Official Caltech Class of 2016 EA/RD Decisions Thread

letyor · December 10, 2011, 4:16pm

Accepted

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT:2320 (800M 780W 740CR)
[]SAT II: 800MII 790Chem
[]ACT: N/A
[]GPA: 3.95UW/4.33W
[]Rank: Not Ranked (~2/56)
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): Physics B(5) Chem (5) Calc I(5) CalcII(5/5) Euro(5) USH (5) AMC 12(94) AIME (3)
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: Why engineering was great IMO (Im usually very modest), and I was really happy with my other essays.
[]Teacher Recs: No idea, could have gone either way (I’ll take my acceptance as a sign that they were good)
[]Counselor Rec: I think he likes me, wrote about my leadership at the school
[]Supplementary Material: None
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): None
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: PA
[]High School Type: Private 56/class
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender M
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: Founder of Economics Lecture Series. Founder of Student Stock Market Trading Fund (raised $10,000). Co-editor in chief of Lit Mag. Mock Trial. Worked as a lab tech last summer.
[]Awards: Science Olympiad National Championship (7th grade). Awarded 2nd place nationally for my cover design of the lit mag. National Spanish and National Latin Exam awards. National Merit Commended.
[]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Be true to yourself - I do not have many math/science activities because I have not known that I wanted to be an engineer for very long. I didn’t try to fake it; I openly admitted that I had only recently embraced engineering as my academic passion. Not sure what else to say here - ecstatic at the moment![/ul]

kosherasian · December 10, 2011, 4:36pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): Single Sitting: 800W,800CR,740M/ Superscore: 770M
[] ACT: n/a
[] SAT II: 800 Math 2, 790 Physics, 780 World, 780 Korean
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.4 something
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10 out of 1000?
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5- Physics C Mech, Physics B (self study), Lang, Psych, Calc BC; 4- World, US
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP- Stat, Enviro, Econ, Gov, Lit; Reg: Orchestra, Astro
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): [/li]3rd place science bowl regional, National merit, AP scholar w/ distinction, rennselaer medal, int’l academic comp center for future global leaders div recognition, korean consulate general essay award

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Orchestra council 3 years- Secretary; Audiophile, music community service, 3 years- founder/ vp; Science Bowl 3 years, B-team 1 year, A team vice captain; One million ways- 3 years, 1 year treasurer, co pres 1 year; many more too lazy to list but none of them are CRAZY impressive.
[] Job/Work Experience: Summer internship at NASA JPL (probably saved my what would have been ordinary app)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Plenty. My friends and I founded Audiophile to play at benefit concerts, old ppl homes, hospitals, etc etc we have ALOT of community support and exposure
[] Summer Activities: California State Summer School of Mathematics and Science- Astrophysics, NASA JPL Summer Internship
[] Essays: Okay, I wrote them on my own and had my best friends read them to see if I was displaying myself the best way possible
[] Common App Main: Awesome just churned it out one Friday night and my teacher suggested no edits
[] EC Short Answer: talked about JPL
[] “short answer” questions: interesting? my moral dilemma was actually quite moving, my fun one was hilarious, and my books were varied
[] Intellectual Vitality Essay: great talked about how my life changed cause of physics and how I’m constantly growing
[] Teacher Recommendation: good, 2 of them really liked me and I liked them and knew me very well. one of them I bet was pretty funny cause i was the first ever winner of the epic fail award for skits in her class…
[] Counselor Rec: ehh probably reiterated my resume
[] Additional Rec: COSMOS prof, and JPL section manager both were AMAZING I bet

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[] Intended Major: engineering or physics
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: large public school
[] Ethnicity: Korean
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: 60-80k
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): n/a, Viola player??..[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: decent stats, heartfelt essay, and JPL OMG I LOVE JPL
[] Weaknesses: gender and race?? ehh my essay had TWO errors I wrote the world that twice one time and i forgot a period one time but i guess they didnt notice. OH and i didnt send an art supplement which could have helped or hurt but w.e. IM IN!
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: JPL def of JPL and cause my COSMOS prof wrote me the most amazing rec I bet he was just the greatest guess. Plus, when a rep came by our school I made sure to leave a good impression as well as keep in contact.[/li][/ul]General Comments:
cant believe I got in!!! good luck to those deferred and rejected

letyor · December 10, 2011, 4:39pm

^Those look like Stanford’s essays. In your excitement did you post to the wrong thread?

kosherasian · December 10, 2011, 4:58pm

oh yea sorry I noticed that too while I was filling it in so just changed it. I grabbed the template from this thread though…

MitDuke · December 10, 2011, 5:11pm

Accepted

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT:2300 (800M 780W 740CR)
[]SAT II:800 Math2, 760 Physics
[]ACT:
[]GPA:4.0/5.0
[]Rank:7/308
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):Calc AB, World History, English Lang & Comp, Physics B, all fives
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays:Unique but all in all I feel they potrayed me and revealed my passion for science.
[]Teacher Recs:Really good
[]Counselor Rec:Okay I guess
[]Supplementary Material:none
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):Talked to the basketball coach and visited overnight with the players
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location:NC
[]High School Type:Public
[]Ethnicity:African-American
[li]Gender:Male[/li] [/ul]Other[list]

[]Extracurriculars:volunteering, basketball, sci oly, Math team, NHS President, Senior class vice president
[]Awards:School awards, NMSF, AP Scholar with honor
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:So glad its finally over and all the hard work paid off and I got into CalTech but I am struggling with formatting this Other section correctly:)

ccparent1 · December 10, 2011, 5:22pm

Decision:Accepted
Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown):2380 780 M
[] ACT: 35 32 reading
[] SAT II:790 Math II, 800 Physics, 800 Chemistry, 800 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.98 (1 B)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):top 2% in a large public
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):8 APs, 6 5s, 2 4s.
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load:All IB classes
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):National merit semifinalist, AP National scholar[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): started a club, active in several others, piano, dance
[] Job/Work Experience:
[] Volunteer/Community service:
[] Summer Activities: worked one summer at a medical office, research at a national lab this summer
[] Essays: ok
[] Teacher Recommendation: pretty good I think since I had 5 and 800 in both teacher subjects.
[] Counselor Rec: quite good
[] Additional Rec: from research mentor
[li] Interview:[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]

[] Applied for Financial Aid?:
[] Intended Major:engineering
[] State (if domestic applicant): TX
[] School Type: large public
[] Ethnicity:Asian
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: > 200 K
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths:
[] Weaknesses:
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/li][/ul]General Comments:

got2surf · December 10, 2011, 5:23pm

Accepted

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2380 (780M, 800R, 800 W)
[]SAT II: 800 Math2, 790 Chem, 780 Physics
[]GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.76ish weighted
[]Rank: 1/500ish
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 5s on Chem, CompSci, Physics, Enviro, World, Calc BC, Stat, Human, Lang, Psych
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: Liked them, English teacher loved them, friends at Caltech liked them
[]Teacher Recs: One from a dual enrollment professor was great, another from an English teacher was really good
[]Counselor Rec: good, I believe
[]Supplementary Material: letter from research advisor was great (called me one of the most insightful scientific minds he’s met), published research paper, letter from summer program was great
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): lol recruited athlete, kinda; looots of research and publications
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: FL
[]High School Type: Public
[]Ethnicity: The exotic subcontinent of India
[]Gender: M

[/ul]Other:[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: Research (published 3 papers, acted as reviewer for intl. conference), varsity swim/polo, co-founded a countywide science enrichment/tutoring program
[]Awards: 2nd place ISEF, 3 published papers as lead author, bunch of other science fair awards
[li]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Congrats to everyone who got in, and good luck to everyone deferred![/li][/ul]

kosherasian · December 10, 2011, 5:28pm

Got a quick question. If my cumulative GPA is 4.46 and I get a 4.17 for this semester can I get my acceptance rescinded? So far I have 3 B’s one in AP US, AP Psych, and 9th grade English but this semester I think I might get B’s in AP Stat, AP Lit, and AP Econ. Will this jeopardize my acceptance?

ernestjohn · December 10, 2011, 5:41pm

Deferred
AHHH 2nd deferral!!

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2070 (forgot breakdown)
[]SAT II: 790 Physics, 780 Math IIc, 760 Spanish, 740 Chem, 710 Lit
[]ACT: 33, E9
[]GPA: 3.95/4.0 unweighted
[]Rank: No rank
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 8 APs: 4 4s, 4 5s
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: A
[]Teacher Recs: A+
[]Counselor Rec: B/C
[]Supplementary Material: A
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Research? A lot of people do that though.
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: N/A
[]High School Type: Large, public
[]Ethnicity: N/A
[]Gender: N/A
[/ul]Other[list]
[] Extracurriculars: A+
[] Awards: A
[] Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: SECOND DEFERRAL!! gahhh

ligeo195 · December 10, 2011, 7:27pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): M/W/R 800/790/760 (2350 total)
[] ACT: 36
[] SAT II: Math II: 800, US History: 800, Chemistry: 800, Physics: 800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): UW: 4.2 W: 5.3 (our school has a weird system)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): idk. top 5% probably.
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 7 5’s, 1 4 (US History)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: pretty light. only 3 APs and multivar calc online
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing that amazing. NMSF, national AP, siemens state ap award for math and science, some other random math awards. placed at pumac, hmmt, etc. (all Division B). math prize for girls honorable mention x2. [/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): the usual asian ones. violin, piano, math team. i’m actually only in one club at school.
[] Job/Work Experience: nope
[] Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hours
[] Summer Activities: AMSP, Mathcamp, research
[] Essays: I’m really not a very good writer. i thought they were okay.
[] Common App Main: this was the only essay i really liked
[] Teacher Recommendation: didn’t see. i know for sure one of my teachers really likes me. the other rec was probably more generic.
[] Counselor Rec: doesn’t know me. probably generic.
[li] Additional Rec: from my research mentor[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: yup
[] Intended Major: applied math
[] School Type: public. i’m from a pretty small city so it’s not that great.
[] Ethnicity: asian
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket: i really don’t know
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: i’m not sure. maybe sat ii and act scores?
[] Weaknesses: essays. definitely. also lack of major awards.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:i have no idea at all[/li] [/ul]General Comments: OMG SOOO HAPPY I LITERALLY SPUN AROUND IN A CIRCLE FOR LIKE 5 MINUTES.

Abrayo · December 10, 2011, 8:22pm

Decision: Deferred

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 750 CR 800 M 800 W = 2350
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: 800 Chemistry, 800 Math 2, 800 French, 760 Physics
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem/Physics = 5s, Calc AB/BC = 4s, all self-studied
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: All math/science, English, French.
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None…[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Research internship, volunteer at a cancer lodge (Team Leader), science/math competitions, archery, curling, softball, Model UN (President), Journalism/Writing (Founder&Co-Editor in Chief)
[] Job/Work Experience: Research Internship.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Above.
[] Summer Activities: Research internship, volunteer.
[] Essays: All right.
[] Common App Main: Fine.
[] EC Short Answer: Fine.
[] Teacher Recommendation: One was good, other was not.
[] Counselor Rec: Good.
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[li] Interview: N/A[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes.
[] Intended Major: Chemistry.
[] State (if domestic applicant): N/A
[] Country (if international applicant): Canada.
[] School Type: Public.
[] Ethnicity: Asian.
[] Gender: Female.
[] Income Bracket: Low enough.
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: SATs?
[] Weaknesses: Lack of awards, especially in science.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: See weaknesses.[/li][/ul]General Comments: Not sure what supplementary information I should send in now…?

Sharonyan · December 10, 2011, 10:10pm

Decision: Accepted
Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2180 (660CR, 800M, 720W)
[] ACT: I didn’t take it.
[] SAT II: 800 in Math level 2, Physics and Chemistry
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): n/a
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~1/180
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 in Physics B and Calculus BC
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: Chinese, English, Math, Liberal Studies, Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Math Module 2 (Algebra and Calculus)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Honorable Mentions in a math project competition, awards in HKMO[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Girl Guide (11th Patrol Leader); Book Lovers Club (11th Founder & Chairlady); Prefect Association (11th Secretary); School Peer Guider (9-11 Counselor) ; House committee; Maths team; Debating team
[] Job/Work Experience:
[] Volunteer/Community service: Writing biography for elderly in the community
[] Summer Activities: Taking credit-bearing courses in local universities, math courses every year(since grade nine)
[] Essays: Good
[] Common App Main: I like the essay=)
[] EC Short Answer: Talk about the Book Lovers’ Club and my passion in reading
[] Teacher Recommendation: I don’t know but I think the recs are good
[li] Counselor Rec: same[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[] Intended Major: Mathematics
[] State (if domestic applicant):n/a
[] Country (if international applicant): Hong Kong
[] School Type: Government aided school
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[li] Gender: Female[/li]
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/li]
[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: My passion in mathematics, the project that I sent to Caltech and essays
[] Weaknesses: my SAT scores (not great CR)
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think it’s because of the essays that showed my enthusiasm in math and sciences. I spent quite a long time finishing all the essays and short answers. Because of my SAT scores, I thought I was not likely to be admitted (judging from the stats last year – all the students got so high SAT scores) When I received the decision letter, I was so excited![/li][/ul]

**General Comments:**Good luck to all of you! Don’t be afraid to apply if you get no very high SAT scores because SAT score is not the only thing that schools (and Caltech) look at. They really want to find students who love science, math or engineering.

hs12college16 · December 10, 2011, 10:45pm

Accepted

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2320 (800 W (11 essay), 790 M, 730 CR)
[]SAT II: 800 Math IIC, Chem, USH, 780 Phys
[]ACT: 36 (36 M, 36 W, 36 R, 36 S, 11 essay)
[]GPA: 3.85 UW, 4.38 W
[]Rank: ~5/292 W
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 5s on Bio, Chem, Phys C: Mech, Phys C: E&M, Calc BC, Stats, APES, Comp Sci A, APUSH, English Lang, Spanish Lang
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: Pretty good, wrote one about my chickens, very quirky
[]Teacher Recs: Two amazing, one good
[]Counselor Rec: Probably very good
[]Supplementary Material: Research paper
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Recruited athlete!!!, research awards
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: Somewhere
[]High School Type: Some type
[]Ethnicity: Some race
[]Gender: Some gender
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: TENNIS!!! Varsity captain, research, Science Bowl, Physics Team, volunteering stuff
[]Awards: Research awards, tennis awards
[]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I was paintballing today when a friend texted me to ask, so I checked and
Yay! 8-year med program app, here I come!
[/ul]

rainbowz · December 11, 2011, 12:34am

Deferred

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2360 (800 CR/760 M/800 W)
[]SAT Superscore: 2400
[]SAT II: Math II 800, Bio E 780, Chem 790
[]ACT:
[]GPA: 4.0 UW
[]Rank:
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): three 5’s and one 4
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: felt rushed, found typos later D:
[]Teacher Recs: didn’t read
[]Counselor Rec: didn’t read
[]Supplementary Material: additional rec
[]Hook (recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): nada
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: California
[]High School Type: Top 100 Public
[]Ethnicity: Asian
[]Gender: Female
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: Key Club (I think ~400 hours, Treasurer + Editor), Art, Research, nothing much
[]Awards: AIME Qualifier + Some Department Awards
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Scores/GPA
[] Weaknesses: no significant awards, average recs, and average essays
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: good scores, female, but then my essays/other things were kind of bad, unfortunately :C[/li][/ul]General Comments: I hope this does not mean bad things for the future :|

kimberlyy · December 11, 2011, 1:10am

What kind of additional information are you deferred people submitting? I was also deferred and would like to show I’m still really interested in Caltech.

Clepsydra · December 11, 2011, 1:32am

Deferred

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: CR:780/M:740/W:730
[]SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Physics, 740 Bio
[]ACT: 36
[]GPA: 3.9 UW/4.7 W
[]Rank: 13/548
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP’s - Bio:5, World Hist:4, US Hist:5, Lang:5, Calc BC:5; didn’t remember my AMC score, so I didn’t put it down
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: Got “creative” with all of my essays. For my supplement essay, I wrote it in the margins of my physics homework and scanned the page.
[]Senior Courses: Calc III (multivariable), 4 AP’s: Govt, Lit, Physics C, Art History
[]Summer Activities: I think I forgot to fill that field out.
[]Teacher Recs: Probably formulaic, but positive.
[]Counselor Rec: A formulaic rehash of my resume, but positive as well.
[]Supplementary Material: None.
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): None.
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: Las Vegas, NV
[]High School Type: Public, top in state (which isn’t saying much in Nevada)
[]Ethnicity: Asian
[]Gender: Female
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: Robotics (Build Leader, 12th; untitled officer, 11th; mentored MS team, 9th), Varsity Quiz (Captain, 12th), Mu Alpha Theta, XC, Chinese folk dance, NHS
[]Awards: Silver trophy in dance competition, NMSF,
[]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I honestly don’t know what to say.
[/ul]Reflection:[ul]
[]Strengths: I felt like I managed to show my personality, especially curiosity, well, and a strong interest in my chosen field.
[]Weaknesses: No research or awards. I didn’t want to make excuses and say that I was shy and didn’t know how to network, or that my state isn’t a very nourishing environment for STEM (both of which are true).
[*]Final thoughts: Honestly, I’m grateful I made it to a deferral with my lack of achievements. I’m keeping up that vain hope of RD admission, though.[/ul]

LCrocks · December 11, 2011, 1:45am

Deferred

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 800 CR + 760 M + 770 W (perfect multiple choice, 8 essay. ouch.) = 2330 (one sitting)
[]SAT II: 770 Math 2, 790 Chem, 740 US History
[]ACT: 35 composite (36 R, 35 M, 35 E, 32 S, 9 essay) (one sitting)
[]GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.44 W
[]Rank: 11/383
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 5s on: Stats, Bio, Chem, Latin: Vergil, Language & Comp; 4 on US History
[]Senior year courseload: AP Physics C: Mechanics and Electricity & Magnetism, AP Calc BC, AP US Gov, AP Macroecon, AP Lit, Science Academy [research], Leadership [employability skills and lots of community service, including organizing our own projects. talked about this somewhere on the app.]
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: Decent. Definitely not generic. But rushed.
[]Teacher Recs: Alg 2 & Precal - probably the best recommendation ever written. US History - great. AP English - also great. Talked about how he quoted me in an article he published.
I have great relationships with these teachers and they all like me as a student & as a person.
[]Counselor Rec: generic, doesn’t know any of us very well.
[]Supplementary Material: none
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): none
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: TN
[]High School Type: Public, very competitive
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Female
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: President of Future Teachers of America for 3 years, President of Mock Trial for 2, member of NHS, Mu Alpha Theta, Science NHS, etc. Lots of community service. Attended TN Governors School for the Sciences = selective state program, free, not one of those “pay and you get in” summer experiences. = college credit in Logic and Modern Physics, work experience at McDonald’s, research at University of Tennessee
[]Awards: NMSF, Best Advocate in Mock Trial competition, placed in a few state math competitions
[li]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Really excited! Got home from work tonight and this was not what I was expecting! Admission would be better, but I’m not complaining! Now what supplemental material do I send…[/li][/ul]

HiWorld · December 11, 2011, 2:06am

Accepted

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT:2330 (Superscored)
[]SAT II: 800 math 800 chem
[]ACT:nopee
[]GPA: 4.0 UW
[]Rank: top 10%
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): four 5’s one 4
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: i liked all of them! They weren’t anything special topic-wise but they reflected my personality, what I like well. I thought I was going to come out as childish (I wrote about a game I play in the car and about dr. seuss) but I guess they liked it
[]Teacher Recs: can’t look
[]Counselor Rec: can’t look
[]Supplementary Material: rec from research mentor
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): nonee
[/ul][ b]Personal**[ul]
[]Location: California
[]High School Type: top 100
[]Ethnicity: Asian
[]Gender: Female
[/ul][ b]Other**[list]
[]Extracurriculars: Violin, Orchestra, Science Olympiad, Research 
[]Awards: some small ones, nothing really special
[]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I am honestly very suprised. I expected to get deferred and didn’t expect to be accepted because I don’t have any amazing awards or stand out particularly. I am above average at my school but I have seen too many people to realize that I am not one of the many genius I am sure there are at caltech. I think I got in because 1) I am a female and 2) I presented a clear picture of myself and my love of research/math/science. I actually didn’t write about and math and science for fun essay or integrity essay and they showed a different side of me including my personality. I know it sounds cheesy after so many uses but just showing yourself and what drives you is something special that all applicant readers will appreciate.

UMTYMP_student · December 11, 2011, 3:34am

Decision: Deferred

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): Single Sitting 2290 780M, 760R, 750W. Superscore 2340 800M, 790R, 750W.
[] ACT: did not take
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):17/500ish
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), Physics C Mechanics (5), Physics C E&M (5), Chemistry (5), Environmental Science (5), English Lang (5), US History (5), US Gov’t & Politics, Human Geography (5), Macroeconomics (5).
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): none
[] Senior Year Course Load: full time dual-enrollment at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Abstract Algebra [2 semesters], Differential Geometry, Analytical Mechanics, Junior college level E&M, Japanese Literature [2 semesters], Modern Chinese History, Hong Kong Cinema, US Social History.
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar.[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Quiz Bowl 4 years [captain 2 years], Science Bowl 4 years [captain 2 years], Math Team 4 years [co-captain 1 year]. All among the best in the state but not that great nationally. 10 on AIME.
[] Job/Work Experience: none
[] Volunteer/Community service: none
[] Summer Activities: 2 years at Ross math camp. Won award for top student.
[] Essays: probably not great. I’m not very good at writing these kinds of essays.
[] Teacher Recommendation: from college professors who didn’t know me that well other than I had done very well in their upper division college classes.
[] Counselor Rec: probably good.
[] Additional Rec: got one from the guy who runs Ross. Presumably very good.

[/ul] Other[ul]
[] Intended Major: Math
[] State (if domestic applicant): MN
[] School Type: Large non-selective inner city public. All classes in 11th and 12th grade at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

[/ul]Reflection:[ul]
[] Strengths: Very advanced coursework; will have 18 upper division college classes by the time I graduate from high school.
[] Weaknesses: Some A-s in upper division math and science classes.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I have no idea.[/li][/ul]

realistic123 · December 11, 2011, 4:46am

Accepted

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2300 (790 CR, 770 W, 740 M)
[]SAT II: 800 MathII, 760 Chem
[]ACT: 36 math, 36 science, 35 english, 32 reading
[]GPA: 4.0 unweighted (my school doesn’t weight)
[]Rank: 1/323
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 5 Calc BC, 5 Chem, 4 US, 4 Eng lang, 4 Studio Art 2d drawing
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: i thought the short answer were decent and the one about math and science was really creative
[]Teacher Recs: exceptional
[]Counselor Rec: same
[]Supplementary Material: glowing letter of rec from my research lab supervisor
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): none really, but i’m a girl?
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: OR
[]High School Type: top public school in the state
[]Ethnicity: white
[]Gender: female
[/ul]Other[list]
[]Extracurriculars: founded a volunteer club at my school, volunteered hundreds of hours, 3 sport varsity athlete, 3 year captain and 4 year varsity and state qualified for skiing, graphic board editor of school art magazine, mun, yearbook editor, president of national charity league, two summers of research at OHSU, on board of school’s science society, tutor freshmen in algebra and advanced earth science.
[]Awards: NMSF, NHS, SNHS, 2 gold key and 1 silver key for scholastic national art and writing awards, best defender of country policy award for mun, ap scholar with distinction
[]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Good luck to everyone else applying!

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