Straight up "What are my chances" thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
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<p>Going to be a Senior, visited Caltech and really liked it. I think I might be a bit of a reach but I'll cross my fingers.</p>

<p>SAT I 800 M 760 CR 660W
SAT II 790 Chem 780 US History 740 Math II</p>

<p>AP's Chem-5 US Hist-4 English Language-3</p>

<p>Taking Calculus BC, European History, English Literature and Spanish(All AP) this year, in addition to Honors Physics, Advanced Drama this year</p>

<p>Straight A's throughout high school, 4.0 whatever. All honors/AP. 4 years of voluntary weightlifting, taking classes through correspondence so as to allow me to take more classes.(Taking Government/Economics-required courses for Georgia HS Graduation, but ridiculously simple courses)</p>

<p>Took the National Spanish Exam this past year, level 4(highest level), scored 2nd in state, 5th in nation. National Spanish Honor Society member</p>

<p>AP US History Student of the Year</p>

<p>Operation Catapult @ Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 3-week engineering program, designed and built a working hydrogen fuel cell(Paid for it myself), made me want to be a ChemE/ME</p>

<p>Sports Technology manager @ school, Irun the scoreboard matrix screen at home football games and the high speed cameras and computer set ups for the track meets.</p>

<p>Actively involved in theatre, multiple credits, both technical and acting, ITS (International Thespian Society) silver bar member</p>

<p>Professional umpire for youth baseball</p>

<p>Member of state championship academic team</p>

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<p>Also forgot to mention that I have 2 page Executive Summary(Abstract) and 8 page official report from Operation Catapult that's kind of useful.</p>

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<p>congrats on making a hydrogen fuel cell, those are difficult to make.</p>

<p>its true that caltech is a reach for you, but you never know until you apply</p>

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<p>The Operation Catapult stuff does look good. Make sure to include the documentation with your application so the admissions people can read it.</p>

<p>Why not AP Physics?</p>

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<p>I couldn't fit AP Physics into my schedule. In my school you have to take regular physics first and I didn't have room last year.</p>

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<p>You're right, Caltech would be a bit of a reach, but you can make it with luck and a lot of effort. Include your Operation Catapult stuff, as SteelPangolin said, and write passionate essays. Explain why you love science and why you want to be at Caltech. Don't talk about Caltech (we know about it), talk about you and what drives you.</p>

<p>Also, retake this: 740 Math II. The average among admits is close to 800.</p>