<p>I would love to go to Caltech. What are my chances?</p>
<p>-4.0 unweighted GPA
-2nd in class
-790 Chemistry SAT II and 750 Math SAT II (I'm going to retake this, but chance me with my current score. I know this is bad. Unfortunately, I just did not do as well as I know I can do.)
-2260 SAT I
-Top 10 in Academic Decathlon at State and 1st at Regionals
-Secretary of Mathletes and Academic Decathlon
-NHS
-All AP and honors classes possible
-Played piano for 10 years
-5's in AP Chem and U.S. History. 4 in Language and Composition
-National AP Scholar</p>
<p>What’s your SAT breakdown?</p>
<p>720 Math
800 Writing
740 Reading</p>
<p>You’re not looking too great for Caltech then. You’ll probably want 800 on Math Level 2 and 750+ on SAT Reasoning Math; Caltech is very numbers-oriented. Your EC’s are decent but not very good by Caltech standards, and research experience seems to be important.</p>
<p>If I obtained an 800 Math II, do you believe I have a decent shot then?</p>
<p>Yeah, decent. But have you considered retaking the SAT to improve your Math score? It’s below Caltech’s 25th percentile.</p>
<p>I know. When I went to visit the campus, I found that out. I was in disbelief at the statistics for the SAT I math scores, but it makes complete sense. However, I really would not want my overall to go down just for the math to go up, unless they practice the combination scoring system.</p>
<p>Oh and I am doing a senior thesis project on chemistry. I don’t know my topic yet, but I forgot to place that in my list.</p>
<p>I believe that Caltech does superscore. In any case, your Math score is much more important than your overall score.</p>
<p>Okay, thank you. I went there and spoke to the assistant director of admissions, and she made it seem like my scores are fine. She discussed how they take many other things into account. I just thought I should ask here, and I was correct in believing I should.</p>
<p>Certainly, other factors are considered; science-themed EC’s are very important, and you’ve got the grade category covered. But if the 25th percentile of admitted students for Math is 770 and yours is 720, retaking seems wise to me.</p>
<p>I am sorry to bother you again silverturtle, but do you believe I would have a higher chance of being accepted at Berkeley?</p>
<p>^I see your point, but if I only have one more test date to take the test before early action, should i take the Math II or SAT?</p>
<p>Are you a California resident?</p>
<p>No. I reside in Arizona</p>
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<p>That’s a tough decision. Waiting for RD and retaking both might be the best idea; but if I had to pick for EA, I would choose the Subject Test.</p>
<p>As for Berkeley, I think that you would have a very good shot. Out-of-state admissions at Berkeley is easing up a bit.</p>
<p>Thank you very much. My number one choice really is Caltech, and I hate that my math scores don’t really reflect how I perform in math.</p>