<p>I was accepted to Caltech EA, and for a few days my family and I were thrilled- I really thought I was a long shot at best. But after browsing these threads and talking to people who know about Caltech, I have become very hesitant on the idea of going. And the reason is simple: I'm not a genius. I'm really not. I haven't won any olympiads or done any sort of research at all, let alone anything groundbreaking. I have done decently in math (qualifying for AIME since 9th grade), but by no means am I extraordinary at it. </p>
<p>There are two things that really concern me about the prospect of going to Caltech. The first is that all my classes are going to be excruciatingly hard and intense and I won't understand anything. I'll sit in all my classes confused and feeling very stupid. And my second concern is grades- because although I know a C at Caltech is different from a C in community college, I would still prefer to have a somewhat decent GPA in college. </p>
<p>I dunno, does anyone else understand this? And for people who actually go to Caltech, is it really that hard to do well? Are my concerns justified, are am I just thinking too much about this? I do like math and science, I really do- but it seems like everyone else who's planning on going is some sort of super genius. If I'm not going to do well at Caltech, I would prefer to just go to a different college from the beginning than transfer halfway through.</p>
<p>I understand where you're coming from. I just sent in my RD app to CalTech after having been deferred from MIT. I'm like you, I'm not a genius, I've done some research, but I'm definately not on the level of a lot of the applicants. </p>
<p>My main thing is, if I can get in, I'm going to go. I may have a very difficult time keeping up, but it's where my 'passion' lies. I've always felt that the get the most out of anything you have to go for the extremes. If you're willing to go to the extreme of Caltech, I'm sure you'll be very pleased at the final result. Half of an incredibly rigorous curriculem isn't the difficulty of the classes, it's learning to stay caught up with everything and learning to push yourself to your limits. </p>
<p>This may not appeal to some people. If this isn't what you want, I'd personally recommend you consider elsewhere. Personally though, it's what I live for. :)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I can't imagine that Caltech would accept you ealry if your application didn't igve them the impression that you belonged there.</p></li>
<li><p>I absolutely cannot imagine that I wouldn't go to Caltech if I got in, it's absolutely awesome!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I'm kinda in your position. I've been accepted, but don't have any huge awards like some other people do. There's more to life than awards though- classes, other experiences, etc. Just because you don't have awards doesn't mean you're not smart. Obviously, Caltech thinks you have that spark and will be able to do well once you get there In some ways, you may have an advantage- you realize it'll be hard work, so you're not going to hit the wall hard because you thought it'd be easy. </p>
<p>Transfering in is very difficult- they only accept around 5% of transfer applicants. Don't count on that as a way to go to Caltech.</p>
<p>I wouldn't even hesitate for even a fraction of a second if I had the opportunity to attend Caltech...you have been given this opportunity and it sounds like they decided that you are fit to go there....so do it!! =) (purely my opinion..)</p>
<p>First of all, congratulations on your acceptance. While it's true that there are extremely intelligent and gifted students at Caltech, realize that it's a school of 900 undergraduates, and most will be closer to you in terms of preparation than an international Olympiad winner. In fact, there will definitely be students with a lesser background than you in certain subjects. </p>
<p>Furthermore, hardly anyone is amazing in every discipline; even a very talented student has weaknesses that he/she needs to work upon. If you feel there's an area of math or science where you need to greatly improve, realize that virtually every Caltech student is in a similar dilemna. (In most cases, with multiple subjects) </p>
<p>And really, all it is is background. If you dedicate yourself and work very hard for four years, you can become as capable as anyone here. Similarly, any incoming student with a terrific background who refuses to work will eventually find him or herself in trouble. </p>
<p>As for the courseload, it all depends. Based upon your major, your natural talents, your background, the difficulty of your courses, your teacher, and your TAs, an academic term can be as difficult or as easy as you want. </p>
<p>As with practically every college, it's up to the invididual student to decide how difficult or how easy they want their courses to be.</p>
<p>Don't worry, though; if you find a courseload is too hard or too easy, you can make changes with the Registrar's Office long after the academic term has started.</p>
<p>I'm just going to ask you to ignore the "OMG! CALTECH! WHY WOULDN"T ANYONE GO THERE?" because in my opinion that's the wrong reason to come here. There are many prestigious colleges and despite what college rankings try to make you believe, one prestigious college is not necessarily better than another. Don't come here (or anywhere in my opinion) just because it's some famous school (well sort of). Make sure it's where you think you'll belong.</p>
<p>That being said I was a bit concerned after getting accepted about the workload. I talked to an alumni, Ponzy Lu, before I came and he said that if I had gotten in EA then it meant that I should be able to cut it. The adcom works hard to try and make sure that the people they let in are ones that can handle the work.</p>
<p>Oh, and I didn't win any big awards. I didn't start making the AIME until my sophmore year and I did horribly on it every year. I've never done research either.</p>
<p>Yeah, I should add that most Caltech students haven't done high school research, (myself included) and that research/Olympiad experience is not directly related to success in one's classes.</p>
<p>You know, I read this post and was like "Did I like type this in my sleep, or what?" I'm in your exact situation and it is so nice to know that there is at least one other person in the world who has these qualms and isn't like OMG WHY WOULDN'T YOU GO!!1!! </p>
<p>Afraid I can't be of much further help, though, besides the moral support :( I still have that nagging uncertainty and I probably will even after I leave college.</p>
<p>I'm feeling the same way, except I know I'd go just to see if I can make it.... if I fail everything well then... oh well!</p>
<p>also, I've tried some of their problem sets.... I can't get past the 4th question... and these questions aren't really math problems but rather logic/pattern questions (like proofs)</p>
<p>any idea how to get better at that kind of stuff? and what's AoPS?</p>
<p>Dang... I didn't make AIME until sophomore year, and I was practicing for math contests since middle school (mathcounts).</p>
<p>Anyways, I would say that your GPA is 95% determined by the amount of work you put in. Sure, some of the really impressive ppl can do the really nasty questions on the exams, but you can still shoot for an A/A- in these cases. If you're concerned about GPA, some profs at this school really respect the UG, and they nicely inflate the grades :)</p>
<p>I think the main question is your willingness to work non-stop. If you think it would be fun to do a math proof Fri night, start reading your phys book Saturday afternoon, work some more on the math set Sat. night and then finish off the math set on Sunday, then this school is great! If you think that you'd rather go out on the weekends, then it can get tougher. I</p>
<p>think it's a pretty nice life, as I still have time to visit the gym an hour per day, go grocery shopping, go out for most meals, etc. Alas, I also still play some computer games, but that's NOT a good thing (but I play a ton less than during high school).</p>
<p>I'd be happy with just time for meals + gym
how's Caltech's weight room?</p>
<p>ok so there's 2 volumes of AoPS (if I want to buy the book)... would Volume 1 be too easy for a high schooler (I've never worked with this stuff before though)?</p>
<p>Vintor - if you are completely new to competition math, you should start with AOPS vol. 1 (corresponds to AMC10/12). Hopefully it will go pretty quickly and you can move into vol 2 (AIME and intro to USAMO). Starting with vol 2 when you are totally new to competition math might be unnecessarily difficult. On the other hand, if you have taken the AMC 12 and scored pretty well (oh, 100+), you don't need vol. 1.</p>
<p>Testing out of math made weekends real nice for me. And I decided to skip breakfast so I could play video games in the morning. Yeah, I probably got a P-. I'll deal.</p>
<p>The weight rooms are good, yes. In fact, there are two seperate gyms located directly across from the south campus. While they aren't strictly for Caltech students, admission is free with a student ID.</p>
<p>WHere/when/what grade should you sign up to take these tests? I'm only a sophomore and I am very interested in taking the AMC. Would I take the AMC-10 or AMC-12? Any help is appreciated.</p>