Today is the happiest day of my life.

<p>Well ray just called back 5 min after I called telling me they had just offered me a spot in the Caltech class of '10 WOWOOWOWOWOWOW I was so shocked I can't believe it. I am hopefully coming to pasadena next year YAAAYYAAAYYAAA!!!!!!!!!</p>

<p>congratulations!</p>

<p>Haha, that's awesome cyprus. :)</p>

<p>Thanks all</p>

<p>any news on the number of waitlist admits?</p>

<p>ok so my dad was asking if I knew how waitlist students do at tech. I was taken off the waitlist and my dad wanted to know if waitlist students have the same graduation rate? Anyone at tech know if waitlist students do just as well as regular admits? Thanks got to appease the parents lol</p>

<p>I think Ben said that Caltech hasn't done waitlist a lot in the past, so they may not have those numbers. That being said, I'm sure that the admissions dept. at Caltech does their best to make sure that all students admitted via waitlist or otherwise are capable of performing the work required.</p>

<p>Warning: this is a wild guess rooted in NO DATA WHATSOEVER other than vague snippets of research I've heard here, some anecdotal evidence, and the reasoning below.</p>

<p>If I had to bet money, I'd bet on waitlist admits doing BETTER than the average. Everyone whose application gets serious consideration at Caltech is capable of doing the work. (The waitlistees are a select group in that category, since a lot of people who are seriously considered are rejected.)</p>

<p>Everyone whom we take -- off the waitlist or otherwise -- is more than capable, intellectually, of succeeding. What makes the difference between success and failure at this stage is willingness to
[ul]
[<em>] work hard and remember why you came here in the first place
[</em>] be humble and ask questions
[li] not give up in the face of adversity[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>The waitlisted students tend to be more motivated and more enthusiastic about Caltech, as reflected by their decision to stay on the waitlist after an initially discouraging response. They are also likely to be more down-to-earth and persistent -- instead of getting angry and nursing their hurt pride, they kept trying to get what they wanted (i.e. the fat letter from Caltech) and succeeded. That means waitlist admits essentially self-select based on the qualities above -- which also happen to be the qualities key for making it here at Caltech.</p>

<p>My wild hunch is illustrated by some extremely sucessful students I know who got in off the waitlist. (For example, Galen.)</p>

<p>Take this for what you will : )</p>

<p>thank you Ben. I let my dad read all your posts about why caltech and he was very impressed by the school. Thank you for everything.</p>

<p>OMG! I got one: silver gray envelope with an orange stripe!! When I first saw a part of it, I thought it was some kind of advertisement...but when I saw CALTECH written on it, my mind literally went blank with joy!!</p>

<p>I do have two questions though: 1) When is the date to respond to the offer (is it really two weeks like it says on the paper?) 2) Will the financial aid be coming in a week?</p>

<p>P.S. Great post, Ben. It's comforting to know that there are people like you in the world. (Sry if that sounded cheesy ;) Congrats to the wait-list acceptees!!</p>

<p>I hope I get my packet soon :P I got a letter today addressed to a "Thomas Olsen Cowinn (my name is Thomas Oren Gwinn)" at my house that said something about how I should apply to Caltech... lol dunno how that happened, but it gave me a free poster so what the heck :P I hope that my actual packet has my name correctly spelled on it (it is spelled correctly on my application, so it should be)</p>

<p>This thread makes me so happy! Congratulations all of you. :)</p>

<p>I'll see you in September.</p>

<p>Yeah, I hope my packet comes soon. All I have currently is the knowledge that I got a phone call. :)</p>

<p>
[quote]
1) When is the date to respond to the offer (is it really two weeks like it says on the paper?)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You should respond as soon as you reasonably can. Call the admissions and financial aid offices if there are any issues that you'll need to resolve before making a decision.</p>

<p>
[quote]
2) Will the financial aid be coming in a week?

[/quote]

Not sure. You should call the financial aid office to ask. They can usually give you some guidance on what you should expect if not firm numbers.</p>

<p>I got my small Caltech packet today (the one that says "Do you wanna go?"). I've gotta say, the design is incredibly minimalist... I love minimalism. It's sexy. I need to think of some way to put it on display.</p>

<p>On the actual letter where you are supposed to check if you are going to the Tech, I put "Yes!!!!" lol</p>

<p>im glad that you're so happy lizzardy</p>

<p>Is it true that MIT has moved to its waitlist? I wonder how that will affect Caltech admits...</p>

<p>Yes. MIT has taken 30 or so. We'll see what happens.</p>

<p>hereiam- me too :D</p>

<p>Still no packet... Haha, I am very eagerly awaiting its arrival. (I know, Im crazy.)</p>