<p>should I bother applying?
sorry about the cliche question, but I dont want to waste 100$+ for nothing!
I would apply to EVERY Ivy leage if I could, because I KNOW my chances are low... but my father only wants to pay for one more college application and I am stuck between</p>
<p>PRinceton-Yale-CalTech</p>
<p>SAT: 690 CR, 700 W, 720 M
SATII: MI:720 MII:750, physics:700
GPA (grades): intl school, 17 out of 20 average (17+ being OUTSTANDING, 15+=A)
rank: top 10% academically
ESSAYS: really good!
recs + counselor report: really good
hooks?: URM (latino), dual citizenship (Peru+US), german school in Lima, lack of "opportunitites?"
ECs: Physics Extracurricular... re/creation of machines, experimental methods (im looking forward to physics as a major), creative writing EC (destined for competitions), rowing training (daily, competitions too, + captain and team guide), art ECs (e.g. painting drawing), and a solid interest for gastronomy, politics, etc (I know, kinda all over the place...)
Summer Activities: mechatronics course, drama club (leadership position), etc</p>
<p>any help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, why are you between Caltech, Yale, and Princeton? All are great schools, but what are you specifically after?</p>
<p>your stats look like mine. as long as you have good essays you have some shot at all of those schools</p>
<p>well, I am looking to major in the physics… so princeton and caltech all seem like the obvious choice… but Yale also attracts me bc of its political awareness and humanities curriculum (I am kind of a welll rounded guy… as a matter of fact, 2nd choice: political science… is it OK if I put this as a 2nd choice???)</p>
<p>Ok, well, caltech is a small school, and I am not sure if they offer political science at all. I have a friend who is a physics major there, and he is definitely enjoying it, but, once again, I am not sure it will have the wide spectrum of classes you seem to be interested in. On the other hand, Yale has a great political science program, and if you ultimately become a political science major, then Yale would be a good choice;however, if you decided to be a physics major, I am not sure how great of a choice Yale would be. When I was choosing colleges, I did not apply to Yale, because there was nothign special about their physics program. I talked to a friend of mine who is physics major there, and she doesn’t like it. </p>
<p>Princeton, it seems, would be a good choice in this situation. Not only does it have a very strong physics program, but you could always go into a great political science program if you decide physics is not for you. In fact, I even met a person that was struggling to choose between political science and physics, and in the end, chose physics.</p>
<p>I’m sure whatever you end up choosing will be a good choice; however, out of these three, it seems like Princeton is the best choice, considering your situation. Also, it seems like these are not colleges at the top of your list, and thus this choice might not have very big consequences when you are choosing between colleges next year.</p>
<p>well thanks for your advice! the only problem with princeton is its competive application pool. E.g.: my three SAT subject tests are math 1, math 2 and physics. not really that “broad”. I think I may have more chances at either Yale or CalTech.
princeton is pretty good in math, isnt it??</p>
<p>I’m a physics major right now at princeton, and I actually think my math professor was the best teacher i have ever had in my life. The whole math department here is fantastic.</p>
<p>And just so you know, I have friends at princeton that did mathI, mathII, and physics. It obviously worked =P.</p>