<p>Gender based affirmative action still counts</p>
<p>I am not sure that Caltech is into gender based AA. Last year there were questions from students if Caltech was going in that direction and the then director of Admissions Ray Prado denied it.</p>
<p>According to this <a href=“http://www.admissions.caltech.edu/documents/73-fact_sheet_2011-2012.pdf[/url]”>http://www.admissions.caltech.edu/documents/73-fact_sheet_2011-2012.pdf</a>, this recent trend of increasing gender balance seems to have somewhat reversed itself. Previously, the school was 60/40 male/female but the incoming freshmen class was 64/36. Granted Caltech is small and so it may just be fluctuations but that doesn’t really suggest gender based preferences. Interestingly, the same source gives the incoming freshmen class as 16% underrepresented which is much more than it was previously. Although 16% is still less than most other elite schools it is considerably more than it was in the past.</p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2220 CR740 Math 800 WR680
[</em>]SAT II: Math II 800 Physics 800 Chemistry 800 Japanese w/h listening 760 (my native language is chinese)
[<em>]GPA: 4.29/4.4
[</em>]Rank:5/306
[<em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AMC10 116
AP Calculus AB 5 Physics C-mech 5
IB: didnt take the exam
Math HL Physics HL CHem sl Chinese A1 HL English B SL Econ SL
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[</em>]Essays:about how my single-parented family made me strong
[<em>]Teacher Recs: dunno, should be ok
[</em>]Counselor Rec:no idea 
[<em>]Supplementary Material: art supplements: playing piano and drums;
short answers:
books: Lolita, the right and the good, anna karenina
ethical dilemma: one of my friend misunderstood another and i had to make a decision…
a way to have fun: singing in the staircase
[</em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):NONE
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[<em>]Location:China
[</em>]High School Type: International school
[<em>]Ethnicity:Asian
[</em>]Gender: female
[/ul]Other[list]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: math club, piano, band, drumming, singing, composing; learning japanese, business club
[</em>]Awards:outstanding club(math club), excellent study… nothing much
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I knew it = = Now im waiting for rejection from MIT…</p>
<p>Decision: ACCEPTED!</p>
<p>SAT
Math:800
Reading:710
Writing:710
Unweighted GPA: 3.94</p>
<p>ACT
Composite: 34
English:35
Math:36
Reading:29
Science:35
Essay:8</p>
<p>Sophmore Year:
AP Calc:5
APUSH: 5
AP Stats: 5
AP Micro: 4
AP Bio:5</p>
<p>Junior Year:
AP Chemistry: 5
AP European History:5
AP Physics B:5
AP Physics C: Mechanics : 5
AP Physics C: E+M: 5
AP Environmental Science: 5
AP Comparative Politics and Government:5
AP Calculus AB:5
AP Psychology: 5
AP U.S. Government and Politics:4
AP Computer Science:4
AP Macroeconomics: 4
AP Language and Composition: 4
AP Literature and Composition: 4
AP World History: 4
AP Art History: 3
AP Human Geography: 3
Multivariable Calculus</p>
<p>4.0 Junior Year</p>
<p>SAT Subject Tests</p>
<p>Biology M: 800
Math Level 2: 800
Chemistry:790
US History:710</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:</p>
<p>Varsity Sports
Nordic Varsity Letter: 9th,10th Grade
Tennis Varsity Letter: 9th,10th,11th Grade (Junior Year State Champs) Captain Senior Year
Football Varsity Letter: 11th Grade</p>
<p>Co-Founder of high school chess club. Won state 11th grade. Expected to win 12th grade as we graduated no one.</p>
<p>Traveling Soccer.
Played since 6 years old.
Minnesota State Cup Champs 2008, Semifinalists 2009
Competed at Regionals in Rockford,IL 2008
Minnesota State Tournament Finalists 2008,2010; Champions in 2009; Competitor in 2011</p>
<p>Science Olympiad (1st at regionals, 3rd at State) 11th Grade
Quiz Bowl (participant) 11th Grade
Chess Club (10th-11th 11th Grade State Champs) (Founder)</p>
<p>Volunteer once a week tutoring elementary school chess clubs. Also offers private chess lessons and works as a counselor at summer chess camps.</p>
<p>Job Tutoring Kids at KUMON (8 Hours a Week)</p>
<p>Research at University Of Minnesota (Biomedical Engineering Field) Soon to co-author on publication, but not sure if that will be published before applications go in.</p>
<p>Miscellaneous Info</p>
<p>Male
Half Chinese/Half White Hybrid
Lowest Income Bracket <50k
Mom moved here from China. Dad did not graduate high school. First generation college bound.</p>
<p>Thoughts on my Essays</p>
<p>Common App:8/10 Well written, good message, but no big event like moving to to the U.S. from afghanistan
Activity Statement: 9.5/10 Extremely good. My proudest piece of writing. Talking about my teaching chess to children. Mentioning how chess has played a role in my life, and how I wish to pass that on to others.</p>
<p>I was accepted yesterday, yet I still can’t figure out why. I’m not really a super qualified applicant in my opinion.</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<p>SAT: 2200 (680 reading/770 math/750 writing)
SAT II: 790 math, 720 chem, 750 world history
ACT: didn’t take
GPA: 3.90 UW (my school doesn’t do weighted)
Rank: 12/550ish
Other Tests: No AMC, AIME, IB, etc.
AP Calc BC/AB - 5
AP Chem - 4
AP Eng Lang - 4
APUSH - 4
AP Stats - 4
AP World Hist - 5</p>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<p>Essays: not bad, but not great in my opinion. I literally just wrote what was on my mind.
Teacher Recs: math teacher - pretty good, spanish teacher - good? i don’t know
Counselor Rec: She told me that she wrote me a really good one.
Supplementary Material: I took an intro AutoCAD design class at the local community college and got an A in it. Nothing that great.
Hook: maybe cause of my mixed ethnicity, hardship during junior year, or because I went to school in the Philippines until 7th grade. I honestly don’t know.</p>
<p>Personal:</p>
<p>Location: SoCal
High School Type: Public (small city)
Ethnicity: 1/2 filipino, 1/4 french, 1/4 peruvian
Gender: Male</p>
<p>Extracurriculars: key club volunteering, mu alpha theta, math and science club officer, track and field, model united nations, UCSD COSMOS summer program
Awards: Nat’l Merit Commended Student, AP Scholar with distinction, a few school awards for being the top student in certain classes</p>
<p>Reflection: i was in disbelief when i saw my acceptance. I was literally expecting a rejection letter because I didn’t spend a lot of time on my app, and I’m not some super math/science genius. If anybody can tell me a reason why I got in to caltech, that would be nice :)</p>
<p>^
Affirmative action? Or does Caltech even do affirmative action? Idk lol</p>
<p>@cerritoskid </p>
<p>Perhaps your passion for math and science was conveyed in your essays and your recommendations confirmed it? Maybe your school has sent strong candidates to Caltech in the past and your GC’s rec carries extra weight. I am sure you are worthy of acceptance otherwise you wouldn’t have got the nod to attend.</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2250 (did not send)
[</em>]SAT II: 800 MII, 800 Physics
[<em>]ACT: 35C 36E 35M 34R 36S 11W
[</em>]GPA: 4.0 UW
[<em>]Rank: 1/29
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP Comp. Sci. A 5 (self-study)
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Probably 2nd- or 3rd-best of all the colleges I applied to. Common App main: insights on my rural upbringing. Additional Common App: ISEF abstract & coding project URL. Wrote a poem for the “keywords” short answer. Ethical dilemma was on a schedule conflict between track and science fair.
[</em>]Teacher Recs: A+, both of them. At a small school, your teachers know you really well.
[<em>]Counselor Rec: ^same. Talked about how I’ve taken initiative through the local junior college to make up for my school’s complete lack of AP/IB/etc.
[</em>]Supplementary Material: Sent one additional LoR from the chair of the recycling nonprofit I cofounded.
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, International Olympiads): I’d be fairly competitive on Caltech’s track team, lol. Rural area? Neither is really a hook.
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Mountain plains region
[<em>]High School Type: Small public
[</em>]Ethnicity: White
[<em>]Gender: Male
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Varsity football 9th-11th, basketball 9th-11th, track 9th-12th. Worked at an ag. research center 9th-11th. Cofounded recycling nonprofit. Computer & tech support volunteer. Various other things.
[<em>]Awards: NMF, Coca-Cola Scholar, ISEF Finalist, 2nd & 3rd place state Quiz Bowl, state track (800m & 800m relay).
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: From the Caltech tour I attended, the words of a senior adcom: “We want the best brains.” Caltech’s admissions process is more meritocratic than virtually every other college’s. Be sure to read Michael Woods’s thread in this forum if you haven’t already.
[li] Where else have you been accepted/rejected?: In at MIT and my four in-state picks. Still waiting on word from Harvard, Stanford, and Berkeley.[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>I am only the second student from my school to be accepted to Caltech, and my school doesn’t usually have ivy league admits or admits from MIT, Stanford, Caltech, etc. But I guess all i can do now is just assume that admissions admitted me for a reason.</p>
<p>Oh, there’s the answer to one of my questions for you in the research thread!</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Positng for my son.</p>
<p>Stats:
SAT: Tot:2290 M:790 CR:740 WR:760
Superscore:2330 with WR: 800
SAT II: Math II: 800 Chemistry: 800, Physics: 680
ACT: 35 M:35 R:36 Sc:36 E:34</p>
<p>GPA: 3.93 Unweighted, 4.4 weighted
Rank: 12/450
Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): Average score of 4 in 5 AP tests</p>
<p>Subjective
Essays: o.k. not so great
Teacher Recs: Great
Counselor Rec: Great
Supplementary Material: couple of Community college classes in science and programming
Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, International Olympiads): </p>
<p>Location: CA
High School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male</p>
<p>Other</p>
<p>Extracurriculars: Music, good amount of community service, Key club, Science club (Secretary), CSF, NHS
Awards: AP scholar with distinction, National Merit Commended, 3 yrs of regional Science fair awards, couple of awards in other ECs</p>
<p>Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Can’t believe he got in!!!</p>
<p>[*] Where else have you been accepted/rejected?: Accepted to WUSTL</p>
<p>ACCEPTED! We are so proud of him…</p>
<p>SAT
Math:800
Reading:740
Writing:790</p>
<p>Un-weighted GPA: 3.93 (grades 9-12)
Weighted GPA: 4.3</p>
<p>ACT
Composite: 35</p>
<p>Subject SAT tests:
800 on Physics and Math II</p>
<p>Rank:
50 out of 1330 in a very competitive school</p>
<p>AP:
5 on all taken so far</p>
<p>Essays:
Very good essays, witty and smart - hey we are his parents 
Excellent description of is passion for math and technology </p>
<p>Location: TX
High School: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male</p>
<p>Extracurricular:
Band: All-state band and all-region multiple times. Also play in school’s full orchestra
Volunteering: In state and international volunteering</p>
<p>Awards: AP scholar with distinction, National Merit Scholar, NHRP scholar, multiple band and music awards</p>
<p>[ size=+1][ color=green][ b]Accepted[ /b][ /color][ /size]</p>
<p>Sorry guys but I copied and pasted this from my chancing thread. Excuse me for errors. But let this be the first Afro-Americano example.</p>
<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Superscore: Composite (2270) 740 CR, 750 M, 780 W; took twice
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 790 Chem <-----(DANGIT! probably one of those stupid lab procedures some chemistry teachers avoid -___-)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 Weighted: 4.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/527 (although now it will be first)
AP: All 5’s: World History (10), European History (10), Chemistry (11), AP Physics C: Mech (11), AP Physics C E&M (11), AP Calc BC (11), AP Calc AB subscore (11), APUSH (11), AP English Lang. (11). All except English Lang. USH, and partially Calc BC were self-studied.
Tentative: AP Environmental Science, AP Biology, AP Spanish Language, AP English Literature, AP U.S Govt, Macro/Microeconomics, AP Statistics.
Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science, AP Biology, AP Spanish Language, AP English Lit., AP Govt./Econ, Yearbook
Awards:
-Congressional Recognition by Joe Baca for Academic Decathlon
-National AP Scholar with Distinction
-National Merit Commended
-National Achievement Semi-Finalist
-Academic Decathlon: 1st on team 10th-11th grade, few regional awards.
-Questbridge Finalist: (will apply through Regular Decision)
-some awards of Recognition by California Educational Theatre Association</p>
<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National English Honors Society 10th-12th (President, 12th, Treasurer 10th)
National Honors Society (Secretary 10th) 10th-12th,
Key Club 9th-12th,
Academic Decathlon (Honors Team, 9th-12th), 9th-12th,
Cross-Country 10th-11th, Theatre 11th-12th (Try out for a few plays get major to minor roles, work backstage on sets),
California Scholarship Federation 10th-12th,
Chess Club 11th-12th,
Chemistry Tutor and local Library tutor (both Volunteer basis),
College Admissions Club (Co-founder, Vice-President; informs students on college admission process)
Student Advisory Board (Co-founder, oversees of Student Body Outreach)
Job/Work Experience: Nothing yet, but plan on opening tutoring business (problem is, my mother is too stubborn to let me have one >.<)
Volunteer/Community service: I’d say 300 hours (rough estimate though)
Summer Activities: PAYS (enrichment program at Pomona College; 2009, 2011) volunteer at Pomona college radio freshman year, research assistant at Pomona College department of molecular biology (worked under actual professor on research concerning yeast genetics and their connection to human genetic diseases). Also, cross-country training and volunteering for NHS over the 11th grade summer. Mostly though, reading on anything free as far as textbooks and certain math subjects. Consider it my informal education
Essays: good. I feel that they really do express me greatly. Best one was how Jules Verne influenced me into going into the science field.
Teacher Recommendation: 1 from AP Calc teacher, and my AP Chem teacher, who I talk to on a regular basis. Both I know who will give good recommendations
Counselor Rec: pretty good. Talk to him everyday.</p>
<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public (Can’t say about rank, but average SAT is low 1400’s and has 11 AP’s just as a bigger picture.)
Ethnicity: African American (Mixed with white and African-American [with traces of Mexican heritage], but I identify myself as African-American)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <20,000 (Live with mother)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
URM (irrelevant at Caltech), First generation
Reflection
Strengths: zeal for science in my essay, possibly extracurriculars, minority and low socioeconomic status (prefer the latter in college admissions to be honest, and for Caltech, the former doesn’t matter.). Research and Questbridge, though, helped I think.
Weaknesses: scores are meh, I believe according to Ivy statistics, and possibly lack of focus in EC’s. I would have started up science-related clubs, but unfortunately, nobody that I know has signed on board concerning such things. Hope the essay and interview compensate for such things.
<em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: OMG!!! OMG!!! I was literally hoping to be waitlisted. This is even more surprising since I got flat-out rejected to MIT (</em>****** bastards!) Seriously, though, when I found out about this, I was supposed to interview for UC Berkeley Regent’s; but I was so ecstatic that I felt like celebrating instead (arrogant: perhaps, but I was too shocked to care; plus even if I were to go, being a Calfornian with scholarships would even it out.). Right now, got a likely letter to Columbia, deferred from Harvard, have the feeling I will be accepted to the UC’s I applied to, and accepted to someplace that is probably even more selective than any of the colleges I applied to: UNREAL.</p>
<p>My son was accepted in the class of 2016. After a lot of reading in the past few days, we are series considering not going to Caltech. any comment?</p>
<p>My son got in, but we still don’t know why.</p>
<p>SAT: 2160
SAT II: Math II 790, chemistry 740, biology 690</p>
<p>GPA 4.7 (weighted)</p>
<p>Wasn’t on the list of schools to play (did not he has any chance). Got phone call from baseball coach encourging him to apply. Spend about 1 hour coming with the essays on the night of application deadline and send in the application.</p>
<p>GOT ACCEPTED.</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 750 CR, 800 M, 800 W
[</em>]SAT II: 800 MII, 780 Ch
[<em>]ACT: 36
[</em>]GPA: UW: 4.64, W: 4.00
[<em>]Rank: 3 of 538
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): A bunch of APs, 4’s and 5’s
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays:Unique topics, well-written
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Good
[<em>]Counselor Rec:Good<br>
[</em>]Supplementary Material: None
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): None
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Texas
[<em>]High School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: White
[<em>]Gender: M
[/ul]Other
[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Varsity Cross Country, Track, Math and Science team, Key Club, Chemistry Club, National Chemistry Olympiad, National Honor Society
[<em>]Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, Presidential Scholar Candidate, National Merit Finalist, Questbridge Finalist, 9th at State Math meet, NChO qualifier, various local/district awards
[</em>]Advice? Be passionate about math and science![/ul]</p>
<p>Trojan2012. Your son should visit Caltech and talk to some students. You should not rely on what you read on these forums. Many posters have agendas or don’t really know what they are talking about. Caltech has been a great fit for my son and it is a fine school.</p>
<p>Decision: Rejected</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (790 M, 740 CR, 670 W, 7 essay)
[</em>] ACT: 36 (36 M, 36 E, 36 S, 34 R, 8 essay)
[<em>] SAT II: 800 on Math II and Physics
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/480
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Computer Science A (5), Chemistry (5), US History (5), English Language (4), Physics B (5), Statistics (5)
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Biology, AP US Gov’t, AP Psychology, AP Macroeconomics, British Literature, Speech, Spanish 3
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, 1st in School on AMC 10 and twice on AMC 12, qualified for AIME this year (don’t know yet about USAMO), Boys State, Candidate for Presidential Scholars Program
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Teenage Republicans, Quiz Bowl (Co-captain for 4 years), National Honors Society (President)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: 3 months at Target (seasonal)
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Lots of stuff with my church, an essay addressed this
[</em>] Summer Activities: nothing of note–just babysitting my siblings
[<em>] Essays: Pretty Good
[</em>] Teacher Recommendations: Excellent</p>
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): South Dakota
[</em>] School Type: Large public
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Income Bracket: Low to mid
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/ul]</p>
<p>S ACCEPTED</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<pre><code>* SAT: 2350, 800 CR, 800 M, 750 W
- SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chemistry, 800 Physics
- GPA: Weighted 4.262
- AP Physics C Mech, AP Physics C E+M, AP Chem, AP Calculus, AP U.S.History,
AP Computer Science (all 5’s)
</code></pre>
<p>Subjective</p>
<pre><code>* Essays:Caltech one was great, I thought. Really conveyed passion for science
and math, but he came across really sounding like himself.
- Teacher Recs: Great
- Counselor Rec:Super
- Supplementary Material: None
- Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): None
</code></pre>
<p>Personal</p>
<pre><code>* Location: Northern Virginia
- High School Type: Competitive entry, public STEM high school
- Ethnicity: White
- Gender: M
</code></pre>
<p>Other</p>
<pre><code>* Extracurriculars: Interned two summers in chemistry lab at major research university, named on journal paper stemming from research, professor also wrote great recommendation; member male and coed a capella choirs; Shakespeare acting club
- Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, Presidential Scholar Candidate, National Merit Finalist
- Advice? Make sure your passion for math and science comes through on your supplemental essay, but be yourself! Do extremely well on your SAT I and II’s. The internship also really helped. S sent emails to all the professors in the chemistry department at our most prestigious local university saying he wanted to be an intern and three of them offered him slots. It was a tremendous experience for him working on cutting edge research under a full professor and getting his name on the forthcoming journal article reporting on the research.
</code></pre>