<p>Everyone should, if they could succeed... problem is, even if you did nothing else, the probability of doing that would be very very close to zero.</p>
<p>You guys are being too harsh on chebyshev. People lie about the school they are going to all the time because they don't want to be identified. Also, you can qualify for USAMO in your 8th grade year, so it is very possible to qualify 3 yrs in a row and not the junior year contest. Seeing how last year's contest was so easy, many people got 10+ on the AIME but didn't qualify for the USAMO. I doubt he's "trolling," everyone I know hides their identity by changing schools to an appropriate tier level (public boarding schools aren't easy to find).</p>
<p>BTW, tetrahedr0n, at least he doesn't stalk people at MathCamp.</p>
<p>But he <em>didn't</em> get published in the Annals of Mathematics -- if a high school student had done that, it'd be well-known. So he was being somewhat untruthful.</p>
<p>Archangel, all I'm saying is he says (in different posts) that he/she has qualified for the USAMO 3 times in a row, 2 times in a row, this year, not this year, etc... These statements don't fit together, even if he/she is lying about the school. I don't see what grade level has to do with it - <a href="http://www.unl.edu/amc%5B/url%5D">www.unl.edu/amc</a> has lists of USAMO qualifiers for many years (as in, since 1997 or so) and the only NCSSM qualifiers are much older. I'm not claiming this specific poster didn't get a 10 on the AIME this year, but that he/she is lying somewhere.</p>
<p>
[quote]
BTW, tetrahedr0n, at least he doesn't stalk people at MathCamp.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't understand. I went to MathCamp last summer, and I praised it frequently on these boards. Who did I stalk?</p>
<p>
[quote]
BTW, tetrahedr0n, at least he doesn't stalk people at MathCamp
[/quote]
Ohhh snap!!!!! I hate it when people lie about math achievements too though.</p>
<p>I actually have a question about the initial issue (math grade). I, too, got a B+ in AP Calc BC (again...tough teacher :-( ). On the other hand, I'm VP of math team, treasurer of math honor society, three year member of NJ's winning sci bowl team (this is 3rd year), have skipped honors physics, have solid As in AP physics and AP chem, am currently taking modern physics at Rutgers, silver medal at USAMTS, 108 AMC 12, 4 AIME. Will that make up?</p>
<p>"currently taking modern physics at Rutgers, silver medal at USAMTS, 108 AMC 12, 4 AIME. Will that make up?" </p>
<p>As you can probably guess, these don't blow us away -- we see a 108AMC/4AIME pretty regularly; but they show you're not a pushover. I think it goes a long way toward making up for the B+ without completely erasing its impact. You'll still need to make an impression with your essays.</p>
<p>But there's certainly hope for such an application, and a well-crafted one can make the committee want you so badly that we'll be willing to overlook blemishes like a B+.</p>
<p>Wow. From what I've been reading about Caltech, they don't seem very inclined. I go to the school chebyshev claims to have gone, and yes, it does seem quite tough. I don't think I'll get any B's, probably an A- somewhere along the line. But still it seems that Caltech doesn't like it when people make mistakes. Only searches for people who were perfect. Isn't that a defect? One of the most important lessons in life doesn't come from winning, but losing. To quote Batman Begins, "Why do we fall down? So we can get back on our feet."</p>
<p>I know people who got Bs in stuff in high school. Even in science classes.They got in because they were really smart. They tend to be really lazy, yet very bright. I know one guy who got rejected from UCSD and Berkeley, yet was one of the brightest people I knew at Caltech.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But still it seems that Caltech doesn't like it when people make mistakes.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well, we've admitted plenty of people with B's in something. It's just that we have to be more cautious; a B+ in Calculus might mean an unfair teacher, a bad family situation during that semester, or a persistent difficulty understanding the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus; and many other things. We're perfectly willing to give a person some slack for the first two in many cases, but we know that if we accidentally admit the third kind of student, we will be doing a huge disservice to him or her. That's why we look carefully at what a B means.</p>
<p>sagar_indurkhya, I wish what you had just said was true. I applied to Caltech thinking that they would understand what I had went through while in high school and that they would cut me some slack on that part and would just look at how I was doing <em>now</em>. I wasn't successful. I wrote it in my essays, I showed it in my grades, and I actually participated in some things for further emphasis. That didn't work. I don't know what the logic of rejecting me was, but I am sure that "Ben Golub" does not lie when he says that they take great caution when examining a person's application. I would like to know what the reason for rejecting me was, probably because I didn't have a maximum GPA, participation in national competitions, any spectacular research, any published books, any studies that were much more advanced than anything offered in high school or the first 1 or 2 years in college, and anything else that would make me stand out from the crowd other than what I tried to express. I guess I wasn't their caliber.</p>
<p>Sadly, I am going to try again after 2 years at my current community college. I can't find my peace, or my place.</p>
<p>I'm sooo sorry Xcron!!!! I truly feel for you man but you should have applied to some other math/sci/tech colleges(particularly ones that are not as selective) that you are interested in and are matches/safeties for you, so you wouldn't hav ended up in such a precarious position like Community College.</p>
<p>Yeah, sry about that Xcron...still, I don't think you'll need to wait 2 years to apply to schools if you don't want to. I may be wrong, but can't you still apply to colleges again this year?</p>
<p>Haha, I totally forgot about this thread...since I changed my settings to not have the service send me an e-mail whenever someone applied here.</p>
<p>the<em>gurl</em>next_door, I did apply to other schools. I applied to Caltech, USC, UCLA, UCSD, UCI, Cal Poly Pomona, and CSUN. I was rejected by all except 2, which I believe anyone can guess easily which 2. Later, I was automatically accepted by UCR, UCM, and New Mexico Tech. </p>
<p>I looked at the statistics of transfers to UCLA and took them as the ballpark statistics for any other school, such as Caltech. As a student from a 4-year university and transferring to UCLA, the average had about 14% chance. Intercampus from a UC to UCLA, the chance was at 30%. From community colleges, the chance was an astounding 44% or something close. That is why I chose to go to community college. I had many choices: the cc's in LA, PCC (Pasadena City College), and GCC (Glendale Community College). The best choice was PCC as it was the only one that had people who were able to transfer to Caltech. It is the #1 USC feeder and the #2 UCLA feeder as I heard from somewhere. </p>
<p>My high school counselor suggested applying to Harvey Mudd because she thought that I would get in, but I didn't consider the school because they didn't offer everything I wanted or something...stupid decision. I should have considered it more because of how good of a school it is.</p>
<p>At least, now I have a second chance. That was my goal, to have a second chance. I knew all along, sub-consciously and upon receiving my rejection letters, that I wouldn't stay at the school that I would choose. I had to go for the best and I had to give it my all. My history in high school was horrible, and going to college and transferring would allow me to have a fresh start.</p>
<p>Physiks, I do need to wait 2 years to apply. If I only wait 1 year, then everything from high school will be counted in my application and I will be rejected once again. I need to have the fresh start with optimal grades from college, I think...I'm not very sure, but I am trying to get more information...</p>
<p>I'm even unsure about my chances of transferring even with optimal grades from community college..........</p>