Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
1

<p>Yet another "what are my chances?" thread. (Sorry to bug people; thanks for y'all's patience.) I'm leaving HS a year early without graduating, if that makes a difference, mainly because I'll have taken all the math and science courses offered. (Ja, I /could/ graduate, but I'd have to take an extra English course, and I'd rather concentrate on math and science. Especially math ^^)</p>

<p>courses:
-BC calc
-independent study linear algebra from MIT's OpenCourseWare site
-multivariable calculus at Wellesley college
-senior year: auditing Math 55 at Harvard
-earth science (school award for research project), AP chem, senior year - AP physics (EPGY) and AP bio
-3 years English, 2 years history (APUSH senior year), equiv. 4 years German.</p>

<p>relevant extracurricular stuff:
-RSI (project on Ehrenfeucht-Fraisse games. I'm working on extending it and will enter Siemens + Intel STS. Chosen in top 5 papers and top 5 presentations at RSI.)
-Participation but not great performance on math contests: ARML, math team, AMC12(120)/AIME(8), USAMTS (85).<br>
-Science Olympiad team: Captain, senior year. (Probably pretty common, although I'm planning to reorganize the team and do much better than we did last year. And it's the first time we've /had/ a captain.) Some states medals.</p>

<p>irrelevant extracurricular stuff:
-German: won scholarship for the AATG-PAD study trip to Germany (~40 American students chosen); school awards.
-Animal rights activism: Internship at the New England Anti-Vivisection Society after freshman year; veganism.
-Tutoring: volunteer at Tutoring Plus of Cambridge (helps kids in the Area IV schools); some in-school tutoring.</p>

<p>scores: 4.0 GPA. 5's on BC calc, AB compsci (school taught A curriculum), German, Chem. Perfect scores SAT-I, Math IIC, Writing, Chem.</p>

<p>Another random question: Is it okay to just use RSI's recommendation letter, which incorporates comments from the mentor, or will Caltech think that my mentor didn't want to write a recommendation?</p>

2

<p>A very strong application. If you don't make mistakes such as sounding arrogant, or making your application far too "slick" and professionally prepared, I think your chances at Caltech are very solid. Perhaps talk a little bit in at least one essay about some of the more interesting "irrelevant extracurricular stuff" -- don't sound too weird, but we appreciate hearing about who you are as a person, and it can certainly add to an application that's already unquestionably strong academically. But certainly also write somewhere about your passion for mathematics. We like to hear about that.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Is it okay to just use RSI's recommendation letter, which incorporates comments from the mentor, or will Caltech think that my mentor didn't want to write a recommendation?

[/quote]
Certainly we would give just the RSI rec a fair amount of weight, but on balance we'd probably prefer the professor's, too, just because we can get a direct, unfiltered evaluation of your academic abilities... I know it's probably a bit annoying, but spring for asking the prof too.</p>

<p>Congratulations on a nice record.</p>

3

<p>I don't mean to sound rude, but how did you get into RSI if you're leaving school a year early? I thought they only accepted rising seniors.</p>

4

<p>Thanks so much for the advice, Ben!</p>

<p>mathwiz: My high school considered me a junior for part of last year and will call me a senior this year. Basically, they're treating it as if I'm graduating early, with the minor exception of the graduating part :) I included a note about the situation with my RSI app, and they were very understanding. (There was also a Rickoid this year who had finished high school - similar deal, went through in three years.)</p>

5

<p>That's very interesting to hear how RSI's rules about grade level interact with advancing extra fast through high school.</p>

6

<p>I don't think they have rules, per se - they just evaluate each situation. If you decided after January of your second year to leave high school early, then it seems fair to let you have a shot at RSI after your third year. But if you happen to know sooner, then it's nice to be able to go while you're still in high school.</p>