College Discussion - View Single Post - What kind of students does Caltech look for?

sdkdol · 04-28-2008, 01:06 AM

I think Caltech's admission criteria are significantly different than that of HSPY and even MIT. They seem to look for the "potential genius" and passion for science/engineering. For example (just a basic one), if you look at their stats on US New, Caltech has the highest SAT scores, but compared to the other top schools, the percent in the top 10 percent in high school is much lower.

While high school GPA shows hard work and dedication, test scores show more of an person's potential. Like that slacker who has a 2.4 GPA but can get a 2399 on his SAT compared to the hard worker with a 4.0 GPA but only gets a 1001 on his SAT. These are highly exaggerated examples, but in this case, Caltech would be more likely to accept the slacker.

04-28-2008, 01:06 AM	#30
sdkdol Junior Member Join Date: May 2007 Threads: 45 Posts: 253	I think Caltech's admission criteria are significantly different than that of HSPY and even MIT. They seem to look for the "potential genius" and passion for science/engineering. For example (just a basic one), if you look at their stats on US New, Caltech has the highest SAT scores, but compared to the other top schools, the percent in the top 10 percent in high school is much lower. While high school GPA shows hard work and dedication, test scores show more of an person's potential. Like that slacker who has a 2.4 GPA but can get a 2399 on his SAT compared to the hard worker with a 4.0 GPA but only gets a 1001 on his SAT. These are highly exaggerated examples, but in this case, Caltech would be more likely to accept the slacker.