps
Essays:
1.) 3 stem activities: my experience at Exploring Engineering at the University of Maryland, my passion for any type of puzzles: mystery, mental, physical, computer, etc., and my hobby of making origami pieces and build intricate objects in my spare time
2.) wanting to take initiative and grow my abilities to understand the technology that we have today so that I can someday develop an advancement in the field, my hope that my peers and I can help even just one more person in the world with the work we will create
3.) for fun: my absurd obsession for Asian culture including anime/manga, Kpop (Korean pop), Asian dramas, Asian web novels, Asian dress, etc.
4.) contributing my unknown origin to Caltech’s diversity
[B][size=4][color=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size][/b]
Objective:
GPA: 4.4651 (W), 4.0 (UW)
SAT: 1540, 800 Math, 740 Reading, 22 essay
ACT: 36 - 36/36/36/36, 10 Essay
Class Rank: 1/617 (although my school requires that we don’t report rank)
AP: Seven 5’s (U.S History, European History, Calc AB, Calc BC, Chemistry, Chinese, English Language)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Comp Sci A, AP Physics C (both), AP Macroeconomics, AP Statistics, PE
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, 10 Science Olympiad medals, Society of Women Engineers High Award, Bryn Mawr President’s Book Award, Delaware Valley Science Council Finalist
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (VP), SNHS (Secretary), Science Olympiad (President), Math Club (Officer)
Job/Work Experience: Tutor
Volunteer/Community service: Spent my summers doing outreach to my city and abroad as well with a total of 400+ hours
Summer Activities: Community Service
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8.5/10 - unique, but some people absolutely loved it while others were a little offset by the stream-of-consciousness format
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): counselor (10/10) - I was one of his favorite students and his priority with college apps, chem teacher (11/10) - She let me teach her organic chem class, and I was her go-to person for everything, had her for two years, English teacher (9/10) - I did some of my best writing in that class
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major and College: Applied math
State (if domestic applicant): PA
School Type: competitive large suburban school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: high
Reflections: I’m not upset at all since I decided I wasn’t gonna go even if I got in because of other options (my parents and I want a college closer to home). Still, it’s Caltech in sunny Pasadena
Strengths: test scores, gpa
Weaknesses: extracurriculars, no hooks, no research
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: it’s Caltech. I’m a below average applicant
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, University of Maryland College Park (Honors College, President’s Scholarship, ACES), Penn State, King’s College London, University College London, University of Edinburgh, Deferred: Princeton University, Rejected: University of Cambridge, London School of Economics
Rejected
Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 36
SAT II: Math 2 (800), Math 1 (800), Chem (800)
GPA: 4.8 (W), 4.0 (UW)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus BC (5), Chemistry (5), Statistics (5), Comp Sci A (5), US History (5), Chinese (5), Macro (5), Micro (5)
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus, AP Lit, AP Euro, AP Spanish, AP Bio, AP Physics C Mechanics, Java TA
Major Awards (in descending order of prestige): USAMO top 60, USAJMO qualifier x2, USNCO honors, USACO Gold, USAMTS gold, SciOly National medals (one gold, one silver, one sixth), MSSEF Science Fair Qualifier, National AP Scholar, NHS.
ECs + everything else: I have a truly marvelous post which this box is too narrow to contain.
Essays + recs: Sent in many additional ones for everything to demonstrate interest. Alas, this strategy still failed.
Reflections: Ouch.
@leahgriffith123 Caltech has interviews? I thought they never had any interviews for anyone whatsoever.
Even on their latest CDS its under the ‘not considered’ level.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THOSE WHO GOT IN!
THOSE WHO GOT WAITLISTED, HANG IN THERE, AND HOPE FOR THE BEST (also update them with the latest good things you’re doing, cuz that always helps to nudge them)
THOSE WHO DIDNT GET IN, REJECTION DOESNT DEFINE YOUR OTHER RESULTS. IF YOU TRUST YOURSELF, YOU WILL MOST PROBABLY GET IN WHERE YOU WANT TO GO.
Hope this helps anyone who’s happy, sad, indifferent or any other crazy emotion; or any mixture of emotions.
oh yikes sorry i copy pasted that from my Harvard one. guess i forgot to delete that section. @TheGuy1
Ah no worries lol.
Decision: Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1570 (800 math)
ACT (breakdown): 34
SAT II: Math II: 800 Chem: 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.2
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/490
AP (place score in parenthesis): CalcAB/BC (5), English Literature and Language (5), Chem (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Calculus 3, AP Physics C, + 5 other AP’s
Major Awards: Varsity Academic all-State
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Gov, Mu Alpha Theta (Board), Environment Club (President), Varsity Athlete, Club Sport State Champion, Violin / Orchestra
Job/Work Experience: Certified Referee
Volunteer/Community service: 5 years with same community non-profit working with children
Summer Activities: research internship, sports, employment, community service
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7-8
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1 10, knows me well
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 10, knows me well
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 10, knows me well through my involvement with clubs and student government
Additional Rec (if any):
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Applied Math
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public (2000 students)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Athlete
Reflections:
Strengths: My stats and the athlete hook
Weaknesses: No major awards, heavy sports involvement (up to 20 hours a week at times) kept me from a lot of academic opportunities like science competitions and research, so it was slightly harder to demonstrate on paper my interest / potential in science.
Why accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think being an athlete that showed a lot of interest in playing sports at Caltech helped a great deal and probably put me over the edge (lots of contact with the school and coach over the past two years) but I think I still would have been competitive without it.
General Comments (if any):
Objective: Accepted
SAT I (breakdown): 1570 (Math 800/English 770)
ACT (breakdown):na
SAT II: Math 2 (800) Physics (800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.86
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):na
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP NSL (5), AP Comp Sci (5),AP Stat (5), AP Calc BC/AB (5/5), AP World (5), AP Lang (5), AP Physics C Mech and Electric (5/5), (Also have taken Linear Algebra and Vector Calc)
IB (place score in parenthesis): na
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, Vector Calculus, AP Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, AP Macro, AP Micro, Optics, Robotics, Material Science,
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel ): NMF, Hispanic National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar, Source America Design Challenge National Competition 1st Place
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity wrestling 4 yrs (Capt 3yrs, State Champ senior year) Varsity Cross Country 4 yrs (Capt 1 yr), Robotics Team, NHS, NSHS, MuTheta MHS, created a teenage classic rock band-play bass guitar(5 years) piano(12 years) and sax (10 years) (band leader 4 yrs),
Job/Work Experience: Internship at GWU Robotics lab for 2 summers, camp counselor at US Open Robotics summer camp
Volunteer/Community service: (450 service hours) with youth wrestling and cross country teams, volunteer piano player and saxophonist at various churches, math tutor
Summer Activities: wrestling camp, cross country, counselor at robotics camps, math tutor, internship at GWU
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10, wrote about the influence of different music genres throughout my life
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details):10, science teacher I have had for 3 different subjects
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details):10, history teacher that really enjoyed having me in her class
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): unsure, had a new counselor this year so he really didn’t know me that well
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 1summer internship mentor from GWU
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details):na
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?:yes
Intended Major: mechanical engineering and business
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant): na
School Type: Currently enrolled in a magnet high school that is ranked #1 in MD and I’m in the Science, Math Computer Science Program
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender:Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): na
Reflections: Really excited that I got in to Caltech!!
Strengths: very diverse application
Weaknesses: male 
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I had a very diverse application, not only am I strong in the Maths and Sciences, but I also have a passion for music and sports
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted: GTech, UMD (honors college, Banneker Key Scholar), deferred: Princeton: waiting to hear from: MIT, Carnegie Melon, UPenn, Princeton
General Comments (if any):
Decision: Waitlisted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34 (E34/M34/R35/S33)
SAT II: 790 Math II, 700 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79
Weighted GPA: 5.16
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: IB English Literature HL, IB Physics HL, IB Economics HL, IB Chemistry SL, IB Spanish B SL, IB Math SL
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Robotics (Captain), Engineering Club (President), Future Society of Women Engineers (President), Breakthrough Miami STEM Lessons (Engineering Director), Uniteen (Officer), Wind Ensemble Trumpet Player, Mu Alpha Theta, National English Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Freelance Composer
Job/Work Experience: Teacher Assistant for the Conrad Foundation, PLTW Internship at Embry-Riddle
Volunteer/Community service: Through my Engineering Clubs, Breakthrough and Uniteen
Summer Activities: Internships and Classes
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9/10 I think my essays captured the passion I have for STEM and teaching it
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 9/10 Physics Teacher. One of my favourite teachers and classes. Also the sponsor of one of my engineering clubs!
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10 Spanish Teacher. Pretty good student in her class, but we weren’t really close outside of academics.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 9/10 Tackled a lot of stuff I didn’t have the opportunity to do in my application.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Florida (Applied International)
Country (if international applicant): Brazil
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Latina/Asian
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First person in family to attend college in the U.S.
Reflections: I’m really surprised I got Waitlisted, thought I was definitely getting Rejected!
Strengths: Extracurriculars, Internships?
Weaknesses: GPA, Subject Tests, No Major Awards
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Georgia Tech, UMichigan, Northeastern (Honors), UIUC, RPI / Rejected to UF
Forgive me for not following the template, but I just wanna hop on here and say my best friend got waitlisted.
1600 SAT
36 ACT
4.0 GPA
Rank: 1/316
ECs: Hockey, Lacrosse, Robotics
(and that’s really all I know lol)
I’m quite surprised he wasn’t outright accepted as I reviewed his application and thought it was quite strong. There definitely was a competitive applicant pool this year, as always. Congrats to all who got in!