Hi guys, i was hoping to dig into the collective knowledge of experienced individuals in this forum. I was wondering what my chances of getting into Caltech are. I am an international student and i have an SAT of 2090 (Math: 800, Reading: 670, Writing: 620), i will be taking it again on December 5. I plan on taking SAT II Physics, Maths, Biology, and maybe Chemistry. My school does not offer much APs and the counselors are strict when it comes to allowing students to take them, so I have taken AP Human Geography and am currently taking AP Physics I and AP Biology. I am planning to take AP Physics II, AP Chemistry, and AP Calculus BC next year, and possibly AP Computer Science if allowed. So yeah. Oh wise experienced heroes of College Confidential, I summon thee to lend me your knowledge…
Basically, your question is ‘with an SAT of 2090, and a lot of plans, what are my chances at CalTech’, and the answer is, ‘I wouldn’t fancy your chances’.
Trying to read the tea leaves of admissions with a single variable is a mug’s game, but as it’s all you’ve given us, let’s start there:
If you look at the Common Data Set (available online for most colleges/universities) you will see that CalTech considers standardized test scores to be “very important”.
You will also see that the % of admitted students with your scores were:
Math (800): 90.59 % between 700 & 800; the middle 50% had scores between 770 and 800
Reading (670): 7.92% between 600 & 700; the middle 50% had scores between 730 and 800
Writing (620): 9.4% between 600 & 700; the middle 50% had scores between 730 and 790
The overall SAT middle 50% was 2230-2340, the overall admit rate was 9%, 7% for international students.
As you can see, you are in the bottom 25% of admitted students for 2 out of 3 sections- and pretty average for the third (it’s a tough standard when a perfect score is average).
But, of course you have/will have other pieces.
MIT does count course rigor, and your class schedule has that- but they also like top marks and being in the top of your class. If you actually do take all these classes, with super high grades and on track to graduate in the top few % of your class that will be worth something.
Essays, recs and ‘personal’ qualities are also considered ‘very important’, and we have no idea about those, so can’t comment. ECs (things you have done beyond the classroom) are also considered ‘important’, and again we don’t know anything about those.