Chance me for CalTech, Rice, Georgia Tech! WILL CHANCE BACK!!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I realize I posted this a week ago, but on account of getting only 2 replies…

SAT: 2300 (800 math, 800 reading, 700 writing)
PSAT: 226 or something
ACT: didn’t take
SAT II: world history (800), Korean (710 yikes [all the native speakers messed up the curve]), biology E (770), math 2 (800)
AP: world history (5), statistics (5), European history (5), biology (5), US history (4), Spanish (3 yikes), Comp Sci (5), Lang & comp (5)

Senior Year Course: AP calc bc, AP lit, AP Gov and econ, AP physics, AP psych, Orchestra, Tennis

GPA: 3.9/4.6
Rank: idk, like top 3%
(lol I decided not to take AP chem bc I had too many class and didn’t want to drop orchestra, so I got bumped out of top 1%)

Awards:
Scholastic video game design (2 gold keys)
National Merit SemiFinalist
AP Scholar with distinction
3 regional cello competitions (first, third, honorable mention)

EC:
Varsity tennis (9-12) (co-captain 11-12)
Tennis ranked top 100 in girls Northern California (not recruited athlete)
School principal cello (10-12)
District principal cello (11-12)
Musical lead (9) (the musical was hell, we had rehearsals to 10 pm, I never auditioned again after freshman year)
Stage crew (lighting and set design 10-11)
Music club (president & founder 9-12)
Book club (president 10-12)
Astronomy club (secretary 10-12) (I <3 astronomy)
CSF (9-12)
NHS (10-12)
Over 800 volunteer hours (I play in a string quartet at multiple hospitals 9-12)
I have a blog online where I review books (about 50 posts 9-11)
2 summer unpaid internships related to astrophysics (9,11)

Gender: female
Income: $100,000
Race: Asian
Hooks: idk… female in engineering dreaming of NASA?

Chance me for CalTech, MIT, Rice, Vanderbilt, UChicago, Cornell, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, UMichigan, Brown, Harvard all for Electrical Engineering.
CMU, Stanford for Comp sci
Ughh my dream school is CalTech bc its kinda close to home and the Jet Propulsion Lab <3

Ya I know my ECs are super scattered and my awards are too lame for CalTech, but I still have hope!
I WILL CHANCE BACK! Just leave me a link under your comment!

THANK YOU!

2

Cal Tech: High reach

Stem female but very average test scores and ECs.

3

U Chicago (does not have EE): Reach
MIT: Reach to high reach
Rice: Solid chances
VU: Good chances
Cornell: Solid chances
Stanford: Reach to high reach
Georgia Tech: In
Virginia Tech: In
Michigan: Very good chances
Brown: Low reach
Harvard: Reach to high reach

Harvard, Stanford, Cal Tech, MIT, Chicago and Brown: Do your best then pray!

You will get into some great colleges.
Good luck

4

@20more Thank you for your response. But with all due respect, what about my ECs and test scores are average? What can I do to fix that?

5

Caltech looks heavily on objective data: Stats/awards…
I think your test scores are good, but for EC’s, Caltech is generally looking for regional, state or national level awards or recognition in science such as Science Olympiad medals, Bio/Physics/Chem/Math Olympiad awards, research publications etc.

This is just based on the people who got into Caltech from my school over the years. They all had some sort of awards in the math/science field. Your interest is in engineering, but your EC’s have a lot of music in them.

Your chances will probably be better at the other schools, which are more holistic.

What’s your home state? If you live in Michigan, you should have a very good shot at UMich. If you’re out of state, then chances will be lower as out of state admissions is very competitive.

Have you thought about applying to UC Berkeley? It’s electrical engineering is probably one of the best in the nation, although it would be a reach.

6

Some of the schools you listed reject some of the most qualified of students, but grade-wise and test score wise I see you as at least a low reach for all of your schools.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1828312-cornell-usc-uva-unc.html#latest

7

@rdeng2614 Aww shoot! I’m in Northern California (hence my tennis NorCal ranking). Yes I am applying to most of the UC schools, excluding Riverside, Merced, and Santa Cruz. Thank you for alerting me to this discrepancy. I didn’t know CalTech was less holistic and pretty much required more scientific work. Do you think my astrophysics internships and video game design awards will be enough to have me considered?
The thing is, I want to major in electrical engineering, but I love my ECs more… but I would never make it far in music or tennis. Maybe I shouldve focused more on academics :frowning:

8

Well my opinion was only based on the people who got in from my school. They were all in Science Olympiad, and did very well in it.

I’m sure people like you got in Caltech as well, but that school in my opinion is really geared towards the Math/Science kind of person, opposed to other schools which might not have as much of an emphasis in STEM.

9

Your stats are okay for Caltech, but your ECs look “stretched thin” and there’s no Wow factor.

You mention cello several times, so what they see is “okay she plays cello.”

You have what every candidate has: NHS, CSF, NM. Additionally the ORM could hurt.

10

@catfanatic , on Caltech I am curious if it would help for the tennis coach (Mandy Gamble) to know who you are. I am sure you could play for Caltech if you are top 100 in nocal. It would not get you a scholarship or guarantee of admission of course.

I wish you would have taken AP Chemistry, but you can’t change that now. Can you say a bit more about the scholastic video game creation award, without giving away too much info about yourself? (Did you program it from scratch, etc).

Focusing more on your top choice - if you can really develop your essays around your interest in space/nasa/jpl, that could help for Caltech. I think they have to see that passion. You clearly could add to the community (play for tennis team, play in Caltech/Occidental orchestra, bring some interesting discussions in humanities, etc). Of course, no matter what you do, it is a crap shoot, because the number applying is so high. One other thing - maybe look at saying your top degree choice is E&AS instead of EE, unless EE is specifically your passion.

Chances (like anyone else’s, this is just a guess):

CalTech: reach instead of high reach with good essays.
MIT: high reach
Rice: low reach
Vanderbilt: low reach
UChicago: N/A, basically no engineering there other than biomolecular
Cornell: low reach - I think they like smart female engineering students like you - admissions rate is 30% for females into engineering, I believe.
Stanford: high reach
Georgia Tech: match - they could get you far on the technical side, they are top 5 in many areas
Virginia Tech: match
UMichigan: match
Brown: reach
Harvard: high reach
CMU: high reach (tough for SCS, <5% admitted)

Good luck!

11

@auntbea I though Caltech disregarded race in admissions? Also, I am going to turn in an arts supplement and will try to get a live cello audition. Would that help my chances?

12

@inn0v8r I will look into that, though I don’t think I want to be recruited.
I dont know if I shouldve taken AP Chemistry… only a couple students in my year took it (less than 5) because its known for being a notoriously hard class and the teacher isnt that great (they all got 3’s or 2’s). I didn’t want to take AP chemistry because I would have been forced to drop orchestra. I have taken Honors Chem, AP Bio, and AP Physics though. Do you think that’s enough?? I regret not taking AP Chem also…
Yea I entered 2 video games (platformers), where I used a game design software. I designed the games and did some game coding, but no it was not from scratch. My main reason for picking CalTech is because they are located so close to jpl and have great connections there.
Thank you for your response

13

They are supposed to disregard ORM, but they try more for a diverseness in classes.

Every student I’ve met there has had a musical background.

DSon played classical violin. It is a common EC.

14

@catfanatic6 , it is hard to say whether something enough, as this whole process falls on a continuum, versus being a binary thing. But I am not telling you something you don’t already know. The fact that fewer students tend to take it at your school should help minimize the issue, at least. I would say your typical Caltech student would probably take the class, teach themselves if the instructor quality was poor, and get a 4 or 5 no matter what. Again, it is critical that your essay show your passion for science and being at Caltech… Understood that you had to choose between AP Chem and Orchestra…bummer.

May I presume your AP Physics is Physics C?

15

CalTech - Reach
MIT - Reach
Rice - High match
Vanderbilt - High Match
UChicago - Reach
Cornell - Low low low reach
Stanford - Reach
Georgia Tech - Match
Virginia Tech - Match
UMichigan - High Match
Brown - Low Reach
Harvard - High reach
Stanford - Reach

Great grades and Great passionate EC’s. The only thing is that being an asian and going to engineering is going to hurt but you ARE a female so it evens out.

Chance me?

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1828715-chances-at-cornell-ed-uga-georgia-tech-emory-etc-will-chance-back.html#latest

16

@inn0v8r Actually, I’m in AP Physics 1… I never took a physics class before and my school has harsh policies with skipping certain fundamental classes. I already bent the rules, since I never took regular physics, but they let me in because I was in the highest math… I guess that really hurts.
These are the sciences I have taken and the grade I was in: Honors Bio (9), Honors chem (10), AP bio (11), AP comp sci (11), AP physics 1 (12)
Are there any schools that you recommend that are more holistic and consider dedication to ECs more than CalTech? I’ve been told repeatedly (by parents, counselors, peers, etc.) that CalTech isn’t a good match for me, because I lack the academic dedication and passion…

Do you know any liberal arts colleges that have good engineering? I’m looking into harvey mudd, but lol the tuition is so high…
I really like the idea of being in small classes of 30 students and focusing on science.

17

It seems like your GPA and test scores are past the threshold where top schools will just want to look at your ECs more.

So, for Cal Tech, Stanford, Cornell, Brown, MIT, UChicago, and Havard: Reaches. It seems like your internships and blog are the only things that really show interest for your major (which I think is important). No offense to you or anything; these schools are reaches to everyone.

CMU: Low reach
Vanderbilt: Low reach

Rice, UMich, Georgia Tech, Virgina Tech: Match (VT probably a safety).

Chance me back?:http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1828898-am-i-headed-in-the-right-direction-for-ce-at-cmu-vanderbilt-cal-poly-slo.html#latest

18

@“aunt bea” All right! I hope a cello live audition and arts supplement will help. This is random, but I was invited to play cello in an Irish string quartet or something… haha they perform at bars and stuff and earn a ton of money. I declined because I didn’t have the time. I hope my music club, music hospital volunteering, principal seat, and competitions will help… I really love the cello, but now that I’m speaking to people on CC, I feel like it may have been a huge waste of effort.

19

@bitensky Do you think CalTech will care about my video game design award? It was like half coding, half drag and drop… Also I forgot to mention this in my original post, but I also volunteer at this daycare center. Instead of interacting with the children (bc im antisocial), I write and publish articles about new events coming up and I do some administrative marketing work. I think I have like 300 hours from this center… would that help in any way? Should I mention it?

Do you know any good schools that are more holistic, like they consider more ECs dedication? What do you think my chances are at all the UCs and Cornell?
Thanks for your response

20

Sorry, I must have missed the video game design award. I think it will definitely help. Pretty much all of the schools your applying toare holistic. The problem is that for top schools (CalTech, MIT, etc) is that the accepted applicants have truly world-class ECs, such as starting a very successful company or charity.

If you could tell me your UC GPA, I could do a better job at chancing you, but it seems like you have a solid gpa and good ECs, so it probably won’t be too hard to get into most UCs.