Class of 2012 EA Decision Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
141

<p>Deferred</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2310 (800M, 770CR, 740W)
[</em>]SAT II: 800 Math II, 780 Chemistry, 770 Physics
[<em>]ACT: 35
[</em>]GPA: 4.0 UW/4.7894W
[<em>]Rank:1/252
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP 5s: Chemistry, Physics B, Physics C: Mech, Calculus AB, Psychology 4s: World History, U.S. History, English Language 3s: Computer Science AB; AMC 12: 109.5, AIME: 5
[/ul]
Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Ok to good
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Solid
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Probably really good
[</em>]Supplementary Material: none
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): none [/ul]
Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Charleston, WV
[<em>]High School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>]Gender: Male
[</em>]Applied for Financial Aid: Y[/ul]
Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: MathCounts coach, Science Bowl Captain, Quiz Bowl Captain, Student Council Rep., Youth Symphony 1st Violin, Church Basketball Team starter, Beta Club, Videogame Club President/Founder
[</em>]Awards: National AP Scholar, National Merit Semifinalist, National Chemistry Olympiad, ARML, State Math Field Day 1st Place, West Point Bridge Design National Semifinalist, SCORES Competition Winner
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: No real hook made me a typical Asian male candidate. Nothing I could do... Four more months.[/ul]</p>

142

<p>Accepted, I'll post stats later. CLASS OF 2012!!</p>

143

<p>Congrats Masta P. Wo0t. Me too... accepted!!! ahh its so surreal. stats later.</p>

144

<p>I live in PA n still haven't received a decision. What is this?</p>

145

<p>Accepted</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<pre><code>* SAT: 2270 (770M, 700CR, 800W)
* SAT II: 780 Math II, 800 Chemistry, 800 Biology E, 740 Literature
* ACT: 33
* GPA: 4.0 UW/4.3W
* Rank:1/648
* Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP 5s: USH, Biology, Calc AB 4s: Chemistry
</code></pre>

<p>Subjective</p>

<pre><code>* Essays: I was pretty happy with them. they took me forever to write. but when i finished i thought they really showed what i was like. My common app one i wrote about coming to public high school from a private middle school. tried to show how i take adv of whatever situation i am in. My caltech sciency one i wrote about my experience at Clark Scholars and weaved in some childhood anecdotes about why i love science.
* Teacher Recs: Decent. I saw them. most of them sounded really generic. like they just repeated my ec list. they all said positive things, but they weren't very well written.
* Counselor Rec: Probably okay. I come from a big hs and gcs really dont spend that much time getting to know each student. I know my gc likes me and wrote good things, but i dont think it really made me stand out.
* Supplementary Material: I wrote a research paper as part of Clark Scholars Program. I submitted to siemens but didnt make semifinalist. o wells. they did write on my acceptance letter they were impressed with my research tho.
* Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): none
</code></pre>

<p>Personal</p>

<pre><code>* Location: Columbus, OH
* High School Type: Big Public-2300 students
* Ethnicity: Asian
* Gender: Female
* Applied for Financial Aid: erm don't remember. oops.
</code></pre>

<p>Other</p>

<pre><code>* Extracurriculars: Speech and Debate Captain. (3 years. LD. state qualifier but no outstanding awards). Math Club founder and president (4years). Golf Captain (4 years) Student Council Rep. (just 1 year), School Orchestra (4 years, concertmistress, vp), Columbus Youth Commission, Generasian NeXt youth committee, school climate committee.. lots of other school related committee things. Research-3 summers. 2 at Ohio State University. 1 summer at Texas Tech as part of Clark Scholars Program
* Awards: National Merit Semifinalist, Alexander Hamilton National Leadership Award, Honda-OSU math Medal award.. prob some other stuff i forgot. these are the big ones.
* Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I think the biggest thing for me was my research experience. At least thats what they commented on in my acceptance letter. I also think that my essay are what made me stand out cuz most of my other stuff like scores, classes, and ecs are pretty standard.
</code></pre>

146

<p>Deferred from MIT... I guess I have no real hope for Caltech now. </p>

<p>Oh beavers, what have you done to me.</p>

147

<p>Congratulations mjchiu2k and everyone else who made it I envy your stats. BTW what kind of research did everyone who get in do and how did you find it? Kinda curious because i never found any real opportunities to do any myself, but i guess i wasn't looking in the right places.</p>

148

<p>hey guys</p>

<p>what does the deferral evnvelope look like?</p>

<p>this way, i can scream/cry faster when i see the envelope....:P</p>

149

<p>@balladechina212,</p>

<p>Were you finalist? If so, then this really beyond me that you're deferred.
The ONLY reason I can think of is the lack of research work? Just a guess.</p>

150

<p>@Columbiahoper</p>

<p>I havne't received mine yet, but from what somoene posted earlier in the forum I think both rejectio and deferall letters are just regular envelopes with "There's only one Caltech" on the outside</p>

<p>acceptances letteres are more like packets</p>

151

<p>@rxhu123</p>

<p>No I wasn't :(.</p>

<p>I don't really have many research opportunities in Charleston, WV. There aren't any major universities here or even nearby.</p>

152

<p>@ tmvphil</p>

<p>i was really just lucky to have the opportunity to get involved in research. i knew i didn't want to just deliver flowers at a hospital for volunteer work (this was like 8th grade). i was super duper lucky that we knew someone who was a PI at OSU. so basically i just asked him if i could volunteer at his lab. my first year was the sumemr after 8th grade so you can imagine i didnt get very interesting things to do. just a lot of pretty "boring" stuff that was really repetitive. but it was a great experience nonetheless. they taught me a lot of lab technique and also made me read up on stuff related to their area of research, which is human cancer genetics, specifically epigenetics. SOOO interesting. i really loved it. so i came back the next summer. after they knew that i was a hard worker and that they could trust me i actually got to do mini projects and eventually got one of my own. I don't know about other ppl, if they just go in and get a project right away, but I had to work for mine. For ppl who are just looking for summer research opportunities there are lots of summer programs available. I know RSI is the super duper famous one. I went to Clark Scholars which is exactly like RSI except its only takes 12 kids rather than 75, 7 weeks rather than 6, you get a stipend of $750, and at you are at texas tech rather than MIT. big difference i guess, but even being at texas tech was a great experience. the profs and the kids there were still amazing. (to give you an idea of the caliber of students at the program, two of my fellow clarkies recently got accepted to yale EA). my research area was RNAi mechanisms. I was working with plants and looking at the functions of proteins in the RNAi pathway in plants, which is pretty different from animals. </p>

<p>okay so im rambling. if anyone has more questions about clark or research you can pm me.</p>

153

<p>Accepted</p>

<p>ACADEMICS
High School: Public, IB magnet program
GPA: UW: 4.00 W: 5.18
Class Rank: 1/490
AP/IB: Stats, US, Phys B, Bio, Calc AB:5, IB Bio SL:7
SR YR IB: IB math HL, chem sl, phys HL, Eng HL, Span SL,TOK, Euro HL
SAT I: CR 800, math 760, writ 770
SAT IIs: IIC: 800, phys 800</p>

<p>EC: Drama, soccer, math club, science , NHS
Key ECs: Duke TIP field study (Astronomy research), SSP (summer program know by and supported by caltech)</p>

<p>Leadership positions: Drama (SM, tres), soccer var. cap., math club tres, </p>

<p>Athletic Status: fres, soph Var. soccer; have chatted w/ caltech Basketball coach</p>

<p>Volunteer/Service Work: soccer coach, tutoring</p>

<p>HONORS AND AWARDS: National merit semi-, AP scholar, science comp, county sci fair 4th, span. comp 1st, etc.</p>

<p>APP
visited campus (which was awesome- people there are so nice)
Essays: Book that influenced me (Dragon's Dawn- got me interested in science) (it's a good book, even if geared for younger audiences), playing with chalk, i love astrophysics and data analysis</p>

<p>Reccs: phys teacher: ok, span teach: good, guidance: ok, SSP director- i'm assuming good, PARI astronomer: i'm assuming really good</p>

<p>Hooks:</p>

<p>OTHER: my ib extended essay- based on the orbital calculations i did at ssp</p>

<p>WHY YOU BELIEVE IT TURNED OUT THE WAY IT DID: the research/summer programs, childlike enthusiasm and curiosity for the world and science</p>

<p>I was so happy when i got the envelop I practically collapsed on the stairs</p>

154

<p>Accepted... Maybe I'll post my stats later, but basically I always pursued my passions (mainly math and science but also languages), Siemens Competition Semifinalist, all 5's on my AP Exams, 4.0 UW and 4.8 W, etc.</p>

155

<p>Oh, and I'm fluent in 4 languages and earned my school's Caltech Signature Award...</p>

<p>Good luck to everyone who was deferred, and congrats to everyone else who was accepted! :D</p>

156

<p>While I'm NOT on the admissions committee, research isn't a prerequisite for attending Caltech. I managed to claw my way in EA without it. So, don't worry, enjoy senior year.</p>

157

<p>Does notification of scholarship thingies come in the acceptance letter? </p>

<p>If so, did anyone get any? :D</p>

158

<p>i think the financial aid packages come in January for EA... im not sure about scholarships tho. i didnt get one..not that that means anything at all. im lucky to have gotten in. blah, i also totally forgot to submit my css profile.. oops</p>

159

<p>Copied from Caltech FAQ:</p>

<p>Scholarships and Financial Aid</p>

<p>Is Caltech need-blind in admissions?
Caltech is need-blind for all U.S.citizens and permanent residents and need-sensitive for international students.</p>

<p>Do you give athletic scholarships?
As an NCAA Division III institution, we are not permitted to offer athletic scholarships.</p>

<p>Do you offer merit scholarships?
Yes. We have two major scholarship programs that offer scholarships ranging from full tuition to full tuition, room and board, and a prefrosh summer research opportunity. All scholarship decisions are mailed at the same time Regular Decision admissions decisions are mailed.</p>

<p>How do I apply for a merit scholarship?
There is no separate application for scholarships. We consider every admitted student for scholarships based on their admission applications.</p>

<p>What does it take to win a merit scholarship?
It is impossible to say precisely. Students who are selected for a merit scholarship often have significant distinctions beyond the classroom.</p>

<p>When are students notified of scholarships?
All scholarship decisions are mailed at the same time Regular Decision admission decisions are mailed."</p>

<p>Caltech also provides need-based Financial Aid. D is still waiting for the letter. A few people in our state (other smaller cities) received their acceptance letters on Friday.</p>

160

<p>Deferred</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2310 (Math 790, CR 730, W 800)
[</em>]SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chemistry, 760 US History
[<em>]ACT: 35 Composite, 12 Writing
[</em>]GPA: 4.67W, 3.95UW
[<em>]Rank: 1/1018
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):
AP Chemistry 5, AP US History 5, AP Calculus BC 5, AP English Language 5, AP Spanish Language 4, AP European History 5, AP Statistics 5
[/ul]</p>

<p>Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: I thought they were good as I consider myself a good writer (as seen in my writing scores)
[</em>]Teacher Recs: One was total flattery, the other I didn't read but that teacher and I are tight
[<em>]Counselor Rec: I'd assume good
[</em>]Supplementary Material: regretfully, none
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): n/a[/ul]
Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Midwest USA
[<em>]High School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
[<em>]Gender: M
[</em>]Applied for Financial Aid: No[/ul]</p>

<p>Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars:
- Track & Field
- Cross Country
- Intramural Basketball
- National Spanish Honors Society (Publicity Committee Chair)
- Model United Nations
- Asian Students? Association (Senior Leader)
- NVHS Math Team (Team Captain, Oralist)
- Star Raiders
- Junior State of America (Co-founder, Executive Officer)
- Scholastic Bowl
- Theatre
[</em>]Awards:
- Siemens-Westinghouse Competition Regional Semi-Finalist
- National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist
- President?s Education Award
- Indian Prairie Scholar
- Academic Achievement Award
- AP Scholar with Distinction
- All-Conference Oralist
- Division 1st Place Oralist Champion
- NSML Team Conference Champion
[li]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: [/li]I should've sent my research paper and done an interview....[/ul]</p>