Is applying to Caltech a waste of money for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
1

<p>Hi,
You can find my background below, should I apply to Caltech at early admission? Is it a waste of money for me or do I really have a chance? I heard that Caltech really keens on leadership experience and comptetions and therefore it may have a decent chance, right?</p>

<p>I am going to take SAT reasoning on May and June, TOEFL on May and SAT Subject tests MAT1 MAT2 Physics on October.</p>

<p>EDUCATION
One of the best schools in my country and I am in IB Science-Math specialization
GPA = 70/100</p>

<p>LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
I am the co-founder of Turkey’s one of the best known and prestigious gaming providers, which is involved in setting up and selling servers, organizing online and offline events, and developing gaming solutions such as anti-cheating software and unsupervised gaming systems.</p>

<p>I was also the co-founder of two other organizations which used to be the best in their field (online and offline gaming).</p>

<p>INVENTIVE PROJECT COMPETITION
An International Design Olympiad, Finalist 2010
A prestigious national competition, Regional finalist 2010
Another prestigious national competition, Winner (Gold Metal) 2009
Another prestigious national competition, Finalist 2010
Two or three is going to add here and I am about to apply for a patent.</p>

<p>I had over 15 awards before starting to high school</p>

<p>ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
Armarium Infragilis, Head Developer 2009-present
Advanced encryption software which is hiding any specified data into any file while keeping the carrier file functioning correctly as though has been changed on it</p>

<p>GameSec, Head Developer 2009-present
The only online anti-cheating solution/software which is actively being used by Turkish gamers during online tournaments. GameSec’s two-sided reporting system prevents gamers from cheating or bypassing the application while still playing.</p>

<p>OMYS, Developer 2009-present
An unsupervised gaming solution, enabling gamers to organize matches without having to need a referee. OMYS has the ability to work integrated with GameSec and Interactive Gaming Solution. As soon as the match ends; scores, statistics, demos and screenshots are automatically published on web panel.</p>

<p>Interactive Online Gaming Solution, Developer 2009-present
A system which is enabling its users; to access all the history, statistics, screenshots of other gamers, to communicate with each other and if the user is a server administrative, to control his/her server completely.</p>

<p>COMPUTER SKILLS
Proficiently coding in C#, Java, Delphi and C/C++
Reverse engineering experience and therefore Win32Asm programming knowledge
Web programming experience with PHP
Database administration knowledge with MySQL and MSSQL
Experienced in Windows and unix-based operating systems, while having extensive knowledge on the inner workings
Broad knowledge and experience on computer hardware </p>

<hr>

<p>Please note that the school system in Turkey is different and a GPA of 70/100 is not as awful as you think. It is much over mediocre.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>Well, there is certainly no harm trying. I think you have a good shot at Caltech if all of your math and science SAT scores are within the 780 - 800 range. By the way, please don’t take math level 1 since you’re already taking level 2. How about chemistry/biology instead? Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I think it is crucial that you DON’T ASK FOR AID. asking for FA hurts quite a lot in the application process, since you are not a green-card holder nor a domestic student. If you really like the school, then my suggestion is, don’t ask for FA unless you feel pretty sure that you are a HYPSM-Bound student. This non-need-blind policy to international students is immensely unfair, darn.</p>

<p>Not considering the FA thing, I think you are definitely in, at least quite fit for Caltech. :D</p>

4

<p>I am not planning to apply for financial aid, money is not an issue, at least when it comes to college.</p>

<p>I’ve read about Caltech and as you’ve said, I think I will fit there easily. But the thing I am afraid of is that they may not even read my essay and resume because of filtering by GPA(do they filter people by their GPAs?).</p>

5

<p>I’m not too sure about that, but even if your GPA is not very high, as long as you are consistently getting As in math and science, then you have nothing to worry about.</p>

6

<p>Our grades are out of 100 and it is not easy to get over 90 and also not common.</p>

<p>So you are saying that I should try my chance with Caltech at early decision.</p>

7

<p>Just make sure to make them aware of your grading system and averages so they know about the 70/100. EA is really nice, whatEVER schools you apply to. It really takes the stress off of December through March if you get in somewhere you like.</p>

8

<p>OMGMIT, just to make you aware, you are applying to Caltech EA meaning early action which means you can also apply to non binding early programs like MIT, UChicago etc.</p>

<p>Your gaming stuff looks really cool. I hope you get in!</p>

9

<p>@HitMan
Thank you.</p>

<p>I thought I was able to apply only to one college for early action. What do you mean by non-binding programs? What are their differences?</p>

10

<p>Cal Tech offers non-binding early action, which means that you don’t HAVE to go to Cal Tech if you get admitted.</p>

11

<p>There are 3 types of early programs:</p>

<p>Early Decision (ED): This is a BINDING early program meaning that if you get accepted, you MUST attend and withdraw all of your other applications to schools. However, you CAN apply early action (more on this later) to other schools but if you are accepted ED then you must withdraw all applications including early ones. Though this limits your choice, ED can be a big boost to your application because some school reserve spots to ED applicants. At Tufts, for example, one third of the incoming class is reserved for ED applicants.
Example Schools: Tufts, Brown, Harvey Mudd, and NYU.</p>

<p>Single Choice - Early Action (SCEA): This program is not binding meaning that you can apply here and even if you get in, you can still apply to other schools in the regular decision round. However, if you use the SCEA program at one school, you CANNOT apply EARLY to any other schools.
Example Schools: Yale, Stanford, Georgetown</p>

<p>Early Action (EA): This program is similar to SCEA but you can apply to as many early action schools as you want. Early actions is similar to the regular decision round but you just receive your decision early and if you are differed, you get a second look at your application during the regular decision round. In other words, you can apply to Caltech, MIT, and UChicago early action.
Example Schools: MIT, Caltech, UChicago, and Notre Dame</p>

<p>If you need further explanation, don’t hesitate to ask! :D</p>

12

<p>Thanks for the information. It really helped me.</p>

13

<p>Btw, since you’re an international, you can only apply RD to MIT, not EA.</p>

14

<p>That’s a bad limitation but I can live with that. :)</p>

15

<p>Make sure you mention your school’s grading policy.</p>

<p>You sound like a brilliant guy who is very interested in Computer Science, coding, etc. However Caltech might think you are a bit of an underachiever because of your grades. Do well on the SAT and Subject tests (don’t take Math 1 if you’re taking Math 2. Take a few sciences).</p>

<p>Try to bring your GPA up also.</p>

16

<p>MIT is probably be a better fit for you than Caltech. I personally feel that Caltech is more scholarly while MIT encourages more entrepreneurship. Also, MIT has this geographical connection with Harvard and vicinity with other East Coast colleges.
Nonetheless, you can also argue that Caltech is much closer to silicon valley than MIT. After all, it depends on whether you prefer the West Coast “frontier” culture or the East Coast “mainstream” style.
Since money is not a problem for you, why not apply to both and decide later.</p>

17

<p>@AzureOfRavenclaw
I’ve taken the SAT reasoning test today and I think I will have a pretty high score. At Math section, I will have at most two mistakes.</p>

<p>According to my result, I will decide a path to follow. MIT, Caltech or WPI :D</p>

18

<p>By the way, I think you have a shot for Caltech. My background was somewhat similar to yours and I was waitlisted by Caltech and rejected by MIT (I am an Asian female).
My grades at a provincially prestigious high school in China was also around 70s and 80s out of 100 before coming to the US after one semester. I like web design and had been doing that and messing around with computer for fun since 5th grade. My weighted GPA (15th percentile because I wasn’t allowed to take honors/AP classes for a while) and academic records at US was satisfactory but not stellar (SAT 2150–reading 670, math 800, writing 680, math II 800, chem 800, bio mol 750). due to the transition. I won some national and state recognitions. I had some club positions but no president/vice president.
My neglect to accurately explain certain special obstacles and convey the non-scholastic aspect of me during the application process were probably the main reason that hurt my application.</p>

<p>Hope my story helps and wish you best of luck!</p>