<p>1) How advanced/revolutionary does one's research paper need if one is considering to submit that paper?</p>
<p>2) I know that Caltech allows supplementary materials. Is it OK that I submit 2 papers, and 1 other non-paper thing? Will that be too much?
For one thing, especially the papers, strictly speaking they are required by my school. Besides, there's no such opportunity around where I am to conduct any research at university. I think there's no one in my country does that. </p>
<p>3) As such, as an international applicant, will it be detrimental to my application if they think my research papers suck?</p>
<p>4) Is a "project" paper (instead of "research") OK?</p>
<p>We try to take applicants' circumstances into context when we read supplemental submissions. Just submit whatever it is and we'll take a look if the application is up in the air (it doesn't make sense to look at them when the decision's a clear yes or clear no). Unless you submit cookies which aren't even that good, the submissions won't hurt your chances. =)</p>
<p>Overall, how good are the papers taht come in?
Are they crappy things that applicants put together at the last minute hoping it would hlep their chances?
Do they have cool results, yet nothing earth-shattering?
Are they completley ground breaking papers that will advance their field a great amount?</p>
<p>And on the average, how much does a submission help an applicant? Is it usual for the paper to not change a decision, or do most push a "maybe" to an "admit"? Or sometimes, do really bad papers push a "maybe" to a definite "reject"?</p>
<p>@hamik- do you remember any of the topics for the papers you read/were submitted- mine was about chemical weapons detoxification-any recollection?</p>
<p>If I were allowed to talk about specifics, there would be some good stories to tell. I can't <em>believe</em> somebody actually wrote about...</p>
<p>Anyway, the research papers range from school project papers to serious work published in peer-reviewed journals. People are accepted with all sorts of submissions, even just pictures of themselves doing something interesting.</p>