chances please

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
1

<p>Im a junior in a non-ranked public high school in the Chicagoland suburbs. Also, neither of my parents went to college (1st gen).</p>

<p>Academics</p>

<p>GPA: 4.51(W), 3.89 (UW)
Rank: 19/508 (this will go up, slacking freshmen year hurt me)</p>

<p>Freshman: All honors</p>

<p>Sophomore: All honors, AP World (I got a 5)</p>

<p>Junior:
1st Semester: AP Chemistry: A+
Hnrs Lit and Composition: B (hard teacher)
Hnrs Physics: A
Spanish 4(year before AP): A
APUSH: A
Acc Hnrs Precalculus (highest precalculus offered): A</p>

<p>Senior Projected Schedule: AP Calculus BC
AP Biology
AP Physics C
AP Spanish
AP English Literature</p>

<p>Major: ChemEng/Astrophysics</p>

<p>I haven't taken a practice SAT test yet so I cant give a score, but:
IACT (sophomore year): 33
PSAT (earlier this year): 213</p>

<p>EC's:
I am fully aware that my EC's are weak in comparison to other prospective students, and I realize that my plans for Senior year may be too little too late.</p>

<p>Baseball: Freshman Year
Tennis: JV (sophomore year) Varsity (this year and next: guaranteed by coach)
Varsity Scholastic Bowl Team
Math Team: (at last year's regionals, I placed first for sohpomores, and at state, the sophomore team placed 7th
-Planning to run for the Senior Class Board next year
-Also planning to apply for the Argon Summer Internship Program, summer '08</p>

<p>Chances at Caltech? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in Advance</p>

2

<p>bump. anyone?</p>

3

<p>Since no one else is responding, I'll give it a shot. But it'll only be mimicking what other people in authority have been saying about other people's chances. (I'm an applicant myself, so don't think of anything I say too highly.)</p>

<p>Your standardized test scores are fine, but right now what I'd really be doing is perhaps studying to take a few AP tests this summer. I notice that a lot of Caltech applicants have many APs on their record while applying, so I'd try hard to do the same. You have AP Chem and APUSH, but to me, this just doesn't look like it's enough, since you'd only have one science/math AP score. Maybe you should try for AP Physics B since you're taking a physics course? I took a one-semester course on Stats, which was actually rather slow-paced, and got a 5, so if you would want to try that as well, go for it. (Of course, don't strain yourself too much -- if you're incapable, let it go.)</p>

<p>Of course, if this isn't possible, there are other ways of doing things. Your ECs aren't as bad as you seem to think, but here's what I would do. Use your summer wisely -- take classes at a community college or do independent study. Around here, I see a lot of Caltech students telling applicants that the admissions team likes to see independent study... so do so to a decent extent, and when you apply, write about what you did. (And give proof of it -- I didn't do so on mine, and now I'm nervous that they think I made it up or something, which hopefully isn't the case.)</p>

<p>And of course, sports look good to Caltech, so keep doing that.</p>

4

<p>This advice is pretty much right on the money. Chances right now are probably closer to mediocre than good. Some evidence of originality/passion in science would help... independent courses, projects, etc. Senior year schedule looks good.</p>

<p>Try to find something great to do this summer -- research or college courses or something to expand your mind and make you look better to Caltech.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

5

<p>To sort of offer another perspective on what the first reply said: How many APs does your high school offer? Mine only offered six, but I took all of them (I also only had two AP scores on my record when I applied: APUSH and Chem, coincidentally enough)--I'd make sure your counselor notes that you've "maxed out" the courses at your high school if that's the case.</p>

<p>An SAT stronger than your PSAT predicts and strong SAT II scores would also help a lot in my opinion.</p>

6

<p>what would you guys recommend i independent study? i am considering taking stats as independent study next year. i only want to independent study math/science (obviously). any suggestions? in response to taking college courses, i am also thinking about taking a course or two at a local community college.</p>

7

<p>Anything you want to.</p>

<p>If you don't know what's out there, here's a summary:</p>

<p>Chemistry -
There are lots of branches of chemistry. I'm not a chemist, so I can't tell you all of them, but in general, getting started on organic chemistry wouldn't be a waste of your time. You might want to do some research on it to see what you really like, though.</p>

<p>(By the way, Caltech's Organic Chem book is here: <a href="http://caltechbook.library.caltech.edu/122/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://caltechbook.library.caltech.edu/122/&lt;/a> - check it out.)</p>

<p>Biology - There's a lot here, too. Anatomy, physiology, neurology, biological psychology, etc. Just go through the internet. I'm more of a physics/math guy, and I still can't get enough of some of the stuff in anatomy and neurology.</p>

<p>Physics - There's a LOT past AP Physics C in physics. You probably wouldn't be up to do much quantum mechanics, since it involves a lot of stuff in AP Physics C that you won't know until the end of your senior year. More on your level would be something like modern physics -- relativity, uncertainty principle, schroedinger's equation, etc. A lot of stuff in modern physics requires calculus, but if you could get a hold of a good textbook that utilizes calculus in only the most fundamental aspects, then that would be a good idea. In particular, I recommend Feynman's Lectures on Physics. They cover a lot of stuff not included in AP Physics C, and they're quite easy to understand (of course, it's Feynman!).</p>

<p>And of course, don't forget Astronomy.</p>

<p>Math - Stats may be right for you, considering your current level. Also on your current level, you could probably work on number theory or probability theory if it really interests you. If you really want to go advanced, you could consider studying multivariable calculus, linear algebra, or differential equations -- linear algebra would probably be the most sensible subject for a person with your experience in math, since it doesn't require much calculus, and when it does, it's easy.</p>

<p>Once again, choose something that interests you. You may not be aware of some of the stuff I suggested, and in that case -- Google/Wikipedia it.</p>

<p>I doubt Caltech would prefer you independent study any of these courses over another, they just want to see an intense interest in science/math on your part, which independent study often proves. And don't stress too much over it. I'm not suggesting that you don't work hard, but I think independent study should be fun and it's hardly worth it if you're just doing it for a college application. However, with the variety of topics to study, I don't think you'll have trouble finding something that you find very appealing.</p>

8

<p>thanks for your in-depth response, phuriku. I am really interested in astrophysics on the larger scale and then quantum mechanics on the smaller...sadly, there's no AP course where I can cover solely one of these topics, but hopefully I can study one of those at a nearby college. Thanks again for the input.</p>

9

<p>I'm also in love with Astrophysics, and I also wanted to take some classes at a "nearby college". The problem is, however, that unless your "nearby college" is a good school (like UChicago, for instance), the Astronomy/Astrophysics class would PROBABLY be a waste of time and money. The only thing you'll learn would be: "Our Solar System has 9 planets and a sun". Of course, it is an exaggeration, and I am sure professors there are aware of the fact that Pluto was plutoed, but nevertheless...
Of course I might be wrong - you are more familiar with your area and colleges in it, but in my honest opinion, the best way to "learn" Astronomy/Astrophysics is with a hands-on research or in a program (like [url=<a href="http://www.ssp.org%5DSSP%5B/url"&gt;www.ssp.org]SSP[/url&lt;/a&gt;], for example).
Or, as you mentioned, you could take QM there - that's fine.</p>

<p>I just felt like throwing in my two coins. =)
Good luck!</p>

10

<p>one amazing resource that just popped up is that mit, yale, and harvard have posted many of their syllabi (including reading lists, assignments, answers) online, and i believe you can contact the professors. Of course, you have to buy the book, but its free other than that.</p>

11

<p>Caltech does too, it's just hidden from view:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.math.caltech.edu/courses/1term06.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.math.caltech.edu/courses/1term06.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>(Altering the URL will bring you to other years/quarters.)</p>

<p><a href="http://www.pma.caltech.edu/GSR/physicscourses.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.pma.caltech.edu/GSR/physicscourses.html&lt;/a>
<a href="http://chemistry.caltech.edu/courses/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://chemistry.caltech.edu/courses/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I once tried to study by means of MIT OpenCourseWare and found it very ineffective. Many of the classes are quite easy, and they don't seem to cover very much. The problem sets on OCW are only useful if you're taking the corresponding class in high school. For example, last semester in my Multivariable Calculus course, using the MIT OCW Problem Sets for 18.02 was extremely helpful in expanding the course to material it usually wouldn't cover, like applications to physics.</p>

<p>The problem with OCW is that sometimes it is a VERY good source, but sometimes it's incredibly low quality and nearly useless. It just so happened that the Calculus 3 OCW course was quite high-quality.</p>

<p>And on a side note, whoever set up MIT's video lectures was just an idiot. RealPlayer? Are you kidding me? I didn't find them particularly helpful anyway, but I'm sure some people can benefit from them.</p>

<p>OCW generally has its up and downs, but I wouldn't classify it as a great resource in studying independently. Even a second-rate textbook would be better than most of the stuff on there. If you can get a hold of one of the textbooks for one of the high-quality OCW projects, it's not such a bad idea, but otherwise, I wouldn't even consider it. Harvard and Yale's sources aren't particularly appealing either.</p>

<p>A great resource I found is the book that Caltech uses for its freshman calculus course (which is actually the same book used in MIT's Honors Calculus course). For the more advanced student of calculus, this is really a great book for independent study. The MIT Honors Calculus course (i.e. Calculus with Theory) on OCW is pretty low-quality, so I wouldn't recommend using any of the resources presented there, but using the book together with the problem sets on the Caltech website is an excellent way to learn. :D In general, I've only done independent study in mathematics, so I don't know how this works with other courses, though.</p>

<p>When I was doing work in physics for a very short time period, I was looking through the MIT OCW material, and it looked quite nice, so perhaps OCW is the way to go if you want to study physics. I looked a bit through the Caltech online physics material, and nothing's particularly impressive, so this supports the notion that OCW is the way to go. (That's directed to adam_dewitt7, in particular, since he seems to be more of a physics student than a student of mathematics.)</p>

12

<p>In one of the committees I'm on, we've actually been working on getting all the course syllabi collected in one place to increase their accessibility. We'll soon (i.e., within a year) have many of the course syllabi and webpages available through the registrar's website, as well as past years' syllabi (starting from this year or next year). It's nice to see that this is actually something that would be useful to people. </p>

<p>Note: Not to be some sort of pro-Caltech brainwashed zombie or anything, but I do think the amount of input students can get in decisions regarding various aspects of campus life is astounding. If you want to change something (e.g. the core curriculum, academic policies, a specific major's requirements, etc.) you can join a committee and discuss potential changes with faculty. It's very easy.</p>

13

<p>And yet Chem 3A is still a graduation requirement.</p>

14

<p>Hm, I'm not a particular fan of that either.</p>

15

<p>Chem 3A was kinda fun! It's pass/fail, after all, and who doesn't enjoy labs?</p>

16

<p>apparently, those two.</p>

17

<p>Labs suck...I should remember to take some so I can graduate next year.
And to think I started out as a bio major...</p>

18

<p>I still think labs are cool. The above poster is a math major. I am in applied physics. I guess this is where we differ.</p>

19

<p>I agree with BenGolub that the biggest improvement you could make to your application is to do something science related this summer. A summer research internship would be ideal - a college level course in something that interests you would be good too. I personally think self-studying for APs is a less good use of your time.</p>

20

<p>Since Caltech is a little too far for me to travel (Chicagoland area), would it be bad if I were to attend the Operation Catapult summer program at Rose-Hulman? Would that show Caltech that I am more interested in Rose-Hulman, though this is completely untrue?</p>