<p>I was looking through old EA/RD result threads and thinking about all the ppl i know over the past couple years who have been accepted by caltech.</p>
<p>I can't find a single person who didn't do some kind of research in high school. Most of them even sent in abstracts or won awards.</p>
<p>Unfortunately I've never done any kind of lab research. My main EC is pretty much just volunteering at the hospital. Do I have even an inkling of a chance? I'm applying EA to qualify for being evaluated for the 8 year med program with UCSD.</p>
<p>A quick check on Caltech's admissions site says that about 48% of the people at Caltech did research in high school. Thus, it's not required that you have done research. However, to know whether or not you have an inkling of a chance depends on the rest of your app. I think I can safely that that you need to show a strong passion for math and science, and significant achievements (whatever those could be) in those areas to be competitive. To that effect, I really hope you've done more than volunteer at the hospital. A lot of people here were people that did research, won local (and many times higher than that) awards in math and science fairs and competitions, and were otherwise known as one of the smartest math/science people their school had seen in years.</p>
<p>Hi! I didn't do any research in high school. Nor did I participate in any science or math olympiads. Probably my most significant achievement was a 4 on the AIME... lol</p>
<p>^lol i've never even qualified for the AIME the two times i took the AMC. i've been to quite a few math competitions but i've only won minor team awards. i was a club treasurer for two years though.</p>
<p>and i missed qualifying for bio olympiad semifinalist by 1 point last year, gah it was frustrating but i wasn't really expecting anything anyway.</p>
<p>hmmm i think besides the hospital, i've shown my interest in science in other ways possibly-->i maxed out my school's AP science courses. and I took online classes for this NASA high school aerospace program during my junior year regarding a mission to Mars. i even had to do a final paper on a topic of my choice and i chose the potential of conducting cancer research on Mars (nothing major, and definitely not a good enough paper to send to anyone though). because of the classes i ended up qualifying for a competitive residency spot for a week in the summer where we actually planned and designed the mission and then gave a presentation of it to real astronauts, a couple of senators, and all our parents. oh yeah and we got to tour boeing which was really cool.</p>
<p>but i don't want to do aerospace engineering even though it was a really cool experience...i want to be a doctor. does this matter?</p>
<p>i'm only applying EA b/c I have to if I'm interested in the 8 year Medical Scholars program with UCSD. </p>
<p>oh yeah, and i do have this opportunity to get involved with a radiology internship at the hospital as a partnership with my school. i'd have to start this weekend. but it would be technically illegal since i'm supposed to be 18 (i got the position solely b/c the interviewer didn't ask me for my age) and i really only have two weeks before apps are due so it's probably not worth it right now.</p>
<p><em>sigh</em> so what do you think?</p>
<p>maybe i'll just focus on applying and writing decent essays and see where it gets me rather than worrying over this...=)</p>
<p>^i'd like to be a doctor, it feels a lot more hands on. but i'd definitely like to get into some research as an undergrad...and really who knows? i might find i really like it and change my mind, i just wish i could have gotten some form of experience with research as a high school student.</p>
<p>oh man, i have NO math or science awards and did not particpated in any competitions. There was no such opportunties in my old high school, but I will this year, but it's prob too late to let caltech know unless i got deferred or RD. and yeah, i'm doing EA too. It seems like the only math and science interest caltech can see is the research i had done over the summer with a MIT professor and co-authored a paper on animal acoustics I've sent in, a letter of rec from that professor, and my essay. but that's all I have. </p>
<p>can not doing competitions in the first 3 years of HS hurt you? seriously, i didn't know what was AMC or AIME until just recently.</p>
<p>"It seems like the only math and science interest caltech can see is the research i had done over the summer with a MIT professor and co-authored a paper on animal acoustics I've sent in, a letter of rec from that professor, and my essay. but that's all I have."</p>
<p>haha yeah, that's just "all". lol relax, looks like you've got a much better chance than i have! </p>
<p>i had a friend last year who got in with a 2150. i think it was b/c he had done research at his mom's lab with two of his mom's colleagues over the summer before applying and his name was on the article that they published. pretty much every other school rejected him besides caltech and his in-state safety probably b/c he really hadn't done much else activity -wise throughout the rest of high school. i think all his "major" EC's started in 10th or 11th grade and he was really going for the well-rounded, deeply invovled approach but it might have come off as really superficial b/c he lacked a clear focus.</p>
<p>The admissions committee is well aware that some schools offer more opportunities than others. They will take that into account when you apply. It's not really about what you accomplish, but more what you accomplish with the resources you have available to you.</p>
<p>lol, hannamontana. but ur post and the things u've done seems amazing and you seem to to do a lot more than I did!!! come on, NASA? AIME? lol. Radiology internship? lol. (this year, I hope to start working in a lab that is involved with mercury and methylmercury for school year.lol)</p>
<p>And i got 2160. pretty average for most schools. I did some of other ECs, like being the editor of the newspaper, starting a book club in sophomore year, member of this HS's first sci oly team, and I hope to hold the first math club meeting next month. but nothing else much.</p>
<p>ANd how do schools know which schools offer more opportunties than others or not?</p>
<p>High Schools are required to send out a school profile to all colleges along with your transcripts, detailing their policies as well as which classes are offered, etc.</p>
<p>For instance, if your school limited the number of AP courses an individual could take to two. Caltech Admissions will know.</p>