Official Caltech 2022 RA Results

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
1

Decisions most likely come out tomorrow, 03/10/18 at 12:00pm PST (3:00pm EST)! Here’s our results thread in preparation for the big day.
Good luck everyone!!!

Remove spaces when you post:

[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted **[/color][/size]
[ size=4][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Deferred **[/color][/size]
[ size=4][ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected **[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
ACT (breakdown):
ACT superscore (breakdown):
SAT II (subject, score):
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parentheses):
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load:
Number of other applicants in your school:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.):

[ b]Subjective:**

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community Service:
Summer Experience:

[ b]Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):**

Essays:
Experiences in STEM:
How you have fun:
Honor code:
Diversity:
Why Caltech:
CommonApp:
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1:
Teacher Recommendation #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Info/Rec:
Supplement:

[ b]Other**

Date Submitted App:
U.S. State/Territory or Country:
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket Range:
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development):

[ b]Reflection**

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
What would you have done differently?:
Where else did you apply?

[ b]Other Factors: **

[ b]General Comments & Advice:**

2

Should be “waitlisted” instead of “deferred”, this is RA.

3

aaa no it’s too late to edit now. I guess if anyone gets waitlisted, they can figure it out to change it.

4

Did decisions not come out yet? Curious junior asking lol.

5

I guess I’ll be the first…

**Decision: Waitlist **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/Essay): 1570 (800/770/20)
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Same thing
ACT (breakdown): 36
ACT superscore (breakdown): E/M/R/S 36/35/36/36
SAT II (subject, score): Physics, 800 - Math II: 800 -
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~4.0
Weighted GPA: 105.34/100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/272
AP (place score in parentheses): World History (5), Physics I (5), US History (5), English Lang (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A (school doesn’t offer)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Stats, AP Calculus AB (taking BC test though), AP English Lit, AP Macro/Micro economics, AP US/Comparative Government
Number of other applicants in your school: 1 (estimate)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): International FIRST LEGO League award
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar w/ honors, National Merit Semifinalist, FIRST Robotics Awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Robotics team (FIRST Robotics Competition & LEGO League 2011-present, team captain, won Long Island championships 3 times, first community based team on LI Math Team 10th-12th, President, local competitions (nothing big though)
Science Club 9th-12th, VP 10th & 11th, Pres. 12th, LI regional envirothon participants, local Earthstock exhibition presenters
Math Honor Society - Geometry tutoring
National Honor Society Treasurer, AP Physics tutoring
Guitar Club 2011-2018
Jazz Band 9th-12th
Varsity Spring Track 9th-12th
Job/Work Experience: MHS Geometry tutoring, NHS AP Physics tutoring
Volunteer/Community Service: Robotics related - 200+ hours
Summer Experience: Internship at Brookhaven National Laboratory 2017
Traveling/Living in Europe 2016 & 2014
Junior Counselor at a local summer camp 2015

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: 8/10
Experiences in STEM: 7/10 - thrown together last minute; not much storyline but the content was there
How you have fun: 10/10 - wrote about how I led the science club in presenting our groundbreaking Flat Hollow Earth theory to the AP Chem class
Honor code: 8/10 - discussed how my robotics team and I helped a team do better than us at a competition
Diversity: Traveling, realizing that the same engineering challenges that we face in the US are also present around the globe
Why Caltech: Set in the year 2118, about me traveling into the future and discovering how great caltech was - also detailed my ambitions in the biomedical engineering field
CommonApp: 10/10 - wrote about the stress of a robotics competition and working together with other teams to be successful

Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1: 9/10 - AP Chem teacher, talked about robotics and how I excelled both inside the classroom
Teacher Recommendation #2: ?/10 - Italian Teacher - I never read it, but I assume that it was pretty good
Counselor Rec: ?/10 - I don’t think she put a lot of effort into it, but I don’t think that it hurt my app. Never read it
Additional Info/Rec: 10/10 - submitted by the regional coordinator of the FIRST LEGO League. I’ve known him for 7 years and he practically worships my team
Supplement: Submitted 3 research papers that won awards in local science fairs.

Other

Date Submitted App: 1/3/18 (at 11:53 on the due date!)
U.S. State/Territory or Country: NY
School Type: small, crappy public school
Ethnicity: White, but parents immigrated from Europe
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: 120k - 140k (high nationwide but average/low for Long Island)
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): N/A - first generation to go to college in the US, but I don’t think that really counts

Reflection

Strengths: Robotics/Involvement in STEM, Standardized test scores
Weaknesses: Didn’t take the AMC or AIME exams (was never told what they were until this year), class rank
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: ? - not enough national/international awards
What would you have done differently?: Started Earlier and tried harder freshman year to pull up class rank
Where else did you apply? MIT, Stanford, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, UVA,

**Other Factors: **
A bit of a big fish in a small pond - grades are exceptional for Long Island, but pale in comparison to others. Diverse background (I’m German, Portuguese, and South African

General Comments & Advice:
Don’t sweat the whole admissions thing - even if you’re qualified, you need a lot of luck to get into such a high-caliber school. Just try your best and be yourself, even if it’s a little crazy.

6

I guess I’ll be the first…

**Decision: Waitlist **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/Essay): 1570 (800/770/20)
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Same thing
ACT (breakdown): 36
ACT superscore (breakdown): E/M/R/S 36/35/36/36
SAT II (subject, score): Physics, 800 - Math II: 800 -
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~4.0
Weighted GPA: 105.34/100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/272
AP (place score in parentheses): World History (5), Physics I (5), US History (5), English Lang (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A (school doesn’t offer)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Stats, AP Calculus AB (taking BC test though), AP English Lit, AP Macro/Micro economics, AP US/Comparative Government
Number of other applicants in your school: 1 (estimate)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): International FIRST LEGO League award
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar w/ honors, National Merit Semifinalist, FIRST Robotics Awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Robotics team (FIRST Robotics Competition & LEGO League 2011-present, team captain, won Long Island championships 3 times, first community based team on LI Math Team 10th-12th, President, local competitions (nothing big though)
Science Club 9th-12th, VP 10th & 11th, Pres. 12th, LI regional envirothon participants, local Earthstock exhibition presenters
Math Honor Society - Geometry tutoring
National Honor Society Treasurer, AP Physics tutoring
Guitar Club 2011-2018
Jazz Band 9th-12th
Varsity Spring Track 9th-12th
Job/Work Experience: MHS Geometry tutoring, NHS AP Physics tutoring
Volunteer/Community Service: Robotics related - 200+ hours
Summer Experience: Internship at Brookhaven National Laboratory 2017
Traveling/Living in Europe 2016 & 2014
Junior Counselor at a local summer camp 2015

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: 8/10
Experiences in STEM: 7/10 - thrown together last minute; not much storyline but the content was there
How you have fun: 10/10 - wrote about how I led the science club in presenting our groundbreaking Flat Hollow Earth theory to the AP Chem class
Honor code: 8/10 - discussed how my robotics team and I helped a team do better than us at a competition
Diversity: Traveling, realizing that the same engineering challenges that we face in the US are also present around the globe
Why Caltech: Set in the year 2118, about me traveling into the future and discovering how great caltech was - also detailed my ambitions in the biomedical engineering field
CommonApp: 10/10 - wrote about the stress of a robotics competition and working together with other teams to be successful

Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1: 9/10 - AP Chem teacher, talked about robotics and how I excelled both inside the classroom
Teacher Recommendation #2: ?/10 - Italian Teacher - I never read it, but I assume that it was pretty good
Counselor Rec: ?/10 - I don’t think she put a lot of effort into it, but I don’t think that it hurt my app. Never read it
Additional Info/Rec: 10/10 - submitted by the regional coordinator of the FIRST LEGO League. I’ve known him for 7 years and he practically worships my team
Supplement: Submitted 3 research papers that won awards in local science fairs.

Other

Date Submitted App: 1/3/18 (at 11:53 on the due date!)
U.S. State/Territory or Country: NY
School Type: small, crappy public school
Ethnicity: White, but parents immigrated from Europe
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: 120k - 140k (high nationwide but average/low for Long Island)
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): N/A - first generation to go to college in the US, but I don’t think that really counts

Reflection

Strengths: Robotics/Involvement in STEM, Standardized test scores
Weaknesses: Didn’t take the AMC or AIME exams (was never told what they were until this year), class rank
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: ? - not enough national/international awards
What would you have done differently?: Started Earlier and tried harder freshman year to pull up class rank
Where else did you apply? MIT, Stanford, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, UVA,

**Other Factors: **
A bit of a big fish in a small pond - grades are exceptional for Long Island, but pale in comparison to others. Diverse background (I’m German, Portuguese, and South African) may have boosted app.

General Comments & Advice:
Don’t sweat the whole admissions thing - even if you’re qualified, you need a lot of luck to get into such a high-caliber school. Just try your best and be yourself, even if it’s a little crazy.

7

@esperantist they came out today at 3

8

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1370 (670/700/19) and 1370 (680/690/14)
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1380 (680/700/19)
ACT (breakdown): 31 (35E/34M/26R/29S/9W)
ACT superscore (breakdown): only took once
SAT II (subject, score): 660 USH and Math 2; 650 Bio-E; 620 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.2
Weighted GPA: 3.75
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 51/275
AP (place score in parentheses): Biology (3), Language (3), US History (3)
IB (place score in parentheses): NA
Senior Year Course Load: AP French, Senior English level 1, AP Calculus AB, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
Number of other applicants in your school: 0 I think. No one else in my AP Physics class applied and I think they would be the only ones in my grade who would.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Summer Science Program
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar, 9th-11th grade academic awards, Girls State, all-state musician, honorable mention at state concerto competition, 3rd in category at state science fair freshman year, US Navy Office of Naval Research award at state science fair sophomore year

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Astronomy research (9th-12th), local youth orchestra (9th-12th, principal flute), Student council (9th-12th, secretary), Science Bowl (10th-12th, assistant captain), school band (9th-12th, principal flute), school jazz band (9th-12th, lead tenor sax and flute), math team (9th-12th)
Job/Work Experience: Student Counselor Aide at local university’s science camp for K-8th graders
Volunteer/Community Service: Co-coordinator of Children’s Village at local folk music festival, event volunteer for local symphony orchestra
Summer Experience: Summer Science Program in Astrophysics, Girls State, music and leadership summer camps

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays:
Experiences in STEM: SSP, watching rockets streak by from Cape Canaveral as a kid with my dad and sister, perseverance with my research early in high school and it paying off
How you have fun: “Excellent Adventure Days” with my mom and sister
Honor code: dealing and moving past a difficult situation regarding people making the all-state band
Diversity: experiencing diversity and different world views at SSP coming from a kinda close-minded and very white state
Why Caltech: I can only describe this one with a quote from my essay: “I want to become an astronomer whose research and discoveries are fascinating for the little girl in the future who is sitting alone in her room reading about them. Caltech will help me get to the point where I can share.” Context: the little girl is analogous to me, since I was rarely invited to do things with my peers and instead sat in my room alone reading about astronomy.
CommonApp: learning to look for details after having an error in code my first time attempting to code plague me for a month

Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Teacher Recommendation #1: Physics, 8 or 9, don’t know details. Have her for a guided study this year and had her for physics freshman year and this year, so I think we’ve gotten to know each other well and that she wrote me a good LOR.
Teacher Recommendation #2: world and US history, 9, don’t know details but I’m one of her favorite students and we talked a lot when I had her for class. I excelled in her classes, which might’ve helped? idk
Counselor Rec: No idea, probably a 6 or 7. I didn’t really listen to his advice since I though it was restricting.
Additional Info/Rec: LOR from Academic Director of SSP who is a Caltech alumnus
Supplement: NA

Other

Date Submitted App: January 3, 2018
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Maine
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: $45k-50k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Woman in STEM, only 1 parent went to college

Reflection

Strengths: Essays and letters of recommendation
Weaknesses: Grades and test scores for sure. They’re super low, especially for Caltech
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Grades and scores for sure. They’d be a thorn in Caltech’s side.
What would you have done differently?: Been more motivated throughout high school to get a better GPA and higher scores. Maybe also mention mental illness in additional info section since that’s held me back for years.
Where else did you apply?

  • UMaine (accepted w/ honors)
  • CU Boulder (accepted w/ honors)
  • Washington State (accepted)
  • MIT
  • Colby
  • Dartmouth
  • Princeton
  • Fordham (deferred and withdrew)
  • Case Western (rejected)
  • McGill (rejected Fac. Science and waiting on Fac. Music)

General Comments & Advice
It’s better to try and fail than not try at all. If you want to apply to Caltech, do it. It’s just exceptionally difficult. I went to a Caltech affiliated summer program–one of the most prestigious summer programs–and got rejected. I’m happy I applied and I’ll be fine with the result. Holding onto some hope for MIT on Wednesday!

9

Decision: Rejected

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 34
ACT superscore (breakdown): M34; R36; W33;S31
SAT II (subject, score): Math2 - 790; Chem - 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
Weighted GPA: 4.25
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
AP (place score in parentheses): 2 x 5; 1 x 4 (4 more this year to take)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: max STEM
Number of other applicants in your school: zero
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.):
AP Scholar
National Merit Commended
YBSS international physics institute scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
4 years varsity football - 2 years team captain
4 years varsity baseball - 3 years team captain
Robotics team lead engineer
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community Service: local hospital 200 + hours
Summer Experience:

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: worked on them all summer and fall. Really good, IMO
Experiences in STEM: research project with AP Chem prof - published work
How you have fun: music and the beach; hanging out with friends
Honor code: love it
Diversity: necessary
Why Caltech: Great reputation and opportunity

CommonApp:
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details): my teachers gave me great recs I believe

Other

Date Submitted App: 12/10/17
U.S. State/Territory or Country: CA
School Type: Private college prep
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male
Income Bracket Range: high
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development):none

Reflection

Strengths: Academic breadth; not typical STEM kid
Weaknesses: test scores and no zinger
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Didn’t get a 36 on ACT
What would you have done differently?: nothing
Where else did you apply? Admitted to Purdue FYE and Georgia Tech Aerospace;
Still waiting on UCB, Mudd, Stanford, Harvard, MIT (deferred from EA), CMC (3+2 program); Columbia, Duke

General Comments & Advice: Good luck and keep your head up.

10

[ b]Decision: Rejected **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Math 780, ERW 740, 18 essay
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1520
ACT (breakdown): NA
ACT superscore (breakdown): NA
SAT II (subject, score): Physics, 740; Math 2, 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
Weighted GPA: ~4.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~3
AP (place score in parentheses): Euro (4)
IB (place score in parentheses): Spanish SL (6), Hist HL, Eng HL, Phys HL, Math HL, Comp Sci SL, Film SL
Senior Year Course Load: A bunch of IB courses
Number of other applicants in your school: 2 (I think; both rejected)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Eagle Scout
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): NM Commended, misc others

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): XC/Track junior & senior year; decent skill level
Job/Work Experience: NA
Volunteer/Community Service: Not much
Summer Experience: Various miscellaneous activities (scouting, camps, running, etc.)

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

TLDR: I wasn’t super enthusiastic about applying and threw the application together on January 4.

Essays:
Experiences in STEM: Programming when younger, physics EE for IB, comp. sci class, 5/10
How you have fun: puns, 7/10
Honor code: Something about not fabricating data when pressured to do so, 6/10
Diversity: curiosity 3/10
Why Caltech: misc stuff, 3/10
CommonApp: About being adventurous, probably an 8/10

Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1: IB TOK, probably about an 8
Teacher Recommendation #2: Comp Sci and physics, probably an 8 or 9
Counselor Rec: Not sure. Don’t know her too well
Additional Info/Rec: Scoutmaster. Probably 9 or 10
Supplement: NA

Other

Date Submitted App: January 4
U.S. State/Territory or Country: California
School Type: Public, large (~1800)
Ethnicity: White, 25% Asian
Gender: male
Income Bracket Range: >200k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athlete, development): Scouting maybe? Leadership?

Reflection

Strengths: Good grades/test scores/letters of rec; decent ECs
Weaknesses: BSed my app,
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: see weaknesses section
What would you have done differently?: Given myself more time to write the app
Where else did you apply?: MIT, CMU, Cornell, Princeton, others (We’ll see what happens)

**Other Factors: **

General Comments & Advice:
Don’t BS your app

11

**Decision: Waitlisted! **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): didn’t submit
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): ^^
ACT (breakdown): 35 composite (M34 S36 E35 W33)
ACT superscore (breakdown): 35 composite (M35 S36 E35 W33)
SAT II (subject, score): Physics 780, Math II 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): idk
Weighted GPA: idk
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/~350 (UW)
AP (place score in parentheses): school doesn’t offer it
IB (place score in parentheses): school doesn’t offer it
Senior Year Course Load: English, French, Chem, Bio, Physics, Calc, Comp Sci
Number of other EA applicants in your school: I don’t anyone else applied
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): not really anything academic? But for tennis: won some international tournaments (ITF G5), won Canadian nationals twice, played for Canada in Junior World Cup and Junior Fed Cup, consistently top 5 in Canada, probably some less significant ones I can’t think of right now
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): honor roll grades 7-11, top 10 in the exam and team role play for DECA (entrepreneurship) this year, got into Provincials for DECA

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):

  • Competitive tennis: 30h/week, 52 weeks, mentioned awards above
  • Computer Science Club: 6h/week, 30 weeks, club founder, lead teacher & programmer in Python
  • Cross-country: 5h/week, 15 weeks, top runner for the HS varsity team
  • DECA: 2h/week, 15 weeks, prepping for/participating in team event for entrepreneurship
    Job/Work Experience: front desk manager at my tennis club; refereeing tennis tournaments
    Volunteer/Community Service: I can’t find the section on my app right now but I basically just help direct tennis tournaments for community service hours too
    Summer Experience: International tournament travel from age 11 (pretty much every summer + winter); volunteering for tennis tournaments; assistant coach for younger kids at summer tennis camps

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays:
Experiences in STEM: This is probably my worst one, I haven’t really had any significant experiences in STEM compared to most applicants (talked about trivia, math/science contests, and CS club) 6/10
How you have fun: Ok now that I’m reading it again, it’s pretty cringey (I don’t even wanna say what I talked about lmao) but also not too bad? I don’t know, probably 7/10
Honor code: I spent a ton of time on this one and thought it was pretty good, maybe 8/10 (talked about writing a math test on my own in grade 9)
Diversity: I liked this one too, I talked about different kinds of diversity and how I’ve traveled a lot for tennis 8/10
Why Caltech: I spent a week writing this one and came up with something that I feel could be better but I definitely think it showed my “fit” for Caltech 8.5/10
CommonApp: I basically just geeked out about physics, quantum mechanics and other fun STEM-y things here. I wrote it after watching a bunch of awesome science videos and it’s probably my favourite essay I’ve written for college apps 9.5/10
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1: (Haven’t read it but probably 9/10 or 10/10) My physics teacher!!! I love him and his class so much and I’m super active in the class - I’ve definitely given him a lot to talk about lol. I feel like his letter was really great.
Teacher Recommendation #2: (Probably like 8/10 or maybe 9/10?) This was my gr 11 English teacher, I don’t really remember anything special from her class but like I said in my essay I’m really there in all my classes and I still have a great relationship with her so I’m sure she wrote nice things.
Counselor Rec: maybe 7/10 or 8/10? I don’t really know him that well but we’ve talked a few times and we have a pretty good relationship and he’s a really nice guy so I’m sure it was great. I actually had no idea he had to do anything more than just send in my transcript.
Additional Info/Rec: N/A
Supplement: N/A

Other

Date Submitted App: I forget but it was like a week before the deadline I think?
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Canada!!
School Type: Just your average public high school
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: ~$75K (in USD)
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athlete, development): recruited athlete (coach’s top choice so it definitely helped a ton, or at least as much as sports can help you at Caltech)

Reflection

Strengths: I know the coach put in a very strong recommendation for me which I’m super thankful for, and I think my recs and commonapp essay were the strongest part from my side
Weaknesses: lack of any amazing STEM extracurriculars/research
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think the tennis coach and my passions for STEM definitely helped get my name in there somehwhere, but I guess being international applying for FA is a big disadvantage, plus the fact that I haven’t done reserach or anything like that.
What would you have done differently?: I have no idea tbh, caltech is a huge reach especially for someone that’s spent their whole life on a tennis court
Where else did you apply? MIT, UofT, UWaterloo - got into MIT and UofT (I’m probably gonna pull my Waterloo applicaton out though)

General Comments & Advice:

Congrats to everyone that got in!!!

12

I don’t see any posts by accepted applicants. Is there another thread perhaps?

13

**Decision: Waitlisted **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1570 (800/770/17) Didn’t submit
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Only took once
ACT (breakdown): 36
ACT superscore (breakdown): Only took once
SAT II (subject, score): Math II – 800; Chemistry – 800; US History – 790; Biology E - 730
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 7.72
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~5/~450
AP (place score in parentheses): Calculus BC (5), Psychology (5), Chemistry (4), Biology (4), Physics 1 (5), US History (5), Environmental Science (4), Statistics (5), European History (5), Calculus AB (5), English Language and Composition (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): Not taken until end of year
Senior Year Course Load: IB Math HL, IB Chem HL, IB English HL, IB Physics SL, IB French SL, IB History SL
Number of other applicants in your school: 2
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Siemens Competition Semifinalist, 2xNational Chemistry Olympiad Qualifier, 3xAIME Qualifier
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): NM Finalist, National AP Scholar, US Presidential Scholar Candidate, Utah Math Olympiad 3rd Place (10), Utah State Math Contest 3rd Place (9), Science Olympiad Medals (Local & State level) (9-12)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): eSports Club (9-12, secretary), FBLA (10-12, vice president), Math Club (10-12), Mathcounts Mentoring (10), State Math Team (9-12), Piano (9-10), Tennis (9-12), NHS (12)
Job/Work Experience: Summer research internship at cancer center (2017), worked on optimizing cancer treatment with radiation therapy through mathematical modeling – this is what got me semifinalist in Siemens Competition
Volunteer/Community Service: VA Hospital (10), Science Museum (11-12)
Summer Experience: Summer camps on math, FBLA national competition, volunteering,

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: 8/10 Overall
Experiences in STEM: 8/10 – Pretty straight forward and to the point about competitive mathematics, chemistry tutoring, and my research internship
How you have fun: 9/10 – Pretty quirky essay on playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends
Honor code: 5/10 – Oh god this is probably what killed my essays. Now that I look back on it, it was a super cringey essay about how everyone at my lunch table spread rumors about this one couple and how I decided to take their side.
Diversity: 6/10 – Talke about founding eSports club with friends, but maybe not the best topic since negative stigma of video games still exist
Why Caltech: 8/10 – I thought this was pretty good when I wrote it, talked about moving a lot and seeking a close-knit, cooperative community in Caltech
CommonApp: 10/10 – Result of 2 rewrites and 15ish drafts, related my drooping eyelid mismatching to me constant moving around.
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1: 10/10 - English teacher who absolutely adored me junior year and says positive things about me to underclassmen.
Teacher Recommendation #2: 9/10 – I have a really good relationship with every single one of my math teachers since math is my favorite class in school, not to mention I compete in Mu Alpha Theta’s Calculus Team of which my math teacher is a sponsor.
Counselor Rec: 6/10 – Large public school, so each of us filled out a form that our counselor used to write a LOR from.
Additional Info/Rec: 8/10 – My summer research internship mentor who I discussed research with every day.
Supplement: NA

Other

Date Submitted App: 01/03/2018
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Florida
School Type: Large public, ~2,000 students in total
Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: ~$150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): None (unless first generation immigrant counts lol)

Reflection

Strengths: I had all of the basic requirements for a student applying for STEM major at top universities – research, STEM competitions, STEM related volunteering, ECs, etc.
Weaknesses: I moved from Utah to Florida between sophomore and junior year, and as a result could not secure top leadership positions at my new school (would’ve been president of Math and Science Olympiad club at my old school if I had stayed). Also, moving dropped my class rank from predicted valedictorian to top 10. Most importantly, though, I just wasn’t good enough to go really far into STEM competitions, like making USAMO or qualifying for summer camp from National Chemistry Olympiad.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: See above
What would you have done differently?: Definitely focused more on STEM competitions to see if I could’ve gone one step further in each of them that I competed in.
Where else did you apply? Georgia Tech (accepted), Harvard (deferred then rejected), UF (accepted w/honors), UC Berkeley (accepted), Rice (waitlisted), WashU (waitlisted), Duke (rejected), Northwestern (waitlisted), MIT (rejected), UChicago (waitlisted), Princeton (rejected), Brown (rejected), Columbia (rejected), Yale (rejected), Johns Hopkins (accepted w/scholarship), Stanford (rejected), Cornell (waitlistd), Caltech (waitlisted), UPenn (waitlisted)

**Other Factors: **
NA

General Comments & Advice:
If you’re going into STEM go for high achievements in STEM competitions while also making sure you have top leadership positions (ie president) in order to have a chance at HYPSM schools. Of course, don’t be so focused on prestige like I was because there are plenty of other schools out there that will be a good fit for you!

14

@elpers21 : thanks very much for your frankness in assessing your application’s strengths and weaknesses. While I’m sure it’s frustrating to be on so many waitlists, you do have some good options to which you’ve been accepted. Please keep us posted on your decision, and best wishes!

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@elpers21: thank you for your posting, it is so sad to see the unfairness of the college application process. You are an absolutely qualified applicant for many of the schools that rejected you.