Official Caltech Class of 2017 EA Results Thread!

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
21

<p>Accepted
Stats:
•SAT: 2330
•SAT II: 790 (Math II)/790 (Biology M)
•ACT: 35
•GPA: UW: 3.97 W: 4.5
•Rank: 2 of 500
•Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): None
Subjective
•Essays: Good
•Teacher Recs: One Excellent, One Unknown
•Counselor Rec: Unknown
•Supplementary Material: None
•Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Black</p>

<p>•Location:Midwest
•High School Type: Public
•Ethnicity: Black
•Gender: Male
•Extracurriculars: Leadership in Robotics, Science Club and Math Club. Lots of volunteering. Employment.
•Awards: Nat’l Merit, National Achievement, Science Fair, etc.
•Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Very humbled and very excited. Blessings to all!</p>

22

<p>Deferred :(</p>

<p>What does the acceptance letter say?</p>

23

<p>Rejected</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2380 (780 CR 800 M 800 W)
[</em>]SAT II: 800 Math II, 750 Bio M
[<em>]ACT: N/A
[</em>]GPA: 3.99 UW
[<em>]Rank: N/A
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): Calc BC, Bio, Chem, World, Stats, Comp Sci A - 5, Spanish Lang, English Lang - 4, AMC 12 - 132, 126 (2011, 2012), AIME - 9, 12 (2011, 2012), USAMO - 0, 19 (2011, 2012)
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Why Caltech essay + common app one’s were really good, ethical dilemma + weird way to have fun ones were ok but not terrible
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Math teacher who I did independent study in real analysis and graph theory with/had AP Stats with said I was the best student at math in the school’s history/best rec he wrote ever, ap world teacher probably good, maybe not superb, research mentor’s letter of rec just talked about what i proved and didn’t say much about my character/ability…
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Probably good, if not superb… mentioned me and my homiez Alan Turing talking about Shor’s Algorithm and the Cook-Levin Theorem if he was to be resurrected from the dead
[</em>]Supplementary Material: math research paper (topology)
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: CA
[<em>]High School Type: Small charter, ranked high though
[</em>]Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>]Gender: Male
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Violin (concertmaster of local youth symphony, county honors jazz band, kajillion years privates lessons, local awards, pit orchestras, chamber music, volunteering, etc), music composition (few years, got works performed at local events), school paper, feminist coalition, math club (prez/founder), offer free math tutoring/violin lessons, babysitting (paid), Hampshire College Summer Studies in Math 2011, Clark Scholars Program 2012, took Linear Algebra, Multi, Abstract Algebra at local university and did independent study in Real Analysis and Graph Theory
[<em>]Awards: Math/Music/Physics awards from school, concerto competition winner x2 for local youth symphony, local music scholarship, National AP Scholar, National Merit Semi, Presidential Community Service Award x2 (Gold, Silver)
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] Kinda sad, as Caltech was my top choice and I thought I had a very very very very good shot… oh well, life goes on!</p>

24

<p>Posting because this was very helpful to me a couple years back.</p>

<p>Accepted</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2270
[</em>]SAT II: 780 Physics, 770 Math, 790 World History, 780 US History
[<em>]GPA: 5.183
[</em>]Rank: 1/343
[<em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 5’s on Calc AB, Physics B, US History, World History, Spanish Language, English Language and Composition, and Art History
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[</em>]Essays: Common app essays were very strong. Supplement essays were also good.
[<em>]Teacher Recs: Both teachers wrote very good and non-generic recommendations.
[</em>]Counselor Rec: Amazing, could have almost brought tears to my eyes.
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[<em>]Location: PA
[</em>]High School Type: Public
[<em>]Ethnicity: Hispanic
[</em>]Gender: Male
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: Math Team Captain, Quiz Bowl Captain, Environmental Club President, internship with well known science company, soccer, Spanish Honor Society President, Biology Olympics, National Honor Society.
[</em>]Awards: National AP Scholar, Questbridge Finalist, National Merit, School Awards
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Yaaay, I’m very happy about this. Good luck to everyone applying RD![/ul]</p>

25

<p>Rejected! :frowning:
SAT -2230
SAT II - 780 chem, 800 Math II
GPA - 4.0
Essays - Pretty Strong
Teacher Recommendations - Amazing
Counselor Rec - Pretty decent
Nationality - Indian
EC:- Student GOvernment , Chess team captain, Lead Guitarist, Interact Club, Community Service</p>

26

<p>Caltech doesn’t admit by gender, I think. Referenced here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1331039-how-caltech-selects-its-students.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1331039-how-caltech-selects-its-students.html&lt;/a&gt;
which references here:
[Response</a> to critique of undergrad admissions | The California Tech](<a href=“The California Tech”>The California Tech) & [University</a> admissions need to change | The California Tech](<a href=“The California Tech”>The California Tech) .</p>

<p>Also, I personally don’t think gender is a big part of admissions. It’s the most subjective thing for CCers to look at, though.</p>

27

<p>Deferred. Disappointed</p>

<p>Any idea what was the EA applicant pool size? How many got accepted ? How many got deferred?</p>

28

<p>REJECTED</p>

<p>[ b]Stats:[ /b][ list]
[ *]SAT: 2180 (690R, 770M, 720W)
[ *]SAT II: 800 on Math II, Chemistry
[ *]ACT: No take
[ *]GPA: 3.95, 4.43w
[ *]Rank: 32/397?
[ *]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 3x AIME, 126 AMC 10 & 100.5 AMC 12
[ /list][ b]Subjective[ /b][ list]
[ *]Essays: Really spoke about my passion for math, and portrayed me well (didn’t mention science once in my essays at all)
[ *]Teacher Recs: All of them said wonderful things; waived my rights to see.
[ *]Counselor Rec: Outstanding. She knows all about what I do.
[ *]Supplementary Material: Math research, nothing special.
[ *]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Dad’s legacy? Caltech Faculty rec?
[ /list][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]
[ *]Location: Bay Area
[ *]High School Type: Public
[ *]Ethnicity: White/Asian
[ *]Gender: Male
[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *]Extracurriculars: All based on track, music, and math. Lots of math contests I organized our school to go to, state indoor track meet, and Canada/USA Mathcamp in 2011/2012. Most of my essays were about Mathcamp.
[ *]Awards: 7th place team at ARML 2012, beat NYC! :slight_smile: 7th place individual at the Caltech/HarveyMudd Math Competition in March 2012.
[ *]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[ /list] I honestly have no idea why my application was outright rejected, because there wasn’t any part that I felt was abnormally weak. Visiting last month, I felt like the essays showed that I’d fit best into a small environment, so I’m surprised they’d reject me for maybe not being able to fit in. Don’t think it’s the SAT score either, unless they really are THAT numbers-driven… Advice is to just apply where you may want to go, but don’t focus on any one school too much; you have a good chance of being disappointed.</p>

29

<p>[ size=+1][ color=green][ b]Accepted[ /b][ /color][ /size]</p>

<p>[ b]Stats:[ /b][ list]
[ *]SAT:2170
[ *]SAT II:Math 800, Chemistry 800
[ *]ACT:
[ *]GPA: don’t know
[ *]Rank:don’t know
[ *]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):
[ /list][ b]Subjective[ /b][ list]
[ *]Essays: Great
[ *]Teacher Recs: Good
[ *]Counselor Rec:Ok
[ *]Supplementary Material: Two research mentors’ letter of recommendation
[ *]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Athelte (don’t count for much tho…)
[ /list][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]
[ *]Location: Canada
[ *]High School Type: Public
[ *]Ethnicity:Asian
[ *]Gender: Female
[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *]Extracurriculars: Piano, tennis…lots’ of other stuff
[ *]Awards:
[ *]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[ /list]</p>

<p>Too excited to write too much atm but good luck to everyone!</p>

30

<p>Accepted
Stats:[ list]
[<em>]SAT:2380
[</em>]SAT II:MathII 800, Physics 800
[/list]</p>

<p>MathNerd, we know you are the Math wiz among us. It is a fluke. good luck with MIT, Princeton and Harvard.</p>

31

<p>Deferred</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT:2320 (800 cr, 760 writing, 760 math)
[</em>]SAT II:800 Math 2 Physics, 790 chem, 770 us history
[<em>]ACT:35 writing, 34 math, 36 science, 36 cr
[</em>]GPA:3.95 uw, 4.41 w
[<em>]Rank:39/about 400
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):5s on Calc BC, Phys B, USH, Chem
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays:Common app really good, others varied in quality
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Math excellent, spanish pretty good
[<em>]Counselor Rec: excellent
[</em>]Supplementary Material: rec from internship advisor
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):Both parents went to Caltech grad school. Don’t how much that helps.
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location:CA
[<em>]High School Type:Public (about 1700 large)
[</em>]Ethnicity:Asian/White
[<em>]Gender: male
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars:Lots of music. Sang on international tour with school, played trombone on international tour with school. Played guitar in jazz band, and in my own rock band. Did some musical hospice care with the elderly. Class aide at a couple music summer classes. Physics Bowl team. Internship at Intuitive surgical inc over the summer. JV Tennis freshman/sophomore years. Tutoring. Did CTY for a couple summers, among some other summer classes. did NASA INSPIRE online.
[<em>]Awards:Concert Band Award, Alg 2 H award, Spanish 3 Award, AP something. Nothing special.
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] Looking at the other posts I’m not even sure why I wasn’t outright rejected.</p>

32

<p>For my son:</p>

<p>SAT 2300
Math II 800, Physics 800
4.0 UW</p>

33

<p>Accepted</p>

<p>again, doing this because it helped me a lot</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: didn’t take them
[</em>]SAT II: 800 Math 2 and Chem, 770 US History
[<em>]ACT: 34 (33 English, 34 Math, 33 Reading, 36 Science)
[</em>]GPA: 3.8/4.0 unweighted
[<em>]Rank: n/a
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 5’s on US Gov, US Hist, Chem, Language and Comp
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Really good
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Should be pretty good (Chess club/team coach aka German teacher, Junior math teacher)
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Generic, new counselor
[</em>]Supplementary Material: Research paper + letter of rec
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): none
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location:
[<em>]High School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>]Gender: Male
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Chess club/team founder/president, Marching band, Key Club founding member + co VP,
[<em>]Awards: Top K-12 school at chess tournament, too many marching band awards to name here
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I have no idea how or why I got in. Going through this list, there are so many other qualified people who got outright rejected. [/ul]</p>

34

<p>Accepted</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]</p>

<p>[li]SAT: 2230 twice, 2310 composte (didn’t send this)</p>[/li]
<p>[li]SAT II: 800 math, 800 chemistry, 800 physics</p>[/li]
<p>[li]ACT: 36</p>[/li]
<p>[li]GPA: 4.94 weighted, 3.76 unweighted</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Rank: N/A</p>[/li]
<p>[<em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 106.5 AMC, 7 AIME, 9 5s on APs most of which I reported
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[</em>]Essays: Pretty could, probably could’ve been better</p>

<p>[li]Teacher Recs: one terrible, one AMAZING (she said she made it even better to compensate for the first)</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Counselor Rec: meh</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Supplementary Material: medium quality research paper from summer project</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Personal[ul]</p>

<p>[li]Location: Chicago</p>[/li]
<p>[li]High School Type: public, 500 students per class, highly selective</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Ethnicity: hispanic and white</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Gender: male</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]</p>

<p>[li]Extracurriculars: math team, robotics team, freshman mentors, etc. fairly good quality, not great</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Awards: national merit semifinalist</p>[/li]
<p>[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul]</p>

35

<p>Accepted</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2280 (780W)
[</em>]SAT II: 800 Math IIC, 800 Chem, 800 Bio M, 790 Phys, 760 Lit
[<em>]ACT: N/A
[</em>]GPA: 4.0/4.45 UW/W
[<em>]Rank: Doesn’t Rank
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): Calc AB(5), Psych(5), Chem(5), Phys B(5), Calc BC(5), Bio(5), Comp Sci A(5), Lang(4), US History(4)
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: pretttyyy good I guess. Talked all about using comp sci for art for common app. Wrote about cooking for fun.
[</em>]Teacher Recs: one great, one unknown
[<em>]Counselor Rec: new counselor, so it was probably just standard and basic
[</em>]Supplementary Material: extra letter of rec from internship director
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): nope
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Southern California
[<em>]High School Type: Competitive Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: Chinese
[<em>]Gender: Female
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: President of Art/Manga club writing a novel, managed to get an internship at Qualcomm, Magazine on connections between art and technology
[<em>]Awards: NMSM, those AP Scholar things
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Honestly thought I was severely lacking in extracurricular activities, and I never joined any math teams or competitions. I guess my essays helped. Soooo happy. Now waiting on MIT, but I don’t care if I don’t get in anymore.[/ul]</p>

36

<p>Accepted</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2400 (superscore)
[</em>]SAT II: 800 Math II, 770 Bio M, 760 Chemistry
[<em>]ACT: —
[</em>]GPA: 3.94 UW
[<em>]Rank: No ranks
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): USAMO Qualifier, USAJMO Qualifier, 3x AIME Qualifier, 17th Nationally Mandelbrot (2010-2011), lots of awards in regional and state-level math competitions
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Good! I spent time on these.
[</em>]Teacher Recs: I read my humanities one, and it was amazing, and my science rec was likely even better
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Probably excellent; I’ve come and talked to her quite frequently about my stuff
[</em>]Supplementary Material: Sent 88 pages of research from MIT and RSI
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): RSI 2012 Scholar, Siemens Regional Team Finalist, ISEF 4th Place in Category, published paper (2x), USAMO+USAJMO
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Massachusetts
[<em>]High School Type: Public, Competitive
[</em>]Ethnicity: Indian
[<em>]Gender: Male
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: Math Team, DOE National Science Bowl Team, American Computer Science League team, Ultimate Frisbee team, volunteering in the summer, year-round research at MIT, tutoring at school, two jobs
[<em>]Awards: DOE National Science Bowl Regionals 2nd Place (B team), National AP Scholar w/ Distinction (7 AP’s to date, 11 by the end of senior year), and I do a little programming and dancing on the side (very little! :P)
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Congrats to everyone that got in!![/ul]</p>

37

<p>[ size=+1][ color=green][ b]Accepted![ /b][ /color][ /size]</p>

<p>[ b]Stats:[ /b][ list]
[ *]SAT: 2300, 730 CR, 770 WR, 800 Math (1 sitting)
[ *]SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 Chemistry
[ *]ACT: did not take
[ *]GPA: 10.87/12 weighted
[ *]Rank: 9/90
[ *]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): All 5 on all 5 APs (US, Euro, Bio, Chem, Latin)
[ /list][ b]Subjective[ /b][ list]
[ *]Essays: Supplements: Decent, I spent the least time on these ones because I didn’t think I would get in. Common App: I liked it a lot and thought it was my best.
[ *]Teacher Recs: Both very very good (didn’t see them though, just my impression)
[ *]Counselor Rec: Very good
[ *]Supplementary Material: None
[ *]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): None whatsoever
[ /list][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]
[ *]Location: Eastern Massachusetts
[ *]High School Type: Private day school
[ *]Ethnicity: Asian
[ *]Gender: Male
[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *]Extracurriculars: School literary magazine poetry, Varsity Wrestling for 2 years, Play piano and guitar, Math team 2 years President and Founder
[ *]Awards: RPI Medal
[ *]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Grades got me in the door, but it’s all about personality after that. Write a good essay and be friends with your teachers and counselors [ /list]</p>

38

<p>Accepted!</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2350, 750 CR, 800 WR, 800 Math (superscore)
[</em>]SAT II: 800 Math 1, 800 Math 2, 800 Chemistry, 790 World History
[<em>]ACT: Did not take
[</em>]GPA: 5.8/6 weighted
[<em>]Rank: 5/317
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 123 AMC 10, 109 AMC 12, 3/7 AIME. All 5 on all 8 APs (BC Calc, Phys C Mech, Phys C E&M, Phys B, US, Macro, Micro)
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Supplements: Pretty good. Really demonstrated my interest for math/science.
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Two very good, one decent. (didn’t see them, just guessing)
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Very good
[</em>]Supplementary Material: Rec from my mentor from my internship, 20 pg research paper originally for Siemens Competition
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Siemens Competition Semifinalist?
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: MA
[<em>]High School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>]Gender: Male
[/ul]Other [ul]
[</em>]Extracurriculars: FIRST Tech Challenge (4 years, all captain, World Championship every year, Connect Award once at World Championship, 2 State Inspire Awards, 2 State Winning Captain Awards), Math team (4 years, Captain senior year, lots of awards), Research Intern (2 years, Siemens Competition semifinalist), Piano (8 years, American Fine Arts Festival finalist for 2 years), High School iGEM, High School Quiz Bowl Team
[<em>]Awards: See above. Also National AP Scholar, Bausch and Lomb Award, NM Semifinalist, and some others I can’t think of right now.
[</em>]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Congratulations to all who got in and good luck to those who were deferred [/ul]</p>

39

<p>[ size=+1][ color=green][ b]Accepted[ /b][ /color][ /size]</p>

<p>[ b]Stats:[ /b][ list]
SAT: N/A
SAT II: Math II 750, Biology M 800
ACT: 35 (only 33 on Math)
GPA: 3.95
Rank: 2
Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 5s on Cal AB, Phys C: Mech, US History, Biology. 3s on English Lit and Language, as well as World History.</p>

<p>[ /list][ b]Subjective[ /b][ list]</p>

<p>Essays: Ethical dilemna: Holding the door for one of those huge groups at restaurants that take up tons of time on the waiting list. Seriously, I wrote about that. Why Caltech? Collaboration (used a story about playing in a brass quintet and developing my musical talents through the four other members)
Teacher Recs: I assume they were good
Counselor Rec: I assume it was good, even though I just met my counselor
Supplementary Material: N/A
Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Eagle Scout, passion I hopefully demonstrated through my common app essay</p>

<p>[ /list][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]</p>

<p>Location: Texas
High School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male</p>

<p>[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: Band, Boy Scouts, UIL Math/Science/Number Sense competitions
Awards: National Merit Scholar Commended, National Hispanic Recognition Program
Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[ /list] When you read the essay questions for the first time, write down the first few topics that come to your mind so you’ll know NOT to use them</p>

40

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT I: n/a
SAT II: Math Level 2 800, Chemistry 790
ACT Composite: 32
ACT Sub-scores: 33E/35M/27R/34S/8W
GPA: 3.93
APs: Fives on Biology, Calc BC (class was AB), Chemistry (Online class), Environmental Science (Self-studied), Physics B (Self-studied), Statistics.
Fours on Computer Science A (Online class), World History.</p>

<p>Tested Out:</p>

<p>Algebra I (second semester), Geometry (first semester), Algebra II (full year), Pre-calculus (first semester), Biology (full year), Physics (full year), Spanish I (first semester).</p>

<p>Senior classes: AP English Lit, AP Art History, AP Physics C, AP US History (online class), Computer Science II at University of Michigan Dearborn, Discrete Structures at University of Michigan Dearborn.</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Essays: sucked (don’t start writing essays on October 30)
Teacher recs: Probably good. I had my science teacher 3 hours a day last year and my history teacher loves me.
Counselor rec: most likely generic.
Supplementary material: n/a</p>

<p>Personal:</p>

<p>Location: Michigan
High School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender Male</p>

<p>Other:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: Link Crew, Stand (anti-bulling), NHS, Science Club, Chess Club (co-founder)
Awards: National AP Scholar
Advice: Don’t spend 3 years reading the MIT website, 3 months working on the MIT application, and then 3 days on Caltech. (However if I get into MIT next week it was totally worth it.)</p>