Chance Me for PSM and Caltech

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics: Indian, International Applicant

Intended major(s): ( In order of importance ) Astrophysics, Japanese Studies, Computer Science

ACT: 35 Composite + 34 Writing

SAT II: 800 Physics, 800 Math L2

Class rank: 1/~500

UW/W GPA: From 9th to 12th Mid Year: 92% - 96% - 93.5% - 95%

Coursework: State Board Curriculum, studying Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English, and Computer Science in school.

Awards:

International Olympiad Silver Medalist for Astrophysics along with Best Team Award and India’s best team performance at the Olympiad till date
Qualified for Final Round of Earth Science Olympiad once and Astronomy twice
Attended a National Science Exposure Camp after 2 rounds of testing and interview

Extracurriculars:

Rapping at School Music Festival

Inter school quizzer

Ok. This part is so bad because my old school had nearly prohibited extracurriculars. I somehow got those 2 done in my new school ( which also has the reputation for sending most students to the Ivies ) [ Thank God I got here or else I wouldn’t even know what EC meant ]

Schools:

Caltech

MIT

Stanford

Princeton

Cornell

Misc Info:

I applied for aid to all schools except Stanford. I didn’t know that Caltech was need aware for internationals, I hope that doesn’t hurt my chances too much.

I am afraid that my ECs might handicap my application. I have mostly heard that a medal ensures admission but I know other medalists who were accepted only by 1 or 2 of these schools.

I have no safeties because I am studying for my national institution’s exam which I am sure I will do well in.

I have been called for interview by MIT.

My top choice schools are Stanford/Princeton because of my intended majors and the campus culture at the two places.

I have also been changing schools and cities a lot due to my father’s job- Mumbai, Hyderabad, Moscow. ( I have mentioned in some essays )

I wrote all my essays within 1-2 weeks :stuck_out_tongue: I had decided to apply abroad in November, so I gave ACT and the subject tests on their last dates. I had one shot and it worked out! :smiley:

On my MIT application I mentioned funny random stuff for non scholastic distinctions ( because I have nearly none! )

Guys, it sucks that all these schools are so random in their admission… So I am not expecting concrete answers. Just any affirmation to coax my nerves would be great :stuck_out_tongue:

Side question, I covered a lot of details in my Princeton/Stanford interview. Will all that information be conveyed to the admissions office?

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Yes, all the details will be conveyed to the admissions office through the interview report.

You’re right in saying that the lack of ECs will hurt you a lot. Also, I do not see any ECs related to Japanese studies/CS at all.

Coming to your chances, I think that you have the best shot of admittance at Cornell, followed by Princeton, Stanford, MIT and Caltech. I think that you should get into Cornell and hopefully Princeton, but rejected/waitlisted at the rest.

Your academic achievements are stupendous, but the applicant pool in India is very competitive. Best of luck!

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@anotherdude Thanks for responding. I will be glad if I get into Princeton or any place really. Cornell was kind of a safety for me. Waiting sucks…
If either Princeton or Stanford accepts me I would be on cloud 9!

For CS I mentioned that I have always scored a 100/100 on every school CS exam as well as solving some online CS problems. I hadn’t really known of the opportunities, so I am hoping that the colleges can take my situation into account. Japanese was a recent interest of mine so I didn’t even have time to do ECs.

Anyways thx!

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Woaah. Cornell is not a safety for anyone :-p even for a person with your stats. I think that you have a great chance there, but I wouldn’t call it a safety :-p

If you’ve mentioned the lack of opportunities in your essays and other parts of your app, I’m sure that colleges would understand that.

Btw, chance back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1858723-just-got-into-my-safety-what-are-my-chances-at-my-dream-schools-will-chance-back.html#latest

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@anotherdude your application is beyond amazing. I can say for sure that you will get into at least one of your reacher colleges. I personally think that there is not a noticeable difference between all the colleges I am applying to. So getting into one of them is as good as any other. Even if it is not my dream school.

Going by that ideology you have already gotten into a reputed American institute. For now I think we both need to calm down and just wait :stuck_out_tongue:

Chance me threads are fun because we get to meet other smart people and (over) achieving people like you!
I have met 3 Intel Fair finalists by now. You are now the semi finalist I know. And you are the fifth person I know who has written research papers. I know a guy who has a nearly identical profile as yours.

Would you like to exchange emails? :smiley:

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Yeah, sure. I’ve PMed you

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Indian applicant here too haha.
I agree with @anotherdude about your chances. All are reaches, but you might get Cornell according to me. Good luck!