QueenDee

I attended YESS in the summer of 2005. I am now attending MIT. I highly recommend the YESS program!

inverse

Although typical Caltech students has high SAT score. Caltech is not a SAT type of place. Admission is decided by Freshman Admission Committee, which currently include 17 faculty members and several student members plus Director of Undergraduate Admission who serve as ex officio member. They examine each student carefully and individually. It is an unique process.

Joe (Caltech '04)

"I did the FSI program, the Freshman Summer Institute for 'may contain traces of minority' incoming frosh at Caltech. None of the FSI kids that year were disadvantaged, and it seemed like the program resources could have been better used by allocating slots to students with no research experience, or students whose preparation for Caltech was marginal, rather than on the basis of ethnicity. I know people who could have benefitted at least as much as I did from FSI but never got the chance."

I know this is old, but here here! I was one of those students--a good old European-American, but no one from my high school had ever gone to Caltech before and I had no real research experience or college classes or anything. Caltech work kicked my butt even more than most, I think, at least for the first year or two. Some of the FSI kids had gone to TJ and places like that... this was really a notable departure from the color-blindness that in general impressed me about Caltech.

Not quite old

I was an instructor in an early incarnation of the FSI and I agree with these comments. This was a disturbing departure from Caltech's usual policy of indifference to race/minority status.

Having said that, I considered the original idea to be a better than normal compromise. Accept only students who were suited for Tech (without the usual AA standard lowering) but who were not necessarily well prepared because of their backgrounds, then give them extra tutoring before school begins. Several of the students whom I taught were at that level. However, this business with FSI kids from TJ! Ouch. From everything I hear there is plenty of pressure on Caltech to adjust its procedures (for the worse) in this and on other margins.

Cuca

I've heard that you have to be a US citizen to apply for RSI, even permanant residency isnt enough. Is that right?

AshwinSundar

Wait, Im Subcontinental Asian (Indian from Asia). So, Im a minority. Is YESS for me??? I really wanna go to this program. I have the grades, won teacher's heart (that sounds wrong), etc.

chronic

i got rejected to something close to this (JPL) without even being put under consideration b/c i'm only a permanent resident, not a US citizen, so i guess you have to email them about that

zoogies

Yes, email RSI. I don't know if this was resolved or not, because I definitely applied to RSI while not being a citizen. And they had a nice "We are sorry, but RSI is very competitive" letter instead of "OMG!!! PERMANENT RESIDENT!! ARE YOU A COMMUNIST SPY???" response accompanied with a visit from the FBI.

annah

No, usually only minorities in engineering, first-generation matriculates, or financially disadvantaged kids are accepted.