Please Chance Me for Caltech, MIT, Princeton, University of Chicago, UCSB CCS Physics

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

GPA: 3.94 UW, 4.4 W
SAT: 1430: 710 English, 720 Math, 16 essay
ACT: N/A
AP: AP Euro (5), AP Chem (4), AP English Lang (5), AP Phys C: Mech (4), AP Phys C: E&M (4), AP Calc AB (5), AP US His (5)
Note: AP Physics C was self studied, I mentioned this on my app. The course is in my transcript but I was the only student in it and self studied it, which I also mentioned.
SAT IIs: Math 2: 790, Physics: 720, Chemistry: 740

Current Courses: AP Calc BC, AP Lit, AP Stats, AP Econ, and two college level physics courses at community college, got an A in one, and still taking the other.

ECs:
-School Scholastic Bowl Team Captain, 2 years, won the district championship for the first time in 7 years for the school
-8 years of Muay Thai
-2 years of Brazillian Jiu Jitsu
-Proficient Origami Artist

Awards:
-Scholastic Bowl Champion
-National AP Scholar

Summer Activities:

  • Summer School for 2 years
  • Taught myself calculus

Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community Service: none

Letters of Rec: Guidance Counselor - 8/10
teacher 1 - 10/10 - English teacher
teacher 2 - 9/10 - Calculus teacher
optional- 7-7.5/10 community college physics professor who is a former caltech grad

School: Large city Public school, ok-ish, 70% of students are low income
Rank: 7/~5-600

Essays:
Common App - 8/10 - Talked about my love for martial arts and how they have personally influenced my life philosophy and lessons I learned from them
Caltech Essays - 9/10 - very authentic, school specific, put sooooo much effort into them
MIT Essays - 9/10 - ^^^^^^
UChicago Essay - 9/10 ^^^^^^
UCSB CCS - 8.5/10 - ^^^^^^
Princeton Essay - 8/10 - could’ve been better

Sex: Male
Race: White
Income bracket: ~$50k

Hooks: Immigrant to the U.S.

Please give me chances for all my schools, thank you so much for taking your time I really would like to hear your thoughts and don’t be afraid to be completely honest, I won’t be offended no matter what. I do know the schools are a waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay far shot for me, but I still want to know.

2

I’m applying as a physics major btw.

3

Your applications are in, so asking for people to chance you is just looking for comfort or validation, but that’s a mug’s game.

You are plenty smart enough to know that you are a credible candidate, and at those schools that’s all anybody can be. Imagine that you have bought some lottery tickets with your application fees and the lottery results will be out in 2 months. Find something else to put your energy into until results season. Set yourself a goal or a target - something that will keep you busy and that no matter what happens with your results you can say ‘I got X done’.

Seriously.

Just step away from CC until your results start arriving.

& then come back & tell us how it comes out. We’re rooting for you :slight_smile:

4

I’m asking since im thinking of applying ED to a school, so I want to know the whether or not i should based on chances of getting in at other places, thanks for the reply anyhow

5

I’m confused: are you thinking of applying ED2 someplace? If so, where?

Are the schools in the list above the only places you applied? if so, then absolutely you should apply to other schools asap!

6

I’m thinking of applying ED2 to Chicago. Now Chicago is an awesome school and I really really wanna go there, but the thing is I don’t know what my family financial situation will be, whether I can afford it, or what my family situation will be in general since we might move and there may be some big changes id rather not disclose that could greatly affect college choice. I think I have the highest chance at chicago due to certain factors. The way I see it; if i apply to Chicago ED2 and get in and alos happen to get into the other colleges, I will be in a bad position since at the time chicago might not be the best choice. but also, if i have very low chances at the other places then i might as well apply to chicago ed2 and get in, because I’d rather go to chicago than not go anywhere at all.

7

Also i do have backup plans in case these colleges don’t fall through, I know how selective they are and that I shouldn’t bank on them.

8

@karl447 Yes. You should be applying to colleges that you know for certain that you’ll get into, like your state school. good luck!

9

Applying ED2 will help your chances. It is much harder to get in RD. I don’t know much about the rest, but suspect they are the same. I suspect the FA package would be similar at any of them as they all commit to meet 100% of need and at the $50k income level you will qualify for quite a bit.

As far as your chances, it’s really hard to say. Your chances are 0% if you don’t apply though and I know if you do they are much more than that. I like the advice, once your apps are in, find a good book, or in your case prove some physics theory and don’t stress out. You define who you are, not your undergraduate institution. I went to a commuter college for my undergrad and ended up a VP at a fortune 50 company. It’s what you do with your life, not the school you studied at.

10

Have you run Chicago’s net price calculator ( https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/costs/calculate ) to at least get an estimate of Chicago’s net price under the various possible family financial situation scenarios to see if Chicago is likely to be affordable?

The other question to ask is, will you know the family financial situation scenario when Chicago delivers its ED result, forcing you to decide then whether to matriculate (based on whether its financial aid offer makes it affordable)?

11

@collegemom3717 That is the most helpful comment that has been spoken in this What Are My Chances Thread!

12

I am surprised that nobody mentioned this in your thread but it was mentioned in the UChicago ED2 thread. Your SAT 1 results are really low relative to the results you got on your AP/SAT subject tests. You have 5s on 2 of the harder non-STEM AP tests and those require a lot of reading comprehension/reading analysis.

Obviously you are able to handle the work and you seem to write very well. Most of the schools on your list are test score driven and a 1430 is low. So the schools on your list will be high reaches unless you have some sort of hook.

Chicago is more holistic and if you can figure out their rather unusual essay prompts, you might have a chance. You are quite well spoken and who knows, perhaps your application might catch the eye of an adcom.

13

If you are Asian, the bar for you is higher except at UC schools. For most students seeking admission to elite colleges, its best if you have a hook of some kind. Good Luck!

14

@preppedparent OP mentioned that he isn’t Asian.

If the OP was a California resident, then UCSB would be a match/low match. If he isn’t, then the cost would be prohibitive.

15

@karl447 what state are you from and would those be your safety schools?

16

I’m from California, my safety is UCSB, otherwise I will enroll in a TAG program at a local community college or an honors program with near guaranteed transfers to UCLA/Berkeley. But I’d rather go to one of these other schools over those two.
Edit: And yeah that’s the thing, I have a 1430 SAT which I feel “disqualifies” me from Caltech especially, and to a lesser extent Princeton and MIT. I feel like my lack of volunteering kills off my Princeton chances and my lack of science clubs kills off MIT.

17

Davis and Irvine have decent physics programs. Would you consider them?

I would still give Chicago a try-you do write well and you could do well on the infamous essay prompts. Anyone who can get 5’s on APUSH and AP Lang should do well. Those SAT scores are an anomaly compared to the rest of your academic record.

18

If I were to go to Davis and Irvine I’d rather do two years of CC then transfer there due to cost. Really this all comes down to evaluating my chances at each school. I feel like I have the smallest chance at Caltech and MIT, and a slightly better chance at UChicago and Princeton. I’m just wrestling with whether my chance at Princeton is good enough to risk not applying to ED2 at Chicago. And thank you for your responses Hamurtle.
Edit: I also have to consider whether or not I will have an interview in time for ED2 for Chicago, and how much the interview affects admissions.

19

@karl447 just saw your original post and saw that you got a 5 in AP Euro as well. Which indicates that you are a darned good writer. Go for ED2 Chicago. I think you can figure out the UChicago prompts and do something unique.

If you posted to College Confidential last year, maybe some posters would have told you to take the ACT. I think that you are definitely a case of a high achieving student who is not a perfect fit for the testing style of the SAT. Wherever you go to college, you will be successful. Good luck!