Is there even the SLIGHTEST chance...?

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
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<p>Ok, before I say anything, I'm pretty sure that no-one on the admissions committee would even consider accepting me into Caltech. I'll try to put the info in the "standard" format for chance threads, but I'm not making any promises :P (and I'm not sure about any numbers except for the SAT marks)</p>

<p>Basics: International, applying EA
Essays: I'm going to try my best to show my interest in maths (I actually have one planned out for that!) and physics, and (if the prompt gives room for it) passion for writing.
SAT: 2220 (CR: 740, M: 800, W: 680)
SAT II: I took a practice test for Math II and got an 800 (doing the actual exam in October, hopefully with an 800 in Physics and Chemistry).
Rank: As far as I know, 2 / ~100
GPA: I'm not sure how my high school does it; we get our averages out of 20 (mine is almost always 18-18.5). I'm fairly sure that my GPA isn't below 3.6/4, and more likely 3.8-3.9.</p>

<p>For courses, my high school (apparently) does things differently. We don't take AP courses until Junior (and at most we do 2 there). Anyway...
Junior: AS Maths, AP Computer Science, and every other subject at O level
Senior (what I intend to take): AP English, AP Calculus BC (school usually only offers AB, but I should be able to do BC), AP Physics C (and B, if they allow it), AP Chemistry, AP French, AP Statistics, AP Economics (not sure if it's macro or micro), AS English (literature), A level Math and considering taking AS Physics, AS Chemistry and AS Business Studies. (If I do actually take all of that, I guess my Caltech application will be the least of my worries :P)</p>

<p>Now, what sets me apart from other candidates (in a really, really bad way):
Prizes/Awards: None (I was on the Honor Roll at my high school...but I'm 100% sure that counts for nothing)
Science Fairs/Clubs etc: None
I'm hoping to start a newsletter/newspaper/whatever-you-want-to-call-it in my senior year (my day was 100% full with classes last year, and I don't have much time on the days I'm not staying after school) and hopefully talk the administration into doing SOMETHING to strengthen the maths/sciences at our school (I was sort of shocked to see how many schools had physics/maths clubs, student governments etc in the US).</p>

<p>What I DO have: a letter from the school for coming in during the mid-year breaks to help other students who were failing, and I've been staying after-school semi-regularly up until the 3rd term of junior to help/teach/tutor/whatever-it's-called other students who had trouble.</p>

<p>I'm fairly certain that I can get a good recommendation from our counsellor (though he's unpredictable - he might end up going off-topic) and another one shouldn't be too hard.</p>

<p>So my question: is there even the slightest chance that I'd get in? If not, is there anything I could do (short of breaking the laws of physics) that would help? Any advice (if I'm not already hopeless) would be great :D.</p>

<p>(PS I'm pretty sure I have no chance - I've seen what some other applicants have; it's almost scary. I think I'm just looking for someone to confirm it..)</p>

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<p>Woops - forgot to add: if you’ve got any idea of anywhere you think I should be applying, I’m all ears :P.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance :).</p>

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<p>aw come on,
what makes you think you have no chance</p>

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<p>Your class schedule and scores and stuff seem reasonable. What have you done outside of school that is math/science related? How have you shown your passion for whatever field you’re going into? Caltech shouldn’t penalize you for not joining clubs your school doesn’t have as long as you have something else to show them.</p>

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<p>That’s the thing, I haven’t done anything math/science related (the most I’ve done was reading and the peer-tutoring/teaching I mentioned above - the latter is kind of a school trademark, in a sense). The only way I CAN show that I’m interested is through my essays/recommendations (though the recs are bit of a stretch).</p>

<p>@fizix2
I feel like I have no chance when I start going through chance threads :P. It feels hopeless when I’ve got NOTHING math/science-related to apply with and almost everyone who’s even considering applying has got 3 pages worth of awards. I think my extracurriculars are also a bit empty…so that can’t help. It just seems like I’m one of those people who have nothing to offer beyond scores (and what’s worse, nowadays there are very very few people like that).</p>

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<p>As long as you have true passion for it I’m sure you can find a way to show it even if it’s not necessarily big outside of school things. I felt the same way when I was applying because I never had the chance to do any outside research or go to any science summer programs or take classes at a university or anything like that. I also didn’t have any relevant awards (except National Merit if you count that) but I loved math and science and wanted to do something so I arranged an independent study with my physics teacher and spent time learning anything interesting on my own from textbooks I acquired and talked about that in my essays and I’m going there next year. So if you can do anything like that to show you have passion. It doesn’t necesaraliy have to be a formal “EC.”</p>

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<p>^^chance threads are crazy,
don’t listen to them.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the replies…I feel like I have some chance now - yay! Now to hope some incredibly complex theorem hits me before the applications come out :P.</p>

<p>Quick question (hope I’m not getting annoying) - does Caltech put a lot of weight on the essays? And is it okay to make a few jokes in the shorts answers part of the application, or would that not sit well with admissions committee?</p>

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<p>Caltech does indeed put a lot of weight on the essays - how else would it distinguish between all those high SATs and APs and GPAs?</p>

<p>A good joke is acceptable pretty much everywhere, including a college essay. However, beware that a bad joke can easily ruin the impression on the admissions committee you’ve created so far. So, a huge no-no on nerdy jokes. You can get killed here for telling them :)</p>

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<p>But the application also has a part that asks what you do for fun or find funny and that’s a good place to put a few jokes to show your personality. That’s what I did for my application in that section.</p>

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<p>Yay! I only wish that I’d known about clam farting and been able to use it a lot earlier :(. Oh well, thanks for the replies; I hope they don’t reject me at the blank math/science activities :D.</p>

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<p>You have a great chance =)</p>

<p>Just work on your essay</p>

<p>Best of luck</p>

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<p>Thanks; I suppose it’s a good thing other people have confidence in me, even when I don’t :). I guess I should stop refreshing this page every 5 seconds and get on with my life now xD.</p>

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<p>just apply and see what happens :)</p>