my parents are so disheartening -chaces

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
1

<p>So I told them I wanted to make a campus visit to Cal Tech, and they said wait a while (im a junior) until Im sure that I'm interested in Cal Tech. So I waited about 6 months, and they told me that I should wait until I get some standardized tests done to see if I "have a chance". So I got my act score tonight, and now they told me to talk to my counselor and ask if I have a chance at Cal Tech. So I thought Id ask here first....</p>

<p>White, Jewish, Male
School: 2nd highest avg SATscore in state (georgia). Sends 15+ people to ivies or comparable schools each year. Should give a basic idea of how competitive it is
GPA: 92%(UW), 98%(W)
ACT composite: 34 (science:36, math: 35, reading: 32, english: 32)
SATII: Biology (710), going to take more</p>

<p>dont know class rank, around 40/900 Id guess</p>

<p>APs:
(10th): bio (5), world history (2, yeah I know, its bad)</p>

<p>(11th): physics b, eng lang, comp sci ab, stat, and calc bc (expecting 4-5 on all)</p>

<p>(12th): micro/macro, comp. gov, physics C, psych</p>

<p>also, not an AP, but Ill be taking Calc. II and III through GATech as a senior </p>

<p>ECs:
9th
varsity track team</p>

<p>10th
Informal internship at GaTech in a computer science research lab
captain of math and science olympiad teams
vice president of student council
president of yearbook commitee and spanish honor society</p>

<p>Summer between 10th and 11th
Paid position at GaTech computer science research lab working around 40 hours/week(can get great recommendations from several professors and grad students)</p>

<p>11th and 12th grade
Continuing internship at GaTech, informally during school year, probably paid again during summer. On science olympiad team.
Other than that, Ill only be doing competitions/awards again (listed below)</p>

<p>Awards:
1st place at state level science fair (pre-ISEF competition), and regional
Won "Excellence in Computer Science" award from Intel
1st place at regional Tech Fair competition, 3rd place at state
Eagle Scout</p>

<p>Will be able to get excellent recommendation from professor at GaTech I've been working with (for 2 years by time of applications), highly respected in Computer Science field</p>

<p>Anyway, I know that no one can really accurately predict chances, but I want to visit the campus first, and my parents wont let me til they know I have a chance at getting in (and money for the trip isnt an issue, they're just trying to discourage me or something....)</p>

2

<p>Another Jew who's a junior in Georgia hoping for Caltech (me too)? Doesn't that like rip a whole in the fabric of living in the bible belt?</p>

<p>I go to Walton, where are you?</p>

3

<p>My parents thought I wasn't accomplished/smart enough to get into MIT and/or Caltech, and yet, here I am. They'd rather I'd gone to UIUC.</p>

<p>You're certainly competitive, please apply. I didn't visit Tech until I had been accepted though. You can always turn an offer of admission down if you visit and don't like the school. If you don't get in, well then, you don't even have to visit!</p>

<p>Seriously though, please apply, and come visit us sometime?</p>

4

<p>Im at Northview. Walton is like our top competitor at science/math/whatever competitions, Im sure you've heard of us as well.</p>

<p>Anyway, Thanks for the advice Dauntless. I suppose I dont need to visit now, Im just very eager to see Cal Tech, because Ive wanted to get in for a while now, and I want to see if I like the area.</p>

5

<p>yeah, 31 ghp'ers was it? crazyness. It'd be nice if we could beat y'all once in a while at anything. Oh well. Unless maybe we beat you at sports? I certainly wouldn't know/care. In any case, good luck with it all.</p>

6

<p>OP
Perhaps you could apply for a summer program at Caltech?</p>

<p>It would be nice to visit, sit in on classes, perhaps do an overnight. Delta has good air fares from ATL. Are your parents planning any college trips?</p>

7

<p>what kind of summer programs are offered for high school students?</p>

8

<p>[url=<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/201161-list-most-prestigious-summer-programs.html%5DThis%5B/url"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/201161-list-most-prestigious-summer-programs.html]This[/url&lt;/a&gt;] is a good thread about summer programs that may boost your chances at any prestigious university.</p>

<p>(I think SSP is actually offered on the Caltech campus, but I'm not sure.)</p>

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<p>Ive looked through that before, and picked a few I want to apply to. However, can you recommend any that are at the cal tech campus? Ill look at that list again and try to find some.
Thanks again</p>

10

<p>You don't have to attend a summer program to get in here. You should be able to justify a visit to the campus once you've been accepted here to your parents.</p>

11

<p>You are certainly in the competitive range for Caltech applicants. If you applied (with maybe slightly higher SAT II scores in a subject like chem or physics) your application would be viewed as having a real chance -- which is not the case when scores or grades are bad. Your activities are somewhat above average in the part of the applicant pool that has a serious chance. Admission would certainly not be a lock but you have a real shot.</p>

<p>Does that merit a visit? I don't know. I was never very clear on the purpose of visiting schools prior to getting in. If it is a potential safety and you want to know that you really LOVE the campus and the neighborhood before you decide to make that your official safety (out of dozens of possibilities), a visit seems justified. But for the top schools, a decent strategy seems to be just applying to all the ones that are compatible academically and financially and then just visiting the ones you get into. Otherwise you might spend a long time falling in love with a school or mulling over details of a school that never becomes an option.</p>

<p>I know the question was just whether you have a serious chance, and the answer, assuming that your SAT II scores are above 750 for the other(s) you take, is yes. But as for the visit issue, I'm ambivalent, so I just thought I'd throw that in... maybe there is something about a visit which I'm missing, in which case I'd be happy to change my mind :)</p>

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<p><a href="I%20think%20SSP%20is%20actually%20offered%20on%20the%20Caltech%20campus,%20but%20I'm%20not%20sure.">quote=fizix2</a>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, SSP does not take place on campus - you either go to Ojai, CA or to Socorro, NM. But if you go to Ojai, one of the field trips is [usually] to Caltech.</p>

13

<p>Hriundeli -- Good to know :)</p>

14

<p>One more thought on the visit issue: if you are lucky enough to be accepted at 5 or 6 schools you may not be able to visit all of them in the window between hearing back and having to make a decision. And you are even less likely to be able to visit them all during their pre-frosh weekends, which (for my son last year) all seemed to be held the middle 2 weekends in April. This doesn't mean it best to "pre-visit" all the schools that you applied to, but depending on your situation it might be worth thinking about.</p>