<p>However, UMich does have merit scholarships (for OOS as well.) So you might want to apply there despite the hefty price tag.</p>
<p>Quote:
I know most schools like well rounded students more than students who specialize in things. thats just my opinion </p>
<p>I disagree. The ultra-competitive schools like specialized students who are well-rounded in everything else. The typically well-rounded kids are rejected.</p>
<p>By the way, your views of Caltech are stereotypical and false, at best. Read more about Caltech in the forum. What you've heard of from whom-ever doesn't cut it</p>
<p>Um i looked into caltech myself and i got my information from their admissions department. if they are wrong i would talk to them if i were you.</p>
<p>Yes, I have talked to people from Caltech's admission department myself. There are a couple on the Caltech forum. No one is saying that Caltech isn't about hard work. But your estimate isn't based on any evidence - and you can definately have a life outside of studies. That explains why all the different clubs and sports, considering that Caltech is very small.</p>
<p>Um yeah. I just remembered that I'm top 25 in the nation in the Mu Alpha Theta Math Olympiad. Would that count for anything extra in regards to the slightly competitive school list I posted?</p>
<p>Can you find the sarcasm cleverly hidden in the previous paragraph?</p>
<p>Oh, and is there anything out of place in the list?</p>
<p>I think people get a skewed impression of Caltech somehow. I am a senior there, so I can comment. </p>
<p>Its not true that everybody only studies, and that everyone is chronically sleep deprived. Because of the way the problem sets are, some people can do them much faster than others. So depending on course selection, very smart people can have more free time (of course there are some classes that are very hard for everybody). There is also a culture of overloading. People tend to take too many classes (they only realize this senior year when they are done with everything they needed early). Generally people are interested in what they study, and like to sign up for classes in those subjects. This can be a very bad mistake, and can force people to study all the time and sleep for less than five hours a night.</p>
<p>Lots of people are sleep deprived. Most of the time, this is because they screw around and have fun/do their own thing instead of studying. They take extensions on homework (professors are nice about letting you take extra time if you need it, even if you have very bad excuses), and pretty soon they are behind by a week or two. No one wants to give up free time, so they give up sleep instead. </p>
<p>I know a ton of people who screw around/party/drink all the time, and ace their coursework without having to lose sleep. I also know people tried this and got screwed, and people who spent all their time studying and still struggled. The point is that going to Caltech wont necessarily force you to lock yourself in your room and study for 20 hours every day, though it may force you to take less classes than your friends in order for you to get by and still have fun.</p>
<p>As far as admissions, having great accomplishments in math and science (olympiads or research type stuff) will very strongly help you (if you do well in olympiads, you will probably do great at Caltech, in my observations), and will make up for weaknesses (like laziness, or a lack of well roundedness, again, in my experience). Well roundedness no doubt helps out the rest of us. I am pretty sure I would have had trouble getting in to Caltech if I wasn't good at tennis.</p>
<p>I hope that made sense.</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification; it really cleared things up for me. I guess that I was just caught with the flood of "OMG CALTECH/MIT HARDCORE!!!"</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>So...
Reach
Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Stanford/MIT/CAltech/Duke
Reachette
Dartmouth/UPenn/UVa/Williams/Amherst/Swarthmore/Tufts/JHU
Safety
UMich (?)</p>
<p>Do I need to apply to a safety if I have, like, 15 schools I'm applying to? Is it possible I'll get rejected from ALL my schools above UMich?</p>
<p>it's possible when those 15 schools are some of the hardest schools to get into. but, it's unlikely that you will get rejected by all of them. Why don't you drop a reachette that you don't really like, and keep the ONE LONE safety</p>
<p>If you meant to say that your family income is less than $40,000, then that's a major hook for Princeton and Harvard, and I think Yale as well. They are all going crazy trying to enroll very bright low income students such as yourself. I'd say you're a shoe-in at either of these places if you are indeed low income, and you will get a free ride at all of them.</p>
<p>I assume you are on scholarship at your private high school. You need to be sure your low income status is conveyed to the admissions office. Your college counselor should be able to hellp you with this.</p>
<p>Hm. So, like write in bright red ink:</p>
<p>STUDENT IS POOR. PLAY MOVING VIOLIN MUSIC WHILE CONSIDERING APPLICATION. WATCH GRAPES OF WRATH, TOO. CONSIDER SOCIOECONOMIC AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. </p>
<p>you never know. =P</p>
<p>They don't like this kind of bad publicity, plus, these schools have been aware of this issue for the past few years and have been trying to rectify it:<a href="http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2005/09/04/the_chosen_few/%5B/url%5D">http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2005/09/04/the_chosen_few/</a></p>
<p>Look up thread's on Andi's son. You can get rejected from eveything above U Mich. Look for some safeties that you really love, especially if you have to have strong fin aid.</p>
<p>um. so are we saying umich is, like 100%? (assuming i don't write about masturbation in the essay, or kick my interviewer...)</p>