math and science

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
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<p>is getting really good grades in math and science enough to show interest in math/science? and does mu alpha theta and national science honor society help?</p>

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<p>Not unless the classes were pretty advanced. I mean, it’s going to show some interest, but there are plenty more students applying with top GPAs, 5s on APs, and “mu alpha theta” than we can admit.</p>

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<p>I’ll say. Got fives on AP Calc and AP Physics C Mechanics. Taking AP Chem and Bio, along with AP Stat and self study BC Calc. Vice Pres of Mu Alpha Theta and Pres of National Honor Society. What’s gonna happen?</p>

4

<p>i dont know. you tell me</p>

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<p>Lol, my bad. My point was, there are plenty of people out there who take science and math courses, do stuff like I did, and want to see if that shows interest. Of course it shows interest. But as far as it being “enough,” I’m afraid probably not. It might be too late, but try a summer program or two that involves math and science.</p>

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<p>well it certainly helps.</p>

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<p>Showing extracurricular as interest in math science certainly helps, another good way (if your EC’s look weak) is to show in your essays that you are excited my science, and that it’s a large part of your worldview. The Feynman essay (I’m assuming it’s not going to change this year) is probably a good place to show that.</p>

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<p>Have a look at this website - some pretty interesting articles to talk about to demonstrate interest in numbers:</p>

<p>[Wolfram</a> MathWorld: The Web’s Most Extensive Mathematics Resource](<a href=“http://mathworld.wolfram.com/]Wolfram”>http://mathworld.wolfram.com/)</p>

<p>More precisely:</p>

<p>[Recreational</a> Mathematics – from Wolfram MathWorld](<a href=“http://mathworld.wolfram.com/topics/RecreationalMathematics.html]Recreational”>Recreational Mathematics -- from Wolfram MathWorld)
[Beast</a> Number – from Wolfram MathWorld](<a href=“http://mathworld.wolfram.com/BeastNumber.html]Beast”>Beast Number -- from Wolfram MathWorld)</p>

<p>Just browse the site and you’ll find some pretty entertaining math facts… </p>

<p>(I am such a geek!)</p>

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<p>hmm. thanks for all your replies. i have good grades in all my science and math classes but i dont really have many math/science ecs. i mean, im in national science honor society (running for vp) and mu alpha theta, but im not doing anything extraordinary. im taking calculus (past BC) at the local college too. but nothing truly awesome.</p>

<p>and biggie_smalls, sorry for my blunt answer i didnt really know what you were trying to say. my bad</p>

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<p>You should note that there are several schools that have very high class math/science programs, which do admissions in a more general way, in that they’ll admit you for whatever strengths you have, and then you’re kind of free to take advantage of their math/sci departments. Be sure you apply to many of those, because you could get in and be very happy.</p>

<p>Caltech specifically looks to build a community of people who’re certain about loving math/sci, and while you may be one of these, generally those with lots of out of school involvement in those areas seem to be favored; Tech doesn’t want to admit several students who’re a poor fit for it, and probably is conservative, especially because it’s such a small school.</p>

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<p>plbro81, what do you do when you’re not in school?</p>

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<p>I thought I had “enough” science ECs when I applied to Caltech. However, I was rejected. I had 2 patents, one of which was provisional and the other was full, and my summer research project was cited in a PhD thesis. My summer research was also published in the Lawrence Berkeley Lab monthly journal. I was also a regional semifinalist for Siemens’ and a 2nd place winner in my category @ State fair and a 3rd place winner @ ISEF. I also wrote a full science-fiction novel in my senior year. Yet I was still rejected.</p>

<p>Granted, my GPA wasn’t as sky-high as would be expected of a person of Caltech-caliber (3.8), and I relied on my ECs to get me in (which was my undoing.) I guess the point I am trying to make is make sure you show avid interest in math and/or science and have the grades and scores to back it up. You seem to have the latter but the examples you suggested for doing the former such as National Science Honor society are good but not great. I think that Caltech admissions wants to know if you go “above-and-beyond” the normal M&S EC’s and most importantly, to see if you think different.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.inaoep.mx/~canorve/canorve_files/apple_feynman.jpg[/url]”>http://www.inaoep.mx/~canorve/canorve_files/apple_feynman.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck! :)</p>

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<p>play tennis, football, eat, sleep, do hw. i dont do math problems for fun or anything like that.</p>

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<p>^ Then Caltech may not be an excellent fit. If you played tennis, ate, * and* did math problems for fun, it could still be a good one. Not sure, but you should ask current students before applying; it’s less a question of being “good enough” and more about fit, I think.</p>

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<p>Are you sure you want to come to a school where you will be doing nothing but math and science 24/7? Sure, you’ll have a little bit of time to play tennis and/or football, but not a lot. You will be eating, sleeping, and breathing math.</p>

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<p>hmm. well, its not that i hate math/ science. i’m good at those subjects, and i dont mind doing math/science, but its not something i do for fun and enjoy. i probably have to think it over. so do most people at caltech do math/science problems for fun?</p>

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<p>I’m pretty sure that’s one of the biggest reasons to go to Caltech – to be around people who do that kind of stuff for fun. You can get a top caliber math/science education in several Ivy Leagues, some public schools, and the like, but Caltech is a pretty unique environment. It’s not about being good enough, it’s about having both the talent and wanting to do stuff like math and science for a large part of your waking hours, and even favoring these things over other activities.</p>

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<p>i don’t. in fact i only know one person who does :slight_smile: a lot of people program though.</p>

<p>things people do for fun:

  • house stuff
  • going out to eat (chipotle, souplantation, etc)
  • video games
  • anime watching (maybe my friends do this more than a lot of other people)
  • going to the beach (maybe once a term)
  • talking to people (there’s a lot of this)
  • sports (a good number of people do this actually)
  • random clubs/campuswide activities (a lot of people are in music clubs and/or the caltech christian fellowship)</p>

<p>basically things normal college students do :wink: just because we’re good at math doesn’t mean we don’t like normal stuff too. and in fact some of us start hating math and science by the time we’ve been at caltech for too long…</p>

<p>oh, and my friend just went bungee jumping with fifteen people from her house. but that’s an extreme example.</p>

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<p>oh, but we don’t have a football team. so if you come here you might want to start one :)</p>

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<p>I find it strange that you don’t know anyone who does math or science problems for fun, fizix. I know plenty of people that do–whether it means competing in math competitions, or trying to solve mathematical puzzles (one going around my house a couple of weeks ago about prisoners or something) and my house has substantially fewer actual math majors than yours does. </p>

<p>Likewise, many people participate in research for reasons beyond just finding work–it may not be homework problems but it’s definitely solving problems of math and science. I personally love my research, and I know a lot of other people that do as well.</p>

<p>You’re missing the key aspect of Caltech–it’s not that people always have fun doing their work, or that people here like science and math so much that it never seems like work–work is work. It’s that people love the work enough that it is at least partially enjoyable, and definitely fulfilling. </p>

<p>Yes, we go to the beach, and go out to eat, and do “normal things” but we do these things far less than other college students because we made a conscious decision to sacrifice the time we would have spent on these activities to immerse ourselves in math and science.</p>

<p>I’m totally with what I guess is your intent, fizix, which is to show a side of Caltech that is stereotypically not understood or recognized. There are a lot of people here who are not traditionally nerdy (including myself) and they enjoy a lot of the same things that students at other colleges enjoy. But even these people have made the decision to focus their passion–and for those that aren’t truly passionate about Math/science/engineering this place can be absolutely miserable. I’m not saying someone who loves playing sports needs to give up their love, but I am saying they need to be prepared to give up a large majority of time spent in that pursuit to focus on math, science, engineering.</p>

<p>That being said, you should really think hard about the methods you use to accomplish your goals. You have time and time again misrepresented Caltech (the most obvious example being in the thread regarding how long homework sets take students). You have spent one year here and now you are attempting to transfer. According to your posts about the house system, your social experience was not typical. I really wish you would think a little more about the things you’re saying, and how you say them. While what you’re saying is usually partially true, by only giving one side of the story you’re presenting the impression that “normal people” can come to Caltech and be happy, which really isn’t true. I would say that anyone who cares deeply enough to want to pursue math/science/engineering over sleep, a big social life, or other extracurricular activities is not normal, even if they are not outwardly geeky–and yet these are the people who love Caltech. </p>

<p>Don’t try to portray Tech as somewhere that anyone with 5s on AP exams and high SAT scores would enjoy. It’s not. For the people it is right for, it is amazing–but it’s definitely not for everyone. </p>

<p>To everyone else: Yes, Caltech can be great even if you love sports or going to parties or playing an instrument or painting–but only if you’re ready to let Caltech take priority over these things. You still can pursue your passions outside of Math, Science, and Engineering, but coming to Caltech makes it much harder than it would be anywhere else. If you’re willing to trade a very deep, rigorous, intense experience learning math/science/engineering for that ability to freely pursue other interests, great! If not, think hard.</p>