I know it's lame, but can you "chance" me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
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<p>Hi I am a male, from virginia. I came to US four years ago from Iran because of religious toleration here. I could not gain any education higher than high school there. When I came here I started working my tail off in school, because I could LEARN MORE HERE! So here is my stats:</p>

<p>I am a rising IB senior. I have taken the most hard core classes my school offers.</p>

<p>I only know one of my predicted score for IB HL Bio which is a 6.</p>

<p>I rank 1/401 in my high school.</p>

<p>My GPA weighted is 4.65 and unweighted is I think 3.92 or 3.93 IDK! We go by weighted here.</p>

<p>My SAT scores are horrible because of my lack of experience with English language. </p>

<p>CR is in 500's but I believe I will be in mid 600's next time I take it.
Math is 660, but I'll improve again
Writing the same...</p>

<p>I know my SAT is not that good, but SAT isn't the only factor. I am re-taking it and have dedicated my entire summer reading novels after novels to learn more English. I can definitly improve my math and bring it to the 50% range like 700's.</p>

<p>My SAT II scores are Math I 680 and World History 690. I know they're not outstanding but good enough? I just took them not thinking where I wanted to go; silly I know.</p>

<p>I will take Math II and Bio as my SAT II's in November.</p>

<p>As far as Extraculs:</p>

<p>A list of clubs like NHS, World History, Chess, Academic, etc
My chess team won the regional once (im VP)
Varsity Cross country
Rescue Squad member (love it!!)
ESL teacher (I hold almost 5 days a week to teach kids english since I know its importance)</p>

<p>I am the first generation of my family to attend college as well.
Low-income family as well; I was considering Questbridge but I was afraid I end up somewhere I do not want to go!</p>

<p>I thank you in advance!</p>

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<p>Also I will apply to Questbridge, and if I am a finalist, I will use it along with the Common app.</p>

<p>Also, do you think I should at all apply? what are the chances a guy like me to get into the hardest school to get in?</p>

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<p>you honestly have no shot…you gotta have at least a 750 for math</p>

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<p>so if I get a 800 on math do you think I can get in?</p>

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<p>Just curious how you rank #1 in your school if your English isn’t good. I’m a first generation immigrant and I had trouble getting A’s in my english classes even though I came when I was 10 years old. Somehow, the 500’s CR score and your rank and GPA seems discordant.</p>

<p>As far as the 800, or close to it in math, it will not ‘get you in’ but it will make you similar to most of their applicants. In other words, it won’t be a mark ‘against’ you, but won’t be much of a mark ‘for’ you either.</p>

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<p>Maybe they’ll be nice to you because of this. But I really have no idea.</p>

<p>Good luck bluepurple. :)</p>

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<p>ihs: SAT is different from common classes dont u agree? For SAT you need to know lots of big words–at least that is what I see. For common classes, you need dedication. Well I have read over 5 big books over summer so now my CR is way better than back then. Alos my English isn’t THAT good, but I believe it is way better now, so it wasn’t that good when I took the test. Also has it occured to you that English isn’t the only subject area in school? I might be extrodinaryly good at sciences, which is my area of interest. Anyways, if Caltech admission officers are so in love with test scores, as they seem to be, then w/e, so many other good schools. but thanks for the reply…</p>

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<p>It’s not a question of being in love with test scores, it’s that anyone who can handle Caltech material should be able to ace the tests very easily. Your scores are troubling, and while I will not comment on your chances, that aspect of your application is quite weak.</p>

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<p>Your scores are definitely low, and that could be a problem, but they’re not an absolute barrier. Try to show that you are competent in these areas despite your test scores by doing math competitions or something similar. I got in with a 670 math (granted, my CR and Writing were much better. 800 and 720, respectively) but I had captained my school’s math team to state victory, and included the project write up with the application. What you have to demonstrate to the admissions is that you are up to the workload that they expect of all their students. (That means CORE)</p>

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<p>I am a VERY hard worker, as far as school comes. I came to US four years ago and did not even speak English. My rank did not come easy. I have done NUMEROUS sleepless nights, so as far as my abilities to tackle hard work load, I really don’t know anyone who is more risilient than me. Still I honestly believe I have a very little chance. Caltech loves scores as I look at their admission statistics. Anyways, I want to become a PhD in neurophysics. What schools do you suggest, other than Caltech and MIT, which are sort of impossible for me to get into? And lets drop Ivy’s and the famous Johns Hopkins lol.</p>

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<p>Don’t they need more science/math-related ECs for a school like Caltech? I’m not making a statement, I’m simply asking.</p>

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<p>You’re in VA, look into UVa. Excellent school. For advanced sciences, the graduate school is what’s most important to your career, undergrad is just the stepping stone. If you do well at a school like UVa, you’d be able to get into top notch graduate programs and be on your way.</p>

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<p>Johns Hopkins isn’t really that hard to get into to undergrad, at least compared to the other schools you mentioned. I would apply if you’re interested, although you should note that (in my personal opinion) a lot of JHU students in anything leading to an MD are ultra-competitive about grades. That was a turn-off for me (but is not necessarily bad).</p>

<p>As neurophysics is pretty specific, I’m guessing you want a good background in both physics and biology. I’d check out other science-y schools like Harvey Mudd, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, and Rice.</p>

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<p>why do most people i meet tell me the same thing about JHU??? I really liked it there but no Im turned off about it</p>

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<p>Not sure about CMU and the others, but Harvey Mudd will require you to up the scores a lot, I think. Probably a little less than Caltech. </p>

<p>Then again, getting into Caltech or Mudd and doing well in the schools are quite different things, IMO.</p>

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<p>Caltech loves scores for the following reason: if one cannot get a 760+ on tests as easy as the SAT math tests, how on earth are they going to survive Core math? People fail to realize that Caltech is hard. Caltech is incredibly hard. This isn’t Stanford or Harvard where the hardest part is just getting in. If you’re under qualified in math or science, but somehow you’re admitted, this is not some great privilege or miracle. You’re just going to get your @ss kicked all over the place. </p>

<p>This is not saying you’re not smart Bluepurple, because it’s obvious you are, and incredibly hard working on top of it. But I believe what you have shown us shows not only might Caltech be a bad fit for you, but that Caltech would be an awful place for you to attend for undergrad. However, someday when you have completed your undergrad degree in neuroscience (neurophysics is probably a concentration within that degree), and are looking for grad schools, Caltech would then become a great place to attend, since grad school is a whole different world than undergrad.</p>

<p>You have an interesting life story, and certainly one of success and overcoming great challenges. Caltech is not a place to take risks on such people though, because it’s a terrible thing if such a person who has overcome so much, really just isn’t able to keep up the demanding coursework. </p>

<p>Since you want school suggestions, I would suggest looking into Stanford, Northwestern, Cornell, Rice, WashU in St. Louis, UVA, VA Tech, Georgia Tech, other large state schools such as Iowa (a graduating senior going into neuroscience seemed to think highly of their program for neuro stuff). I don’t much about neuroscience, or which schools actually have great programs, but that’s for you to research and discover. I think you’ll do great no matter where you end up going. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Duantless9: thank you for your comment. I feel like since I came to US, I have been working and working (the fun part of my brain is sort of retired lol jk). Still I honestly believe I am not prepared for a school like Caltech. I am still looking at similar schools though. I think LAC’s are a bit more comfortable for me: I am interested in Amherst, Williams, Middlebury, Bowdoin, and Reed. I especially love the last two.</p>

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<p>sorry you’ve had to work so hard. i’ve found college to be a lot more chill than high school, mostly because there’s not as much pressure to get into a good college :slight_smile: so don’t worry, there is a light at the end of the tunnel</p>

<p>those are some great schools you’re posting about, and i’m sure some good school will look at your story and accept you just because you’re so damn brilliant and hardworking. i mean valedictorian is no easy feat. especially if english isn’t your native language.</p>

<p>good luck!</p>

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<p>jsu: thank you for your comment. I think Reed would be a very good place for me. Admitance there is also not very competitive, even though the poll is definitly self selective.</p>

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<p>Reed has a lot of requirments and a ton of reading. Your fluency, based on the previous posts, would worry me. And Reed, unlike other schools, is not more chill than high school.
How about the University of Rochester, which has no requirements? That way you can take higher level sciency classes and easier humanities classes while you’re working on your English.</p>