<p>hey, here are my creds</p>
<p>American Citizen residing in pakistan
Go to a Very Very selective school(i.e. it doesnt take in people with less than 9 As in their O levels)</p>
<p>Good counsellor recs
Good teacher recs
A spectacular rec from one of my employers at a research lab i did an internship in(the guys a renowned phD)</p>
<p>Sat score</p>
<p>cr - 710
maths - 800
writing -750</p>
<p>sat2 score - haven't given them yet, but i'm expecting an 800 each in maths 2c chem and physics</p>
<p>I had 9 As in my o levels(all 95 above)</p>
<p>KArachi highest in chemistry in o levels</p>
<p>Part of the school scrabble team</p>
<p>One of 50 people all round pakistan selected for an intense chemistry camp at the International Center of Chemical Sciences.</p>
<p>Attended the GYLC</p>
<p>I play the guitar A LOT, but i have nothing concrete to show for it</p>
<p>I've won random school competitions throughout the year, but they arent really anything worth mentioning</p>
<p>97.2 average in o levels</p>
<p>250+ hours working in a research lab, experimenting with genetics, PCR's, working with some of the most expensive machinery in the country.</p>
<p>spend two hours every week teaching english at a local school</p>
<p>Yeah, so given the time zone differences (it is currently 2:36 AM PST), you probably won't get a good response for at least a couple of hours. But then again, knowing Ben, he could've responded to you by the time I finish this sentence.</p>
<p>your chances....
great chances.... scores, activities, recommendations....
why are you asking at all
:):):)</p>
<p>simple, i'll be counted as an asian american while i'm applying :-p</p>
<p>Doesn't matter at Caltech. It'll be a disadvantage at MIT or Harvard, though.</p>
<p>haha harvard isnt exactly one of my first choices( not even on my list in fact). Why should it matter at MIT though?</p>
<p>Well, why did you think it would matter at Caltech?</p>
<p>er let me rephrase, why would it matter at mit but not at cal tech?</p>
<p>The obvious reason. There's something different about MIT admissions and Caltech admissions--can you figure out what it is?</p>
<p>(Hint: MIT student body: nearly 50% female. Caltech student body: 31% female.)</p>
<p>MIT uses the admissions process itself as a way of encouraging diversity; Caltech admits what it sees as the most (somewhat more "numerically") qualified candidates and only then uses recruitment and scholarships to encourage accepted minority students to attend. (There, no mention of AA.)</p>
<p>cool, but i thought ALL unis had to abide by AA laws</p>
<p>There is no such thing as AA laws, at least not laws that apply to universities. : ) The only law that vaguely resembles such a thing is that no university that receives federal money can discrimininate on the basis of race (e.g. not admitting black people, although AA escapes this because it's not "discrimination"). But no school is compelled by the government to practice affirmative action.</p>
<p>Regarding your chances -- there is certainly nothing the least bit wrong with your application and it will get solid consideration. There is no "wow" factor yet -- it would be better if your research produced a report or paper (even unpublished) on which you were listed as an author... or some other evidence of original work on your part. The chemistry camp is good.</p>
<p>At this point you should understand that once you list your numbers, your application on the numbers side is perfect for all practical purposes (assuming you get an 800 or some score near an 800 on your SAT II's). So focus on the creative, intellectually original part of your application to make it clear that you're someone with the potential to do good science/be a good engineer, and not just crank out good grades.</p>