<p>mtf, you have to understand -- this is not some kind of bargaining exercise. </p>
<p>To get into Caltech, you will competing with the smartest and most motivated students in the United States and the world. They're not asking "can I take only three AP's, not four", they're asking "what else can I learn that I haven't learned yet, and can I take some extra courses to know more?"</p>
<p>I don't know why you want to go to Caltech if you don't want to take more than 3 AP courses in high school. You have to love science and love hard work to have the slightest chance of making it here. Your current questions suggest that you don't have the right mindset.</p>
<p>The short answer is that if you take a total of 3 AP's when more were available in math and science, you will probably not be admitted, but if you're asking that question there's a high probability you wouldn't have been happy here anyway.</p>
<p>mtf, the way you phrased that question makes it sound like you're trying to get into Caltech with the least amount of work. I'm not sure that's what you meant, but that's how it came across.</p>
<p>By the question i mean i am truly afraid that i might bomb an ap course. so i want to limit the ap courses i take . I am in the academy so my classes are all based on computers so thats nice , and if I take ap it is outside of the academy (meaning it wont be related). Thats why I can only take 1 or 2 a year. Math is the exceptoin. If i decide to, calc ap will be a class to take , physics ap is an idea, and i definately will be taking world history ap . So thats 4 ap right there. also is it good to show your taking challenges (ap) early on or does that not really matter?</p>
<p>Well I just thought I would give my two cents. Monday I was pulled off the waitlist. I spent great deals of time on my Caltech app. I applied EA got differed to RD. Between the time RD was read and I was notified of EA I wrote a letter. Then I got put on the waitlist again I called my admissions counselor and wrote another letter. Both letters depicted my desire to attend Caltech and my love for science. I never said I wanted to attend Caltech because it was the top university I stated that Caltech would be a perfect fit for me because at tech I would be able to learn everything and increase my knowledge. </p>
<p>You have to have to have to show passion for science and math. I had low SATs in verbal and for tech standers low in Math. But I showed in my app that I was more than numbers. I took every AP science I self studied BC calc (because our school was retarded) I took the national chemistry Olympiad. These kinds of things were key. I also have wanted to be an astronaut for years and I wrote my essay on this to show my passion for science and astrophysics. A quick note I had 0 hours of community service because it wasn't something that I really cared about so pick a passion not what looks good. If you plan on applying to smaller schools they will see you as a person not as numbers so look past your numbers and show passion. </p>
<p>If you don't have the passion for science look else where also know that if you decide tech isn't for you it doesn't mean anything about you as a person it means your passion is else where. There are plenty of good schools out there (now my personal opinion is tech is a one and only place for the best science education) but with that said if you don't like science and math then tech would kill you. Or at lease this is my understanding from the student I know that is out there now. </p>
<p>Key passion for science and math and show it. My counselor at Tech (admissions) came and talked to our high school and he said that if you don't have a year of physics either taken junior year or are taking AP in senior year then it is probably not worth applying. Now take this for what it is worth if you are not offered a physics course it could be different. Also I took college courses while I was in high school it might be worth looking into some college courses even if they are online. Just show passion for a certain thing doesnt pad your app. Remember also that there are students and Profs looking at your app in addition to the counselors. I hope that helps someone down the road but just have passion. Love what you do and if you don't love what you do consider why you are doing it in the first place. Life is too short to fill it with things you dislike.</p>
<p>Shoot forgot one thing GO CALTECH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>If you want a chance at Caltech, dive into as many AP courses as you can. More than 3 and more than 4. Self-study them if you have to, but take them somehow and get 5's on the tests.</p>
<p>Yes, if you take that many AP's, you might not be smart enough or motivated enough to handle them, and you might bomb one or a few. That might cost you a chance at Caltech. But if you hadn't taken the classes in the first place, that would also cost you a chance at Caltech. So with respect to Caltech, you're no worse off.</p>
<p>It is true that some bad grades might make you worse off for other schools than you would have been if you hadn't taken the clases at all. In that sense, trying for Caltech involves taking a risk. If you fail, then overall you'll be worse off. If you're too scared to take this risk, Caltech is also probably not for you. This is not a soft padded room, and it isn't for the timid. If you're too timid to take a few high school classes (which, in fact, are pretty easy) then you're definitely too timid to make it at Caltech.</p>
<p>So you have two options (a) swallow your fear and go for it, without fretting so much about your fragile GPA; (b) start looking at other colleges [which, btw, you should of course do anyway].</p>
<p>What if the scheduling at my school is too stupid, and my only math & science classes my senior year are physics & calc at college? Oh man... if I kind of have like... nearly straight B's in english and social studies classes, is that not a good thing? Aside from AP bio, chem, and calc, my school offers no other math and science AP classes. Should I take AP bio?? ...That's actually sounding like an alright idea now that I think about it... I might be able to work it out. </p>
<p>:D two science classes for 3 years in a rowwwww</p>
<p>btw, I got shoved into a remedial science class [earth & space] my freshman year simply because I moved here from out of state-- should I explain what happened when I apply?</p>
<p>Two science classes per year is good. And two sciences at a college your senior year is great. You shouldn't worry much about anything. Just keep plugging and you have a good shot.</p>
<p>how is honors. Is it pointless or does it look good? The reason i ask is perhaps ill take a few honors classes and 3-5 ap classes. That way i dont need like 6 , but i am still challenging my self. Also I LOVE communiity service thats why i am in CSF and it was a club idea I had. However a videogame design (something i consider a hobby not a carrer) clubwould be something i have a larger passion for. Now if i had the cash Id create a computer building club , but as of last year , my laptop tookover all my expenditures (costum built laptop that cost $3.6k.) </p>
<p>I would also like to personally thank everyone again as you have all lent me a GREAT deal of help!</p>
<p>mtf612, I don't know how your high school is, but at mine non-honors classes are EXTREMELY slow and dull, and everyone in the classes lacks motivation. err... except for physics. the physics teacher here is a bit crazy, and he's known for making everything hard in all his classes. you'll learn more in honors, and I'm betting it looks a LOT better than regular.</p>
<p>Two science classes per year is good. And two sciences at a college your senior year is great. You shouldn't worry much about anything. Just keep plugging and you have a good shot."</p>
<p>it's good nobody will care about freshman year, but my sophomore year wasn't too great either-- I let a lot of my grades slip [to B's haha, not TOO bad] while I was trying to figure myself out. I think that'll need an explanation, but I still feel like I shouldn't have done it and shouldn't make excuses. :|</p>
<p>Oatmeal - apologetic essays/letters sound wimpy. If you really want to slip an explanation for the past grades into your application, discuss that with the teachers who are going to be writing your recommendations. ;) Relatedly, the teachers who will write the best recs aren't always the ones who gave you the best grades. You'll need two -- one from a math/science teacher and one from a social science/humanities teacher.</p>
<p>I know that-- I had asked teachers who I felt knew me best despite the fact that I had B's in both of their classes when I applied this past fall to Caltech. And yes, I know I sound weird and somewhat like a freak, but that's the beauty in going on the path to early graduation and then realizing you can't afford college anyway in Feb/Mar and deciding to finish out high school in 4 years instead of 3-- second chances. I feel like a punk doing it, but I thought it was best for me. I'm also probably not making very wise decisions in doing so as well, tho-- like not asking anyone from Caltech for a general idea of why I was rejected. It's probably a lack of preparedness and essays that didn't show the real me AT ALL, but I'd rather do what I feel like I should do with myself and then see if Caltech accepts me when I try again instead of trying to be what I think they want. I've since decided that if I try again in the fall and get waitlisted then rejected, I'll be happy that I was at least good enough for the admissions committee to stop and rethink about me.</p>
<p>talk about letters, what if you're really interested in this course and you're getting good grades, but you're not "close" to the teacher? like he doesn't really know you. should you still ask him to write your letter?</p>
<p>those letters typically end up sounding tepid because they have nothing unique to say about you. you should either get to know the teacher (come after school sometimes, stay a few minutes after class if there's no class after yours to discuss something) or find another recommender.</p>
<p>to go back to the question about having B's in humanities. I had a B in almost every humanity I took (expet econ) and I was taken off the waitlist. With that said tho you have to show passion for science because you can't have alot of blemishes on your application with tech. Best of luck next year when you apply and stick with it if Caltech is really your first choice it will pay off hopefully.</p>