<p>I am curious to know if there are many students who got accepted to Cal Tech after having done no research project/paper (summer program, siemens, intel, etc.). If so, what do you think are your other strong points that show your love of math and science?</p>
<p>P.S. sorry if you didn't like me copying this thread from the MIT forum. I just wanted a minor comparison</p>
<p>There are plenty of people at Caltech who did not do a research project in high school.</p>
<p>Zero research, zero anything, but thats because i worked 30 hrs a week at my job. My essay was basically how i believe people's belief in soul, mind, personality, and other psychological generalizations at their essence was physics. That it will one day explain everything from its most fundamental pieces. That it was ultimate truth. </p>
<p>P.S. it was probably the reason the same essay got rejected at Yale haha. Dont really know why i applied there.</p>
<p>I didn't submit the optional research paper, but I had a good amount of science and engineering research and activities that I did on my own. I had already written about them on the essays, so I didn't want to be redundant.</p>
<p>I think Caltech looks for you potential as a scientist or engineer when they look at your application (as in, how good is your scientific mind). Actual things that you've done aren't necessary to proving that you have a brilliant mind, but they do help. If it's not too late, why not pick up something that you're interested in this summer and next year?</p>
<p>From the 2007</a> Incoming Class Profile:
[quote]
Popular Extracurricular Activities</p>
<p>Science/Math Teams: 74%
Community Service: 55%
Music: 42%
Scientific Research: 38%
Athletics: 29%
[/quote]
I don't know if that's perfectly accurate--they might only be counting people who submitted a paper or something like that--but that's what Caltech says, anyway. In short, research isn't a prerequisite for acceptance. Now, that said, it's probably a good idea to look around for opportunities and try it out if you possibly can, not because of application-padding or anything like that, but because if you're the type of person who is aiming to go to schools like Caltech or MIT, the experience you get from the research will likely be valuable to you as a scientist.</p>
<p>That figure seems about right. I certainly did no research in high school.</p>
<p>Edit: In addition to Q's point that research will be valuable, it should also be fun. If you hate research, Caltech may not be right for you... :P (or your lab could just suck)</p>