Chances for ChemE...is it worth applying?

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
1

<p>Background: I got to a pretty competitive high school in CT. We send 3-4 kids to HYPSM and 8-9 more to other Ivies. and like 10 more to JHU, Carnegie Mellon, UVA, Notredame, UChicago, and Georgetown)</p>

<p>This year we will have around 7 to HYPSM, more competitive this year. </p>

<p>Grades: Our school has a weighted scale, we don't calculate unweighted. I have a 4.504 weighted and my class rank is 20/538 (top 3.7%). GPA of valedictorian is 4.76
-I have taken the most rigorous curriculum out of anyone in my grade (will graduate with 9 APs, 2 college courses and 13 AP exam scores)
-My freshman grades had 3 B's and 4 A's (All honors)
-Sophomore: 2 B's and 5 A's (2 APs and rest honors)
-Junior: 1 B and 6As (4 APs and rest honors)
-Senior: All As (3 APs and 2 college courses)
Upward trend for sure.</p>

<p>Took Quantitative Analysis (Advanced Chemistry course, Sophomore/Junior course in College, met 9 hours a week, 5.0 Credit course).
Took Multivariable Calc (met 4 hours a week).</p>

<p>ACT Scores:
34 (36 M, 33E, 34 S, 32 R). 12 essay.
Retaking for a 35/36, which I think is definitely possible.</p>

<p>Subject tests:
Chem: 780
Math 2: 800</p>

<p>AP Scores:
Sophomore: 4 Bio, 4 Stat
Junior: 5 calc BC, 5 calc AB subscore, 5 chem, 5 lang and comp, 3 history
Senior: lit-?, physics B-? physics C- mag?, physics C-mech-?, compsci-?, pysch-?, spanish lang-?</p>

<p>Extracirrcular- Won't be too elaborate here, but I consider by far the strongest part of my app.
-Table Tennis, spent around 1800+ hours training in 4 yeras of high school. Average 12 hours a week, HUGE time commitment practicing toward this. #2 junior in state, #43 for my age in USA, won several awards at national and state tournaments. Founder of table tennis club at school. Went to international tournament and my team got 2nd in Division 10. Head of TT at JHU said I would be able to make A team.
-Math Team (9,10,11,12)- B team 9th and 10th, A team 11th and 12th. Awarded 3rd highest scoring Junior in Division. Qualified for CSAML (state team) and NEAML (new Englands). We, our A team, got 3rd in State and 14th in New Englands Our best players were at science bowl nationals >.<
-Science Quiz Bowl (9,10,11,12)- C team 9+10, B team captain in 11, A team captain in 12. Huge time commitment, our school is usually the state champs. (Also I was part of my schools chemistry olympiad team, we got #1 in state)
-300+ hours of research at 2 different universities (1 year of research in analytical chem and the second year in Inorganic chem/material science engineering). My research will be getting published in a couple of months with my name listed as a Co-author.
Sending both research papers ... wasn't allowed to enter Siemens or Intel STS
-Chess club(9,10,11,12)- Vice President, 4th place and 5th place for district tournament, co captain of team at tournament</p>

<p>Volunteer- 200 hours + (proctored at MathCounts local and state competition, tutored middle school student each week for 3 years, taught chess to kids at local library during summer, helped kids conduct science experiments in summer at local library, helped at cultural events)</p>

<p>Job (I just turned 16 like a couple weeks ago so I could not work anywhere): I was selected as a High School Campus Leader for Ivy Insdiers</p>

<p>Hopefully you can see I picked a couple of things and went really deep into each one of those rather than doing a lot of things with not much depth</p>

<p>Honor Socieities: Foreign Language, Science, NHS and NSHSS...the usual.</p>

<p>Recommendations: One from AP Chem teacher which is very strong, he talked about my research (since he has a PhD), and appointed as Sci Bowl Captain
One from AP Calc teacher: Strong, have known for 6+ years, knows my math capabilities and how i do at competitions
-ONE Additional one from the Professor I did research with, also the professor of the Quantitative Analysis class. Very strong</p>

<p>Basically I chose these people because they knew me in and outside of school and were able to talk about my character in a personal way because I have known them for so long.</p>

<p>Essay: Well-written, talked about table tennis and how it influenced and guided my life</p>

<p>Caltech supplements: Strong (Loved the topic.): Talked about research, chem olympiad experience, college courses about chem and math, why I was attracted to engineering, the science and math compeitions and how they influenced me.</p>

2

<p>Your chances are looking good for Caltech. I do think you’ll get in. Wow you play table tennis! Cool! I play table tennis on a regular basis too. If you do get in and choose Caltech, perhaps we can spar with each other. :)</p>

3

<p>oh and if i may ask, which international table tennis tournament did you participate in?</p>

<p>p.s. your stats look pretty similar to mine when I applied, mainly national table tennis awards, research, national/international science awards, and volunteer work, though i’m from another country. ;)</p>

4

<p>Looks like it will be a strong application. Good luck!</p>

5

<p>@Kwal- JOOLA NA Championships in Baltimore Maryland. Yup, if I got in we should def play. Btw, Im guessing you’re a fan of JO Waldner? Or is that just a random user name?</p>

<p>@Geek- thanks</p>

<p>Is my GPA/class rank too low?</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>s t f u…</p>

7

<p>^??. I don’t know about you but I consider a 3.75 UW below average for people applying to Caltech. Why comment if you will not say anything beneficial? Insecure much?</p>

8

<p>Insecure? You’ve just posted your entire high school career here for some strangers to judge. You go to a competitive high school that sends 7+ people to HYPSM each year, and you’re asking if a #20 rank is “competitive enough.” Get over yourself. No one cares what you’ve done, apply to these schools and find out for yourself.</p>

9

<p>^ he has a point (to an extent). Ur in good shape :/. btw, how come ur not allowed to enter Siemens or Intel?</p>

10

<p>

</p>

<p>You’ve failed to answer my question.</p>

<p>My UW GPA is a 3.73 which is below the average top tier school GPA, that raises a concern. It doesn’t matter what my class rank is, the GPA speaks for itself. There are MUCH stronger applicants than me on CC. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I’m sorry but I and my parents can’t afford to send out applications to colleges just to “find out whether I’ll get in or not.” We don’t have that luxury, all I ask is if it is worth my time, effort, and money to apply to Caltech, and, people have already answered that question.</p>

<p>I don’t see why it is necessary to post “s t f u”. </p>

<p>@boom- Because the professors I work with told me the research I was doing was too crucial and the ideas could easily be stolen if I were to present it at this stage (without publishing it first). And since it is technically their research, I was left with no choice except to agree.</p>

11

<p>@WongTongTong: haha yes you’re totally right, I’m a die-hard fan of Jan-Ove Waldner :slight_smile: By the way, not to worry, your GPA is definitely alright, with the fact that you’re taking the most rigorous curriculum. Anyway, everyone applying to Caltech have similar GPAs and SAT scores, so great science ECs and research like yours help to make one stand out from the crowd. Oh and I think it’s okay for you to post your stats on cc. If it gives you the peace of mind to know where you stand, then go ahead and ask fellow cc users for their constructive opinions! I’m sure that’s the main reason what cc is for. ;)</p>

12

<p>good luck dude</p>

13

<p>Probably has a pretty good chance based on that info…</p>

<p>I’m assuming the OP is legit…</p>

14

<p>Thanks guys.</p>

15

<p>Nvm…I’m not eligible to apply (don’t have a lit/humanities rec :stuck_out_tongue: ).</p>

16

<p>^ lol how reckless… I hope we do both get in Caltech, I’m applying this year too, and seems like we have similar profile</p>

17

<p>…?</p>

<p>I just said I wasn’t applying lol.</p>

18

<p>Oops, but that was a funny mishap u got there. :/</p>

19

<p>No it actually worked out because now I can focus on my other 9 supplements that I was procrastinating till now :)</p>

20

<p>Is it really a must to have a lit/humanities rec? I do think it’s such a waste if you don’t apply to Caltech just because you don’t have that rec. I suggest you should call the admission office and talk to them about this issue because of your unique background.</p>